Medical Evacuation from the ISS | Wobbling Black Hole Jets | Lunar Hotel Reservations: Your Daily Space Update

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Anna: Hello everyone, and welcome to

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Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. Thanks for joining us on this

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exciting Tuesday, January 13,

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2026. We've got an incredible lineup of

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space news to share with you today.

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Anna: We really do, Avery. We're covering

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everything from a, uh, historic first on the

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International Space Station to groundbreaking

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black hole discoveries. Plus we've got some

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fantastic mission updates from NASA. And

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believe it or not, you can now put down a

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deposit for a hotel room room on the moon.

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Avery: That's right. It's going to be a packed

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episode.

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But first, let's start with some update news

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from the International Space Station that's

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making history for all the wrong reasons.

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Anna: So, Avery, we're witnessing something that's

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never happened before in the 25 year history

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of the International Space Station. On

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Sunday, NASA announced the first ever medical

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evacuation from the ISS.

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Avery: That's right, Anna. The SpaceX Crew

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11 mission, which launched to the station

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back in August 2025, is being

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cut short due to an undisclosed medical

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condition affecting one of the four crew

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members. The team includes NASA

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astronauts Mike Fink and Xena Cardman,

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Russia's Oleg Platnov and Japan's

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Kimiya Yui.

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Anna: And yesterday we saw a really touching change

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of command ceremony. Mike Fink, who was

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serving as commander of Expedition 74,

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handed control of the station over Russian

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cosmonaut Sergey Kud Sverchkov during

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the ceremony. Fink called it bittersweet and

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you could really feel the emotion in his

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words.

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Avery: I read about that. Fink told Kud

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Schwarchkov. It's an honour and a pleasure to

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be a commander and I cannot imagine being

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happier than to hand over command to you. The

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crew schedule to undock from the ISS on

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Wednesday afternoon, with hatch closing at

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3pm eastern time and departure at

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5pm they'll then make an 11 hour

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journey back to Earth aboard their Dragon

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Endeavour spacecraft.

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Anna: They're expected to splash down in the

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Pacific Ocean early Thursday morning around

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3:40am Eastern Time. Now, one

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interesting aspect of this situation is that

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NASA has declined to specify which astronaut

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is experiencing the medical issue, citing

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privacy concerns. They also haven't disclosed

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the nature of the medical condition itself.

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Avery: This early departure creates an unusual

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situation on the station. After Crew 11

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leaves, there will only be three astronauts

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board, including just one American, Chris

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Williams. That's well below the typical crew

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complement, right?

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Anna: Normally, NASA prefers crew overlap to

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avoid gaps in maintenance and research

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capabilities. But they've deemed this medical

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situation serious enough to warrant the

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immediate return, even if it means operating

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with a skeleton crew until the next rotation

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arrives.

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Avery: And speaking of the next rotation, Crew 12

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was originally scheduled to launch in mid

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February. NASA is now evaluating if they

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can move that launch date up. Of course, this

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all to be coordinated with another major

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event on NASA's calendar.

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Anna: You're talking about Artemis 2, right?

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Avery: Exactly. NASA is simultaneously working

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to roll out the Space Launch System rocket

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for the Artemis 2 mission from the Vehicle

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Assembly Building to Launch Complex

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39B at Kennedy Space Centre. That

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rollout is scheduled for January 17th.

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With the first launch opportunity for Artemis

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2 opening on February 6th.

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Anna: It's a delicate balancing act for NASA

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operations. According to NASA Administrator,

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the ISS evacuation shouldn't interfere with

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the Artemis II timeline, but it certainly

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adds complexity to an already busy schedule.

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Avery: Absolutely. This situation really highlights

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how NASA handles unexpected medical

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challenges in space. They have protocols in

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place, but this is the first time they've

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actually had to implement a full medical

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evacuation from the station.

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Anna: It's worth noting that while this is the

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first medical evacuation, it's not the first

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time medical concerns have affected ISS

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operations. Just last week a uh, planned

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spacewalk had to be cancelled due to these

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same medical concerns that ultimately led to

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the evacuation decision.

