NASA's Lunar Reactor Race, Earth's Crater Mystery, and the Search for Habitable Worlds

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to

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podcast for the latest and greatest in space and

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astronomy news. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm, um, Avery. We're so glad you could join us today as

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we dive into some truly fascinating developments from

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across the cosmos and right here on Earth.

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Anna: That's right, Avery. Today we're going to be talking

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about NASA's ambitious plans for a nuclear

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reactor on the moon, a surprising new study

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that redates Earth's oldest impact crater,

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and a breakthrough discovery of a potentially

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habitable super Earth.

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Avery: We'll also cover the crucial sunshield installation on

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the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, preparing

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it to give us an unprecedented look into the

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infrared universe. So buckle up because we've

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got a lot of exciting news to discuss. Let's get started.

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Anna: First up, let's talk about NASA's

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incredibly ambitious plans to power our

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future lunar outposts. Its it seems the

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agency is really kicking things into high gear

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when it comes to getting a nuclear reactor on the

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Moon.

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Avery: That's right, Anna. For a few years now, NASA has

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been working on a 40 kilowatt fission system,

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aiming for a launch by the early 2000-30s.

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But now interim NASA chief Sean Duffy

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is pushing for an even more aggressive timeline

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and a more powerful system.

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Anna: That's a significant jump. Politico

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reported that Duffy's new directive, which was set

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to be released recently, orders the agency to

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solicit industry proposals for a massive

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100 kilowatt nuclear reactor to launch

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by 2030. This is seen as a critical

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step for the Artemis program, which aims to return

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astronauts to the lunar surface and establish

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permanent bases there around the same time.

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Avery: And nuclear power is truly essential for that

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vision. Solar energy simply isn't a great option

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for a crewed outpost because the moon rotates so

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slowly. Slowly, a lunar night can last about two Earth weeks,

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which means no sunlight for an extended period.

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Nuclear power provides consistent, reliable

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energy, regardless of day or night.

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Anna: It's not just about practicality, though. There's

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a strong strategic element at play here. China

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also has plans to set up a moon base, partnering

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with Russia and other nations. Duffy's directive

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is very much geared towards beating China to the punch.

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Avery: The directive even highlights the geopolitical

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implications, stating that the first nation with a

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moon reactor could declare a keep out zone,

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which would significantly inhibit other nations,

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including the United States. It's clear that the race

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for lunar resources and presence is heating up.

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Anna: Absolutely. This really underscores the

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importance of reliable long term power

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sources for establishing a sustainable human

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presence beyond Earth and the strategic

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advantages that Come with it. It's a fascinating

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blend of science, engineering and international

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relations.

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Avery: Moving from the Moon to our own planet.

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There's a fascinating new development about Earth's oldest

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known impact crater. It turns out our

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geological clocks sometimes need a recalibration.

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And that's exactly what happened with the Moraga impact

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structure in Western Australia.

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Anna: That's right. This site in the remote Pilbara

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region made headlines previously with a different

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group claiming it was Earth's oldest impact

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crater, formed about 3.5 billion years

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ago and incredibly over 100 kilometers

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in diameter. If true, that would have been a

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game changer for understanding early Earth.

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Avery: But as it turns out, new research published in

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Science Advances tells a different story. While

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they agree it was an ancient meteorite impact,

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this new study concludes the impact actually happened

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much later, sometime after 2.7

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billion years ago and possibly even more recently.

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That's at least 800 million years younger than the earlier

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estimate.

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Anna: And the size estimate is drastically different, too.

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The new study determined the crater was much

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smaller, only about 16 kilometers in

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diameter, a, uh, far cry from the original 100

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plus kilometers. This means it was too young

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and too small to have influenced continent

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formation or early life, as was previously

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speculated.

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Avery: So how could two studies investigating the

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same site come to such different

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conclusions? Both groups found telltale

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signs of meteorite impact shatter cones.

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These are unique conical imprints of shock

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waves that pass through rocks, and their presence

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confirms it's an impact site. The

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disagreement came down to dating.

