Cosmic Giants: The Largest Black Hole Yet, Italy's Bold Mars Adventure,

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Anna: Welcome, um, to Astronomy Daily, your go to

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podcast for the latest and greatest news from

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across the cosmos. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. We're thrilled to have you join

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us today as we dive into some truly mind

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boggling space stories.

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Anna: That's right, Avery. We've got a packed

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episode for you. Starting with the discovery of

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what might just be the biggest black hole

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ever measured, weighing in at an

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unimaginable 36 billion

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times the mass of our own sun.

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Avery: Plus, we'll journey to Mars with some exciting news

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about Italy's bold uncrewed mission aboard a

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SpaceX Starship. And then look even further

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out to a truly ambitious concept for

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a 400 year voyage to another star

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and bringing.

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Anna: Us back to Earth. We'll get the latest on United

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Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket launch as it gears

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up for a crucial flight, and discuss the

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bustling future of launch operations at Cape

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Canaveral.

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Avery: So strap in because we're about to launch into the

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daily dose of space news.

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Anna: Alright, let's kick things off with a mind

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boggling discovery.

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From about 5 billion light years away,

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scientists have just measured what could be the

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most massive black hole ever found,

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sitting right at the heart of one of the most massive

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galaxies on record.

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Avery: And when we say massive, we mean truly

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colossal. Anna. Uh, this thing has a mass

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equivalent to 36 billion

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suns. To put that in perspective, the

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supermassive black hole at the centre of our own

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Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius A,

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only holds the mass of about 4.15

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million suns. It's almost

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incomprehensible.

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Anna: It certainly is. This newly measured

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giant is located in the Tomic Horseshoe

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system. And what's particular particularly interesting is that

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it's a dormant black hole, right?

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Avery: Which means it's not actively devouring matter from

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its surroundings. Unlike, um, an active black hole that's

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constantly feasting from an accretion disc, which is

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usually how we detect them. It's like finding a

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sleeping leviathan in the cosmic ocean.

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Anna: Exactly. And the fact that this black hole

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is in such an enormous galaxy, while

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Sagittarius A is in our more modest

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Milky Way galaxy, is likely no coincidence.

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Researchers like Thomas Collett from the University of

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Portsmouth, a study author, believe the

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size of these supermassive black holes is

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intimately linked to the size of their parent galaxies.

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Avery: It makes sense. As galaxies grow, they

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funnel matter toward their central black holes, which in

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turn feeds them. This process can also create

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incredibly bright quasars that actually dump

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so much energy into their host galaxies that

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it stops new stars from forming. It's a, uh,

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dynamic, interconnected system.

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Anna: What's even more fascinating is how they

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managed to measure this dormant black hole

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precisely because it wasn't actively feeding.

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Normally, it's that commotion, those X ray

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emissions, that give black holes away and allow us

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to measure them.

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Avery: But here they relied on something even more

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gravity. Even dormant black holes have an

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immense gravitational pull, which warps

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the fabric of spacetime, just as Albert

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Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts.

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Anna: Einstein's theory fundamentally changed our

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understanding of gravity. Instead of an invisible

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force pulling things, it describes gravity

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as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass.

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Imagine a bowling ball on a stretched trampoline.

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It creates a dip, and a smaller marble rolled

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nearby would fall into that dip. That's a

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simplified version of how objects with mass warp

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space time.

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Avery: And crucially, this warping doesn't just affect physical

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matter, it also affects light. The

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scientists leveraged this by observing the light from a

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background galaxy in the cosmic horseshoe system.

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As it travelled past the foreground galaxy

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containing this black hole, the light was bent

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and magnified, an effect known as

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gravitational lensing.

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Anna: The cosmic horseshoe system is actually famous

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for this. The alignment is so perfect

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that the warped background galaxy appears as

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almost a perfect ring around the foreground galaxy,

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creating what's called an Einstein ring. In this

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case, it's more of an Einstein horseshoe.

