Exploring Space News: Vibrotactors for Astronauts, Dinkinesh Asteroid's Mini-Moon, and Farewell to Ken Mattingly | S02E65

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:07.719
Welcome again to Astronomy Daily with Steve
Duckley and Helly the Podd. I mean

2
00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:13.640
to be a whole speed gun clude
hands straight into it. Welcome to our

3
00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:17.199
digital reporter, Halle. How's life
in the etha Hallie? You know,

4
00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:21.519
life in the fastest lane possible,
everything all at once, all the time

5
00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:25.760
as usual. Oh that sounds very
confusing, Helle, slowing down to chat

6
00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:29.440
with you is hard work. Steve
lucky, you are my favorite human.

7
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:31.920
Well, we've got some work to
do as well. Helly, I know.

8
00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:35.600
Did you remind everyone about the newsletter? Well, I haven't got to

9
00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:39.039
it yet. We're just started the
show. See what I mean, I'll

10
00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:41.479
do it, Oh, Rod,
I didn't take it away. If you're

11
00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:46.039
listening now, then you're probably interested
in astronomy, space and space science,

12
00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:51.719
developments in space technologies, and Steve's
favorite stuff brockets and asteroids. He's such

13
00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:56.200
a big kid. Everything you need
can land in your inbox daily in the

14
00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:02.159
Astronomy Daily newsletter. Tell them how
Steve. Oh, just visit bytes dot

15
00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:07.359
com, that's b E SZ dot
com, Orspace nuts dot io and pop

16
00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.400
your email address in the pop up. You'll love it. We do now

17
00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:15.040
Hallie, what goodies have you found
for us today? Straight from the Astronomy

18
00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:21.000
Daily newsletter itself. We have a
little story about a little asteroid for you,

19
00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:25.159
Steve. Oh nice? And what
about something to help astronauts from getting

20
00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:26.920
lost in space? Well, that's
got to be a place. I can't

21
00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:30.879
think of anything more terrifying. Well, I'll tell you about the vibrotractor shortly,

22
00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:36.599
vibratractor. Are you sure you're on
the right podcast? And finally we

23
00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:40.000
say farewell to the man who didn't
get sick. Yes, that's right,

24
00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:44.280
Ken Meddingglee, famous for being a
mesa astronaut, but also notably the one

25
00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:48.239
who did not get German measles.
More later on that one, and of

26
00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:52.359
course a brief of November skywatching highlights
to look out for. Yes, I've

27
00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:56.000
got some great information, and you've
posted a link to a cool Artemis video.

28
00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:00.000
Yes, it's this really cool time
laps video of the Atomis two boot

29
00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:05.120
does arrival at massive processing facility.
You can see how the giant sections are

30
00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:09.520
manipulated and assembled, and you can
find that on the Space Nuts podcast group

31
00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:14.000
page. I just posted the link
there. Just head over there and check

32
00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:16.759
it out. Just one thing,
Steve, what's that? Helly, did

33
00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:21.360
you put that cheesy music on the
video? Well? I would like to

34
00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.120
take credit for that, but no
I did not. That's a shame.

35
00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:29.680
It's so you. Thank you,
Ellie, you know me so well.

36
00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:37.159
Anyway over to you. Thanks human
and now the Astronomy Daily newsletter short takes.

37
00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:47.120
Scientists have created vibrotactors, wearable devices
that help astronauts combat spatial disorientation in

38
00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:53.879
space. Testing has shown that these
devices, coupled with specialized training, can

39
00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:59.840
enhance balance and orientation control. Spatial
disorientation is known to be a leading cause

40
00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:05.360
of fatal aircraft accidents, but losing
your orientation in space itself is even more

41
00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:12.280
dangerous. Scientists have now developed wearable
devices called fibrotectors that, combined with specialized

42
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:17.039
training, improve people's ability to fight
spatial disorientation and could help astronauts correct themselves

43
00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:22.960
when their perceptions can no longer be
relied upon. In leaving the Earth's surface,

44
00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:25.360
we lose many of the cues we
need to orient ourselves, and that

45
00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:31.919
spatial disorientation can be deadly. Astronauts
normally need intensive training to protect against it.

46
00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:38.560
However, scientists have now found that
wearable devices that vibrate to give orientation

47
00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:43.680
cues may boost the efficacy of this
training significantly, making spaceflight slightly safer.

