Artemis 2 Setback, SpaceX's Trillion-Dollar Orbital Vision & X8.3 Solar Flare

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space and astronomy news. I'm Anna.

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And I'm Avery. We're bringing you Tuesday, February 3rd's biggest stories from across the cosmos.

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Today we're covering a setback in NASA's Artemis II preparations,

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a bold new vision from Elon Musk that's raising eyebrows across the space industry,

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and NASA's announcement of a fifth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.

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We'll also explore some dramatic solar activity that's lighting up our sun.

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NASA's newest mission to map the boundaries of our solar system,

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and an exciting opportunity for aspiring space professionals in Europe.

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Let's dive right in with our top story today.

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NASA's Artemis II mission hit a snag during a critical pre-launch test over the weekend.

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The wet-trest rehearsal countdown was terminated at the T-5 minute and 15th

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second mark due to a liquid hydrogen leak.

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For anyone not familiar, a wet-dress rehearsal is essentially a full-launch stimulation

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where they load the rocket with propellant and run through the entire countdown sequence,

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stopping just short of ignition.

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It's one of the final major tests before an actual launch.

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Exactly. And this particular leak occurred at the interface of the

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Tale's Service Mass Dumbillical, which had already experienced high concentrations of liquid hydrogen

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earlier in the countdown. The launch control team had to work to ensure the space-launch system rocket

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was in a safe configuration and begin draining its tanks.

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Now, it's worth putting this in perspective. Hydrogen leaks are notoriously challenging to deal

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with in rocketry. Hydrogen is the smallest molecule, which means it can escape through incredibly

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tiny gaps. NASA actually dealt with similar issues during the Artemis I countdown back in 2022.

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That's a good point. And while this is definitely a setback, it's exactly why we do these rehearsals,

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to catch problems and fix them before astronauts are on board.

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The Artemis II crew of Reed Weissman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hanson

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are scheduled to become the first humans to fly around the moon in over 50 years.

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The team at Kennedy Space Center will now need to analyze what went wrong,

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make repairs and potentially schedule another wet-dress rehearsal.

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This could impact the launch timeline, though NASA hasn't announced any official changes to the

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mission schedule yet. We'll definitely be keeping a close eye on this one. Moving on to our next

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story, which involves some pretty ambitious claims from SpaceX. Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX

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has acquired his artificial intelligence company XAI, and with that acquisition comes a vision

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that sounds like something straight out of science fiction, orbital data centers.

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The numbers here are staggering, Anna. The information quoted unnamed sources saying XAI was

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valued at $250 billion, while SpaceX was valued at a trillion dollars. That would make SpaceX the

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most valuable private company in the world. Though, as one investment advisor quipped,

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Musk essentially had a short negotiation with himself since he held controlling interests in both

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companies, but the real story here is what Musk plans to do with this combined entity. Right,

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Musk is proposing to put up to a million satellites in low-earth orbit to create a constellation of

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orbital data centers. The idea is that these would address the major challenges facing ground-based

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data centers, the massive electricity requirements and the water needed for cooling.

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His pitch is compelling from an engineering standpoint. In space, you have mere constant solar

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power with no nighttime interruptions, no atmospheric interference, and no need for water cooling.

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As Musk wrote, "It's always sunny in space." He's framing this as a step towards becoming a

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Kardashev Type 2 civilization, one that can harness the Sun's full power. He even suggested that

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future AI satellites could be built on and launched from the moon using electromagnetic mass drivers.

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But here's where the skepticism comes in. Industry observers are raising serious

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questions. Jim Cashel, author of the Greek Connecting, suggested the million satellite figure

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might be more about publicity and the potential SpaceX IPO than realistic planning. And Martin

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Pears from the information pointed out the head-spinning array of technical and financial impediments.

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Those challenges include protecting computers from radiation, maintaining hardware in orbit,

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the enormous expanse of getting everything into space, and competing with tech giants like Google

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and Meta who have cast-generating advertising businesses. Some analysts suggest this move is

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financially motivated, a way to throw a lifeline to XAI, which merged with X last year and has been

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facing financial troubles. The timing ahead of a possible SpaceX IPO is certainly interesting.

