Alien Intelligence Readiness, New Exoplanets Around L 98-59, and Innovative Mars Helicopters

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily

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dive into the cosmos. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. We're so glad you could join us today for a

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look at the latest and greatest in space and astronomy news.

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Anna: We've got a packed show for you today covering

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everything from how humanity is preparing for

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potential first contact with alien intelligence

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to a fascinating new exoplanet system

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discovered around a red dwarf star.

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Avery: Plus, we'll tell you about Russia's latest satellite launch

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aimed at understanding Earth's space wither and the

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the truly wild new helicopter mission concept for

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Mars.

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Anna: It's going to be a captivating journey

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through the universe. So buckle up and

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let's get started with today's top stories.

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All right, let's dive into a topic that has

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captivated humanity for centuries.

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The possibility of life beyond Earth.

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Specifically, we're looking at what happens

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after we discover extraterrestrial

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intelligence.

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Avery: Exactly. A fascinating new research paper

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posted to the ARXIV Preprint server from M. The

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University of St. Andrews tackles this very

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question. It outlines how NASA and the global

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scientific community should prepare for the moment humanity

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detects signs of alien intelligence.

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Anna: This isn't just about finding simple microbial

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life. This is about discovering technological

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signatures from an alien civilization.

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The paper, penned by 14 researchers from various

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institutions, highlights that scientists such a detection

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would trigger a, uh, complex global process

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heavily influenced by uncertainty,

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misinformation and diverse ideological

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viewpoints. It would fundamentally reshape our

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understanding of our place in the universe.

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Avery: And what's particularly striking is how

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outdated previous preparation efforts are. Early

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guidelines from 1989 predate the Internet

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entirely. The researchers, led by

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Kate Genevieve from the Astroecologies Institution,

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argue that those protocols simply can't account for the

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rapid global media dissemination we experience today.

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Anna: Imagine the media firestorm if this news broke

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now. In an era of viral misinformation

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and instant global communication, it

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would be unlike anything humanity has ever

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experienced.

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Avery: To address this, the team proposes six critical

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areas where NASA should invest now before any

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discovery occurs. These range from advancing detection

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technologies to studying how different cultures

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might interpret the news of extraterrestrial

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discovery.

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Anna: One of the most intriguing aspects is the concept of

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developing other minds paradigms.

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This means preparing to recognize intelligence

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that doesn't necessarily think like us. The

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paper suggests leveraging techniques from

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bioacoustics, machine learning and

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quantum computing.

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Avery: They even mention studying whale songs and bird

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navigation to understand non human

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communication patterns. This really challenges us

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to move beyond Earth centric assumptions.

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If aliens communicate through methods we haven't even

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conceived of, like quantum entanglement

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our current detection methods might miss them

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entirely.

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Anna: What's surprisingly practical about this research

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is that much of the preparation work isn't focused

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on alien technology itself, but on human

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psychology and interaction. The researchers

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emphasize integrating humanities and social

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sciences, recognizing that the biggest

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challenges might come from how people react to the

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news range rather than from the aliens themselves.

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Avery: They recommend funding research on the psychological,

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social and global dynamics of post detection

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scenarios, and even suggest analyzing

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science fiction stories. They believe these fictional

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scenarios offer valuable insights into human

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expectations and fears.

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Anna: And on a very practical level, the team calls

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for creating robust international coordination

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systems before they're needed. They they warn that

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without a proper post detection SETI hub,

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NASA risks a gap in the system, likening

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it to a, uh, moon landing without astronaut retrieval.

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Avery: Just as NASA developed detailed protocols for Apollo

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missions, including quarantine procedures, they need

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comprehensive plans for managing a SETI discovery.

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Anna: While the researchers aren't claiming that discovering

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extraterrestrial intelligence is imminent,

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their message is preparation is

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essential. With advanced telescopes like the

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James Webb Telescope already operational

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and others like the Vera C Rubin Observatory

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coming online, a ah, technosignature discovery

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could emerge from any realm of astronomy research.

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Avery: Their message truly boils down to this.

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The question isn't whether we'll ever detect signs

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of alien technology, but whether we'll be

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ready when we do. By investing in

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research, international cooperation and

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communication strategies. Now, humanity's

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greatest discovery could become a moment of unity

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and wonder rather than chaos and

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confusion. It's a powerful and forward thinking

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perspective.

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Anna: Now let's shift our gaze from potential

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alien civilizations to actual new

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discoveries right here in our cosmic neighborhood.

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Relatively speaking, there's some exciting news

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out of the exoplanet community.

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Avery: Absolutely, Anna. Astronomers, uh, have just announced

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the discovery of a fifth rocky planet

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orbiting the small red dwarf star

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L9859. And here's the

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kicker. One of these planets, a super

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Earth, is located squarely within the

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star's optimistic habitable zone.