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Avery: We wish all 4 crew 11 astronauts a safe

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journey home and a quick recovery to

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whoever's dealing with a medical issue.

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Anna: Now let's shift gears to some absolutely

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fascinating astronomy news. Avery.

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Astronomers have discovered something they've

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never seen seen before. A galaxy wide

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wobbling black hole jet.

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Avery: This is really cool stuff. Ana A UH team led

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by researchers at UC Irvine and Caltech's

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Infrared Processing and Analysis Centre has

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found the largest and most extended jet ever

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observed emanating from a supermassive black

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hole. And it's doing something remarkable.

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It's wobbling.

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Anna: The galaxy in question is called

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VV340A and the

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jet extends up to 20,000 light years from

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its centre. To put that perspective, that's

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about 1/5 the diameter of the Milky Way

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galaxy. These jets are composed of

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superheated material being accelerated to

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near the speed of light.

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Avery: The observations were made using the W.M.

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keck Observatory's Keck Cosmic Web Imager

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on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. But what really makes

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this discovery special is that the team

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combined data from multiple observatories to

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get the complete picture right.

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Anna: They used infrared observations from the

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James Webb Space Telescope, radio images from

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the very large erect, and the optical data

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from Keck. Each observatory revealed

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different aspects of this phenomenon. Webb's

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infrared data showed the energetic heart of

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the galaxy, while Keck's optical data showed

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how that energy propagates outward and the

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violet.

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Avery: Radio data revealed something remarkable. The

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plasma jets are twisted into a helical

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pattern as they move outward. This is

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evidence of what's called jet precession,

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where the jet's direction slowly wobbles over

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time, kind of like a spinning top.

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Anna: Lead author Justin Cater from UC Irvine said

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the Keck Observatory data was crucial. He

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noted that the gas they observed with Keck

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reaches the farthest distances from the black

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hole, meaning it also traces the longest

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timescales. Without those observations, they

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wouldn't know how powerful or persistent this

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outflow really is.

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Avery: What's particularly surprising about this

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discovery is where it was found.

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VV340A is a relatively

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young galaxy, still in the early stages of a

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galactic merger. Typically, these kinds of

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jets are observed in older elliptical

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galaxies that have long since stopped forming

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stars.

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Anna: That's a great point. The Webb data showed

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that the superheated coronal gas, the plasma

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erupting from either side of the black hole,

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measures several thousand parsecs across.

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Most observed coronas measure in the hundreds

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of parsecs, making this the most extended

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coronal gas structure ever observed.

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Avery: The discovery also revealed that the jet is

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actively affecting the galaxy's evolution.

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The KCWI data data showed that the jet is

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stripping the galaxy of gas at a rate of

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about 20 solar masses per year,

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effectively shutting down star formation.

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Anna: This finding challenges our established

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theories about how galaxies and their

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supermassive black holes evolve together.

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As Cater put it, this is the first time we've

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seen a precessing kiloparsec scale

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radiojet deriving such a massive

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outflow in a disc galaxy.

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Avery: He also noted something intriguing about the

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Milky Way. He said there's no clear fossil

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record of something like this happening in

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our galaxy. But this discovery suggests we

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can't rule it out. It changes the way we

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think about the galaxy we live in.

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Anna: The next step for the team involves higher

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resolution radio observations to determine

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whether a second supermassive black hole

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could be at the centre of

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VV340A, which might be

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causing the jets to wobble.

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Avery: It's an exciting time for studying black

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holes and their impact on galactic evolution.

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This discovery opens up new questions about

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how common this type of activity might be in

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the universe.

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Anna: Now let's take a look at what's launching

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this week. We've got a busy manifest with

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eight orbital launch attempts scheduled from

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China, the United States and Norway.

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Avery: That's right, Anna, uh, SpaceX is dominating

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the American launch schedule. As usual,

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they're launching two batches of Starlink

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satellites into the constellation's Group 6

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shell, as well as a batch of reconnaissance

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satellites for the National Reconnaissance

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Office.

