New Microbial Discoveries, Exoplanetary Controversies, and Music's Cosmic Journey

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, where we explore the vast

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frontiers of our universe and bring you the latest

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developments in space science and astronomical

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discoveries. And I know you were probably expecting

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to hear from Steve and Halley today, but unfortunately,

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Steve has become a little busy and needs the day off,

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and consequently Halley decided she'd do the same.

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So I'm, your host instead. My name is Anna, and

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I'm excited to share today's cosmic journey with you. We've

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got an incredible lineup of stories that highlight just how

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remarkable our quest to understand the universe truly

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is. From the microscopic to the massive. From

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nearby space stations to distant exoplanets,

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today's episode spans the full spectrum of space

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exploration. So buckle up for a journey through the latest

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wonders and debates in astronomy and space exploration.

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In what might be one of the most intriguing discoveries in

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astrobiology this year, scientists have

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identified a completely new bacterium aboard China's

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Tiangong Space Station. This microscopic

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organism, which has been named Nyalia

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tiangongensis, has never been documented on Earth

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before, raising fascinating questions about microbial

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adaptation and evolution in space environments.

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The discovery came through work led by Dr. Junxia

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Yuan from the Shenzhou Space Biotechnology

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Group in Beijing. Following detailed

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genetic and biochemical analysis of samples

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collected as part of the China Space Station Habitation

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Area Microbiome Programme, or

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champ, researchers confirmed they were dealing with an

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entirely new species. What makes this tiny

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hitchhiker particularly interesting is how well

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suited it appears to be for life in orbit. The

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bacterium is rod shaped and microscopic, but

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its most notable feature is its ability to form

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spores, resilient structures that help certain

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microorganisms survive harsh conditions.

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This adaptation may be crucial for enduring the extreme

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radiation and microgravity environment hundreds of miles

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above Earth's surface. The researchers also

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noted that Nyalia tiangongensis

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breaks down gelatin in a distinctive way, which could

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be an important survival mechanism in the nutrient limited environment

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of a space station. This ability to

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efficiently process available resources

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might explain how the microbe has managed to thrive in such an

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isolated ecosystem. Space stations are

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essentially sealed habitats containing people,

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equipment, and countless microorganisms.

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Many of these microbes originate from crew members or

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cargo, making it challenging to determine whether this

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bacterium was a stowaway from Earth that developed new

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traits, or if it somehow evolved in response to the

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unique conditions of space. Experts

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studying microbial behaviour in orbit have

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previously observed how certain species can form biofilms,

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films, structured communities that increase resistance

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to environmental stressors. A NASA study on

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the International Space Station demonstrated that some

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microbes can develop heightened tolerance to the elevated

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radiation levels encountered in low Earth orbit.

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The new bacterium appears to be related to

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Nyalia circulens, a known Earth microbe

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that can cause sepsis in people with compromised immune

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systems. However, it remains unclear whether this

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species space station variant carries similar health risks

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or has acquired new properties that might affect its

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interaction with humans. This discovery

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underscores just how little we know about the vast array of

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microorganisms around us. While tens of

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thousands of bacterial species have been catalogued,

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billions more remain unidentified.

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The emergence of this space adapted bacterium serves

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as a reminder that life finds extraordinary ways to

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adapt to even the most extreme environments humans

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create.

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Next up, an update to a story we brought you some weeks

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ago. A scientific debate is heating up in the

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astronomy community over what would have been groundbreaking

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newspotential signs of life on an

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exoplanet. In 2023, a

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team from Cambridge University announced that

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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope had

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detected what appeared to be evidence of a liquid water

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ocean on K2 18B,

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a temperate sub Neptune world about 124

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light years from Earth. Earlier this year,

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the same researchers doubled down on their claims,

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suggesting they had found even stronger evidence for possible

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alien life. The excitement centred around a

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tentative detection of demethyl sulphide, or

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dms, a molecule that on Earth is produced

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exclusively by marine organisms. They also

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potentially identified DMDs, a close

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chemical relative that could similarly indicate biological

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processes. Combined with the possibility that

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K2 18B is what scientists call a

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hycean world, a planet with a hydrogen rich

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atmosphere above a liquid water ocean, these

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findings generated tremendous media attention and

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speculation about the first potential detection of

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alien life. However,

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independent research teams have been conducting their own

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analyses and the results are casting significant doubt

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on these claims. A new study led by

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Rafael Luke from the University of Chicago

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has re examined the original data using a more

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comprehensive approach. Rather than analysing

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data from each of Webb's instruments separately,

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Luke's team conducted a joint analysis using

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information from all three of the telescope's key instruments

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simultaneously. This approach ensures that

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scientists aren't telling what Luke's colleague Michael Jang

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calls contradictory stories about the same planet.