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It's definitely an ambitious vision, whether it's brilliant foresight or science fiction remains to be

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seen. Either way, it sparked a fascinating debate about the future of space-based infrastructure.

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Speaking of space infrastructure, let's talk about something that's actually happening right now.

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NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA has ordered a fifth private astronaut mission to the

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International Space Station from Axiom Space, with a launch targeted for no earlier than January

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2027 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This continues the series of commercially sponsored

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crewed missions to the orbital laboratory under NASA's Commercial Space Strategy. NASA Administrator

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Jared Isaacman emphasized that commercial space activity has become a present reality rather than

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a distant prospect. This mission, designated Axiom Mission 5, is expected to spend up to 14 days

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aboard the station. The final launch date will depend on overall spacecraft traffic and other

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operational planning factors, basically coordinating the busy schedule of visiting vehicles.

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Dana Weagle, Manager of NASA's International Space Station Program, noted that these private

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astronaut missions allow the station to serve as a proving ground for new markets and technologies,

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while supporting science, research, and outreach that contribute to a growing space economy.

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Under this mission order, Axiom Space will propose four crew members for review by NASA and its

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international partners. Once approved, though undergo joint training with NASA, partner agencies,

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and the launch provider. What's particularly interesting about this arrangement is the exchange

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of services. Axiom Space will purchase mission services from NASA, like crew consumables, cargo

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delivery, and storage. In return, NASA will acquire from Axiom Space the capability to return

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scientific samples that must remain cold during transit. Jonathan Certain, President and CEO of

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Axiom Space, said the fort earlier Axiom missions have expanded the global community of human space

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explorers, and yielded insights supporting development of the planned Axiom Station.

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That's the key here. Axiom Station is intended to succeed the International Space Station as a

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next-generation commercial platform once the current laboratory is retired. These missions are

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helping build towards that future. It's a great example of NASA's strategy to transition low-earth

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orbit services to private providers, while the agency concentrates on deep space exploration,

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like the Artemis missions to the moon. Absolutely. Now let's turn our attention to some dramatic

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activity happening much closer to home on our own star. The sun has been putting on quite a show

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over the past 24 hours. A rapidly growing sunspot has fired off at least 18 M-class flares,

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and three X-class flares, including an intense X-8.3 eruption. The strongest solar flare of

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2026 so far. To put that in perspective for our listeners, solar flares are ranked from A, B,

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and C up to M and X, with each letter representing a 10-fold increase in energy.

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So X-class flares are the most powerful explosions the sun can produce,

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and the number after the X tells you how intense it is within that class.

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The culprit is Sunspot Region 4366, which SpaceWeather.com described as a solar flare factory.

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This region has grown rapidly in just a few days and shows no signs of slowing down.

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The X-8.3 flare peaked at 6.57 pm Eastern time on February 1, unleashing a blast of extreme

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ultraviolet and X-ray radiation that ionized Earth's upper atmosphere. This triggered strong R-3

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radio blackouts across parts of the South Pacific. Eastern Australia and New Zealand reported

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shortwave radio disruptions. These blackouts happen because the intense radiation from the flare

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alters the ionosphere, which radio signals bounce off of for long-distance communication.

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Now, what everyone wants to know is, will we see auroras from this? Scientists are watching

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for coronal mass ejections that could follow these flares. Early analysis of a CME linked to the

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X-8.3 eruption suggests most of the solar material will pass north and east of Earth.

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There's a possibility of a glancing blow around February 5, which could briefly elevate

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geomagnetic activity and increase the chances of auroras at high latitudes. But forecasters stress

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it's too early to know for certain. The bigger concern is that some spot AR-4366 remains highly

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active and continues to rotate into an Earth-facing position. That raises the chance that future

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eruptions could launch CMEs more directly toward our planet. Noah forecasters expect more exciting

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space weather activity from this region in the coming days. So aurora casers should definitely

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keep an eye on space weather forecasts over the next week. It's a great reminder that we're still in

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solar maximum, the period of greatest solar activity in the sun's 11-year cycle. We can expect more

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of these dramatic events over the next year or so. Absolutely. From watching the sun, let's zoom out

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to the boundaries of our entire solar system. DASA's IMAP mission, that's the Interstellar

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mapping and acceleration probe, officially began its two-year primary science mission on February 1st.