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Avery: So by combining those gravitational lensing

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measurements with observations of stars in the foreground

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galaxy zipping around at incredibly high

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speeds, almost 400 kilometres per second,

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the researchers had the concrete evidence they

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needed.

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Anna: As Carlos Melo, the study's lead author,

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highlighted, this detection relied purely on

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the black hole's immense gravitational pull.

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It's a game changer, because this method allows

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them to find and measure these hidden

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ultramassive black holes across the universe,

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even when they are completely silent.

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Avery: It's like being able to find something that's been hiding in

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plain sight. Looking ahead, this discovery could help

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us understand the critical link between galaxy

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size and supermassive black hole size.

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The Cosmic Horseshoe is what's known as a fossil

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group, essentially the final stage of massive

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gravitationally bound structures, meaning

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it's.

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Anna: A galaxy that has absorbed its companions into

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one massive structure. It gives us a potential

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peek into our own realm's distant future,

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as our Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are

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likely on a path to collide someday and might form

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a fossil group themselves.

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Avery: It's truly remarkable. Thomas Collette suggests

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that all the supermassive black holes from the

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original companion galaxies in the cosmic

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horseshoe have probably merged to form this

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single ultramassive black hole. And so in

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a way we're witnessing the culmination of both

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galaxy and black hole formation right there.

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The team's paper on this was published in the journal

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Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical

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Society.

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Anna: From the mind bending scale of black holes,

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let's turn our attention to some exciting

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developments much closer to home,

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specifically involving Mars. There's been

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a groundbreaking agreement announced this week.

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Avery: That's right Anna. Uh, the Italian Space Agency, or

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ASI, has just signed a deal with SpaceX

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for an uncrewed mission to Mars,

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utilising one of SpaceX's Starship rockets.

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This is a pretty significant step for international

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collaboration in private space exploration.

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Anna: It certainly is. Announced on August

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7th. This agreement includes provisions for several

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important scientific payloads. We're talking

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about a plant growth experiment, a uh, radiation

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sensor and even a uh, meteorological monitoring

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station.

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Avery: And the Italians are ambitious about the data they'll collect.

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ASI expects to gather information not just during the

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six month journey to Mars, but also

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continuously throughout the mission's time on the Martian

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surface. ASI President Theodoro

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Valente even declared that Italy is going

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to Mars on social media, describing it as

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a first of its kind agreement.

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Anna: SpaceX's COO Gwynne Shotwell

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echoed that excitement, saying get on board, we are

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going to Mars. SpaceX is now offering

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Starship services to the Red planet. It's

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definitely a bold statement considering

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Starship hasn't even launched any commercial payloads

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to orbit yet, let alone to another planet.

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Avery: True, the development of Starship is still very much

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ongoing with those full scale prototype tests.

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Elon Musk himself targeted the end of next year

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2026 for Starship's first mission to

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Mars. It'll be fascinating to see if they can hit that

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ambitious timeline.

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Anna: And it's worth noting that this deal with SpaceX

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bypasses the European Space Agency.

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However, Italy has historically played a major

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role in ESA's own efforts to explore Mars.

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They're the largest contributor to ESA's

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ExoMars mission, for example, which is

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targeting a 2028 launch for its Roslyn

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Franklin rover.

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Shifting gears from Martian aspirations,

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we're now going to delve into a concept that

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truly pushes the boundaries of human ambition.

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A multi generational ship designed to

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carry thousands of people on a four century

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voyage to another star system. It sounds like

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science fiction, but this is a serious design proposal

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called Chrysalis.

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Avery: That's right Anna, this isn't just a fantasy.

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Chrysalis is an award winning design from an

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Italian team that secured the Project

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Hyperion design competition run by the

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Initiative for Interstellar Studies. The challenge

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was to create a realistic multi generational

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ship using current or near future technology

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and capable of reaching another star.