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When analysing the combined dataset, the researchers

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found that the signal for DMS or DMDs

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was much weaker than originally reported. So weak in

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fact, that they described it as statistically

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insignificant. As team member Caroline

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Piolet Gorayeb explained, we never saw more than

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insignificant hints of either DMS or

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DMDs, and even these hints were not present in

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all data reductions. Their work suggests

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that the spectral features observed could be explained by other

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molecules commonly found in exoplanet atmospheres that

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associated with life. This controversy highlights a

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ah, fundamental challenge in the search for extraterrestrial life.

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The chemical signatures of potential biosignatures like

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DMS are incredibly subtle and can be

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easily confused with more common molecules. For

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instance, the difference between DMS and ethane,

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a common non biological molecule in planetary

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atmospheres, is just one sulphur atom.

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While the Webb Telescope represents a quantum leap in our

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observational capabilities, distinguishing between

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molecules with such similar structures remains extremely

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difficult, especially across distances measured

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in light years. As Piule Goroyeb

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noted, until we can separate these signals more clearly,

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we have to be especially careful not to misinterpret them as

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signs of life.

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Okay, moving on to something a little more

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positive. Have you ever wondered how the light from

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stars billions of light years away manages

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to reach us without dimming into nothingness?

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This remarkable property of light was beautifully illustrated by

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an astrophysicist who captured images of the

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Pinwheel Galaxy from his San Diego backyard.

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When his wife asked if light gets tired during its 25

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million year journey across 150 quintillion

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miles of space, it sparked a fascinating

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exploration of light's extraordinary nature.

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Light is fundamentally different from anything we encounter in our

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everyday lives. As electromagnetic

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radiation, it consists of coupled electric and

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magnetic waves travelling through spacetime.

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What makes light truly special is that it has no mass

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whatsoever. This seemingly simple

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characteristic has profound implications for how

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light behaves across cosmic distances.

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Because light is massless, it's not constrained by

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the limitations that affect physical objects.

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While everything with mass can only approach but never reach

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light speed speed, Light itself travels at the

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universe's ultimate speed limit,

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approximately 186,000 miles per

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second, or nearly 6 trillion miles per year.

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To put this incredible velocity into perspective, a

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single particle of light can circle our entire planet more than

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twice in the blink of an eye. When light travels

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unimpeded through the vacuum of space, it maintains

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this tremendous speed indefinitely without losing energy.

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This is counterintuitive to our everyday experience, where moving

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objects eventually slow down due to friction or other

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forces. But in the vast emptiness between

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stars and galaxies, there's simply nothing to slow

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light down. That's not to say that all

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light reaches us intact. Some photons do

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collide with interstellar dust particles or gas clouds along their

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journey, causing them to scatter or be absorbed.

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This is why distant celestial objects can appear dimmer or

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redder than they actually are, a phenomenon

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astronomers call extinction. However,

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the vast Majority of photons travel through the nearly

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perfect vacuum of space without encountering any

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obstacles whatsoever. This ability to

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maintain energy over immense distances is

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directly tied to Einstein's theory of relativity.

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According to this revolutionary framework, time

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itself behaves differently depending on your speed and

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proximity to gravitational fields. For

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objects moving at extreme velocities, time

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actually slows down. A phenomenon called time

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dilation that has been repeatedly confirmed through

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precision experiments. For light, this

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time dilation reaches its theoretical maximum.

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If you could somehow ride alongside a photon, Impossible.

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Since you have mass, you would experience something

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truly mind bending. From your perspective, time would

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completely stop. Meanwhile, space, in your direction

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of travel, would appear compressed to nothing.

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What we perceive as a journey of millions or billions of years

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would, from the photon's frame of reference, happen

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instantaneously. This

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peculiar relationship between light and spacetime explains

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how photons can travel such tremendous distances

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without degradation. From the

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photon's perspective, there is no journey at all,

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just instantaneous transport from source to destination.

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Now imagine yourself as a photon, a

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massless particle of light travelling at the

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universe's speed limit. From your

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perspective, something truly extraordinary,

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time completely stops. This isn't science

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fiction. It's a direct consequence of Einstein's theory of

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relativity that fundamentally changes how we

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must think about cosmic journeys. When we

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observe light from distant galaxies, we

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calculate travel times in the millions or billions of years.