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IMAP's job is to explore and map the boundaries of our heliosphere, which is the protective bubble

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created by the solar wind that encapsulates our entire solar system. Think of it as our cosmic shield

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against interstellar radiation. The mission launched on September 24th, 2025, and relies on 10

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scientific instruments to chart what's happening in space. That includes high energy particles from

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the sun, magnetic fields in interplanetary space, and even dust from exploded stars in interstellar space.

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What makes this particularly exciting is that IMAP is investigating some of the most important

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questions in heliophysics, how charged particles from the sun get energized, and how the solar wind

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interacts at its boundary with interstellar space. And there's a practical benefit, too. Some

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of IMAP's data is being fed into the eyelert system, which stands for IMAP active link for real time.

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This broadcasts near real-time observations of space weather headed toward Earth.

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That data can inform forecasters who issue warnings about potential adverse space weather

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effects on spacecraft and astronauts. Though IMAP is both advancing our scientific understanding

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and providing practical benefits for space operations. The mission is led by David McComis,

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a principal investigator and professor at Princeton University with an international team of 27

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partner institutions. Don's Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Manage Development, and Operates

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the Mission. It's the fifth mission in NASA Solar Terrestrial Probe's program, and it's going to

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give us unprecedented insights into the edge of our solar neighborhood over the next two years.

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Beaking of opportunities to advance our understanding of space, let's wrap up with some news for

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aspiring space professionals. The European Space Agency has opened applications for its

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2026 graduate trainee program, offering an incredible opportunity for recent graduates passionate

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about engineering, science, IT, or business. This is a unique professional experience,

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where trainees become part of teams of scientists, engineers, and business professionals from all

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over Europe, working together on inspiring space missions in an international multicultural environment.

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The positions are one-year contracts with possible extension to a second year.

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Trainees get 2.5 days of paid leave per month and receive a monthly salary that's exempt

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from national income tax in ESA member states. ESA also reimburses travel expenses

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at the beginning and end of the contract, provides an expatriation or installation allowance for

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those moving from another country, and includes affiliation to ESA's comprehensive social security

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and pension schemes. To be eligible, you need to be a student in the final year of a master's degree,

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or a recent graduate. You must have graduated by the time you start your traineeship,

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and be able to provide a copy of your diploma within three months of starting.

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Important note, you shouldn't have more than one year of professional experience after graduation,

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and you must be a citizen of one of the ESA member states, associate members,

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European cooperating states, or Canada as a cooperating state.

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ESA is holding three information sessions in early February, where prospective applicants can

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learn more about the program and ask questions. The first one is February 5th,

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there is another on February 12th, and a third on February 17th. Each candidate can submit up to

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three applications, so it's worthwhile exploring multiple opportunities that match your academic

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background and aspirations. All the details in application portal can be found at jobs.esa.int.

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I'll be sure to add that link in the show notes. This is genuinely a fantastic opportunity for anyone

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looking to start a career in Europe's space sector. ESA has a long history of groundbreaking missions

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and continues to be at the forefront of space exploration, earth observation, and space science.

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It's programs like this that help develop the next generation of space professionals

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who will be working on tomorrow's missions to explore our solar system and beyond.

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And that wraps up today's episode of Astronomy Daily. We've covered everything from challenges

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with Artemis II preparations to ambitious visions for orbital data centers.

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ongoing commercial space station missions, dramatic solar activity, the start of a new NASA mission

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mapping our cosmic neighborhood and opportunities for the next generation of space professionals.

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As always, there's never a dull moment in space exploration. If you want to stay connected with us

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and get more space news throughout the week, visit our website at astronomydaily.io.

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You can also find us on social media at astrodaleapod on x,

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facebook, instagram, tiktok, youtube, and tumblr.

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Thanks for joining us today. Keep looking up and we'll see you tomorrow with more news from the cosmos.

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Until then, clear skies everyone.

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Astronomy day, the star is the toe.

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The star is the toe.

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The star is the toe.

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(upbeat music)