S03E126: SpaceX's Polar Mission, Mars' Hidden Water, and Gaia's Asteroid Moons

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! I'm your host, Anna. In today's episode, we'll be exploring some exciting and groundbreaking news in the world of space and astronomy. Get ready to hear about SpaceX's remarkable new mission that's set to fly an international crew around Earth's poles, discover the hidden reservoirs of liquid water deep beneath the Martian surface, and catch up on the flurry of rocket launches happening this month. Plus, we'll delve into the fascinating findings from the Gaia space telescope, which has identified hundreds of potential moons around asteroids. So sit back, relax, and let's dive into today's stellar stories!

SpaceX has announced a groundbreaking, privately financed mission that promises to send a diverse international crew of four around Earth's poles. This historic flight will feature a blockchain entrepreneur, a cinematographer, a polar adventurer, and a robotics researcher. Each individual brings their unique expertise and interests to this mission, which aims to observe the ice caps and extreme polar environments from space for the very first time. Leading this adventurous team is Chun Wang, a well-known blockchain pioneer who founded f2pool and stakefish, two of the largest Bitcoin mining pools and Ethereum staking providers. Joining him are Norwegian cinematographer Jannicke Mikkelsen, Australian adventurer Eric Philips, and German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge. Each team member shares a passionate interest in extreme polar environments, and they plan to conduct relevant research and photography from orbit.

The mission, aptly named "Fram2" in honor of the historic Norwegian ship used to explore the Arctic and Antarctic regions, will last between three to five days. The Crew Dragon capsule will orbit the Earth at altitudes between 265 and 280 miles, providing a unique vantage point for the crew to study and photograph the Earth's polar regions. No astronauts or cosmonauts have ever viewed Earth from the perspective of a polar orbit, which is inclined 90 degrees to the equator. Such orbits are typically reserved for spy satellites, weather stations, and commercial photo-reconnaissance satellites. This new trajectory will unlock unprecedented possibilities for human spaceflight. Jared Isaacman, the billionaire philanthropist who chartered the first private SpaceX mission, Inspiration4, and plans yet another mission later this month, tweeted his support for the Fram2 crew, highlighting the potential of commercial space missions. The Crew Dragon capsule for this mission is equipped with a transparent cupola, offering the crew a breathtaking view of Earth below and the vast expanse of space above.

This mission is another testament to SpaceX's growing capabilities and the vision of NASA's commercial crew program. As they orbit Earth's poles, Wang and his crew aim to bring a sense of wonder and curiosity to the public while pushing the boundaries of technology and exploration. It's an exciting step forward in our quest to unlock the last great frontier.

Recent studies using data from NASA's Mars InSight lander have indicated an incredible discovery—there might be liquid water deep beneath the Martian surface. This groundbreaking revelation opens new doors in our quest to understand Mars and its potential to harbor life. The InSight lander has been on Mars since 2018, meticulously collecting seismic data and analyzing how quakes travel through the ground. Researchers used this data to identify the most likely presence of liquid water at depths between 7 and 20 kilometers below the surface. It turns out, these findings suggest that Mars' subsurface could hold vast reservoirs of water, even more extensive than we previously thought. This discovery is monumental because water is a key ingredient for life as we know it. Geological studies of Mars have long shown that the planet's surface once had lakes, rivers, and even oceans more than 3 billion years ago. Understanding where this water has gone—whether it seeped into the subsurface, evaporated, or froze—could provide significant insights into Mars' climate history and its capacity to support life.

According to Vashan Wright from the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the presence of liquid water deep within Mars' crust brings up the possibility that, similar to Earth, microbial life could exist in these underground reservoirs. He points out that, "the ingredients for life as we know it exist in the Martian subsurface if these interpretations are correct." While it's currently impossible to study this deep subsurface water directly, the implications are vast. This new understanding could guide future missions aiming to uncover Mars' water cycle, search for signs of past or existing life, and even consider the feasibility of utilizing these water resources for human missions in the future. The study bringing these discoveries to light was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and it has certainly sparked renewed excitement and curiosity about what lies beneath the surface of the Red Planet.

