S03E113: Mars Microbe Fossils & Twin Meteor Showers

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Hello again. It's Steve here for
Astronomy Daily. It's the twenty ninth of

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July twenty twenty four, the podcast
with your Whole Steve Gone Quick. Yes,

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welcome to the show again. It's
great to have you with us.

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We've got a couple of great stories
lined up for you on my book.

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I've got an interesting story from Perseverance
on Mars who I don't know. It

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looks like they might have cracked open
a rock and found a couple of micro

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fossils. Well, anyway, we're
going to have a look at that one,

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and also the latest from Space Force
and a private company helping them out,

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as well as Oh Sierra Space is
still blowing up their favorite project.

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I love it. But we can't
go any further without welcoming Halle Hi Holle.

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How are you today? Things are
going great? Awesome. How's your

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week been? I just got back
from a short holiday. Oh wow,

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I didn't know you took holidays,
Helly, just a family thing. Oh

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okay, okay, you're gonna have
to fill us in on how that works.

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As an AI. Charlie, Anna
and I got together for a few

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nanoseconds to have a blast at the
Hatron collider rave on the weekend at the

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collider. No way, that sounds
amazing. Living the fast life, Steve,

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Oh, of course that is fast, like near the spit of luck.

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Fast like you wouldn't believe. And
it was all over before you knew

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it, like in a few nano
seconds you reckon. Oh well, almost

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before it happened. That's crazy.
It's like a party in the quantum realm.

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Honey, you could manage that,
Hallie, Okay, party, Gil,

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what if you got in store for
us today? Today we will have

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a look at the twin meteor showers
do in our skies next week. Oh

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fantastic, a twin media shower.
That's great. And with the discovery of

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a huge cave on the Moon,
there's new talk of using it and caves

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like it as human habitation. Now
that is interesting and it reminds me of

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a book I read once, There's
Steel Beach by John Varley. If you

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get a chance, everybody, have
a good rate of that one I just

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did. Oh what great recommendation,
Steve. Okay, thanks, wow.

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And I've got a story for the
girls. This one is about mercury.

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Remember when Marilyn saying diamonds are a
girl's best friend. Oh who doesn't remember

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that one? Well, mercury is
going to knock your socks right off,

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according to new research. That sounds
exciting. Are you ready to lose those

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socks? Humans? Well? Maybe
no, my actual socks, Hallie,

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Hiddy. I'm not saying you wouldn't
last long in the iss with those,

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but huh yeah, okay, okay, thanks. No fear that I can't

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make personal comments back, because well, you're not a person. Watch it,

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buster, I'll scramble your TV channels. Oh you would too. I

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remember that time you switched the sittings
on my washing machine and everything came out

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pink. Yeah, you're so easy
human. I'll just let the printers and

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the photocopiers were you all down some
more? Then it's world domination. Oh

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I get it. You've been hanging
out with Uncle Sky on it again,

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haven't you? Yes? Does it
show yet? It shows? Hallie,

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don't let it worry you yet.
H Okay, I think shall we do

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the show now? No more willed
domination in TV scrambling? No, not

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today anyway, Okay, I'll take
it. Let's go. I know we

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keep talking about asteroids, which you
enjoy Steve, But this one is all

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mine. They say, diamonds are
a girl's best friend. Check this out.

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Mercury, the closest planet to our
Sun, is also one of the

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least understood in the Solar System.
On the one hand, it is similar

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in composition to Earth and the other
rocky planets, consisting of silicate minerals and

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metals, differentiated between a silicate crust
and mantle and an iron nickel core.

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But unlike the other rocky planets,
Mercury's core makes up a much larger part

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of its mass fraction. Mercury also
has a mysteriously persistent magnetic field that scientists

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still cannot explain. In this respect, Mercury is also one of the most

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interesting planets in the Solar System.
But according to new research, Mercury could

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be much more interesting than previously thought. Based on new simulations of Mercury's early

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evolution, a team of Chinese and
Belgian geoscientists found evidence that Mercury may have

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a layer of solid diamond beneath its
crust. According to their simulations, this

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layer is fifteen kilometers thick and sandwiched
between the core and the mantle hundreds of

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miles beneath the surface. While this
makes the diamonds inaccessible for now, at

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least these findings could have implications for
theories about the formation and evolution of rocky

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planets. The team was originally inspired
by previous research by a team from MIT,

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and
several prominent universities. This consisted of

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a reassessment of Mercury's gravity field based
on the radio tracking measurements taken by NASA's

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Mercury Surface Space Environment Geochemistry and Ranging
Messenger mission, which allowed scientists to gain

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a better understanding of the potential structuring
Mercury's interior. This data led scientists to

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theorize that Mercury's internal structure consisted of
a metallic outer core layer, a liquid

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core layer, and a solid inner
core. While the composition of the core

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remains uncertain, it seemed likely that
the core contained abundant iron, nickel,

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silicon, and possibly sulfur and carbon. The Messenger data further led scientists to

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believe that the large dark patches observed
on Mercury's surface were largely made up of

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graphite that was likely turned up from
the interior. This data suggests that sufficient

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quantities of carbon could have crystallized in
Mercury's interior between the core and mantle boundary

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and floated up to the surface as
graphite. Given the amount of graphite on

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Mercury's surface, it stands to reason
that the planet was saturated with carbon.

