Wheelchair Astronaut, Cosmic Fireworks, and the Race to Mine the Moon

0:00 Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for

0:03 the latest news from across the cosmos. I'm

0:06 Avery.

0:06 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you

0:09 today, Avery. We're talking about everything

0:11 from the first wheelchair user heading to

0:13 space to a star system that's getting ready

0:16 to put on a celestial fireworks show.

0:18 Avery: Absolutely. We'll also be diving into a new

0:21 survey of our galactic neighbors. A

0:23 surprising discovery about the sun, the new

0:26 race to mine the moon, and the incredible

0:29 tech being built to study the planet right

0:31 next door. Sure. Let's get started.

0:33 First up, a truly historic mission from Blue

0:36 origin. They're targeting December 18 for

0:39 their NS37 mission and it's a huge

0:42 step forward for accessibility in space.

0:44 Anna: It really is. Onboard the New Shepard vehicle

0:47 will be Michaela Benthouse, an aerospace

0:50 engineer at the European Space Agency who is

0:52 set to become the first wheelchair user to

0:55 fly to space.

0:56 Avery: That's just fantastic. And she's not just a

0:58 passenger, she's an aerospace engineer

1:01 herself. That adds another layer to this.

1:04 Anna: Exactly. It's not just about tourism. It's

1:06 about opening up the field of space

1:08 exploration to talented professionals who

1:10 might have been excluded in the past. It's a

1:13 suborbital flight lasting about 10 minutes,

1:15 but it sends a powerful message that space is

1:18 for everyone.

1:19 Avery: It really challenges the old right stuff

1:21 astronaut mold. And she'll be joined by a

1:23 pretty interesting crew, including investors

1:26 and even a former top engineer from SpaceX,

1:28 Hans Konigsmann. And it's not just a

1:31 symbolic gesture. The engineering that goes

1:33 into making a spacecraft accessible for

1:36 someone with different physical needs is non

1:38 trivial. It forces designers to rethink

1:41 everything from seating and restraints to how

1:44 crew members interact with the cabin in m

1:46 microgravity. These are solutions that could

1:48 benefit all future astronauts.

1:50 Anna: A diverse group for a landmark flight. We

1:53 wish the entire NS37 crew a safe

1:55 and incredible journey.

1:57 Alright, let's shift our focus from low Earth

2:00 orbit to our nearest galactic neighbors, the

2:02 Magellanic Clouds. A major new survey is

2:05 about to give us an unprecedented look at

2:08 these satellite galaxies.

2:09 Avery: Ah, yes, the large and small Magellic clouds

2:12 for our listeners in the northern hemisphere.

2:14 They might not be familiar, but they're a

2:16 stunning sight from southern latitudes. So

2:19 what's this new survey the 1001MC

2:22 all about?

2:23 Anna: The key is the technology. It's a five year

2:25 survey using the foremost instrument on the

2:28 VISTA telescope in Chile. Now past

2:30 surveys have given us beautiful images, which

2:33 is called photometry, measuring brightness

2:35 and position. This one is all about

2:37 spectroscopy.

2:39 Avery: Right. So spectroscopy Breaks down the

2:41 starlight into its component wavelengths,

2:43 like a fingerprint. What can that fingerprint

2:46 tell us?

2:47 Anna: It tells us so much more. We can learn a,

2:49 star's chemical composition, Its temperature,

2:51 How fast it's moving toward or away from us,

2:54 and even how quickly it's spinning. By

2:56 gathering spectra for about half a million

2:59 stars, this survey will create a detailed 3D

3:02 map of the cloud's chemistry and motion.

3:04 Avery: And that helps us understand how they're

3:06 interacting with our Milky Way. Right. I've

3:08 read about the Magellanic Stream, that huge

3:11 river of gas Being pulled from the clouds by

3:13 our galaxy's gravity.

3:15 Anna: Precisely. This data, led by Dr. Lara

3:18 Cullinan's group, Will give us the missing

3:20 link to model that interaction accurately. It

3:22 will help us piece together the history of

3:24 this cosmic dance and predict the ultimate

3:27 fate of these two small galaxies.

3:29 Avery: So this isn't just about taking a picture.

