SpaceX's Next Steps, Lunar Magnetic Anomalies, and Mars' Ancient Water Trail

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Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily. Your cosmic

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connection to everything happening beyond our atmosphere.

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I'm Anna and I'm thrilled to have you join me for

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today's journey through the latest developments in space exploration

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and astronomical discoveries. We have a busy

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episode today with fascinating stories from across the solar

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system. SpaceX has revealed what went wrong

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with their Starship Flight 8 mishap back in March,

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and they're already gearing up for Flight 9 with some

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groundbreaking innovations, including the first

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reuse of a super heavy booster. We'll

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dive into all the details and what this means for the

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future of their ambitious programme.

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Speaking of SpaceX, they've also been busy

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with their Starlink Constellation recently celebrating

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their 450th successful Falcon 9

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landing, an incredible milestone in rocket reusability.

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Then we'll venture to the Moon, where scientists

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have been puzzling over a magnetic mystery.

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From there, we'll travel to the Red Planet,

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where researchers may have finally solved the case of

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Mars. Ms. Water. Finally,

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we'll check in with Japan's Resilience Lunar Lander,

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which just captured stunning images of the moon's

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south pole as it prepares for a historic landing

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attempt on June 5th. So whether you're a

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casual space enthusiast or a dedicated amateur

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astronomer, there's something for everyone in today's

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cosmic roundup.

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Let's get started then, with today's news.

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SpaceX has finally shed light on what caused the failure

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of their Starship vehicle during its eighth test flight

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back in March. According to

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details released on May 23, the

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mishap had a different root cause than the previous failure.

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Despite occurring at remarkably similar points in their flight

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paths. During Flight 8, which took

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place on March 6, several Raptor engines on the

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Starship upper stage suddenly shut down. About eight and a half

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minutes after liftoff, the vehicle began

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to tumble out of control before eventually breaking up over the

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Caribbean Sea during RE entry. The timing of

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this failure was eerily similar to what happened during

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Flight 7 in January, which also

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experienced engine shutdowns and communications loss at

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approximately the same point in its journey. However,

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SpaceX has confirmed that these were distinctly

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different failures. For Flight 8, investigators

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determined that one of the Centre Raptor engines suffered a

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hardware failure. While SpaceX hasn't

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disclosed the specific component that failed,

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they explained that this failure enabled inadvertent

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propellant mixing and ignition that

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ultimately destroyed the engine. The cascade effect

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was immediate. The other two Centre Raptor

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engines shut down along with one of the three

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outer vacuum optimised engines with larger

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nozzles. With four of its six engines

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offline, the vehicle lost control authority

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and couldn't maintain its planned trajectory.

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In response to these findings, SpaceX has

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implemented several modifications to the Raptor engines

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for future Starship flights. These include

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adding additional preload on key engine

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joints, installing a new nitrogen purge

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system, and improving the propellant drain system.

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The company is also developing a future version of the

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Raptor engine, with reliability improvements

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specifically designed to address the issues identified in

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Flight 8. It's worth noting how this

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differs from Flight 7's failure. In that case, the

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vehicle experienced what SpaceX called a

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harmonic response, essentially vibrations that

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were several times stronger than expected. These

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vibrations created additional stress on the propulsion

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system, causing leaks that ignited a fire in the

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engine bay. SpaceX pointed out that

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the fixes they implemented after Flight 7

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to address those harmonic response issues and

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flammability concerns worked as

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designed before the unrelated failure on Flight 8

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occurred. The good news for SpaceX is

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that the Federal Aviation Administration has provided final

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approval for the next Starship test flight following their

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investigation of the Flight 8 mishap.

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This paves the way for Flight 9, which the company

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confirmed is scheduled for no earlier than May

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27.

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Looking ahead to SpaceX's ninth Starship test

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flight, scheduled for May 27 at

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7:30pm Eastern, the company is preparing

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for a groundbreaking milestone in its ambitious development

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programme. For the first time,

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SpaceX will reuse a Super Heavy booster,

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specifically the same one that launched during Flight 7 earlier

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this year. This marks a significant step

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toward SpaceX's vision of a fully reusable

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heavy lift launch system. While some

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components of the booster have been replaced since its previous

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flight, the company reports that a large

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majority of the hardware will be flying for a second time,

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including 29 of its three 33 Raptor

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engines. Unlike, the previous four test

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flights, SpaceX is taking a different approach to

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booster recovery. This time, the company will not

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attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster with the launch tower

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arms at Starbase in Texas. Instead,

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Flight 9 will test new flight profiles for the booster after

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stage separation. These new profiles

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include controlling how the booster flips to orient

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itself for a boostback burn and using a higher

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angle of attack during descent.