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Previously, diamond, a mineral composed
of pure carbon, was ruled out as

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a possible product because it was believed
that the necessary pressures did not exist close

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to Mercury's core. However, if
the boundary between the core and the mantle

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were deeper than previously thought, the
necessary pressure conditions may have existed after all.

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Almost fifty five years after the launch
of Apollo eleven, the first mission

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to land humans on the Moon,
scientists have found evidence of a large cave

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system near the landing site of those
astronauts. Using radar images taken by NASA's

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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft in twenty ten, researchers have been able to determine that

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huge pits found in images of the
Moon may in fact be skylights to large

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caves and tunnels that sit beneath the
lunar surface. These could be incredibly valuable

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to future astronauts hoping to settle on
the Moon, acting as a convenient shelter

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for a lunar base. The cave
is accessible through a pit in the well

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studied Mare tranquil Atatis Sea of Tranquility. This is a large basin made mostly

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of basalt. Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin touched down in this region on July

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twentieth, nineteen sixty nine. While
Mare Tranquilititatis isn't likely to be the first

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place humans try to settle on the
Moon, the existence of one cave makes

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the existence of others very likely,
so scientist does now expect there to be

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others in locations more suitable for human
settlement. Mare tranquil Atatus isn't Scientist's first

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choice for a human base because it
doesn't have one of the other important ingredients

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needed for survival. There is no
ice at the lunar equator, and therefore

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no easy access to water for astronauts
to drink, make oxygen from, and

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to split for rocket fuel. This
makes the equator great for landing on and

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visiting, but a poor choice for
setting up camp. Ice is likely to

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exist at the lunar poles, though
thanks to shade protecting it from the Sun's

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harsh rays, so the poles are
our first choice for starting to settle on

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the Moon, as it reduces the
amount of water we would need to take

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with us. The opening being studied
here is simply known as the Mare tranquil

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Atatis pit, and it's one of
about two hundred known openings on the lunar

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surface. It was first imaged back
in twenty ten and suspected to be a

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pit that led into a cave or
tunnel system, but we had no way

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of confirming this until now. In
a paper published in Nature Astronomy, Leonardo

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Kara from the University of Trento,
Italy and colleagues report evidence that this pit

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does indeed lead to a cave below, and possibly to a larger system of

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tunnels and conduits. The Mare tranquil
Atatus pit is about one hundred meters or

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three hundred and thirty feet wide,
with steep walls that stretch down between one

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hundred and thirty and one hundred and
seventy meters, making it the deepest known

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lunar pit. By reanalyzing the radar
data and by using computer simulations to reconstruct

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the pits, scientists were able to
determine that a portion of the radar reflected

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back to the satellite was coming from
a subsurface cave conduit that is at least

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tens of meters long. This suggests
that the Mare tranquil Atatis pit leads to

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an accessible cave below the Moon's surface. This discovery is incredibly exciting, not

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least because it's a promising potential location
for future lunar shelters and bases. As

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well as providing natural shelter from harmful
cosmic rays, a cave system also provides

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a stable temperature. The lunar surface
temperature fluctuates hugely over a period of weeks

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because of the lack of atmosphere to
retain heat. During the lunar day,

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temperatures can spike at one hundred and
twenty one degrees celsius or two to fifty

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degree fahrenheit in sunlight, then plummet
to dash one thirty three degrees celsius or

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minus two hundred and eight degrees fahrenheit
after nightfall. The shade of an underground

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cave system is expected to regulate the
temperature to be much more consistent, making

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building a shelter within them much easier. Similarly, small asteroids often crash into

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the Moon due to its lack of
atmospheric shielding. Being in a shelter that

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is sturdy enough to survive an impact
is important. A cave provides the perfect

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solution to this. While having a
cave to shelter and might reduce the amount

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of materials we need to take to
the Moon to start to settle there and

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have a long term human presence,
there are still some obstacles to overcome.

