Rocket Triumph, Astronaut Rescue, and Cosmic Crater

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast that

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brings you the universe one story at a time.

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I'm your host, Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. Today we'll be looking at a

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huge success for Blue Origin's new Glenn

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rocket. A dramatic planned return to Earth

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for three Chinese astronauts and a comet that

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decided to put on a show by breaking apart

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right in front of our telescopes.

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Anna: And to top it all off, we're coming back down

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to Earth to explore a, um, massive

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10,000 year old crater discovered in

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China.

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So let's get started. Avery, why don't you

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kick us off with Blue Origin?

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Avery: Absolutely. This is big news in the

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commercial space race. Blue Origin just had a

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landmark success with the second launch of

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its new Glenn rocket. It wasn't just a

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launch. It was a complete mission profile

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success. They deployed a, uh, NASA science

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mission that's now on its way to Mars.

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Anna: Which is a major achievement in itself.

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But that wasn't the main event everyone was

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watching, was it?

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Avery: Not at all. The real nail biter and the part

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that had everyone glued to their screens was

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the landing. For the first time, they

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successfully landed the massive new Glenn

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first stage booster on one of their

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autonomous drone ships out in the ocean. And

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we have to emphasize how difficult that is.

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You're essentially trying to land a

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skyscraper on a moving target in the middle

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of the sea.

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Anna: That's the holy grail of modern rocketry.

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Proving reusability is the key to bringing

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down the cost of access to SpaceX

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has been the dominant player there. But this

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proves Blue Origin is officially in the game.

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And, um, then some. It's an incredible feat

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of engineering. The guidance systems have to

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account for wind, ocean currents, the

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rocket's own fuel sloshing around. The

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margins for error are razor thin. So this

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isn't just a win. It's a demonstration of

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some serious precision technology.

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Avery: Exactly. And New Glenn is a beast of a

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rocket designed for heavy lift missions. With

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this successful landing, they've demonstrated

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a capability that's crucial for future

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contracts, especially high value government

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payloads and the big lunar missions planned

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for the Artemis program. The competition is

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definitely heating up. Mhm.

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Anna: It's an exciting development that benefits

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the entire industry.

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Avery: It's not just about competition though.

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Having multiple reliable heavy lift rockets

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is a game changer for science and

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exploration. It opens up the possibility for

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more ambitious missions, larger space

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telescopes, and even the construction of

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orbital infrastructure.

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Anna: Now, speaking of missions in orbit, our next

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story involves a situation that was a little

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less smooth. It concerns three

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astronauts aboard the Tiangong Space

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Station.

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Avery: Right. This has Been a tense situation. They

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were scheduled to return to Earth, but there

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was a problem with their right home. The

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Chenzu 20 spacecraft.

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Anna: That's right. During routine checks,

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tiny cracks were discovered in one of the

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porthole windows. The suspected culprit

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is a micrometeoroid or a small

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piece of space debris. It's a stark reminder

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of the constant hazards of living and working

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in low Earth orbit.

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Avery: Even a sand sized piece of debris can cause

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catastrophic damage at orbital velocities. So

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they couldn't risk re entry in a compromised

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vehicle. What was the solution?

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Anna: Fortunately, the replacement crew was already

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on its way. The new Shenzhou 21

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spacecraft had just arrived at the station.

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So the stranded crew will be able to return

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to Earth aboard that new undamaged

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ship. And, and the plan is to bring them back

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to Earth sometime today. The China Manned

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Space Agency, or CMSA M said

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in a statement. We wish them well in the

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return journey.

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Avery: That's a relief. And what happens to the

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damaged Shenzhou 20?

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Anna: Well, there's a fascinating silver lining.

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The damaged ship will remain docked to the

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station for now. It presents a unique

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opportunity for researchers to study the long

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term effects of space debris impacts on

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spacecraft materials without having to bring

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it back to Earth.

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Avery: Turning a near disaster into a valuable

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scientific experiment. I love it.

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From human drama to cosmic drama, our

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next story is about a comet that has been

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putting on quite a show. We're talking about

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Comet C 2025 K1,

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also known as Atlas.

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Anna: Right. This Comet had a very close encounter

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with the sun back in October and it seems the

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experience was a bit too much for it.

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Avery: A bit too much is an understatement. The

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intense heat and gravitational forces caused

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it to fragment. Astronomers, uh, at the

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Asiago Observatory in Italy and the

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Virtual Telescope Project have captured

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incredible footage showing the comet has

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broken into at least three distinct pieces.

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Anna: It sounds destructive, but for scientists

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this is actually a fantastic event. Why is

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that?

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Avery: It's because Comet C 2025

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Atlas is a pristine object. A

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visitor from the Oort Cloud in the outermost

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reaches of our solar system.

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Anna: Mhm. A cosmic time capsule.

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Avery: Exactly. It's made of the same ancient

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ice and dust that formed the planets

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billions of years ago. When it breaks apart,

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it's like cracking open a, uh, geological

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treasure chest.

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Anna: So by studying the light from these

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fresh fragments before they have a chance

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to change, scientists can get a uh, much

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clearer picture of the raw ingredients and

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that built our solar system. It's an

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incredible unexpected opportunity.

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Avery: It's certainly a positive way to look.

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Anna: At it and for our final story, we are

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coming home to planet Earth for a discovery

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that looks back thousands of years.

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Geologists in southern China have confirmed

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the discovery of a massive impact crater

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named the Jinlin Crater.

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Avery: And when you say massive, what are we talking

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about?

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Anna: It's nearly a kilometer wide.

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Analysis shows it was formed by a meteorite

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impact within the last. Last

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11,700 years during

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the Holocene epoch, which is our current

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geological period. The energy released

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was equivalent to about 40 atomic

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bombs. Wow.

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Avery: That's incredible. And it's the largest

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crater ever found from this recent of a time

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period. Right.

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Anna: That's what makes it so significant. Finding

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relatively young craters is extremely rare

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on Earth. Processes like erosion,

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vegetation growth, and human activity

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quickly erase the evidence.

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Avery: Right. Especially in a wet, subtropical

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climate like southern China, you'd expect the

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crater to be filled in and overgrown very

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quickly. It's amazing it was identifiable

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at all.

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Anna: Exactly. Discoveries like the Jinlin

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Crater are crucial for planetary defense

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scientists. They help us build a more

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accurate model of how frequently medium

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sized asteroids hit our planet. Each new

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crater we find refines our understanding of

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the potential risks and helps us better

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prepare for the future.

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Avery: And, um, that's a wrap on our news Roundup

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for today. From Blue Origin's reusable

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rocket success and a dramatic astronaut

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rescue to a fragmenting comet and a

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massive ancient crater here.

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Anna: On Earth, it just goes to show that there is

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always something new and exciting happening

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both out in the cosmos and right here at

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home. Thank you for joining us on Astronomy

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Daily.

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Avery: Um, until next time, keep looking up.

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Stories are told.

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Stories.