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Anna: The first Starlink mission of the week, Group

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697 actually already lifted off

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yesterday. Monday, January 12th at

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4:08pm Eastern Time from Space Launch

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Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. The Falcon

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9 flew 29 Starlink version 2 mini

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satellites into orbit and the.

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Avery: Booster that supported that mission,

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B1078, was flying for its

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25th time after stage separation.

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It successfully landed on the ship. Just read

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the instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. These

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reusability numbers just keep getting more

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impressive.

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Anna: They really do. The next StarLink Mission,

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Group 698 is scheduled for Wednesday,

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January 14th at 1:01pm Eastern

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from the same launch site that will use

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booster B1085 on its 13th

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flight landing on the A UH shortfall of

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Gravitas droneship moving over to China.

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Avery: They have four launches on the manifest this

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week. On Tuesday, the Chinese Aerospace

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Science and Technology Corporation is

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launching a Chang Zhang 8 a rocket from

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Wenchang. The payload is unknown, but this

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marks the first CZ8Amission of

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2026 and the seventh overall.

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Anna: Then on Thursday we have a Changzang 3B

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E launch from Shisheng carrying another

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unknown payload. The CZ3BE

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is one of China's workhorse rockets and this

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will be its 103rd launch overall.

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Avery: Also on Thursday, private Chinese spaceflight

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company Galactic Energy is scheduled to

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launch a Series 1s rocket from the Orient

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Spaceport launch ship. This will be the first

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Series 1s mission of 2026 and the

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23rd overall for this solid fueled rocket.

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Anna: And here's something exciting. Galactic

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Energy is also debuting its new Series 2

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rocket this week. The demonstration flight is

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scheduled for Saturday, January 17 from the

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Zhouquan Satellite Launch Centre. The Series

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2 is a larger upgraded version capable of

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lifting about 2,000 kilogrammes.

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Avery: To low Earth orbit back to the United States.

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SpaceX has a classified mission for the

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National Reconnaissance Office. NROL

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105 is scheduled to launch Friday evening,

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January 16 at 8:18pm

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Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base

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in California.

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Anna: This mission is using brand new booster

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B1100 on only its second flight and

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it'll perform a return to launch site landing

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at landing zone 4 right next to the launch

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pad. This represents the 12th batch of

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satellites launched into this particular NRL

271
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Constell installation developed by SpaceX and

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Northrop Grumman.

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Avery: And finally wrapping up the week, German

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company Isar Aerospace is scheduled to launch

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the second test flight of its Spectrum rocket

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from Norway's Andoya rocket range. This comes

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after the first test flight in March 2025

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failed shortly after liftoff.

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Anna: The Spectrum rocket stands 28 metres tall and

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uses nine Aquila engines on the first stage

281
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and one on the second stage, burning propane

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and liquid oxygen. It's expected to carry

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several cubesats to sun synchronous orbit for

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the European Space Agency's Boost programme.

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Avery: If successful, this will mark Spectrum's

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first flight of 2026 and the

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13th worldwide orbital launch attempt of the

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year. It's shaping up to be a busy week in

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spaceflight.

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Anna: Alright, Avery, let's talk about some mission

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milestones. NASA's Carruthers

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00:11:55.100 --> 00:11:57.940
Geocorona Observatory has reached its target

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orbit.

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Avery: This is great news, Anna. The spacecraft

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achieved its destination at Lagrange Point 1,

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or L1, which is approximately 1 million

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miles from Earth towards the Sun. The

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confirmation came on January 10, following

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the spacecraft's third and final orbital

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00:12:14.150 --> 00:12:16.750
manoeuvre. A two minute thruster fire on

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January 8.

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00:12:17.950 --> 00:12:20.430
Anna: For those unfamiliar, L1 is one of those

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special points in space where the

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00:12:22.070 --> 00:12:24.430
gravitational forces of the Earth and sun

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balance out, creating a stable position.

306
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It's an ideal spot for observing the Earth

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and sun simultaneously.

