Earth's Magnetic Field Breakthrough, Farewell to a Space Legend, and NASA's New Commercial Station Strategy

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Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dive

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into the cosmos and the latest headlines from across

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the universe. I'm Avery.

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Anna: And I'm Anna. We're so glad you could join

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us today for another fascinating look at what's happening

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out there. We've got a great show for you

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covering some truly groundbreaking discoveries.

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Avery: Absolutely. Today we're going to explore some

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amazing new research that might have finally solved the

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mystery of, of how Earth's protective magnetic

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field formed billions of years ago.

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It's a story that reshapes our understanding of early

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Earth.

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Anna: We'll also be bidding a fond farewell to a

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remarkable individual, NASA astronaut

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Barry Butch Wilmore, who is retiring after

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a quarter century of dedicated service.

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His career is truly inspiring.

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Avery: Plus, we'll dive into some big news from NASA

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as they shake up their plans for commercial space

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stations. Looking ahead to a post ISS

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era, it's a bold new strategy with some

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significant implications for the future of human presence in

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low Earth orbit.

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Anna: And finally, we'll head out to Jupiter's icy

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moon Europa, where scientists may have just

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cracked a long standing mystery about the

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bizarre distribution of hydrogen peroxide on

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its surface. Stick around for all that and more

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right here on Astronomy Daily.

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Avery: All right, Anna, let's kick things off with a story that

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truly reshapes our understanding of our own

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planet. Specifically its incredibly important

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magnetic field. It's a shield that we often

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take for granted, protecting us from harmful cosmic

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radiation.

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Anna: It's fascinating, isn't it? Uh, without it,

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Earth could end up like Mars, losing its atmosphere

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and becoming a very hostile place for life.

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Our planet has maintained this critical defense system

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for billions of years. But the big

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question has always been, how did it form?

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Especially when Earth was much younger.

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Avery: Exactly. And that's where new research from

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scientists at ETH Zurich and the

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Southern University of Science and Technology in China

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come in. They've provided answers that

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fundamentally reshaped our understanding of early

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Earth.

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Anna: So the long understood theory for Earth's

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magnetic field is what's called the dynamo

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effect. It basically describes how the

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liquid iron and nickel core deep inside

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our planet slowly cools over time.

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This cooling creates circular currents of flowing

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metal called convection currents. As Earth

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rotates, these currents twist into screw like

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patterns, generating electric currents that in

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turn produce our magnetic field.

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Avery: That's the basic mechanism. But there was always this

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significant gap in the theory. About 1

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billion years ago, Earth's inner core began to

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crystallize and solidify. Before that,

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the entire core was completely liquid.

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The big question was whether a completely liquid core

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could have generated the magnetic field. Necessary to

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protect early life. It seemed like a critical

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missing piece of the puzzle.

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Anna: And this new research seems to have filled that

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gap. The team developed sophisticated

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computer models to simulate whether a

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completely liquid core could generate a stable

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magnetic field. What's really impressive is

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they managed to minimize the influence of the Earth's

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core viscosity to negligible levels,

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which previous research hadn't achieved.

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Avery: And the results were conclusive. Their

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simulations demonstrated that Earth's magnetic field

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could indeed have been generated billions of years ago

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in much the same way it operates today. Lead

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author Yu Feng Lin from the Southern University of

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Science and Technology in China even stated,

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until now, no one has ever managed to perform

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such calculations under these correct physical

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conditions. This is huge. It has far

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reaching implications for our understanding of how life

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developed on Earth. Billions of years ago.

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Life apparently benefited from this magnetic shield,

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which blocked harmful radiation from space,

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Making its development possible in the first place.

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Without this protection, the intense radiation would have

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made Earth's surface far too hostile for the delicate

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chemical processes that eventually led to living

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organisms. It really gave life a head start,

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creating a safer environment where complex

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molecules could form and evolve without constant

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disruption from high energy particles. And it's

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not just about ancient history, is it? Understanding

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Earth's magnetic field is crucial for our modern

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world.

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Anna: Absolutely. Our GPS systems, power

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grids, and communication networks all depend on

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this invisible shield. And we know the field has

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flipped its polarity Thousands of times Throughout

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Earth's history. And scientists have recently

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observed Rapid shifts in magnetic north's position.

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So gaining a better understanding of how the magnetic

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field works can help researchers make more accurate

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predictions about future changes and potential

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flips that might affect our technology dependent

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society.

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Avery: It just goes to show how interconnected

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everything is, from the deep core of our

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planet, to the technology in our pockets,

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and all the way back to the very origins of life.

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Uh, a truly fundamental piece of research.

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Anna: Speaking of incredible individuals and their

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contributions, we have some news from the world of

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human spaceflight that marks the end of an era for

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a dedicated astronaut. Barry Butch

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Wilmore is officially leaving NASA after a

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quarter century of service.

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Avery: 25 years is a remarkable career.

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Wilmore joined the astronaut Corps in 2000

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and has truly left his mark. He's flown on four

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different spacecraft and spent a total of

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464 days off Earth. That's an

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incredible amount of time in space.