3:31 It's about conducting a census, A cosmic

3:34 demographic survey. Are we looking at a

3:36 timeline of years or decades before we can

3:39 start drawing major conclusions from this

3:41 data?

3:41 Anna: The survey itself runs for five years, but

3:44 initial data releases Will likely happen

3:46 along the way. The full impact will unfold

3:49 over the next decade as theorists use this

3:51 incredibly rich dataset to refine their

3:54 models of galaxy formation and evolution.

3:56 It's a foundational project.

3:59 Avery: From a cosmic dance to a cosmic U turn.

4:02 NASA's Parker Solar Probe has captured some

4:05 incredible footage from its journey to touch

4:07 the sun.

4:08 Anna: This is genuinely surprising. During its

4:11 closest approach, the probe observed a

4:13 coronal mass ejection, or cme.

4:16 This is a massive eruption of solar material

4:19 and magnetic fields from the sun.

4:22 Avery: And we usually think of CMEs as a one way

4:24 street blasting out into space. If they're

4:27 aimed at Earth, they can cause geomagnetic

4:29 stor and the aurora.

4:31 Anna: That's the conventional picture. But Parker's

4:34 images clearly show that not all the material

4:36 escapes. A significant portion actually

4:39 slows down, reverses course, and falls

4:42 back toward the sun in these elongated

4:45 blobs, which scientists are calling inflows.

4:48 Avery: So the sun is recycling its own magnetic

4:51 fields. What does that mean for us? Does this

4:53 change how we predict space weather?

4:56 Anna: It could. Understanding this recycling

4:58 process Gives us a more complete model of the

5:01 sun's magnetic activity. Better models mean

5:04 better forecasts, which is vital for

5:06 protecting our satellites, Power grids and

5:08 astronauts from the most intense solar

5:11 storms. This is the first time we've seen it

5:13 so clearly. And it's a huge new piece of the

5:16 solar puzzle.

5:17 Avery: Okay. From solar physics to lunar

5:20 politics. Anna, There's a new space race

5:22 underway. But it's not about planting flags.

5:25 It's about mining the Moon.

5:27 Anna: That's right. The ambition has moved from

5:29 exploration to exploitation. We have

5:32 nations and a growing number of private

5:34 companies like Interlude and Astrobotic

5:37 actively developing technologies to extract

5:39 lunar resources.

5:41 Avery: And the resources they're after are

5:42 incredibly valuable for future space travel.

5:45 You have water ice, which can be turned into

5:47 rocket fuel and helium 3 for potential

5:50 fusion reactors.

5:51 Anna: The potential is enormous. The Moon could

5:54 become a critical staging post for the rest

5:57 of the solar system. But this gold rush

5:59 mentality is raising serious concerns.

6:02 We're talking about the risk of environmental

6:04 damage to a pristine world and the potential

6:07 for geopolitical conflict over the most

6:09 resource rich areas.

6:11 Avery: And we don't really have any rules for this,

6:13 do we? The Outer space treaty of

6:15 1967 feels completely

6:18 outdated.

6:19 Anna: It's woefully insufficient. It says no

6:21 nation can own the Moon, but it's silent on

6:24 whether a private company can own the

6:26 resources it extracts. It's a huge legal

6:29 vacuum. Bodies are trying to hash

6:32 out new agreements like the Artemis Accords,

6:35 but there's no global consensus yet.

6:37 Avery: And that lack of consensus is the real

6:39 danger. Without clear, internationally agreed

6:42 upon rules, you risk a first come, first

6:45 serve situation that could lead to disputes

6:48 and even sabotage. Establishing a framework

6:50 for peaceful, sustainable resource use is as

6:53 critical as developing the technology to get

6:56 there.

6:57 Anna: Lets wish the policymakers well then.

6:59 Avery: Indeed, we're essentially heading into a Wild

7:02 west scenario on the Moon. This is a story we

7:05 will definitely be following closely.

7:07 Anna: Let's turn our gaze now to a different kind

7:09 of cosmic event on the horizon. There's a

7:11 star system called V Sagittea that

7:14 astronomers are watching very, very closely.