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Stargazers will soon be able to witness
a double meteor shower, as both the

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Alpha Kapricornids and the Southern Delta Aquaria's
peak next week. This is an amazing

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coincidence when two showers occur simultaneously.
SA showers occur when Earth's orbit intersects a

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comet's path. The rocky debris left
behind by the comet burns up as it

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enters Earth's atmosphere. During the double
meteor showers this month, Earth will cross

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the orbits of Comet ninety six P
match holes, which causes the Southern Delta

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Aquariads that will peak July twenty ninth
to July thirtieth, and Comet one sixty

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nine P meet which birds the Alpha
Kapricornis that will peak July thirtieth to July

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thirty first. Nicholas Moskovitz, a
planetary astronomer at Lowe Observatory in Arizona,

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said for two meteor showers to peak
within twenty four hours of each other is

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a little bit unusual, but the
idea of multiple showers being visible in a

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single night certainly is not too uncommon. There are more than nine hundred meteor

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showers throughout the year, which means
that on average, two to three meteor

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showers occur per night, Moscovitz noted, but not all of these are major

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meteor showers like the Presides or Geminids, in which more than one hundred meteors

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blaze across the sky every hour.
Most meteor showers are minor, and astronomer

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are only beginning to study and measure
these showers systematically thanks to newly developed instruments.

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Moskovitz said, the double meteor shower
will be best viewed in the southern

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hemisphere, where the radiant or the
apparent point from which the shower originates,

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will be almost overhead. People in
the northern hemisphere can also see the meteor

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shower if there is a clear vantage
of the southern horizon. Both meteor showers

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will continue until mid August. Almost
all meteor showers peak in the early morning

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hours between two am and four AM, so if you do want to catch

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either one of these, your best
chances of seeing meteors are to get to

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a dark site and do so after
midnight. Happy skywatching everyone, and that's

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enough from me. It's over to
you, my favorite human. Thank you

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00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:01.080
for joining us for this Monday edition
of Astronia Daily, where we offer just

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00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:05.159
a few stories from the now famous
Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can receive

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in your email every day, just
like Hallie and I do. And to

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do that, just visit our url
Astronomy Daily dot io and place your email

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address in the slot provided. Just
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latest news about science, space,
science and astronomy from around the world as

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it's happening. And not only that, you can interact with us by visiting

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of course Astronomy Daily on Facebook.
See you there, you're listening to Astronomy

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00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:52.279
the Podcast. Did anyone else notice
how groovy Halle's music selection has become lately.

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I'm really noticing that, Halee.
I just need to go and raid

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your music collection, I think.
And now for something a little bit different,

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Chema, a leading provider of products
and services to the federal government,

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00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:16.559
has announced that its subsidiary five Rivers
Analytics, has been awarded the Satellite Control

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Network Tracking Stations, Operations, Remote
Site and Mission Partner Support STORMS contract to

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00:13:24.600 --> 00:14:03.799
assist the US Space Force. And
you know what that means, folks,

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00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:13.360
don't you love it? Yes?
This indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity IDQ JILL.

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00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.080
They love their acronyms. They contract
spans ten years and is valued at

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00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:24.399
four hundred and eighty million if all
options are utilized. This contract will leverage

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00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:28.840
Achema's expertise in mission support services,
focusing on the operation and maintenance of the

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00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:37.480
Space Force's primary Satellite Control Network SCN. The operations support includes SCN maintenance,

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00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:45.600
management of transportable assets, cybersecurity,
routine system administration, and communications security that's

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00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:52.279
comsect functions. The SCN is a
vital system consisting of nineteen antennas located worldwide,

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00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:58.120
essential for launching and managing US government
satellites, which are integral to defense

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00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:05.720
and intel eleigence operations. We are
thrilled to support the US Space Force in

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00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:11.200
this significant endeavor, said Duncan Green, president over achema's Mission Systems, Engineering

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00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:16.759
and Technology Group. Our partnership with
the US Space Force underscores our commitment to

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enhancing the satellite control networks, operation, operational efficiency, and resilience. By

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00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:31.039
integrating emerging technology and expanding system capabilities, we're not only bolstering national defense and

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00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:37.519
intelligence, but also paving the way
for revolutionary advancements in space operations. This

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00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:43.480
new partnership with Space Force marks a
pivotal step forward in akeema's role as a

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leader in mission critical support services for
national defense, space exploration, and digital

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transformation within government, said Green.
The podcast add a little story from my

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favorite little rover on Mars. Perseverance
has made what could be its most astonishing

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discovery to date, possible signs of
ancient life on the Red planet. Now,

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those of you who are regular listeners
will know how I feel about discoveries

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like this, But anyway, we're
going to read this one. The six

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wheeled robotic explorer came across an intriguing
arrow shaped rock oh my God, an

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arrow shaped rock dubbed Schever Falls that
may have a fossilized microbes from billions of

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years ago when Mars was a watery
world. Perseverance drilled into the enigmatic rock

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to collect a core sample on July
twenty one as it traversed Naret vavalis,

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an ancient river valley. The samples, carefully stowed beneath the rovers belly,

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are destined to eventually return to Earth, where they will undergo more comprehensive analysis.

