Private Spaceflight Setbacks, Mars Reconnaissance Innovations, and Nova V462 Lupi's Dazzling Display

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to podcast for

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the latest and greatest in space news. I'm your

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host Anna, and I'm thrilled to have you join me today as

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we embark on another fascinating journey through the

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cosmos. We have a packed episode for you

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covering some truly remarkable developments and a few

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unexpected turns in our exploration of the universe.

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Today we'll discuss a private spaceflight mission that

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faced an unexpected anomaly. We'll then look

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at how NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is learning new

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manoeuvres after nearly two decades, offering

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fresh insights into the Red Planet for

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stargazers. We'll highlight a recent nova explosion

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that made a previously dim star visible to the naked

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eye. We'll also dive into a new statistical

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analysis of exoplanet habitability,

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revealing promising candidates for life.

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Finally, we'll explore a cutting edge collaboration between

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NASA and Australia on lunar laser communications

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for the Artemis 2 mission.

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So buckle up and let's get started.

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First up, let's talk about a recent private space flight that didn't

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quite go according to plan, yet is still being called

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a partial success by the exploration company.

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This incident involved their Nyx capsule,

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which was part of the SpaceX Transporter 14

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rideshare mission launched on June 23.

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Among the 70 payloads sent into orbit, the Nyx

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capsule had a very special cargo Memorial

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remains contributed by loved ones through Celestis

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Memorial Space Flights. Celestis offers various

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tiers of space memorial services, from launching

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DNA into space and returning it to Earth to

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sending remains into deep space for their

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25th launch. Dubbed the Perseverance Flight,

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Celestis partnered with the Exploration Company's

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Mission Possible to carry its memorial payload

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aboard the Nyx capsule with the intention of

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returning it to Earth. The mission proceeded

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nominally throughout, with the capsule performing as

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expected, powering its payloads in orbit,

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stabilising itself and even re establishing

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communication after the expected blackout period during

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RE entry. This blackout happens when

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intense friction with the atmosphere creates a

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superheated plasma layer around the spacecraft.

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Everything seemed to be going perfectly right up until

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a few minutes before its scale scheduled splashdown in the

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Pacific Ocean. That's when an anomaly

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occurred. The exploration company reported losing

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communication with Nyx. A later statement from

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Celestis shed more light on the issue, confirming

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that the capsule's parachute system failed to deploy.

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This tragic failure resulted in the Nyx capsule

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impacting the Pacific Ocean and dispersing its

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contents at sea. It's an incredibly sombre

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outcome for the families who entrusted their loved ones remains

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to this journey. Celestis expressed their hope

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that families will find some Peace in knowing their

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loved ones were part of a historic journey.

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Launched into space, orbited Earth and

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are now resting in the vastness of the Pacific,

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akin to a traditional and honoured sea scattering.

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The Exploration company also extended an apology

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to all their clients. Despite this significant

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setback, the Exploration company is viewing the mission

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as a partial success. They highlight the

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technical, um, milestones achieved, emphasising their

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ambition and the inherent risks involved in innovation.

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The Nyx capsule is a crucial part of their future

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plans, designed to transport both crew and

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cargo to and from low Earth orbit and

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beyond. They are determined not to let this

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snag slow them down and are already preparing

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to re fly as soon as possible, leveraging the

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lessons learned from this ongoing investigation.

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Now let's turn our gaze to Mars, where NASA's Mars

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Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO, is proving

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that you can indeed teach an old spacecraft new tricks.

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After nearly two decades orbiting the Red Planet,

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MRO is literally on a roll, performing new

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manoeuvres to extract even more science data.

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Engineers have managed to teach this probe to roll

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almost completely upside down, a feat that allows it to

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peer deeper beneath the Martian surface in its hunt for

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liquid and frozen water. These new capabilities,

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detailed in a recent paper, describe three

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very large roles executed between

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2023 and 2024. This

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innovative approach means that entirely new regions

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of the Martian subsurface are now accessible for

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exploration. While MRO M was

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originally designed to roll up to 30 degrees to point its

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instruments, these new rolls push the limits

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to a full 120 degrees.

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The main beneficiary of these extreme manoeuvres is the

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shallow radar, or SHARAD instrument.