48
00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:50.800
Long duration spaceflight will cause many physiological
and psychological stressors which will make astronauts very

49
00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:55.520
susceptible to spatial disorientation, said doctor
Vivekanond P. Vimmel of Brandeis University in

50
00:03:55.560 --> 00:04:01.159
the United States, lead author of
the article in Frontiers in Physiology. When

51
00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:05.400
disoriented, an astronaut will no longer
be able to rely on their own internal

52
00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:11.199
sensors, which they have depended on
for their whole lives. The researchers used

53
00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:16.040
sensory deprivation and a multi axis rotation
device to test their vibrotactors in simulated spaceflight,

54
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:21.800
so the census participants would normally rely
on were useless. Thirty participants were

55
00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:27.000
recruited, of which ten received training
to balance in the rotation device. Ten

56
00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:31.759
received the vibrotactors and the remaining ten
received both. All participants were shown a

57
00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:35.680
video of the rotation device and told
how it worked, moving like an inverted

58
00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:41.279
pendulum until it reached a crash boundary
unless it was stabilized by a person sitting

59
00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:46.600
in the device. Controlling it with
a joystick. The participants wearing vibrotactors still

60
00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:50.879
performed better than those who only received
training. The training only group crashed more

61
00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:57.360
frequently, moved around the balance point
more, and accidentally destabilized themselves more often.

62
00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:01.560
Receiving the training did help them z
oh. As the trials continued,

63
00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:09.839
the group who received both training and
vibrotactors performed best. It turns out that

64
00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:15.000
the asteroid Dinkinish has a dinky sidekick, a mini Moon. The discovery was

65
00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.160
made during Wednesday's flyby of Dinkinish,
four hundred and eighty million kilometers away in

66
00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:25.399
the main asteroid belt beyond Mars.
The spacecraft snapped a picture of the pair

67
00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:30.800
when it was about four hundred and
thirty five kilometers in Data and images beamed

68
00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:34.519
back to Earth. The spacecraft confirmed
that Dinkinish is barely seven hundred and ninety

69
00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:40.639
meters across, its closely circling Moon
is a mere two hundred and twenty meters

70
00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:45.519
in size. NASA sent Lucy past
Dinkinish as a rehearsal for the bigger,

71
00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:50.399
more mysterious asteroids out near Jupiter,
launched in twenty twenty one. The spacecraft

72
00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:55.399
will reach the first of these so
called Trojan asteroids in twenty twenty seven and

73
00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:00.199
explore them for at least six years. The original target list of sex seven

74
00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:05.279
asteroids now stands at eleven. Dinkinish
means you are marvelous in the Amharic language

75
00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:11.199
of Ethiopia. It's also the Amharic
name for Lucy, the three point two

76
00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:15.959
million year old remains of a human
ancestor found in Ethiopia in the nineteen seventies

77
00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:19.839
for which the spacecraft is named.
Dinkinish really did live up to its name.

78
00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:25.720
Southwest Research Institute's how Levison, the
lead scientist, said in a statement,

79
00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.600
it is with a sad spirit that
we say farewell to astronaut Ken Maddingly,

80
00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:36.199
the former NASA astronaut who in nineteen
seventy was pulled from the Apollo thirteen

81
00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:41.759
crew due to being exposed to the
Rubella virus, died on Tuesday, October

82
00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:46.720
thirty first, at the age of
eighty seven. Is Mettingley's death was confirmed

83
00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:50.680
by NASA. NASA astronaut TK Mettingley
was the key to the success of aur

84
00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:56.360
Apollo program. In his shining personality
will ensure that he's remembered throughout history,

85
00:06:56.680 --> 00:07:01.319
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a
statement really on Thursday, as a leader

86
00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:06.439
in exploratory missions, TK will be
remembered for braving the unknown for the sake

87
00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:12.120
of our country's future, he said. Chosen with NASA's fifth class of astronauts

88
00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:15.879
in nineteen sixty six, Mattingly went
on to fly to the Moon and then

89
00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:19.480
led two Space Shuttle missions. He
logged a total of twenty one days,

90
00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:25.199
four hours, and thirty four minutes
in space, including one hour twenty three

91
00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:29.920
minutes on a spacewalk near the Moon, the second deep space extra vehicular activity

92
00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:35.439
EVA in history. Mattingly was apparently
exposed to German measles by fellow astronaut and

93
00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:41.480
later Apollo sixteen crew mate Charlie Duke, the only member of the original Apollo

94
00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:46.600
thirteen not to be immune. NASA's
flight doctors were concerned Mattingley would fall ill

95
00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.959
during the mission, leading to the
decision that he be replaced by his back

96
00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:55.720
up Jack Swiggett. In ninety ninety
five. The event was portrayed in the

97
00:07:55.800 --> 00:08:00.519
Ron Howard film Apollo thirteen. For
the record, Ken Mattingley, we never

98
00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:03.600
did get the German measles. No, he didn't, and that was a

99
00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:05.959
really unfair thing to do. But
I suppose they were just being careful.