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00:12:31.450 --> 00:12:34.330
Avery: Exactly. And Carruthers has a very specific

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mission to capture the first repeated

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00:12:36.890 --> 00:12:39.530
observations of the ultraviolet glow from

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Earth's outer atmosphere. Known as the

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00:12:42.170 --> 00:12:44.930
Geocorona, the mission is named in

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honour of Dr. George R. Carruthers, who

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invented the ultraviolet camera that was

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placed on the moon by Apollo 16

316
00:12:52.410 --> 00:12:54.490
astronauts in 1972.

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Anna: That Apollo 16 camera captured the very

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first images of Earth's geo corona.

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Now, more than 50 years later, later,

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Carruthers is going to study it in

321
00:13:04.670 --> 00:13:07.070
unprecedented detail from its vantage point

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at L1.

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Avery: The loveseat size spacecraft launched from

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00:13:10.630 --> 00:13:13.250
Kennedy Space centre back on September 24,

325
00:13:13.250 --> 00:13:16.190
uh, 2025. Since launch, the team

326
00:13:16.190 --> 00:13:18.310
has been testing the spacecraft's instruments

327
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and capturing what they call first light

328
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images. While adjusting its course as it

329
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approached.

330
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Anna: L1, I saw those first light images.

331
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They're really impressive. The spacecraft has

332
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two cameras, a wide field Imager and a

333
00:13:32.270 --> 00:13:34.690
narrow field image capture

334
00:13:34.690 --> 00:13:37.450
ultraviolet light and the images clearly show

335
00:13:37.450 --> 00:13:39.930
Earth with this fuzzy halo around it, which

336
00:13:39.930 --> 00:13:41.170
is the geochorona.

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00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:43.490
Avery: What's interesting is that you can also see

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the Moon in those images. And the lunar

339
00:13:45.890 --> 00:13:48.010
surface still shines in this specific

340
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wavelength of light called Lyman Alpha

341
00:13:50.690 --> 00:13:53.010
because its rocky surface reflects all

342
00:13:53.010 --> 00:13:55.690
wavelengths of sunlight. That's actually why

343
00:13:55.690 --> 00:13:57.810
it's important to compare the Lyman Alpha

344
00:13:57.810 --> 00:13:58.850
images with the broad.

345
00:13:58.850 --> 00:14:01.390
Anna: Ultraviolet filter The Narrow field

346
00:14:01.390 --> 00:14:03.830
Imager even captured two background stars

347
00:14:03.830 --> 00:14:05.390
that must have surface temperatures

348
00:14:05.390 --> 00:14:08.230
approximately twice as hot as our sun to be

349
00:14:08.230 --> 00:14:09.870
so bright in this wavelength of light.

350
00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:12.390
Avery: Carruthers is now beginning its final

351
00:14:12.390 --> 00:14:14.750
checkout procedures before starting its two

352
00:14:14.750 --> 00:14:17.630
year primary science mission in March. From

353
00:14:17.630 --> 00:14:20.270
L1 it will provide scientists with the most

354
00:14:20.270 --> 00:14:22.790
detailed views ever of how Earth's

355
00:14:22.790 --> 00:14:25.230
outermost atmospheric layer interacts with

356
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the space environment.

357
00:14:26.610 --> 00:14:29.170
Anna: The mission is led by Dr. Lara Waldrop from

358
00:14:29.170 --> 00:14:31.410
the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign,

359
00:14:31.570 --> 00:14:33.650
with the Space Sciences Lab at ah, UC

360
00:14:33.650 --> 00:14:35.850
Berkeley leading mission implementation and

361
00:14:35.850 --> 00:14:36.370
operations.

362
00:14:36.850 --> 00:14:38.610
Avery: Speaking of missions reaching their

363
00:14:38.610 --> 00:14:41.370
destinations, Anna uh, NASA's IMAP

364
00:14:41.370 --> 00:14:43.650
mission has also arrived at L1.