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SHARAD is designed to penetrate one to two

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kilometres below ground, helping scientists

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distinguish between materials like rock, sand and

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ice. It has been instrumental in mapping

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subsurface ice deposits, which are crucial for

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understanding Mars climate and geology and are also

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vital potential resources for future human missions.

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However, Sharad's antennas were mounted at the back of the

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orbiter to give prime viewing to other cameras, which

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inadvertently caused parts of the spacecraft to interfere with

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its radar signals, making images less clear.

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By performing these dramatic 120 degree

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rolls, the team found they could give the radio waves

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an unobstructed path to the surface, strengthening

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the radar signal by 10 times or more and providing

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a much clearer picture of the Martian underground.

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Planning these roles isn't simple. MRO carries

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five science instruments, each with different pointing

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requirements. Regular rolls are planned weeks in

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advance, with instrument teams negotiating for science time.

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An algorithm then commands the orbiter to roll,

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adjusting solar arrays for power and the high gain

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antenna for communication with Earth. The

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very large rolls are even more complex,

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requiring special analysis to ensure enough

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battery power for safety, as the spacecraft's

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antenna isn't pointed at Earth and its solar

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arrays can't track the sun during the manoeuvre.

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Because of these challenges, the mission is currently

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limited to one or two of these very large

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rolls per year, although engineers hope to

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streamline the process for more frequent use.

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In addition to shared, another MRO instrument, the

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Mars Climate Sounder, is also adapting its operations.

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This instrument, which provides detailed information on Mars's

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atmosphere, now relies on MRO's standard

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roles for its observations and calibrations as

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its ageing gimbal has become unreliable. These

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clever adaptations ensure that MRO continues to deliver

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cutting edge science even as it approaches its two

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decade mark in space.

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From the robotic wonders of Mars, we now

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shift our focus to a celestial spectacle

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happening right now in our own night sky. An

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ordinarily dim star has suddenly burst into

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brilliance, putting on a powerful display that's

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even visible to the naked eye. We're talking about

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the Nova V462 Lupi, first

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spotted on June 12 by the All Sky Automated

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Survey for Supernovae. This star,

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usually far too faint for us to see with a visual magnitude

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of 22.3, has undergone a dramatic

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transformation. Its explosion of radiation has caused

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it to brighten so significantly that it appears as if

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brand new star is shining in the night sky. Just as

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a reminder, the lower an object's magnitude, the

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brighter it appears. Our eyes can typically pick

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out stars with a magnitude of plus 6.5 or

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greater under good dark sky conditions.

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So what exactly is a classical nova? It's a

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fascinating type of stellar explosion that occurs in binary

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star systems. Imagine a white dwarf star,

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which is the dense remnant of a star like our sun,

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orbiting very closely with a companion star. The

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white dwarf's strong gravitational pull

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strips mass mostly hydrogen from its

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companion. This material then accumulates

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on the surface of the white dwarf. As more and

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more material piles up, it becomes incredibly

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hot and dense, eventually reaching a critical point

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where a cataclysmic fusion reaction is ignited.

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This sudden, powerful explosion releases a

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colossal outpouring of radiation, which is what we

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observe as a nova. Soon after its

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discovery, V462 Lupi was

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reported to be visible through binoculars with an apparent

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magnitude of around 7.9.

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It continued to brighten steadily in the days that followed,

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eventually becoming visible to the naked eye around the

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middle of June, with some reports even placing its

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peak brightness at over 5.5.

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While it was truly spectacular, the nova is now on the

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decline and its brightness is fading. But don't

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despair. You still have a chance to witness this

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ancient light before it vanishes from our view. The

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dark skies around the new moon offer a perfect opportunity

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to get away from city lights and hunt down

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V462 Lupi. We

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recommend bringing a pair of 10x50 binoculars,

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which will make it easier to spot the subsiding light while

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providing a wide field of view to appreciate the surrounding

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stars. To find

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V462 Lupi, you'll need to look

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in the constellation Lupus the Wolf, near the

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bright stars Delta Lupi and Kappa Centauri. For

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precise positioning, a star chart is your best friend.

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You can generate one easily on the American association

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for Variable Stars or AAVSO website.

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Just type V462, loop into the Pick a

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Star box and click Create a Finder Chart.

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Skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere will have the best view

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as, uh, the nova will appear highest in the post

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sunset sky for them. For our listeners in

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The United States, V462

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Lupi will be visible close to the southern

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horizon, especially if you're in states

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closest to the equator, such as Texas, Florida

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and Louisiana. It's a fleeting but powerful

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reminder of the dynamic nature of our universe.