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Both modifications are designed to reduce the amount of propellant

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needed for recovery operations. SpaceX will

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also experiment with alternative engine landing

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profiles during this test to

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maximise safety of the launch infrastructure. At Starbase,

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the Super Heavy Booster will follow a trajectory toward

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an offshore landing point, culminating in what

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SpaceX describes as a hard splashdown in the Gulf of

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Mexico. This controlled Ocean landing allows

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SpaceX to gather valuable data without risking

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damage to ground facilities. For the

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Starship upper stage, the mission objectives include

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many of the demonstrations planned for previous flights that

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couldn't be completed due to the failures.

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These include a critical Raptor engine relight while in

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space, deployment of eight mass simulators

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representing next generation Starlink satellites,

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and tests of various reentry technologies.

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This flight represents an important evolutionary step in the

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Starship programme and in other

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SpaceX news.

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Today, the company kicked off what appears to be a

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remarkably busy weekend with yet another

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successful Starlink satellite deployment. On May

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23, a Falcon 9 rocket blasted off

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from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at

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4:36pm Eastern, carrying 23

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Starlink satellites bound for low Earth orbit.

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The mission, designated Starlink 1116,

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utilised a first stage booster known as

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B1075, which

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has become quite the veteran of SpaceX's fleet.

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This marked the booster's 18th launch with

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14 of those missions dedicated to delivering

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Starlink satellites. The workhorse booster

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previously supported the SDA0Amission

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and Transporter 11 before becoming primarily

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dedicated to Starlink deployments. Just

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over eight minutes after liftoff,

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B1075 executed

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a perfect landing on SpaceX's drone ship,

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aptly named Of Course I Still Love youe, which was

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stationed in the Pacific Ocean. This touchdown

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represented a significant milestone for the company.

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The 450th AH successful landing of a

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Falcon 9 booster. This achievement

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underscores the remarkable reliability of

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SpaceX's reusable rocket technology, which

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has revolutionised the economics of space access.

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Meanwhile, the rocket's upper stage continued its journey,

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releasing its payload of 23 Starlink

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satellites approximately one hour into the flight.

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Each satellite will now manoeuvre into its designated position

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within the growing Starlink constellation. Over the coming

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days, the Starlink network has expanded

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dramatically, now consisting of more than 7,000

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operational satellites, forming a complex

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lattice that provides global Internet coverage.

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This launch marked SpaceX's 61st Falcon

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9 mission of 2025 and 63rd overall

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launch this year. When including the two Starship test

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flights, the company's launch cadence continues to

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accelerate, with potentially two more Starlink

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launches scheduled before the end of the weekend,

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showcasing the operational tempo that SpaceX has

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achieved with its reusable rocket fleet.

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Next on, today's agenda. For decades,

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scientists have been puzzled by a fascinating lunar

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mystery. Why do some moon rocks show strong

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magnetic signatures when the moon itself has no

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magnetic field today? This question has

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intrigued researchers since the Apollo missions of the

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1960s and 70s, when astronauts

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returned with rock samples that exhibited unexpectedly

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powerful magnetization. Recent computer

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simulations have provided a, compelling new explanation for this

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phenomenon. The research suggests that massive

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asteroid impacts billions of years ago might have

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temporarily amplified the Moon's ancient magnetic

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field, essentially imprinting a magnetic

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signature that's still detectable in lunar rocks

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today. The Moon once had a weak magnetic

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field generated by its small molten core.

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But according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute

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of Technology, this field alone wouldn't

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have been strong enough to magnetise small surface rocks.

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To the degree we observe, however, a

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powerful asteroid impact, quite possibly the

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same collision that created the massive Imbrium

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basin, could have dramatically changed the

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magnetic environment, if only for a brief period.