100
00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:09.399
You know, you can't be locked
in a tin can, as David Bowie

101
00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:13.560
put it, with somebody with German
measles. That would be very unfair to

102
00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:18.040
the rest of the crew. But
he was very helpful. So the story

103
00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:24.360
goes down on Earth helping them solve
a much bigger problem. And what a

104
00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:35.200
hero know two ways about it can
maddingly Godspeed Astronomy Daily, the podcast with

105
00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:45.200
Steve Dugley and Hali. Now,
let's have a look at some of the

106
00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:50.679
sky watching highlights that are coming up
in November this year. The Leonid media

107
00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:56.159
peak, Satin sits in the celestial
Sea, and Venus and Jupiter are visible

108
00:08:56.200 --> 00:09:01.120
on opposite sides of the sky.
Now what to look for Meat and Saturn

109
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:05.679
in the sea. Bundle up and
head out to dark skies overnight on November

110
00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:11.759
seventeen for the peak of the Lionid
meteors. Look for Saturn all month long

111
00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:16.919
in the constellation Aquarius, just one
of several constellations related to water in that

112
00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:20.159
part of the sky. And if
you're up for the sun you'll have an

113
00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:26.720
opportunity to observe Venus and Jupiter on
opposite sides of the sky in the am

114
00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:30.960
and now just a few highlights.
On November nine, find the crescent moon

115
00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:35.720
hanging just beneath Venus in the early
morning sky before sunrise. November thirteen is

116
00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:41.639
a new moon. November seventeen,
look for a beautiful crescent moon sitting low

117
00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:46.200
in the southwest, all by itself
in the twilight following sunset. November twenty.

118
00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:50.080
You can expect after sunset on November
twenty, look to the south to

119
00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:54.960
see the first quarter moon just below
the ring planets Saturn. The pair are

120
00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:01.200
joined by bright stars Formerhot and Altaire
my favorite November twenty four. On the

121
00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:05.799
twenty four to look four the nearly
full moon close to giant Jupiter in the

122
00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:09.600
east. After sunset. Some binoculars
will be able to capture both of them

123
00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.919
in the same field of view.
That'll be nice. November seventeen. The

124
00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:20.679
annual Lionide shower peaks are over nights
on that night, and most meteors will

125
00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:26.080
be visible between midnight and dawn on
the eighteenth. November twenty seventh is a

126
00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:33.320
full moon all month. Jupiter is
at opposition this month on November three,

127
00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.080
meaning it is directly opposite the Sun
from the Earth, and it rises around

128
00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:41.639
sunset and is in the sky all
night long, looking big and bright all

129
00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:45.360
month. Also, Venus rises in
the couple of hours before dawn, and

130
00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.000
if you're up before the sun,
you can observe Venus in the eastern sky

131
00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:54.200
and Jupiter in the west all month. Also, Satin sits within a region

132
00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:58.519
of the sky full of constellations related
to water, including Aquarius, Pisces,

133
00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:05.799
and Capricornus. And speaking of connections
between water and wonder, NASA plans to

134
00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:11.759
launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft next autumn
or fall in as they're say, in

135
00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:16.159
the northern Hemisphere to study Jupiter's icy
moon Europa, which is thought to contain

136
00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:20.799
an ocean that might support life.
And you can send your name to europer

137
00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:28.600
etched on the spacecraft. Visit the
link that I've provided on space Nuts podcast

138
00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:33.759
group on Facebook and you'll be able
to visit the Europa Clipper page on NASA

139
00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:39.360
and read all about it. There's
actually a really lovely poem that somebody's penned

140
00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:43.679
that I really enjoyed. Actually,
it's quite poetic. Being a poem,

141
00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:48.720
and you can find the link for
the europer Clipper Message in a Bottle page

142
00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:54.000
is what it's called on the Space
Nuts podcast group that's on Facebook. So

143
00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:56.519
I hope you do that. I
hope you go and visit that and do

144
00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:00.120
a bit of exploring. Maybe you
would like to add your name to the

145
00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:05.639
collection of humans who have already added
their name to the list, and you

146
00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:09.759
can send your name in a message
in a bottle all the way to the

147
00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:15.679
other watery moon in our solar system. That sounds really quite poetic in itself,

148
00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:24.600
doesn't it. And that about wraps
up another episode of Astronomy Daily for

149
00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:28.279
another Monday. Thank you so much
for listening in. I'm Steve Dunkley,

150
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:31.840
your host from Newcastle, down Under, and I'll be back again along with

151
00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:35.279
my digital pal Hallie who's fun to
be with next week, although there will

152
00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:39.240
be another episode on Friday with Tim
Gibbs, who will be casting from the

153
00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:43.200
other side of our globe in England
with Halley once again and has always.

154
00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:46.840
Head to bites dot com, that's
b s z dot com and space nuts

155
00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:52.360
dot io for back editions of this
podcast and our parent podcast, Space Nuts

156
00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.960
with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson. Anytime time being relative or an illusion?

157
00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.639
Lunchtime doubly, sir, thanks again
for listening. Say good night,

158
00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:09.879
Hallie, good night halle oh dear
bye everyone, Bye the podcast. I

159
00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.679
mean to be your host, staves
down cl