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The photons reaching Earth from the Pinwheel Galaxy, for instance,

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have been travelling for 25 million years according to

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our earthbound clocks. But for the photon

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itself, this immense journey happens in an

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instant. Literally no time passes from its

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perspective. This mind bending

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reality occurs because as an object approaches the speed

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of light, time dilation becomes more pronounced.

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At exactly light speed, time dilation reaches its

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absolute maximum. If you could somehow attach

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a clock to a photon, which is physically impossible,

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that clock would never tick forward. The

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moment of emission and the moment of absorption would be the

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same moment. Even more strange is what happens to

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space from the photon's perspective. As, velocity

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increases, space itself contracts in the

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direction of travel. For a photon moving at light

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speed, this contraction becomes complete. The

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entire distance between source and destination essentially

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shrinks to zero. So while we see vast

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gulfs of space separating cosmic objects,

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from the photon's viewpoint, there is no

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separation at all. The star that emitted it

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and the telescope that detected it might be

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separated by billions of light years in our reference frame.

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But to the photon, they occupy the same point in

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spacetime. This reveals something profound about

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the nature of our universe. The cosmic speed

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limit isn't just an arbitrary rule, it's woven into

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the fabric of reality itself. As

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objects approach this limit, the very concepts of time

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and distance transform in ways that preserve the

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consistency of physical laws throughout the universe.

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Next on our agenda today, a UK based space

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propulsion startup called Pulsar Fusion has recently

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unveiled an ambitious concept that could revolutionise

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our approach to interplanetary travel. Their

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Sunbird migratory transfer vehicle represents a

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dramatic leap forward in space propulsion technology.

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Powered by what they call dual direct fusion drive engines,

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or DDFD for short. What makes

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this concept truly revolutionary is the

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projected speed. According to Pulsar Fusion,

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the Sunbird could achieve velocities of up to

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329,000 miles per hour. To

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put that in perspective, that's over 150

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times faster than the International Space Station's orbital

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speed. If these projections hold true,

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the Sunbird would become the fastest self propelled

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object ever engineered by humans.

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The key to this extraordinary performance is nuclear

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fusion, the same process that powers our sun and

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other stars. Unlike conventional chemical

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rockets that have fundamental limitations on exhaust

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velocity, these fusion engines could produce

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exhaust speeds of approximately 310

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miles per second, or about 500

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kilometres per second. This represents a

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quantum leap beyond current propulsion capabilities.

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In a demonstration video, the company shows the Sunbird

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undocking from a space station, carefully manoeuvring

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with eight thrusters to attach to a larger spacecraft

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resembling a SpaceX Starship upper stage

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before igniting its main engines and accelerating toward

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distant planets. Of course, significant engineering

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challenges remain before this concept becomes reality.

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Pulsar Fusion acknowledges they're still in development,

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with plans to demonstrate essential components of the

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fusion power system later this year. They've

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set an ambitious target of 2027 for full in

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orbit testing, a timeline that would mark a

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historic achievement in both aerospace engineering and energy

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technology. If successful, the implications

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for Mars exploration are particularly exciting.

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Current chemical propulsion systems require lengthy

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transit times to reach the Red planet, typically

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six to nine months, depending on planetary alignment.

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A fusion powered vehicle could potentially cut this journey

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time dramatically, making Mars missions more feasible

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from both human factors and logistical

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perspectives. Beyond Mars, the technology

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could enable more rapid exploration throughout the

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solar system. Missions to the outer planets

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that currently take years could be accomplished in months,

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opening new possibilities for scientific discovery

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and potentially even resource utilisation beyond

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Earth. What Pulsar Fusion is proposing

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isn't just an incremental improvement. It represents

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a fundamental shift in our capability to traverse the

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solar system, potentially transforming

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interplanetary space from a forbidding frontier

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into something more akin to a navigable ocean

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with established shipping lanes and regular traffic.

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The Versatility of the system appears to be a key selling

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point. Pulsar fusion envisions their

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technology powering missions ranging from

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deploying telescopes in deep space to transporting

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robotic probes throughout the solar system.

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As commercial interest in lunar and Martian resources

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continues to grow, having a reliable,

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relatively affordable transport system could

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accelerate development beyond Earth orbit. What's

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particularly interesting about this approach is how it mirrors

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historical patterns of transportation economics.

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Just as shipping containers revolutionised global trade by

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standardising cargo transport, these fusion

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powered spacecraft could create a standardised approach to

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moving materials beyond Earth. The

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establishment of regular shipping lanes between Earth

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lunar colonies, Mars outposts and even

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asteroid mining operations could create entirely new

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economic opportunities.