365
00:14:43.970 --> 00:14:46.250
Anna: That's right. IMAP, which stands for

366
00:14:46.250 --> 00:14:48.770
Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe,

367
00:14:48.930 --> 00:14:51.810
reached Lagrange Point 1 on January 10,

368
00:14:52.050 --> 00:14:54.530
just two days after Carruthers completed its

369
00:14:54.530 --> 00:14:55.220
final manoeuvre.

370
00:14:55.770 --> 00:14:58.130
Avery: The mission operations team sent commands to

371
00:14:58.130 --> 00:15:00.850
the spacecraft on the morning of January 9 to

372
00:15:00.850 --> 00:15:03.450
begin the trajectory manoeuvres. Early on

373
00:15:03.450 --> 00:15:06.090
January 10, they confirmed that IMAP had

374
00:15:06.090 --> 00:15:08.970
successfully entered its final L1 orbit,

375
00:15:09.050 --> 00:15:10.850
where it will stay for the duration of its

376
00:15:10.850 --> 00:15:11.210
mission.

377
00:15:11.530 --> 00:15:14.170
Anna: IMAP has a fascinating mission profile.

378
00:15:14.330 --> 00:15:16.650
It's going to explore and map the very

379
00:15:16.650 --> 00:15:18.970
boundaries of our heliosphere. That's the

380
00:15:18.970 --> 00:15:21.290
protective bubble created by the solar wind

381
00:15:21.370 --> 00:15:24.010
that encapsulates our entire solar system.

382
00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:26.730
It will study how the heliosphere interacts

383
00:15:26.730 --> 00:15:28.790
with the local galactic neighbourhood beyond.

384
00:15:29.270 --> 00:15:31.950
Avery: Think of IMAP as a modern day celestial

385
00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:34.590
cartographer. It's going to explore and

386
00:15:34.590 --> 00:15:36.870
chart the vast range of particles in

387
00:15:36.870 --> 00:15:39.710
interplanetary space, investigating how

388
00:15:39.710 --> 00:15:42.230
charged particles from the sun get energised

389
00:15:42.390 --> 00:15:44.750
and how the solar wind interacts at uh, the

390
00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:46.550
boundary with interstellar space.

391
00:15:46.950 --> 00:15:49.470
Anna: But IMAP also has a very practical

392
00:15:49.470 --> 00:15:51.870
application. It will provide real time

393
00:15:51.870 --> 00:15:54.350
observations of the solar wind and energetic

394
00:15:54.350 --> 00:15:56.950
particles, giving critical data that can help

395
00:15:56.950 --> 00:15:59.290
protect spacecraft and astronauts from

396
00:15:59.290 --> 00:16:00.850
adverse space weather effects.

397
00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:03.730
Avery: L1 provides IMAP with a stable and

398
00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:06.290
clear 360 degree view of the

399
00:16:06.290 --> 00:16:09.210
heliosphere. This position also gives an

400
00:16:09.210 --> 00:16:11.770
unobstructed view of the sun, which means the

401
00:16:11.770 --> 00:16:14.010
spacecraft can give about a half hour's

402
00:16:14.010 --> 00:16:16.210
warning to astronauts and spacecraft near

403
00:16:16.210 --> 00:16:18.930
Earth of harmful radiation coming their way.

404
00:16:19.090 --> 00:16:21.896
Anna: IMAP launched on September 24,

405
00:16:22.084 --> 00:16:25.010
2025. The same day as Carruthers.

406
00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.240
They travelled to loan together along with

407
00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.320
Nooa's SWFO

408
00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:34.160
Lagrange, which stands for Space Weather

409
00:16:34.160 --> 00:16:37.080
Follow on Lagrange 1. At loan,

410
00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:40.040
they join other spacecraft already in orbit

411
00:16:40.040 --> 00:16:42.880
there, like NASA's Wind and ACE missions

412
00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.720
and the ESA NASA

413
00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:47.040
SOHO Observatory.

414
00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.120
Avery: The mission is led by principal investigator

415
00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:52.840
David McComas, a professor at Princeton

416
00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:55.800
University with an international team of more

417
00:16:55.800 --> 00:16:57.580
than 20 partner institutions. Institutions.