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Next up, let's shift our gaze far beyond our solar

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system to the fascinating world of exoplanets

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and the ongoing search for life. While direct

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imaging of exoplanet atmospheres or discovering

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systems with multiple planets might grab more headlines,

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one of the most powerful and often underappreciated

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tools in an astrobiologist's kit is

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statistics. It's absolutely crucial for

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ensuring that what we observe is real and not just

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an artefact of our data or observational

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techniques. A new paper by Caleb Traxler

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and his co authors at UC Irvine has done just that,

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statistically analysing a subset of thousands of

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exoplanets to judge their habitability. For

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decades, the search for potentially life supporting

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exoplanets has largely revolved around the

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concept of the habitable zone. This is

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essentially a calculation of a planet's average temperature

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to determine if liquid water, a critical medium for

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life as we know it, could exist on its surface.

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However, the authors of this new study argue that such a one

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dimensional system is too general and not practically

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useful for pinpointing planets with a high probability

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of supporting life. Mhm. Instead, they

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propose a more comprehensive approach, looking at

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characteristics of both the planet and its parent star, and

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then Comparing these to Earth, which remains our baseline

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for a habitable world. They analysed each

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exoplanet based on four key its

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radius, temperature, insolation, flux, that is how

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much sunlight it receives, and density. For the

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exoplanet's host star, they examined its effective

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temperature, radius, mass and metallicity, which

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is the ratio of its iron content to its hydrogen

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content. Using these eight

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parameters, they sorted 517

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exoplanets for which this data was available

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into four distinct categories. An

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excellent candidate meant the planet was similar enough to

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Earth to be of strong interest. Good

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planet poor star indicated that at least one

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of the star's parameters significantly differed from our Sun.

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Conversely, good star poor

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planet meant the planet's characteristics were

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significantly different from Earth. The final

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category, poor candidate, applied to systems where

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neither the star nor the planet fit the bill.

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Interestingly, the good star poor planet

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category contained the vast majority of exoplanets,

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accounting for 388 systems, or

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75% of the data set. The

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researchers suggest that this isn't necessarily a physical

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reality, but rather a detection bias.

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Techniques commonly used to find exoplanets like the

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transit method are heavily biassed towards detecting

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large planets with short orbital periods, which would place

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them firmly in this category. They believe that

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with longer observational times, we could find many more

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planets that fit into the excellent candidate bucket.

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And speaking of excellent candidates, out of the

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entire 517 planet dataset,

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only three were classified as

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ExcellentEarth itself Kepler

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22b and Kepler

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538b. Kepler 22b

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in particular stands out as a truly promising

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prospect, with only a 3.1% difference

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in temperature and a mere 1% difference in

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insolation compared to Earth. The paper

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identifies it as having the highest likelihood of

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harbouring life, making it a prime target for

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atmospheric observation by the James Webb Space

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Telescope. Despite its distance of

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635 light years. While

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Kepler 538B is larger

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and hotter than Earth, it still falls within the realm of

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potential habitability. This rarity

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highlights that Earth is statistically unique, but

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not so rare as to require some miraculous confluence

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of planetary and stellar characteristics.

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Another rare type found in this analysis were planets in the

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good planet poor star category. Only

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six planets landed here because their host stars, which were

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all M dwarfs, the most common stars in our galaxy,

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fell outside the defined habitable temperature range.

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However, the authors point out that despite lying outside

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the generally accepted framework, these candidates still

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have a good chance of harbouring life given their other physical

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parameters. Many are already under

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observation from the James Webb space telescope.

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And if they prove to have viable habitable conditions,

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it could revolutionise the field of astrobiology

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due to the sheer prevalence of M dwarf host

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stars in the galactic population.

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This statistical analysis reinforces several key points

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that astrobiologists have known for some time.

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Kepler 22B remains a leading candidate for

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further investigation, offering our best current

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chance at finding evidence of, uh, life beyond Earth.

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It also suggests that conditions on Earth, while relatively

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rare, are not so rare as to be a statistical

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impossibility or a miracle. And

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crucially, it highlights the significant bias in our

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current exoplanet detection methods towards

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planets that, due to their large size and short

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orbital periods, might not be the most

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habitable. As astrobiology continues to

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advance, this kind of rigorous statistical

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analysis will provide invaluable context,

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helping to direct our powerful new observational

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equipment towards the areas most likely to answer one

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of humanity's most profound questions.