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Anna: They both used a, uh, geological principle called

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the law of superposition, which states

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that younger rock layers are deposited on

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top of older ones. The first group found

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shatter cones within and below a sedimentary

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layer known to be 3.47

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billion years old, but not in younger rocks

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above it, suggesting the impact happened

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during that 3.47 billion year period.

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Avery: However, the newer investigation found shattering

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cones not only in those same 3.47

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billion year old rocks, but also in younger

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overlying rocks, including lavas that

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erupted 2.77 billion years ago.

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This crucial detail meant the impact had to

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occur after the formation of the youngest

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rocks containing shatter cones, placing it

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sometime after 2.77 billion years

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ago. The precise younger age is still

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being worked on with isotopic methods.

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Anna: It's a, uh, fantastic example of how science is a

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self policing sport. Initial claims are based

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on available data, but new observations can

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modify or even over. While

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Maralga isn't Earth's oldest crater anymore, it's

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still scientifically unique because craters formed in

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basalt are quite rare. The basalts there Are

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the oldest shocked target rocks known.

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Avery: And here's where it gets even more interesting.

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Prior to the impact, these ancient basalts Were

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chemically altered by seawater. And nearby

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sedimentary rocks Contain some of Earth's earliest

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well established fossils. These kinds of

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rocks likely covered much of early Earth and, um, even early

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Mars.

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Anna: This makes the Moralga impact structure A fantastic

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outdoor laboratory for planetary scientists.

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It's an easily accessible proving ground for instruments

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and imagery Intended for Mars exploration,

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Helping us understand the cratered surface and

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perhaps even early life on the red planet, all

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without leaving Earth.

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Avery: From ancient Earth, let's turn our gaze outwards To

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a truly exciting breakthrough in the search for life

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beyond our planet. A new detection method

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has just revealed A potentially habitable super

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Earth.

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Anna: This is huge. The enduring question of

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are we alone? Has driven astronomy for

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generations. And discoveries like this bring us

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closer to an answer. Since the first

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exoplanet Orbiting a sun like star was found in

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1995, the hunt for Earth like conditions

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in habitable zones has been a primary focus.

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Avery: And this latest discovery is significant.

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An international team led by the Yunnan

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Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

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has made a major breakthrough Using a method called

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transit timing variation, or TTV.

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Anna: For the very first time, TTV enabled

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the detection of a super Earth named

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Kepler 725C.

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It's truly a monumental find because

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this planet is about 10 times the mass of Earth

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and orbits within the habitable zone of its size.

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Sun like star Kepler's 725.

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Their findings were just published in Nature Astronomy.

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Avery: Additionally, astronomers have relied on the transit

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method or radial velocity measurements to detect

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low mass planets, those 10 Earth masses

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or less, Especially in habitable zones.

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But these smaller planets usually have long

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orbits and produce very weak radial

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velocity signals, Making them

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incredibly difficult to spot.

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Anna: The transit method also has its challenges.

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It only works if the planet's orbit uh, aligns

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perfectly with our line of sight, which is

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uncommon for planets with long orbital periods.

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Even if they do align, the light changes can be

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too dim and brief to be confidently identified,

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Meaning many potential discoveries are missed.

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Avery: This is where TTV comes in as a game

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changer. Kepler725C is

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a non transiting planet, Meaning it doesn't pass

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directly in front of its star. From our

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perspective, the team successfully inferred its

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mass and orbital parameters by analyzing the

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TTV signals of Kepler

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725B, a gas giant in the

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same system that does transit.

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Anna: Kepler's 725C orbits a AH

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G9V host star with a period of

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207.5 days. It

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receives roughly 1.4 times the

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solar radiation that Earth does, Placing it within

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the host star's habitable zone for part of its orbit,

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which definitely makes it a strong candidate for

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habitability.

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Avery: What's so revolutionary about the TTV technique

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Is that it doesn't require a dead on orbit or

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rely on those super high precision radial

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velocity measurements. This makes it uniquely suited

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for detecting those small, long period,

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non transiting habitable planets that are otherwise

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extremely difficult to discover.

