Sept. 25, 2024

S03E163: SpaceX's Mars Ambitions, Galactic Magnetic Halo, and ESA's DRACO Mission

S03E163: SpaceX's Mars Ambitions, Galactic Magnetic Halo, and ESA's DRACO Mission

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: S03E163
Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space and Astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and today we'll be covering a range of exciting topics, from SpaceX's ambitious Mars plans to new discoveries...

Season 3
Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: S03E163
Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space and Astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and today we'll be covering a range of exciting topics, from SpaceX's ambitious Mars plans to new discoveries about our galaxy's magnetic halo. Strap in for a cosmic journey as we explore the frontiers of space exploration and scientific discovery.
Highlights:
- SpaceX's Mars Missions: Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX aims to launch approximately five uncrewed starship missions to Mars within the next two years. These missions align with the upcoming Earth-Mars transfer window and will be crucial in determining the timeline for future crewed expeditions. If successful, the first crewed missions could launch in as little as four years.
- FAA Fine Against SpaceX: The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a $633,000 fine against SpaceX for violating agency rules. This has sparked a debate about safety practices in the private space industry. FAA administrator Mike Whitaker emphasized the need for rigorous safety management systems, while SpaceX disputes the claims, asserting their commitment to safety.
- Milky Way's Magnetic Halo: Scientists have discovered a magnetic halo surrounding our Milky Way galaxy, stretching 16,000 light years beyond the galactic plane. This finding, led by the National Institute for Astrophysics, reveals magnetized structures connected to the Eroceta bubbles and provides new insights into galactic growth processes.
- SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Delay: The Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station has been delayed due to Tropical Storm Helene. Originally planned for Thursday, the launch is now tentatively set for Stuart at 1:17 PM Eastern. Preparations continue, with safety remaining the top priority.
- ESA's Draco Mission: The European Space Agency is preparing for the Draco mission, aimed at understanding the final moments of a satellite's life during reentry. This mission will collect crucial data on temperature, pressure, and strain, enhancing future satellite designs and space debris mitigation strategies.
- WASP-107b Atmospheric Discovery: Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have observed an east-west asymmetry in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b. This discovery is crucial for understanding the climate and atmospheric dynamics of worlds beyond our solar system.
For more space news, be sure to visit our website at astronomydaily.io. There you can sign up for our free Daily newsletter, catch up on all the latest space and Astronomy news with our constantly updating newsfeed, and listen to all our back episodes.
Don't forget to follow us on social media. Just search for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, and TikTok.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
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WEBVTT

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space

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and astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and today we'll

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be covering a range of exciting topics, from SpaceX's ambitious

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Mars plans to new discoveries about our galaxy's magnetic halo.

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Strap in for a cosmic journey as we explore the

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frontiers of space exploration and scientific discovery. Elon Musk has

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once again set his sights on the Red planet, announcing

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ambitious plans for SpaceX to launch approximately five uncrued starship

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missions to Mars within the next two years. This bold

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timeline aligns with the upcoming Earth Mars transfer window, presenting

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an ideal opportunity for these pioneering flights. The success of

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these initial uncrude missions will play a crucial role in

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determining the timeline for future crude expeditions to Mars. Musk

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has indicated that if these unmanned flights managed to land

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safely on the Martian surface, we could see the first

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crude missions launching in as little as four years. However,

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should any significant challenges arise during these test flights, the

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timeline for human missions may be pushed back by an

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additional two years. It's worth noting that Musk's timelines have

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been known to shift, and earlier this year he had

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suggested a five year window for the first uncrewed Mars landing. Nevertheless,

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these latest announcements underscore SpaceX's unwavering commitment to pushing the

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boundaries of space exploration and their ultimate goal of establishing

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a human presence on Mars. In other SpaceX news today,

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it appears a few feathers are getting ruffled on both

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sides of this story. The Federal Aviation Administration has recently

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proposed a hefty six hundred and thirty three thousand dollars

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fine against SpaceX for violating agency rules. This move has

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sparked a debate about safety practices in the private space industry.

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FAA Administrator Mike Whittaker has been vocal about the need

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for SpaceX to operate at the highest level of safety.

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He emphasized that the company, now in its twentieth year

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of operation, needs to adopt more rigorous safety management systems.

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Pointed out specific incidents that led to the proposed fine,

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including launches in June and July of last year from

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Cape Canaveral, Florida, which he claims were conducted without proper permits.