418
00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.380
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

419
00:17:00.540 --> 00:17:02.940
built a spacecraft and operates the mission.

420
00:17:03.260 --> 00:17:05.420
Anna: IMAP is nearing completion of its

421
00:17:05.420 --> 00:17:07.260
commissioning phase and will begin its

422
00:17:07.260 --> 00:17:10.260
science mission on February 1st. The data

423
00:17:10.260 --> 00:17:12.940
from IMAP's State of the art instrumentation

424
00:17:13.100 --> 00:17:15.580
will greatly enhance the usefulness of data

425
00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:17.580
from those other missions. At L1.

426
00:17:17.820 --> 00:17:20.140
Avery: It's exciting to have both Carruthers and

427
00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:22.940
IMAP reaching their destinations at the same

428
00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:25.580
time. They launched together, travel

429
00:17:25.580 --> 00:17:27.645
together, and now they're both settling into

430
00:17:27.645 --> 00:17:29.660
the their orbits to begin their science

431
00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:30.180
missions.

432
00:17:30.580 --> 00:17:33.380
Anna: Okay, Avery, save the best for last, right?

433
00:17:33.620 --> 00:17:36.620
You can now put down a deposit for a hotel

434
00:17:36.620 --> 00:17:37.700
room on the moon.

435
00:17:38.340 --> 00:17:40.390
Avery: I know it sounds like science fiction, Anna,

436
00:17:40.390 --> 00:17:42.860
uh, but this is for real. A company called

437
00:17:42.860 --> 00:17:45.540
GRU Space, that's Galactic Resources

438
00:17:45.540 --> 00:17:48.180
Utilisation, has publicly announced its

439
00:17:48.180 --> 00:17:50.740
intent to construct a series of habitats on

440
00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:53.420
the moon, culminating in a hotel that's

441
00:17:53.420 --> 00:17:55.780
actually inspired by the palace of the Fine

442
00:17:55.780 --> 00:17:56.940
Arts in San Francisco.

443
00:17:57.340 --> 00:17:59.620
Anna: On Monday, the company opened applications

444
00:17:59.620 --> 00:18:02.580
for aspiring lunar tourists. You can place a

445
00:18:02.580 --> 00:18:05.380
deposit ranging from $250,000

446
00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:08.260
to $1,000,000 to reserve a spot on

447
00:18:08.260 --> 00:18:10.300
one of their early lunar surface missions.

448
00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:13.340
They're targeting as early as 2032 for the

449
00:18:13.340 --> 00:18:14.220
hotel opening.

450
00:18:14.620 --> 00:18:17.100
Avery: Now, before anyone rushes to empty their bank

451
00:18:17.100 --> 00:18:19.340
accounts, let's talk about what this actually

452
00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:21.860
involves. Groove Space is a Y

453
00:18:21.860 --> 00:18:24.100
Combinator backed start startup founded in

454
00:18:24.100 --> 00:18:27.060
2025 by Skyler Chan, a recent

455
00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:30.100
UC Berkeley graduate who's only 22 years

456
00:18:30.100 --> 00:18:32.620
old. The company has received backing from

457
00:18:32.620 --> 00:18:35.060
investors in SpaceX and Anduril.

458
00:18:35.300 --> 00:18:37.620
Anna: What makes GRU's approach interesting is that

459
00:18:37.620 --> 00:18:39.580
they're not planning to ship all the building

460
00:18:39.580 --> 00:18:42.300
materials from Earth. Instead, they want to

461
00:18:42.300 --> 00:18:45.100
use In Situ Resource Utilisation, or

462
00:18:45.100 --> 00:18:47.860
ISRU technology. That means using

463
00:18:47.860 --> 00:18:50.820
robotic systems to transform lunar soil

464
00:18:50.900 --> 00:18:53.420
regular Lilith into durable building blocks.

465
00:18:53.740 --> 00:18:56.180
Avery: Their roadmap starts with a 2029

466
00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:58.620
demonstration mission to validate the process

467
00:18:58.620 --> 00:19:01.180
of turning lunar soil into bricks.