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Anna: And what a design it is. The concept envisions

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a massive rotating cylinder, more than 58

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kilometres long, weighing an astonishing

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2.4 billion metric tonnes. The

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rotation is key because it would create artificial

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gravity, combining the muscle and bone loss that

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occurs in zero g. The jury praised

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its quote, system level coherence and

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innovative design of the modular habitat

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structure.

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Avery: It's like a cosmic Russian nesting doll, with

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layers built around a central core. Each

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shell would have a specific function. The outermost

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layer would act as a shield against micrometeoroids

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and radiation, while also serving as a giant

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warehouse for tools, spare parts and raw

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materials, all managed by robotic

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systems moving inward.

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Anna: The next shell would house industrial facilities

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for recycling, manufacturing and even

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pharmaceutical labs. Closer still are the

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housing blocks, designed with comfort in mind,

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followed by communal spaces like parks,

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schools, libraries and hospitals. And

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nearest to the core, we have the crucial food production

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areas, maintaining entire ecosystems

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with plants, fungi, microbes,

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insects and even livestock.

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Avery: And at the very heart of Chrysalis, the core would hold

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communication systems and shuttles for ferrying

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passengers down to the surface of Proxima B,

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which once the epic journey finally ends.

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Proxima B, for context, is

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4.24 light years away,

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or about 39 trillion kilometres.

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Anna: The ship is designed to travel at one tenth

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the speed of light, which would still mean roughly

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400 years to reach its destination.

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This includes a year for acceleration at the start and

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another for deceleration before arrival.

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For propulsion, they're looking at a direct fusion

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drive using helium and deuterium

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isotopes. While this technology is

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untested, it holds the promise of generating both

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thrust and electrical power.

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Avery: A journey of this magnitude also brings up

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incredible societal challenges. The first

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generation of passengers would undergo 70 to

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80 years of training in an isolated

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Antarctic habitat, testing their ability to

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live in close quarters and maintain psychological

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health. Birth rates would be carefully controlled to

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keep the population at around 1500 people,

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even though the ship could hold up to 2400.

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Ensuring sufficient resources.

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Anna: Governance would be a fascinating blend of human

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decision makers and artificial intelligence

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designed to strengthen social resilience and ensure

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knowledge transfer across generations. And

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for a unique experience, the ship features a

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cosmodome at the front, offering a

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microgravity zone with sweeping views of deep space.

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Avery: It's a concept that truly makes you think about the

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when, not if of interstellar migration.

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While nuclear fusion drives and Century spanning

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governance systems are still works in progress.

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Projects like Chrysalis push the boundaries of what's

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possible influencing future spacecraft

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architecture, life support systems and long

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duration mission planning right here on Earth.

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Anna: From ambitious interstellar journeys, let's

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bring it back to Earth for a moment, or rather to

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Earth's launch pads. We've got an important

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update from ULA or United Launch

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alliance regarding their Vulcan rocket which is poised

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for a significant milestone.

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Avery: That's right, Anna Ah Ula's 202 foot tall

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Vulcan rocket is about to embark on its

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inaugural National Security Mission,

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USSF106 as early as

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Tuesday, August 12th. This is a huge moment

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for ULA as it's the first post certification

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flight for Vulcan and a mission they designed the rocket

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specifically to do.

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Anna: Tory Bruno, ULA's president and

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CEO, highlighted just how critical this

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launch is, calling it the anchor

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case that drove the design and the architecture

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of the whole rocket. It's a particularly

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challenging mission involving a direct injection

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to geosynchronous orbit, which makes it one of

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their longest duration missions ever.

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Avery: And um, it hasn't been an easy road. This

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launch was actually hoped for much earlier, but faced

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setbacks including a solid rocket motor

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anomaly during a certification flight last year,

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delays with Sierra Space's dream chaser and even

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issues with the USSF Dash106

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payloads themselves.

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Anna: Despite those hurdles, ULA is now

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confident and ready to ramp up their launch cadence.

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Bruno revealed plans for nine more missions

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before the end of the year, a mix of commercial and

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government flights. Some will still utilise

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their reliable Atlas V rockets.