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He stated, it's the only tool we have to get

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compliance on safety matters. SpaceX, however, strongly disputes these claims,

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asserting that every statement made by Whittaker was incorrect. The

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company maintains that it is the safest and most reliable

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launch provider in the world and is fully committed to

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safety in all its operations. This disagreement highlights the ongoing

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challenges in regulating the rapidly evolving private space industry, where

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innovation and safety must be carefully balanced. Now onto some

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astronomy news. In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have unveiled a

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magnetic halo surrounding our Milky Way galaxy. This finding is

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shaking up our understanding of galactic structure and evolution. The study,

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led by the National Institute for Astrophysics, has revealed magnetized

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structures stretching and incres sixteen thousand light years beyond the

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galactic plane. These structures are connected to what are known

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as the Erecta bubbles, vast regions powered by intense gas

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and energy outflows primarily caused by supernova explosions. The magnetic

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fields within these bubbles are organized into thin, filamentary structures,

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stretching up to one hundred and fifty times the diameter

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of the full moon. What's particularly exciting is that these

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magnetic ridges aren't just random formations. They're closely linked to

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star forming regions in our galaxy, specifically the star forming

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ring at the end of the galactic bar. This connection

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provides new insights into how even relatively quiet galaxies like

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our Milky Way can generate powerful outflows, potentially shedding light

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on galactic growth processes. This discovery marks a significant leap

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forward in our understanding of the Milky Way's complex dynamics

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and the intricate relationship between star formation and large scale

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galactic structures. SpaceX's Crew nine mission to the International Space

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Station has hit a snag due to mother Nature. The launch,

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originally planned for Thursday afternoon, has been pushed back by

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at least two days because of Tropical Storm Helene. This

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powerful storm is expected to intensify into a Category three

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hurricane as it approaches Florida's Gulf Coast. NASA and SpaceX

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are now eyeing Saturday as the earliest possible launch date,

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with a tentative liftoff time of one seventeen pm Eastern.

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The decision to delay comes as a precautionary measure, as

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the storm's large system is expected to bring high winds

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and heavy rain to the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island

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regions on Florida's east coast. Despite the delay, preparations continue.

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The Falcon nine rocket and crew Dragon capsule named Freedom

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have already been rolled out to the launch pad. The

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mission team plans to conduct rehearsal activities before moving the

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hardware back to the hangar to protect it from potential

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storm activity. As always, safety remains the top priority for

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both NASA and SpaceX. They'll continue to monitor the weather

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conditions closely and make further adjustments to the launch schedule

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if necessary. Next up, in a groundbreaking effort to understand

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the final moments of a satellite's life, the European Space

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Agency is gearing up for an exciting new mission called DRACO,

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short for Destructive re Entry Assessment Container Object. This project

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aims to capture never before seen data as a satellite

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breaks apart during re entry. For decades, we've watched satellites

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burn up in Earth's atmosphere, but we've never had a

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clear picture of exactly what happens during those final moments.

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Draco is set to change that. The mission will involve

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launching a specially designed satellite that mimics an average low

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Earth orbit satellite as it plummets back to Earth. It

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will collect crucial data on temperature, pressure, and strain. But

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here's the clever part. Inside this doomed satellite is an

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indestructible pod. This pod, equipped with sensors and cameras, will

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survive the fiery descent and transmit its valuable data back

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to Earth. It's like giving a saturate a black box recorder.

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This mission isn't just about scientific curiosity. The data collected

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will be invaluable for improving future satellite designs and enhancing

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our space debris mitigation strategies. As we continue to launch

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more satellites, understanding how to safely bring them down becomes

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increasingly important. Finally, today, let's return to an exoplanet that's

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fast becoming a friend here at Astronomy Daily. In an

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exciting breakthrough, astronomers have used NASA's James Web Space telescope

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to observe the atmosphere of a truly remarkable exoplanet known

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as WASP one oh seven B. This planet is not

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only incredibly hot, but also uniquely inflated. What makes this

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observation particularly groundbreaking is the discovery of an east west

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asymmetry in its atmosphere. This asymmetry means there's a significant

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difference between the eastern and western edges of the planet's atmosphere.

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It's the first time such a phenomenon has been observed

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in an exoplanet during its transit of its star. From space.

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This finding is crucial for understanding the climate, atmospheric dynamics,

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and weather patterns of worlds beyond our Solar system. WASP

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one oh seven B is a fascinating object. It's about

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the size of Jupiter, but only a tenth of its mass,

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resulting in an extremely low density. The planet is tidally

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locked to its star, meaning one side always faces the

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scorching heat while the other remains in perpetual darkness. Using

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a technique called transmission spectroscopy, researchers were able to capture

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detailed snapshots of the planet's atmosphere as it passed in

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front of its host star. These images reveal valuable information

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about the gases, clouds, and overall structure of the atmosphere.

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This discovery challenges some existing models and opens up new

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questions about how such a symmetry can exist on a

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planet like WASP one oh seven B. It's a testament

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to the power of the James Web Space Telescope and

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the ingenuity of astronomers in pushing the boundaries of our

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understanding of alien worlds. That's all for today's episode of

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Astronomy Daily. I'm anna and I hope you've enjoyed this

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cosmic journey through the latest space and astronomy news. Remember

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to visit our website at Astronomy Daily dot io, where

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you can sign up for our free daily newsletter, catch

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up on all the latest space and astronomy news with

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our constantly updating news feed, and listen to all our

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back episodes. You can also find us on social media.

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Just search for astro Daily Pod on Facebook, x, YouTube,

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and TikTok. Until next time, keep looking up and stay

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curious about the wonders of our universe, say start starz