468
00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:04.380
By 2032, if everything goes according to

469
00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:06.900
plan, they expect to open what would be the

470
00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:09.540
world's first lunar hotel inside a

471
00:19:09.540 --> 00:19:12.260
lunar cave which provides natural protection

472
00:19:12.260 --> 00:19:14.540
from radiation and temperature extremes.

473
00:19:14.860 --> 00:19:17.380
Anna: The initial hotel will be built on Earth and

474
00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:19.620
delivered by a heavy lander. It's an

475
00:19:19.620 --> 00:19:21.550
inflatable structure designed to host a

476
00:19:21.550 --> 00:19:24.070
precious to four guests for multi day stays.

477
00:19:24.150 --> 00:19:26.790
The hotel is designed to operate for 10 years

478
00:19:26.870 --> 00:19:29.230
and will offer views of the lunar landscape

479
00:19:29.230 --> 00:19:31.430
and Earth, along with activities like

480
00:19:31.750 --> 00:19:34.590
moonwalks, driving rovers, and get this,

481
00:19:34.590 --> 00:19:36.550
they're even talking about golf.

482
00:19:36.870 --> 00:19:39.390
Avery: Of course, this is an incredibly ambitious

483
00:19:39.390 --> 00:19:42.190
plan. In their whitepaper, GRU acknowledges

484
00:19:42.190 --> 00:19:44.950
that execution heavily relies on factors

485
00:19:44.950 --> 00:19:47.630
outside their control. They need decreasing

486
00:19:47.630 --> 00:19:49.990
launch costs, costs, regular and reliable

487
00:19:49.990 --> 00:19:52.440
crewed flights to the lunar surface, a, uh,

488
00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:54.750
favourable regulatory environment and

489
00:19:54.830 --> 00:19:57.310
supporting infrastructure like lunar power

490
00:19:57.310 --> 00:19:58.270
and communications.

491
00:19:58.670 --> 00:20:00.790
Anna: All of which are in various stages of

492
00:20:00.790 --> 00:20:03.030
development. The company's vision doesn't

493
00:20:03.030 --> 00:20:05.110
stop at Moon hotels either. After

494
00:20:05.110 --> 00:20:07.270
establishing the first hotel, they want to

495
00:20:07.270 --> 00:20:09.750
help build America's first moon base with

496
00:20:09.750 --> 00:20:12.670
roads and warehouses, then expand to Mars

497
00:20:12.670 --> 00:20:14.610
and eventually the Asteroid belt.

498
00:20:14.770 --> 00:20:17.330
Avery: Skyler Chan, the founder, has been passionate

499
00:20:17.330 --> 00:20:19.770
about space since childhood. He said that

500
00:20:19.770 --> 00:20:21.370
I've been, uh, obsessed with space since I

501
00:20:21.370 --> 00:20:23.530
was a kid. I've always wanted to become an

502
00:20:23.530 --> 00:20:26.090
astronaut and feel extremely fortunate to be

503
00:20:26.090 --> 00:20:28.730
doing my life's work. He also mentioned that

504
00:20:28.730 --> 00:20:31.610
if they succeed, billions of human lives will

505
00:20:31.610 --> 00:20:34.290
be born on the Moon and Mars and be able to

506
00:20:34.290 --> 00:20:36.690
experience the beauty of lunar and Martian

507
00:20:36.690 --> 00:20:37.010
life.

508
00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:39.930
Anna: There's actually a $1,000 non

509
00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:42.700
refundable application fee just to apply,

510
00:20:42.860 --> 00:20:45.100
and that doesn't guarantee approval.

511
00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:47.980
Selected applicants will receive invitations

512
00:20:48.060 --> 00:20:50.900
tied to specific mission roles and lunar

513
00:20:50.900 --> 00:20:51.340
stays.

514
00:20:51.580 --> 00:20:53.860
Avery: It's worth noting that this isn't the first

515
00:20:53.860 --> 00:20:55.980
time someone has proposed a lunar hotel.