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Anna: It really is. And during his time, he also

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conducted five spacewalks, racking up

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an impressive 32 hours outside a

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spacecraft. Steve Corner, the acting director of

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NASA's Johnson Space center praised him,

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saying, Butch's commitment to NASA's mission and

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dedication to human space exploration is

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truly exemplary.

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Avery: He certainly had a distinguished career before NASA

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too, serving as a captain and test pilot in the

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US Navy with both peacetime and wartime

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operational experience. His spaceflight career

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began with the STS129 mission to the

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International Space Station aboard the space Shuttle

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Atlantis in November 2009, right?

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Anna: And he also had a long duration stay on the ISS

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from September 2014 to March 2015,

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traveling there and back on a Russian Soyuz

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spacecraft. But perhaps his most talked about

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recent mission was in June of 2024

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when he returned to the orbiting lab on the first ever

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crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner

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Astronaut Taxi alongside Suni Williams.

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Avery: That mission was quite the saga, wasn't it?

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It was originally supposed to last about 10 days, but

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Starliner experienced thruster issues on the way

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up. This led NASA and Boeing to extend the

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capsule's stay on the ISS to.

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Anna: Study the problem, and ultimately NASA decided

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to bring Starliner home uncrewed. So

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Wilmore and Williams continued living aboard the ISS

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for an extended period, eventually returning to

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Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in March of

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this year as part of the Crew 9 mission. It

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was an unexpected end to a flight for sure, but they

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handled it.

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Avery: With professionalism absolutely well. The NASA

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statement didn't specify what Wilmore plans to do next.

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It wouldn't be surprising if he remained connected to

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spaceflight in some capacity. He shared a

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powerful reflection, saying, from my earliest

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days I have been captivated by the marvels of

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creation, looking upward with an

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insatiable curiosity. This

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curiosity propelled me into the skies and eventually

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to space, where the magnificence of the cosmos

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mirrored the glory of its creator in ways words

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scarcely convey.

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Anna: What a beautiful sentiment. It highlights the

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profound impact space exploration has on those who

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experience it firsthand. His retirement

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follows closely on the heels of fellow astronaut Kate

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Rubins, who also left NASA recently.

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We wish Butch Wilmore all the best in his next chapter.

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Avery: Well, from one significant space development to another,

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we need to talk about the International Space Station,

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because it's the orbiting date is fast approaching,

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estimated to be about five years from now, and

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NASA is making some pretty bold moves to prepare for what

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comes next.

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Anna: That's right, Avery. The ISS is the largest

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object humans have ever built in space,

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and it's set to be pushed out of orbit and into the Pacific

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Ocean. This raises a critical

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what happens after that? China's Tiangong

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Space Station will still be operational, but

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NASA faces a serious risk of losing its

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continuous presence in low Earth orbit.

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Avery: NASA recognized this challenge years ago, awarding around

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$500 million to four companies to

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start developing commercial space stations to fill that

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void. However, there have been concerns about

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whether any of these replacements will actually be ready by

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the time the ISS is deorbit it.

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Anna: And that's exactly what NASA's Acting Administrator

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Sean Duffy addressed recently. He signed a new

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directive on commercial space stations

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stating that to meet the goals within the proposed budget,

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a modification to the current approach for low

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Earth orbit platforms is required. In

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short, the strategy must be altered.

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Avery: This is a pretty big shakeup. NASA's previous plan

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involved a request for proposals early next year

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which would have selected one or two companies for

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assembly and certification. But according to

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Duffy's directive, there's a significant budget

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shortfall, up to $4 billion less than

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what was anticipated for this program. The President's

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budget request only included

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$273.3 million

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for fiscal year 2026 and

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$2.1 billion over the next five years.

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Anna: So because of these shortcomings, the new

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directive introduces some substantial changes to the

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commercial low Earth orbit destinations program.

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Instead of moving to a firm fixed price contract,

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NASA will extend the current program of Space act

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agreements with multiple Elizabeth.

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Avery: That means a full and open competition for

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interested companies to receive these agreements, with

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NASA aiming to award a minimum of two and

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preferably three providers within six months of the formal

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announcement. This allows companies more leeway in

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design compared to stricter federal acquisition

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regulations.

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Anna: Another key change is that formal design

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acceptance and certification will shift from

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this Space act agreement phase to a follow on

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certification phase. Companies won't get certified

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until after they fly. Plus, at

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least 25% of milestone funding will be

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withheld until after a successful

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crewed demonstration of a space station in

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orbit.

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Avery: And perhaps most notably, they've lowered the minimum

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capability NASA is seeking. Originally they

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wanted full operational capability. Now the

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minimum required is 4 crew for one month

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increments. This is a significant reduction,

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but it aims to give companies a better chance to

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develop operational space stations by 2030.

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Anna: Phil McAllister, who previously directed NASA's

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Commercial Space division, commented on this, saying,

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how was NASA's previous strategy for commercial

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stations going to work when they lost close to a third

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of their budget? They had no chance. This

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gives them a chance. It makes a lot of sense given

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the budget realities.