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Are we alone? Now let's

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talk about how we'll communicate with our brave astronauts as

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they venture back to the moon. As NASA gears

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up for its Artemis 2 mission, there's an exciting

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collaboration happening between the agency's Glenn Research

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Centre in Cleveland and the Australian National University,

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or anu, to test some truly inventive

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and cost saving laser communications technologies in the

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lunar environment. Traditionally,

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communicating in space has relied on radio waves.

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However, NASA is actively exploring

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laser or optical communications which

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promise to send data anywhere from 10 to 100

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times faster back to Earth. Instead of radio

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signals, these cutting edge systems use

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infrared light to transmit high definition video,

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pictures, voice and vital science

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data across vast cosmic distances

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in significantly less time.

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While NASA has successfully demonstrated laser communications

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in previous technology tests, Artemis

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II will mark the first crewed mission to attempt

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using lasers to transmit data from deep space.

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To support this ambitious endeavour, researchers working on

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NASA's Real Time Optical Receiver or Realtor,

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project have developed a remarkably cost

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effective laser transceiver built largely using

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commercial off the shelf parts. Earlier

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this year, NASA Glenn engineers meticulously built

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and tested a replica of this system at their aerospace

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communications facility. Now they're working closely with

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ANU to build an identical system using the

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very same hardware models. All to prepare for the

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university's crucial Artemis 2 laser communications

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demonstration. Jennifer Downey,

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co principal investigator for the Real Tour project at

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NASA Glenn, highlights the significance of this

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work, stating that Australia's upcoming

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lunar experiment could showcase the capability,

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affordability and reproducibility of the deep

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space receiver engineered by Glenn. It's an important

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step in proving the feasibility of using commercial

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parts to develop accessible technologies for

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sustainable exploration beyond Earth

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during the Artemis 2 mission, currently scheduled

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for early 2026, NASA plans to

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fly an optical communications system aboard the

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Orion spacecraft. This system will be put to

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the test, attempting to transmit recorded 4K

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ultra high definition video, flight procedures,

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pictures, science data and even voice

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communications from the Moon all the way back to Earth.

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Almost 10,000 miles away from Cleveland at the Mount

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Stromlo Observatory Ground Station, ANU

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researchers are eagerly hoping to receive this data during

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Orion's journey around the Moon using the VARI

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Glenn developed transceiver model. This ground

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station will serve as a vital test location for the new

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transceiver design, though it won't be one of the mission's

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primary ground stations. If this test proves

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successful, it will be a game changer,

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demonstrating that readily available commercial parts can

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indeed be used to build affordable and scalable space

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communication systems for future missions, not just

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to the Moon, but even to Mars and beyond.

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Marie Piasecki, technology portfolio

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manager for NASA's Space Communications and Navigation

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or SCAN programme, emphasises that

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engaging with the Australian National University to

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expand commercial laser communications offerings across the

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world will further demonstrate how this advanced

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satellite communications capability is ready to

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support the agency's networks and missions as we

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set our sights on deep space exploration.

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As NASA continues to investigate the feasibility

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of using commercial parts for ground stations,

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Glenn researchers will continue to provide critical support

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in preparation for Australia's demonstration.

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These strong global partnerships are key to

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advancing technology breakthroughs and are instrumental

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as NASA expands humanity's reach from the Moon

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to Mars, all while fueling innovations

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that improve life here on Earth.

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And that brings us to the end of another fascinating

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journey through the cosmos on Astronomy

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00:19:16.560 --> 00:19:19.360
Daily. I'm Anna, your

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00:19:19.360 --> 00:19:22.080
host and I hope you enjoyed our look at the latest

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00:19:22.080 --> 00:19:25.080
developments. Don't forget, you can listen to

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00:19:25.080 --> 00:19:27.360
all our back episodes and find more information

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00:19:27.760 --> 00:19:30.730
by visiting our website@astronomydaily.IO. um,

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00:19:31.360 --> 00:19:34.240
you can also subscribe to Astronomy Daily on Apple

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00:19:39.850 --> 00:19:42.770
follow us on social media. Just search for Astro

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Until next time, keep looking up