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Finally, today, I love this.

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In a beautiful intersection of classical music and space

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exploration, Johann Strauss's iconic

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composition the Blue Danube will soon be travelling

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among the stars. This month, to

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commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Austrian

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composer's birth, his famous waltz will be

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beamed into the cosmos in a special transmission

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organised by the European Space Agency.

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The celestial performance will feature the Vienna Symphony

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Orchestra with their rendition of the beloved

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waltz being converted into radio signals and

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transmitted from Earth on May 31st.

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This cosmic concert also serves as a celebration

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of the European Space Agency's 50th anniversary,

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creating a meaningful connection between artistic

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heritage and scientific achievement.

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While the performance will be live streamed, with public

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screenings in Vienna, Madrid and New York,

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ESA is taking no chances with the actual space

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transmission. They'll relay a pre recorded version

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from the orchestra's rehearsal to ensure technical perfection.

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While the live orchestral performance provides the

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Earthbound accompaniment, the radio

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signals carrying Strauss's masterpiece will depart Earth at

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the speed of light, an astonishing

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670 million miles per hour. This

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means the waltz that once accompanied dancers across

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European ballrooms will hurtle past our moon in

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just one and a half seconds. It's a fitting

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cosmic journey for a piece that many associate with space.

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Thanks to its memorable appearance in Stanley

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Kubrick's 2001 A, Space Odyssey,

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the M transmission represents something of a correction to

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a historical oversight. When

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NASA launched the voyager probes in

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1977, with their famous golden records

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containing sounds and music of Earth,

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Strauss's compositions were notably absent.

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Despite their cultural significance, Vienna's

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tourist board has characterised this transmission

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as rectifying that cosmic mistake,

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finally giving the Blue Danube its rightful place

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among the stars, ESA will use its

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powerful radio antenna in Spain, part of the

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agency's deep space network, to transmit the waltz.

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In a poetic touch, the dish will be pointed toward

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Voyager 1's location, sending Strauss's music In

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the direction of humanity's most distant spacecraft,

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this musical mission joins a tradition of transmitting human

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artistic achievements into space. In

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previous years, NASA has beamed the Beatles across the

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universe and Missy Elliott's the Rain

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toward distant celestial bodies, while the Mars

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rover Curiosity even relayed Will iam's reach

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for the stars back to Earth from the Red Planet.

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As ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher noted,

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music connects us all through time and space in a very

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particular way. In sending this timeless

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composition beyond our world, humanity continues its

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practise of sharing our cultural treasures with the cosmos.

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A gesture of artistic connection that extends far

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beyond the boundaries of Earth. The radio

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signals carrying Strauss's waltz will travel at truly

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cosmic speeds, racing through our solar system

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and beyond. After passing the moon in just

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1.5 seconds, the beautiful melodies will reach

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Mars in only 4.5 minutes. Within

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37 minutes, Jupiter will hear the waltz.

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And by the four hour mark, the music will have

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travelled beyond Neptune at the edge of our solar system.

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Perhaps most remarkably, within just 23 hours,

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Strauss's composition will have travelled as far from Earth as

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Voyager 1, humanity's most distant

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spacecraft. Currently over 15 billion miles

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away in interstellar space,

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music has even flowed in the opposite direction.

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In 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover on

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Mars received will die AM's reach for the stars

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and then relayed it back to Earth, creating the first

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interplanetary musical transmission from another world.

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Unlike the routine melodies streamed between mission control

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and orbiting Crews since the mid-1960s,

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these deep space transmissions represent deliberate

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attempts to share human culture with the cosmos.

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Whether anyone or anything will ever receive these

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musical messages remains unknown. But the gesture

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itself represents humanity's persistent desire to

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connect across the vastness of space.

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What a journey we've taken today across the cosmos.

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From the microscopic to the musical, our exploration

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reminds us that space science continues to surprise and

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inspire us in equal measure. The

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stories we've explored today span from bacterial

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adaptations to cosmic musical performances.

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Yet they all share a common thread. Human

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curiosity. Our desire to understand,

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to explore, and to connect across the vastness

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of space continues to drive us forward into an

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exciting future among the stars. Thank you for

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joining me on this cosmic journey. I'm Anna, and

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this has been Astronomy Daily. For more astronomy and

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space news, just visit our

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00:20:42.350 --> 00:20:45.320
website@astronomydaily.IO until next

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00:20:45.320 --> 00:20:47.960
time, keep looking up. There's always something fascinating

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happening in our universe.