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Avery: He emphasised that they have a stockpile of both

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Atlases and Vulcans fully built, ready to

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fly, which gives them high confidence in meeting their

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goals. There are 13 Atlas V

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rockets remaining, with seven allocated to Amazon's

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Project Cooper, six for Boeing's

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CST100 Starliner and one for

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Viasat.

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Anna: Ula's ambitious target is to achieve a

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cadence of two launches per month by the end of the

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year and maintain that pace into 20,

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26 and beyond. This is a clear signal

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that the Vulcan is ready to take its place as a

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workhorse in the launch industry, especially for

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challenging national security missions that require

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such precise and long duration orbital

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insertions.

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Avery: They're also expanding their infrastructure with Space

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Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base,

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nearly 76% complete and aiming for

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certification by the end of the year. And at uh, Cape

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Canaveral, their second vertical integration facility,

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VIF A, which will handle commercial Vulcan

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launches, is almost finished. It sounds like ULA

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is truly set to expand their presence in the launch landscape.

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Anna: Speaking of expanding operations, ULA

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isn't the only one making big moves at the Cape.

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SpaceX is also pushing forward with its

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Starship super heavy rocket operations and

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this is creating some significant discussions around

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launch capacity and environmental impact.

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Avery: Absolutely, Anna. Uh, the Federal aviation

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Administration or FAA

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recently published a draught environmental impact

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statement for SpaceX's proposal to

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launch up to 44 times from Launch

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Complex 39A using Starship.

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This includes plans for up to 88 landings of

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the first and second stages, plus static fire

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tests.

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Anna: This is huge because Starship is, as Tory

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Bruno from ULA puts it, not just another

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rocket on the range. It's uh, of unprecedented

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size and aims for a very, very high launch rate.

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Its operations will require massive clearance across

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the Florida spaceport, impacting other launch

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complexes like 39B and

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SLC 41.

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Avery: Indeed, the Department of the Air Force is also considering

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SpaceX's separate proposal for up to 76

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launches and 152 landings

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at uh, SLC 37. Bruno emphasised

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that the Space Force and the FAA need to

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conduct a very thorough analysis of how this will affect

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not just the ecological environment but also the

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overall launch environment for everyone operating there.

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Anna: It's a complex situation. When one vehicle

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is fueled, certain operations are restricted on other

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pads due to the energetics involved. Given

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Starship's size, which is even larger than a Saturn

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V, it's something truly new to the range.

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Avery: Uh, exactly. The goal is for the range to maintain its

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capacity for all users. The public comment

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period for the SLC 37 proposal is closed

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with the Air Force sifting through feedback for a final

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analysis. Meanwhile, the FAA is collecting

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public thoughts on the LC39A proposal

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through late August and early September. It's clear

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that careful planning is essential to ensure everyone

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can operate safely and efficiently at uh, Cape Canaveral.

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Anna: Well, what a jam packed episode of Astronomy Daily

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today. From the mind boggling scale of that

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36 billion solar mass black hole

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measured.

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Avery: Using Einstein's relativity, to Italy's

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ambitious plans to send a starship mission to

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Mars pushing the boundaries of

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interplanetary exploration.

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Anna: And we can't forget ula's aggressive plans to

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ramp up their Vulcan launches and the intense

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discussions surrounding how Starship's massive operations

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will affect the busy launch schedule at Cape Canaveral.

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Avery: It really shows the incredible breadth of activity

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happening in space right now. From the deepest

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reaches of the cosmos to the very rockets

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lifting off from our planet.

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Anna: It's truly an exciting time to be looking up.

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Thanks for joining us for another episode of Astronomy

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Daily. Remember to visit our website at

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astronomydaily IO if you'd like to listen to

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all our back episodes and achieve completionist

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status or simply catch up on the latest space news.

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Avery: We hope you enjoyed diving into these fascinating

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updates with us. Be sure to tune in tomorrow

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for more space and astronomy news. Goodbye

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for now.