516
00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:58.780
Hilton Hotels actually had a Lunar

517
00:20:58.780 --> 00:21:01.660
Hilton concept in the 1960s and even

518
00:21:01.660 --> 00:21:03.980
printed reservation cards and room keys as

519
00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:04.940
promotional items.

520
00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:07.980
Anna: True. And back in 1973,

521
00:21:08.220 --> 00:21:10.220
Hilton partnered with Trans International

522
00:21:10.540 --> 00:21:13.260
Airlines to produce a brochure inviting

523
00:21:13.560 --> 00:21:16.280
customers to a trip to the moon sometime

524
00:21:16.280 --> 00:21:19.280
after 1973, with costs up to

525
00:21:19.280 --> 00:21:22.280
$25,000 per person. Of

526
00:21:22.280 --> 00:21:24.040
course, that never materialised.

527
00:21:24.520 --> 00:21:27.160
Avery: The big question is whether GRU Space

528
00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:29.720
can succeed where others have only dreamed.

529
00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:31.600
They've got the backing, they've got the

530
00:21:31.600 --> 00:21:33.520
vision, and they've got a founder who's

531
00:21:33.520 --> 00:21:36.360
putting everything into making it happen. The

532
00:21:36.360 --> 00:21:38.720
timeline aligns with NASA's renewed push to

533
00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:40.880
establish a permanent human presence on the

534
00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:42.390
Moon Moon through the Artemis programme.

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Anna: Even if this particular venture doesn't pan

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00:21:45.270 --> 00:21:48.190
out exactly as planned, it's exciting to see

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00:21:48.190 --> 00:21:50.830
private companies seriously pursuing lunar

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00:21:50.830 --> 00:21:53.030
infrastructure. The fact that we're even

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having this conversation about booking hotel

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rooms on the Moon shows how far space

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exploration has come.

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00:21:59.990 --> 00:22:02.630
Avery: Absolutely. Whether it's 2032

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00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:05.390
or 2042, the era of lunar

544
00:22:05.390 --> 00:22:07.390
tourism feels like it's genuinely

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00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:10.230
approaching. We might actually see commercial

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00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:11.610
lunar hotels in our lifetime.

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Anna: Well, that's all the time we have for today's

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00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:16.760
episode of Astronomy Daily. What an

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00:22:16.760 --> 00:22:18.420
incredible day of space news.

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00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:21.240
Avery: Uh, from the historic iss, medical

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00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:24.080
evacuation and wobbling black hole jets,

552
00:22:24.320 --> 00:22:26.560
to missions reaching their destinations at

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00:22:26.560 --> 00:22:28.960
L1, and even the possibility of

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00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:31.640
vacationing on the Moon, it's been quite a

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00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:32.000
journey.

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00:22:32.320 --> 00:22:34.560
Anna: If you enjoyed today's episode, please

557
00:22:34.560 --> 00:22:37.000
subscribe to Astronomy Daily wherever you get

558
00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:39.420
your podcast. And don't forget to leave us a

559
00:22:39.420 --> 00:22:41.380
review. It really helps other space

560
00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:42.740
enthusiasts find the show.

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00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:45.780
Avery: You can find us on social media and at our

562
00:22:45.780 --> 00:22:47.940
website. For more space news and updates.

563
00:22:48.260 --> 00:22:50.980
Just search for astrodaily Pod on

564
00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:53.500
socials or visit us on the web at

565
00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:56.500
astronomydaily IO. Thanks

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00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:57.860
so much for listening, everyone.

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00:22:58.100 --> 00:23:00.020
Anna: Until next time, keep looking up.

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00:23:00.260 --> 00:23:03.180
Avery: See you, uh, tomorrow. Clear Skies, Astronomy

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00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:06.100
Day. Storeys we

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00:23:06.100 --> 00:23:06.420
told.

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00:23:07.890 --> 00:23:08.130
Anna: What.

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00:23:13.250 --> 00:23:13.810
Avery: Storeys.

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00:23:21.650 --> 00:23:22.290
We told.