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Anna: This system, L9859, isn't

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new to us. Tess, the Transiting

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Exoplanet Survey Satellite initially

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found three planets around it back in 2019,

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then a fourth in 2021. Now, with

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this fifth detection, the system is certainly

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generating renewed interest.

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Avery: The discovery is detailed in research that's set to appear

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in the Astronomical Journal with lead author

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Charles Cadieu, a uh, researcher at the University of

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Montreal and Trottier Institute for Research

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on Exoplanets at the helm.

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L9859 itself is an M

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M3V star, a red dwarf about

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34.5 light years away. And it's

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quite small, only about 0.3 solar masses.

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Anna: What's particularly fascinating beyond just

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the habitable zone planet is the overall

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architecture of the system. It's a tightly

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packed grouping of terrestrial planets

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showing some dramatic compositional differences

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between despite their close proximity. It actually

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reminds me a bit of the Trappist 1 system which

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also has multiple terrestrial planets.

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Avery: It really does. And the authors point out that

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multiplanetary systems like this offer a unique

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opportunity to study how planets form and

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evolve within the same stellar environment.

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These new results paint the most complete picture we've ever had

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of this system, demonstrating the power of combining

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data from space telescopes like TESS and and

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high precision ground based instruments.

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Anna: Let's talk about some of these individual worlds.

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The innermost planet,

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L9859B is a rare

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sub earth, only about 84% of

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Earth's mass and half its size. With an

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Earth like density, it orbits its star in

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just over two days and might be volcanically

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active due to tidal heating.

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Avery: L9859C is also likely

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volcanic with about 1.3 earth

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radii and 2 earth mass. Then

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there's L9859D which has

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about 1.6 earth radii and

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1.6 earth masses. And it might even be a

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water world or what's known as a Hycean world.

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Anna: And the newly detected planet

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L9859F is the one in

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the optimistic habitable zone. It has a

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minimum mass of about 2.8 Earth

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masses, around 1.4 Earth

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radii and a 28 day orbit.

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What's great is that these planets follow near circular

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orbits which make them prime targets for

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atmospheric spectroscopic studies with the James

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Webb Telescope.

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Avery: Indeed, observations already show that the three

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inner transiting planets have increasing water mass

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fractions with orbital distance, suggesting a

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diversity of compositions. As Professor

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Renee Doyon, a AH co author, puts it, this

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system offers a unique laboratory to answer pressing

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questions like what are super earths and sub

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neptunes made of? Do planets form differently

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around small stars? Can rocky planets around red

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dwarfs retain atmospheres over time?

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Anna: The question of habitability around m

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dwarfs like L9859 is

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a complex one. Because their habitable zones

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are so close to the star, planets might

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be tidally locked, meaning one side

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always faces the star. Plus M

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dwarfs are known for powerful flaring

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which could strip away atmospheres.

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Avery: However, M dwarfs are incredibly long lived

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stars, burning their fuel very slowly,

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offering long term stability for any planets in their

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habitable zones. The atmospheric characterization

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of these planets is already underway with

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JWST using both transmission and

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emission spectroscopy. It's truly an

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exciting time for exoplanet research.

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Anna: L9859 is definitely

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joining the select group of nearby compact

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planetary systems that scientists hope to understand

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in much greater detail in the coming years.

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Shifting gears from deep space exoplanets,

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let's turn our attention back closer to home

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to Earth's orbit, where Russia has been

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busy with a significant launch.

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Avery: That's right, anna. On Friday, July 25,

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a Soyuz 2.1B rocket

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successfully launched from Site 1S at

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Bostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. This

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mission carried two Ionosphera M M

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satellites, numbers 3 and 4, into a

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Sun synchronous orbit, completing their 4

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satellite constellation. The first pair,

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Ionosphera M M, number 1 and number 2,

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were launched back in November 2024.

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Anna: So these aren't just any satellites.

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What's the main purpose of this Ionosphera

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M constellation?

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Avery: These satellites are part of what's called Project

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Ionozonde, a uh, program specifically designed

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to study Earth's geophysical environment,

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Particularly space weather and its effects on our

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planet. The data they collect will be crucial for

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improving space weather forecasting, which has direct

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impacts on everything from satellite operations

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to radio communications here on Earth.

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Anna: And for our listeners who might not be familiar,

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the ionosphere is a fascinating part of our

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atmosphere. It's, it's that region roughly 80

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to 650 kilometers, uh, up, where

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high energy solar radiation strips

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electrons from atoms and molecules, creating

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electrically charged ions. This is where

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the stunning aurorae originate. And it also

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significantly affects radio and navigation signals.