7:17 Avery: Right, this is a future headliner. So

7:20 V Sagitta is a binary system, two

7:23 stars orbiting each other. What makes this

7:25 pair so special?

7:27 Anna: It's what they call a cataclysmic variable.

7:29 One star is a white dwarf, the incredibly

7:32 dense, collapsed core of a dead star. It's

7:35 pulling in a stream of gas from its larger

7:37 companion star, and it's doing so at an

7:40 unprecedented accelerating rate.

7:42 Avery: And when that stolen gas builds up on the

7:45 surface of the super dense white dwarf. Boom.

7:48 Anna: Boom is right. The immense pressure and

7:50 temperature will ignite a runaway

7:52 thermonuclear reaction. A nova.

7:55 Astronomers predict this will happen in the

7:57 coming years. And when it does, the system

7:59 will brighten so dramatically, it will likely

8:02 be one of the brightest stars in our night

8:04 sky, easily visible to the naked eye.

8:07 Avery: That's incredible, but that's not even the

8:09 grand finale, is it?

8:11 Anna: Not at all. This process is causing the

8:14 two stars to spiral closer and closer

8:16 together. Eventually, they will collide and

8:18 merge, triggering a full blown

8:21 supernova. The resulting explosion will

8:24 be so mind bogglingly br,

8:26 it might even be visible during the daytime.

8:29 An amazing if violent astronomical

8:32 event in the making.

8:33 Avery: Do we have a more precise prediction than

8:36 in the coming years? Is this something we

8:39 might see in our lifetimes?

8:40 Anna: The models, based on decades of observation

8:43 of its accelerating orbital decay point to a

8:46 date around 2083 plus or minus a

8:49 decade. So, yes, it's very likely to happen

8:52 within the lifetime of many people listening

8:54 today. It's a rare chance to watch a

8:57 celestial forecast come true.

8:58 Avery: True.

8:59 For our final story, we're going from a

9:01 system far away to the one right next door.

9:04 We're talking about Proxima Centauri and its

9:07 famous exoplanet, Proxima B.

9:09 Anna: That's right. Proxima B is our nearest

9:12 exoplanet neighbor, which makes it a

9:14 tantalizing target. But studying it is one of

9:17 the greatest technical challenges in

9:19 astronomy. The planet is completely lost

9:22 in the glare of its host star.

9:24 Avery: How bad is the glare?

9:26 Anna: The star Proxima Centauri is about

9:29 10 million times brighter than the light

9:31 reflected by the planet. It's like trying to

9:33 see a speck of dust on a floodlight from a

9:36 mile away. But a new instrument called

9:38 Ristretto is being built to do just that.

9:42 Avery: Okay, so how does Ristretto pull off this

9:44 magic trick?

9:45 Anna: It's a combination of technologies. It's a

9:48 spectrograph that will be installed on the

9:50 Very Large Telescope in Chile. First, it

9:53 uses a coronagraph, essentially a tiny,

9:55 precise mask to physically block the light

9:58 from the star. Then it uses a system of

10:01 extreme adaptive optics with deformable

10:03 mirrors to cancel out the blurring effect of

10:06 Earth's atmosphere.

10:07 Avery: And once the star's light is suppressed,

10:09 what's the ultimate goal?

10:11 Anna: The goal is to collect the faint light that

10:13 has passed through or been reflected by the

10:15 planet's atmosphere. By analyzing that light,

10:18 Ristretto can search for the chemical

10:20 fingerprints of gases like oxygen, methane,

10:23 or water vapor. Potential biosignatures.

10:26 It's one of our best chances yet to find out

10:28 if the closest world beyond our solar system

10:31 has an atmosphere and perhaps one that could

10:33 support life.

10:35 Avery: And that's a wrap on today's top stories.

10:37 From new frontiers in human spaceflight to

10:40 the cutting edge of exoplanet research. The

10:42 universe never fails to amaze.

10:45 Anna: It certainly doesn't thanks for tuning in to

10:47 Astronomy Daily. Join us next time as we

10:50 continue to explore the final frontier.

10:52 Avery: Until then, keep looking up

10:55 Astronomy Day.

10:57 Anna: Stories.