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Avery: This directive also seems to favor certain

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companies over others because, for instance,

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Vast's Haven one module designed for four

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astronauts for two weeks fits well with the

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new minimum requirements They've also been developing

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their station without government money, betting on a

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minimum viable product approach.

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Anna: Whereas the other initial contractors like

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Blue Origin, Axiom Space and Voyager Space

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had been planning larger, more permanent

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stations, now they'll likely need to

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pivot their configurations to meet these

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new, more immediate goals. With one industry

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official put it quite bluntly, only Haven

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one can succeed in this environment.

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Avery: It's a pragmatic shift, prioritizing, achieving

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some form of continuous human presence in

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low Earth orbit, even if it's initially on

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smaller interim stations over waiting for

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larger, more expensive facilities that might not

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materialize. Given the budget constraints, it's a

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testament to how quickly things can change in space

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exploration.

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Anna: Funding from Earth's magnetic shield and

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ISS shakeups.

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Let's turn our attention to one of the most

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intriguing moons in our solar system,

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Jupiter's Europa. Scientists at the

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Southwest Research Institute may have just

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solved a long standing mystery about its surface

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chemistry, which has huge implications for its

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potential habitability.

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Avery: That's right, Ana uh. Europa's surface has a

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puzzling presence of frozen hydrogen

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peroxide. What was really

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surprising was that James Webb Telesco

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observations revealed unexpectedly high

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concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in

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Europa's warmer equatorial regions,

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particularly an area known as Tara Regio.

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This completely contradicted earlier lab studies

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which predicted it would be more abundant in colder

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polar zones.

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Anna: So Berekit Mamo, a graduate student at the

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University of Texas at San Antonio and a

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contractor with swrit, proposed a

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NASA funded study to investigate this.

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They designed lab experiments to replicate

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Europa's environment, observing that the areas with

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increased hydrogen peroxide also had

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higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, or

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CO2. Scientists suspect this

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CO2 might be escaping from a

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subsurface liquid ocean through fractures

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in the ice.

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Avery: And here's the breakthrough. Mamo and his team

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simulated Europa's surface inside a vacuum

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chamber by depositing water ice ice mixed with

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carbon dioxide. They then irradiated this

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ice mixture with energetic electrons. Their

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experiments showed that even small concentrations of

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carbon dioxide mixed with water ice can

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greatly increase the formation of hydrogen

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peroxide under temperature conditions similar to

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Europa's surface temperatures. This finding

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helps clarify those unexpected JWST

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observations.

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Anna: The implications for Europa's habitability are

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profoundly. Dr. Udwal Raut, a UH

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program manager at SwRI and Mamo's

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advisor, explained that the presence of hydrogen

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peroxide alongside carbon dioxide,

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sodium chloride and other compounds

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indicates a chemical cycle. Materials from

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Europa's subsurface ocean rise to the

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surface, become irradiated and form

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oxidants like hydrogen peroxide.

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Avery: Over geological timescales, These

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oxidants could then return to the ocean and react

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with seafloor reductants, releasing chemical

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energy that might help sustain life. As

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Richard Cartwright from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics

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Laboratory put it, synthesis of oxidants like

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hydrogen peroxide on Europa's surface is important

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from an astrobiological point of view.

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Anna: Indeed, this research provides

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crucial clues for understanding

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JWST's Europa observations

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and serves as a prelude to upcoming

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close range investigations by NASA's Europa

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Clipper, which is already en route, and

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ESA's spacecraft. Dr. Ben

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Tilas, another co author, emphasized that

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when you combine a source of carbon from the interior,

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like Europa's ocean, with energy from the

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magnetosphere, it produces new species

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on the surface that store chemical energy, A,

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uh, necessary ingredient for dark, habitable

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ocean worlds where the sun doesn't shine.

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Avery: It's a fantastic example of how lab

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experiments on Earth can unlock mysteries on

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distant worlds, further bolstering Europa's

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status as one of the prime candidates for

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extraterrestrial life in our solar system. And it's

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not just Europa. These findings could also

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explain hydrogen peroxide on other icy

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bodies like Jupiter's moon Ganymede and

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Pluto's moon Charon, where it's also been detected

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with CO2.

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And that brings us to the end of another fascinating

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episode of Astronomy Daily Today.

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We've journeyed from solving the ancient mystery of

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Earth's magnetic shield and and its vital role in

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fostering life to bidding farewell to

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NASA veteran astronaut Butch Wilmore after his

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remarkable 25 year career.

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Anna: We also delved into NASA's significant

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strategy shift for future commercial space stations,

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aiming to secure a continued human presence in low

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Earth orbit as the ISS era draws to a

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close. And finally, we uncovered how lab

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experiments might have solved the puzzling hydrogen

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peroxide distribution on Jupiter's moon Europa,

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shedding more light on its potential for life.

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Avery: Thank you for joining us on Astronomy Daily. We hope you

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enjoyed our dive into the cosmos.

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Anna: We'll be back tomorrow with more exciting updates from across

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the universe. Until then, keep looking up.