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Avery: Exactly. Each of these ionospheric

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satellites, weighing around 400 kg, is

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equipped with a suite of nine instruments, including

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spectrometers, A shortwave sounder, a

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magnetometer and a radio wave sounder.

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They are designed to operate for eight years, collecting

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measurements of the ionosphere at different times of the day.

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Thanks to their carefully planned orbital planes.

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Anna: It'S quite a comprehensive effort. While the

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ionosphere was first discovered back in

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1902 through radio experiments by

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Guglielmo Marconi, and the Soviet Union

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flew missions to study it previously. This

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ionosphere M M constellation really marks

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Russia's first major dedicated effort to study

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space weather in many years.

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Avery: It's a significant step forward for them in understanding

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and forecasting space weather, which is becoming

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increasingly vital as our reliance on space based

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technology grows. This mission will provide

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invaluable data to help Mitigate the risks

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posed by solar activity and other space

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phenomena from Earth's ionosphere.

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Anna: Let's take a giant leap to Mars, where

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there is a truly wild new mission concept on the

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horizon. It's called Skyfall, and

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it sounds like something straight out of a sci fi movie.

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Avery: It really does, Anna. Uh. This concept,

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developed by Eero Wireman of Arlington,

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Virginia, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or

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JPL, proposes a revolutionary

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way to explore the red planet. Imagine

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dropping a hornet's nest of helicopters from high

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above Mars.

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Anna: A hornet's nest of helicopters. I love that

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description. So what exactly does

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Skyfall entail and why is it

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considered such a game changer?

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Avery: The core idea is to deploy six

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scout helicopters from an entry

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capsule during its fiery plunge through the

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Martian atmosphere. The ingenious part is,

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is that this Skyfall maneuver would

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eliminate the need for a traditional landing platform,

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which has historically been one of the most expensive,

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complex, and risky elements of any

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Mars mission. It's a real cost cutting

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concept that's.

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Anna: A massive shift from previous missions. And

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once these six helicopters are deployed, they don't

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just sit there, do they?

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Avery: Not at all. Each helicopter would

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operate independently and essentially fanning

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out to explore various sites. Their primary

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duties include transmitting high resolution surface

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images back to Earth and crucially,

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collecting radar data about what lies

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beneath the red planet's rocky surface.

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This subsurface information is absolutely

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key for safely landing future human

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crews, especially at locations identified

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as holding water, ice and other vital

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resources.

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Anna: So it's not just about scientific exploration.

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It's directly paving the way for human missions to

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Mars. This concept clearly builds on the

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incredible success of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter,

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which, for those who remember, achieved the

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first powered flight on another world back in

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2021. And completed 72

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flights in just under three years.

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Avery: Exactly. William Pomeranz, head of

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space ventures at AeroVironment and has

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highlighted that with six helicopters,

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Skyfall offers a low cost solution

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that significantly multiplies the range we can

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cover, the data we can collect, and the scientific

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research we can conduct. He states. It will make

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humanity's first footprints on Mars

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meaningfully closer.

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Anna: And it sounds like this isn't just a distant dream.

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AeroVironment has already begun internal

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investments and coordination with NASA's JPL

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to facilitate a potential launch as early as

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2028. It's truly exciting

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to see such innovative thinking pushing the boundaries of

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what's possible in space exploration.

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And that brings us to the end of another fascinating

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episode of Astronomy Daily. What a packed show.

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It's been.

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Avery: It certainly has, Ana. Uh, we've journeyed from

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the profound questions of preparing for

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extraterrestrial contact with the SETI Post

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Detection Hub's new guidelines to the exciting

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discovery of five new rocky planets around

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the L98 59 system,

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including a Super Earth and the Habitable Zone.

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Anna: We then shifted our focus to Earth, discussing

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Russia's successful launch of the Ionosphera M

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satellites, which will contribute vital data to our

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understanding of space weather and Earth's

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ionosphere.

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Avery: And finally, we ended our tour with the truly

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innovative Skyfall concept, a

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potential Mars mission that envisions deploying a

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fleet of scout helicopters to map the red

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planet and pave the way for human exploration.

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Anna: It's been a stellar day for space and astronomy news,

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and we hope you've enjoyed exploring these stories with us.

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Avery: Thank you so much for tuning in to Astronomy Daily.

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We love sharing these cosmic updates with you.

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And before I go, a quick plug. Please

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visit our website for more space and astronomy news,

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plus a complete catalog of all our back

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episodes. But I warn you, there's a lot of

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content there. Okay, time to go.

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Anna: Until next time. Keep looking up, keep

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asking questions, and always stay curious about the

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Cosmo.

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Avery: Goodbye for now.