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Anna: It fills a critical gap in our current

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exoplanet detection methods. Based on this

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study, missions like the European Plato

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and Chinese ET or Earth 2.0

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missions, once operational, are expected

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to greatly enhance our ability to

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detect a second Earth. It's a huge

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leap forward in the search for another habitable

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world.

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Avery: Speaking of advanced technology Pushing the boundaries of

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discovery, let's talk about the Nancy Grace

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Roman Space Telescope. Technicians at

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NASA Goddard Space Flight center have been busy

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installing crucial components like the solar array, uh,

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sunshield.

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Anna: That's right. This shield, made up of six

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panels covered in solar cells, is essential.

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It's designed to provide the observatory with power

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while simultaneously keeping its sensitive

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instruments cool throughout its mission. This

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marked a major milestone, Completing the

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telescope's outer section.

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Avery: And just recently, NASA announced they finished

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installing the two panels of the lower

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instrument sunshade on Roman's inner inner segment,

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along with the solar array sun shield and the deployable

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aperture cover, which is essentially its visor.

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These shields are absolutely critical for Roman's

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mission to explore the infrared universe.

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Anna: It's very similar to Webb's sunshield.

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Roman's sunshades and aperture cover will

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protect its instruments from the heat and light from the sun,

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which would otherwise interfere with its ability to

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detect those incredibly faint signals from deep

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space.

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Avery: Conrad Mason, an aerospace engineer at NASA

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Goddard, Described them as basically giant

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aluminum sandwiches. They're made with metal sheets

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as thin as a credit card on the top and bottom with

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the honeycomb structure in the middle. This design

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makes them stiff, yet lightweight. And

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specialized polymer film blankets Help temper

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heat transfer from the sun Facing side to the back.

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Anna: Matthew Stevens, another aerospace engineer at

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NASA Goddard, Was perfectly summed it up,

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saying this shield is like an extremely

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strong sunblock For Roman's sensitive instruments.

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He also mentioned that the deploying mechanisms

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have dampers Similar to soft close

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hinges, so the panels won't slam

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open. They take about two minutes to move into their

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final positions. And this will be the very

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first system Roman deploys in space.

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Avery: After launch, with the inner segment fully

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assembled, it's now undergoing a 70 day

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thermal vacuum test to ensure full

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functionality under simulated space conditions.

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After that, the inner and outer segments will be

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integrated by November, with a launch expected between

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fall 2026 and May 2027.

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Anna: The Roman Space Telescope, named after Nancy

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Grace Roman, NASA's first chief of astronomy,

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is often called the mother of the Hubble Space

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Telescope as its direct successor.

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Once operational, it will use its thermal

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optics to investigate exoplanets, planet

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forming disks, red dwarfs, brown dwarfs

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and other unseen objects.

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Avery: It's also going to observe distant galaxies to measure

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the universe's expansion rate, the Hubble constant,

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which we've talked about before. The hope is that it will

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shed light on some of the most pressing mysteries in

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astronomy and cosmology, including dark

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matter, dark energy, and the Hubble tension.

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Truly a telescope poised to redefine our

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understanding of the cosmos.

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Anna: And that brings us to the end of another fascinating

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episode of Astronomy Daily. What a

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journey through the cosmos we've had today.

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Avery: Absolutely, anna. Uh, from NASA's

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ambitious plans to build a nuclear reactor on the

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Moon and the strategic race with China to

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unraveling the true age of Earth's ancient

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Maralga impact crater.

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Anna: And let's not forget the exciting discovery of

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Kepler 725c, a potentially

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habitable super Earth found using that

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innovative transit timing variation method. Method

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it really boosts our search for Earth 2.0.

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Avery: And of course, the progress on the Nancy Grace Roman

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Space Telescope with its crucial sun

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shields getting installed, preparing it to peer

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into the infrared universe and help solve mysteries

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like dark matter and dark energy.

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Anna: It's been an incredible day of space news and

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we hope you enjoyed joining us for all the updates.

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Thank you for tuning in to ASTRONOMY Daily.

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Avery: We love sharing these cosmic stories with you.

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Until tomorrow, stay curious and keep looking

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up.