Medical Drama on the ISS-Update | ESA's Rocket Revamp | Mysterious Early Galaxies: Your Daily Space News

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Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your

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daily companion for all things space and

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astronomy. I'm Anna and joining me, as

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always, is my good friend and co host, Avery.

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Hey Avery. It's January 10, 2026.

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Hope everyone's weekend is stellar.

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Avery: Hey Anna. And hello to our listeners

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everywhere. Yeah, it's been a busy start to

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the year and today we've got some fantastic,

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um, updates and discoveries. We're kicking

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off with the big follow up to yesterday's

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breaking news on the ISS medical situation.

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Plus ROC upgrades in Europe, some weird

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early universe galaxies from jwst,

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insights into our galaxy's black hole past,

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and China's upcoming space telescope that's

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poised to reveal cosmic secrets. Let's dive

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right in.

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Anna: First up, the update we've all been waiting

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for. NASA and SpaceX have set a target date

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for Crew 11's return to Earth following the

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medical concern with one crew member.

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Avery: This is a historic early return. We talked

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about yesterday. The first medical evacuation

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of an entire crew from the ISS, its

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25 year history. Crew 11, who

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launched last August on Dragon Endeavor,

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includes NASA astronauts Michael Fink and

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Zena Cardman, Jax's Kimiya Yu,

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and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platanov.

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Anna: The plan now is undocking no earlier than

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5pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, January

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14, weather permitting, and splashdown

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around 3:40am on Thursday,

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January 15, off the coast of California.

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Recovery teams are prepped and managers are

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monitoring seas, states, spacecraft

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readiness, everything to make sure it's safe.

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Avery: NASA stresses the crew member is stable and

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has been receiving care on board. But the

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decision was made to return early as a

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precaution since full diagnosis and treatment

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aren't feasible in microgravity. Details

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remain private for medical privacy reasons.

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No specifics on the condition.

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Anna: Importantly, this shouldn't impact the

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upcoming Artemis 2 mission. NASA

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Administrator Jared Eisendman said the

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evacuation is, quote, a totally separate

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campaign at this point and they're still

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aiming for the first launch window in early

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February. No delays expected. That's

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reassuring for the whole program.

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Avery: With Crew 11 heading home, the ISS

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will temporarily drop to three crew members,

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NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two

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Russian cosmonauts. They'll keep things

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running, but NASA is looking at

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accelerating Crew 12's launch from mid

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February to minimize any gap. This

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shows how flexible the partnership is,

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even in tough moments.

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Anna: Sending all the best wishes for a safe return

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to Crew 11. What a reminder of the human

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element in spaceflight.

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Avery: Next, some rocket news from Europe. ESA is

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considering ways to right the wrongs of

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Ariane 6 by turning it into a sort of

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Franken rocket with reusable elements.

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Anna: Ariane 6 debuted last year but has faced

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criticism for being fully expendable, high

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cost, and struggling against reusable

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competitors like SpaceX's Falcon 9.

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It's not hitting the launch cadence or

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affordability goals Europe hoped for.

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Avery: Under ESA's best initiative, Ariane Group

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is proposing to retrofit Ariane 6 by

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swapping its solid rocket boosters for

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reusable liquid field ones from Maya Space.

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Their methane field design, the core and

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upper stage would stay expendable because

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recovering them is much harder. Higher

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speeds, single engine, no easy descent

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control.

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Anna: This plug and play approach could lower

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costs, boost flight rates, and give Europe

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quick experience with reusability. Maya

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Space's full rocket isn't expected until

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2027 at earliest, so integration would

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take time. There's also a separate study for

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a reusable demonstrator from Isar Aerospace.

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Avery: It's, uh, a pragmatic step to catch up.

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Europe knows it needs reusability to compete

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long term. Critics say it's playing catch up

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to tech from a decade ago, but gaining data

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from multiple boosters per flight could

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accelerate progress.

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Anna: Exciting to see Europe innovating, even if

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it's a hybrid solution.

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Avery: Shifting to deep space, the James Webb

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Space Telescope has spotted some truly

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strange cosmic objects that might be baby

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platypus galaxies or perhaps an

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entirely new class of early universe

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phenomena.

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Anna: These appear as compact, oddly shaped

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galaxies in the very early universe, with

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unusual morphologies that don't fit standard

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models. Maybe mergers, rapid

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formation, or something unique.

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JWST's infrared power lets

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us see them at high redshift when the

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universe was young and chaotic.

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Avery: The platypus nickname comes from their

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bizarre mixed features, like a mashup of

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traits from different galaxy types.

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Researchers are debating if they're

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transitional forms feeding black holes in

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disguise, or new physics at play. This could

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reshape our understanding of how the first

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galaxies assembled.

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Anna: JWST keeps delivering surprises.

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Every image challenges our assumptions.

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Avery: Staying galactic New observations show that

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while Sagittarius A, our Milky

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Way's supermassive black hole, is quiet

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now, its recent past was far more active.

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Anna: Using Xrism M and other

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telescopes, astronomers detected

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FEK alpha emission lines in nearby

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molecular clouds like

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0.11 minus

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0.11x ray fluorescence

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from past outbursts illuminating the gas.

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Avery: These flares happened a few hundred to a

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thousand years ago, possibly specific events

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around 130 and 230 years

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back. The black hole likely had a feeding

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frenzy, gobbling a star or gas cloud,

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then settled down, we might see another echo

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in decades.

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Anna: It highlights how black holes toggle between

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active and quiescent states, influencing

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galactic evolution even in quiet

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galaxies like ours. And may it long

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remain quiet, I might add.

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Avery: Finally, exciting news from China. Their

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revolutionary space telescope, the Chinese

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Space Station Telescope, or Sheng Qian, is

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on track for 2026, ready to

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uncover universe.

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Anna: Secrets with a, uh, two meter mirror,

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wide field of view, high resolution imaging

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across multiple wavelengths, and

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spectroscopic capabilities. Shantian will

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map large sky areas directly image

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exoplanets, survey galaxies and

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stars, probe cosmology, dark matter,

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and fundamental physics.

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Avery: Recent breakthroughs include advanced

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simulation suites for pixel level data

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testing, ensuring systems are optimized pre

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launch. It's designed for broad surveys and

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deep looks, complementing Hubble and JWST

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by covering huge areas efficiently.

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Anna: This could lead to major discoveries in

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exoplanets, galaxy evolution, and more.

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China is stepping up big time in space

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astronomy. We'll be watching this with

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interest as the year rolls on.

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Avery: And that's it for today. Time to call it a

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wrap. What a packed day. From human

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spaceflight drama to cosmic deep dives.

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Anna: Thanks so much for listening to Astronomy

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Daily. If you enjoy these updates, subscribe,

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Share with a and we'll be back on Monday with

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more. In the meantime, if you'd like to keep

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abreast of all the latest developments, just

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visit our website at astronomydaily

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IO and check out our News Update page.

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Avery: Until then, keep your eyes on the skies.

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Anna: Clear skies, everyone.

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Avery: Astronomy Day

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Stories Told.

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Anna: The stories.

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Avery: Were told.