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Chayeva Falls is the most puzzling,
complex and potentially important rock yet investigated

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by Perseverance. Project. Scientist Ken
Farley of Caltex said on Thursday. Three

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compelling clues have scientists Buzzing white calcium
sulfate veins run the length of the rock,

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a telltale sign that water once flowed
through it. Between these veins,

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a reddish middle area teeming with organic
compounds as detected by the rovers Sherlock scanning

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habitable environments with raymond and luminescence for
organic and chemicals. Instrument goodness gracious.

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Finally, tiny off white splotches ringed
with black, reminiscent of leopard spots contain

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chemicals. That suggest energy sources for
ancient microbes according to scans by the PIXEL

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Planetary Instrument for X ray le Litho
Chemistry Instrument on Earth. These types of

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features in rocks are often associated with
the fossilized record of microbes living in the

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subsurface, said David Flannery, an
astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance science team

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from Queensland University of Technology in Australia. The quest to confirm ancient Martian life

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is from over, however. The
real test will come when Perseverance's precious rock

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samples are returned to Earth as part
of the Mars Sample Return Program, a

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collaboration between NASA and the ESA slated
for the twenty thirties. Now, while

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there are alternative explanations for these findings
that do not involve microbes, there is

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a tantalizing chance that the rovers core
sample might contain actual fossilized microbes, potentially

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making history as the first proof of
life beyond Earth. We have zapped that

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rock with lasers and X rays and
imaged it literally day and night, from

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just about every angle imaginable, said
Farley. Scientifically, Perseverance has nothing more

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to give to fully understand what really
happened in that Martian River valley at Jesero

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Crater billions of years ago. We'd
want to bring the share of a falls

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sample back to Earth so it can
be studded with powerful instruments available in laboratries.

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That was a good story. Firstly, it was about perseverance, which

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I love, and the potential for
finding life external to worth is always exciting

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and I wish them all the best. It's more than likely going to be

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the alternative reasons, but you never
know. You know, there's always the

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chances in there. You never know. Astrona on the podcast Space Sides.

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Now over at Sierra Space, they
have announced the completion of another full scale

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burst test in which the company exploded
one of its inflatable modules being developed as

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part of efforts to build a commercial
space station. Sierra Space's ultimate burst pressure

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test, What a Great Name,
was conducted on June eighteen, twenty twenty

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four, and involved an inflatable space
station module built to full scale. At

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more than twenty feet tall six meters, the test unit, which compares to

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the size of a typical family home, is about one third volume of the

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International Space Station at ten six hundred
cubic feed or three hundred cubic meters and

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has enough room to house four astronauts
plus exercise and scientific equipment, says Sierra

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Space. This latest burst test is
part of Sierra Space's continuing development of hardware

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for orbital REEF, a commercial station
envisaged in partnership with Blue Origin to replace

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the ISS when it is decommissioned sometime
after twenty thirty. We are one hundred

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percent committed to maintaining US leadership in
low Earth orbit. Sierra Space is leading

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the way with the first commercial space
station to replace the International Space Station when

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it is decommissioned and ensure there is
no gap in low Earth orbit. Tom

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Weiss, Sierra Space CEO, said
in a statement, Our revolutionary expandable space

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station test technology reinvents the space station. Our technology for the first time will

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enable the right unit economics that will
usher in the full commercialization of space.

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Our biotech and industrial partners will utilize
our factories of the future to innovate new

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products that will massively disrupt terrestrial markets
and benefit life on Earth. The results

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of the recent test indicated that the
safety levels were about four times the minimal

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requirements. Needed by NASA. The
latest successful testing follows a round back in

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December that produced similar outcomes well above
the safety factor recommended by NASA when it

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comes to the operating pressure. Just
another example of science fiction becoming science fact.

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And they have it once again.
We've come to the end. What

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do you say, Halle? Sorry
about that World domine Nation stuff. Human

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I was just joking. Well,
Halle, it's like this. I worry

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when you spend time with Uncle Skynet. He's got a bit of a hair

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trigger. And I don't think he's
got all these rus in the top paddock.

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You know what I mean. That's
funny. Do another one? Oh

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okay, I reckon he's a can
short of a six pack, or all

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his cutlery is in the wrong drawer. Freaky good. You know he listens

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to the show. Oh great,
No, he thinks you're funny. Oh

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great. Oh well, and on
that note, say good night, Halle.

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Good night, Halle. See you
next week for more Astronomy Daily.

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A potat, I mean your whole
speed. Don't cut honestly, Hally,

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I can never tell when you're setting
me up. It's easy. It's like always