Moving on to our launch roundup. This week will be packed with activity, featuring four major rocket launches on Thursday that highlight the expanding capabilities of space agencies around the world. Starting off, a Russian Soyuz rocket will make another resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Progress MS-28 will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying approximately 2,400 kg of vital food, water, clothing, fuel, and equipment for the ISS crew. This mission marks the fourth launch of the year for the Soyuz 2.1 A rocket, further solidifying Russia's position in space logistics. Next on Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, will achieve a significant milestone with the final certification flight of its new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, or SSLV. The SSLV-D3 mission will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, carrying the EOS-08 Earth observation satellite along with two cubesats, Space Rickshaw-0 and IITMSAT. Aiming for a successful low-Earth orbit, this mission paves the way for the SSLV to move into regular operational status, contributing significantly to India's growing private sector space activities.

SpaceX also had a busy week with two Falcon 9 launches. The first will be the WorldView Legion 3 & 4 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. These two advanced imaging satellites join the Maxar DigitalGlobe constellation, enhancing Earth observation capabilities with their high-resolution optical imagers. This mission underscores SpaceX’s commitment to frequent and reliable launches. The second SpaceX launch, Transporter-11, takes place from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This rideshare mission will carry around 50 small payloads from various countries, including a high-profile weather observation satellite from the European Space Agency designed to improve forecasts in the Arctic region. The Transporter missions have become a robust platform for deploying a diverse range of small satellites, providing numerous opportunities for scientific and commercial endeavors. Each of these missions showcases not just the technical prowess of the involved space agencies, but also the collaborative and international nature of modern space exploration. Whether it’s resupplying the ISS, enhancing Earth observation, or enabling a new generation of satellites, this week's launches are clear indicators of forward momentum in the space industry.

The Gaia space telescope has made a groundbreaking discovery, identifying more than 350 potential moons around asteroids. This is a significant step forward for astronomers, offering new insights into the dynamics of binary asteroid systems—pairs of asteroids where one "moon" orbits around a larger "primary" asteroid. The detection of these asteroid moons was achieved by observing the gravitational "wobble" in the light signals captured by Gaia. This subtle wobble occurs due to the gravitational pull that the moon exerts on the primary asteroid, causing both objects to move in a small, mutual orbit. This method of detection is particularly powerful because it allows astronomers to identify moons that are otherwise too small or distant to be detected by traditional telescopic imaging or radar measurements. Lead author Luana Liberato and her team at the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in France spearheaded this innovative study, revealing that while previous methods have discovered about 500 binary asteroids, Gaia's observations suggest there are many more out there waiting to be found. This discovery is especially intriguing because it indicates that a significant fraction of asteroids in our solar system could have moons, reshaping our understanding of these celestial bodies.

Among the limitations and challenges, the wobble effect used for detection can sometimes be caused by a single, irregularly shaped asteroid rather than a binary system. Despite this, further observations using Gaia's data and other telescopes help confirm which of these detections are indeed binary asteroids. Gaia's third data release provided the critical information for this discovery, a significant improvement in quality over the previous release. This dataset's precision enabled researchers to detect hundreds of new asteroid moons that went unnoticed in earlier observations. This discovery not only underscores Gaia's versatility beyond its primary mission of mapping the Milky Way but also highlights its contributions to asteroid science. As Gaia continues its mission, astronomers anticipate even more groundbreaking discoveries, shedding light on both our solar system and the broader cosmos.

With this exciting revelation, Gaia once again proves its invaluable role in advancing our understanding of space, paving the way for future research and exploration.

That's all for today's episode of Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna, and it has been a pleasure bringing you the latest in space and astronomy news. Be sure to visit our website at astronomydaily.io to sign up for our free daily newsletter, catch up on all the latest updates with our constantly updating newsfeed, and listen to all our back episodes. Follow us on social media by searching for AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube and TikTok. Until next time, keep looking up!