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The simulations show that such an impact would have

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vaporised surface material, creating a cloud

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of superheated electrically charged particles called

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plasma. As this plasma enveloped the

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Moon, much of it would have concentrated on the far side,

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the opposite side from the impact. This

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plasma concentration would have temporarily amplified the

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Moon's magnetic field in that region, allowing

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rocks to capture this short lived magnetic surge before

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the field faded away. Isaac

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Narrat, the graduate student who led the study,

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explains that this process could account for the majority

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of strong magnetic fields measured by

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orbiting spacecraft, especially those

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detected on the far side of the Moon. The

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research team believes the impact would have triggered powerful

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seismic shock waves that swept through the lunar body and

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converged on the far side. These waves

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likely jittered the electrons in nearby rocks at

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precisely the moment the magnetic field peaked,

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effectively locking in the field's orientation like a

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geological snapshot preserved for billions of years.

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Professor Benjamin Weiss, a co author of the study,

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likens the process to throwing a deck of cards into the air

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while a magnetic field is present. Each card

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has a compass needle, and when they settle back to the ground,

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they align in a new orientation.

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That's essentially how the magnetization process

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worked. The most fascinating aspect

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of this research is that the entire sequence would have

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played out in less than an hour and a half, yet left behind a

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magnetic signature that has persisted for billions of

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years. Future lunar missions will soon

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have the opportunity to test this theory. The most

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strongly magnetised rocks are located near the Moon's south

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pole, on the far side, Precisely the

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region that several International missions, including

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NASA's Artemis programme, Plan to explore in

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the coming years. If these rocks show evidence

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of both shock and ancient magnetism, it could

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confirm that the Moon's magnetic anomalies were indeed

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caused by a colossal asteroid impact billions

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of years ago.

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Next, let's head over to Mars, where yet another mystery may have been

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solved. Scientists have long been puzzled by

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Mars's dramatic transformation from a water rich world

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to the barren desert planet we see today. Now,

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groundbreaking research from the University of Texas at

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Austin may have finally solved a major piece of

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this planetary mystery, revealing exactly

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where much of Mars's ancient water disappeared to.

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The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters

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identifies a crucial connection that has eluded

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researchers for decadesthe pathway between

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ancient surface lakes and a deep underground reservoir

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located approximately one mile beneath the Martian

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surface. Graduate researchers

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Mohammed Afzal Shadab and Eric Hyatt

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developed specialised computer models to calculate

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precisely how quickly water would have infiltrated early

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Martian soils. Their findings reveal

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something remarkable. Unlike Earth, where

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surface water can percolate underground in a matter of days,

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on Mars, this process would have taken between

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50 and 200 years. This

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significantly slower rate resulted from several

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unique Martian conditions. A ah, much deeper water

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table, lower gravity and colder temperatures all

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dramatically slowed the infiltration process.

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What makes this discovery particularly significant is that it

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represents the first quantitative measurement of groundwater

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travel time during Mars wetter period,

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roughly 3 to 4 billion years ago. The

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model suggests that the amount of water lost to underground

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storage could have equaled at least 90 metres,

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or about 300ft in global depth.

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Considering that early Mars likely started with an ocean

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only a few hundred metres deep, this underground

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storage accounts for a substantial portion of the planet's missing

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water m Even more fascinating

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is how this process differed from Earth's water cycle.

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On our planet, water constantly cycles through

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evaporation, condensation and precipitation,

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allowing surface water to persist. For millennia,

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Mars operated entirely differently. As

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researcher Eric Hyatt put it, once water got

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into the ground on Mars, it was as good as gone

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that water was never coming back out. This

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one way journey explains why Mars's surface water

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disappeared relatively quickly. In geological terms,

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the water either became chemically trapped in mineral

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structures or froze permanently in the subsurface.

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As Mars lost its protective atmosphere and

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temperatures plummeted, whatever surface water

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remained likely evaporated into space through the

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increasingly thin Martian atmosphere.

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The findings align perfectly with orbital observations

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showing widespread hydrated minerals throughout

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Mars crust and radar evidence of buried ice

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deposits at mid latitudes. This research

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helps close a significant gap in our understanding

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by quantifying precisely how much water

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moved underground and became permanently

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trapped. The researchers approached this

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Martian mystery by creating a sophisticated

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soil model that represented early Mars

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conditions as accurately as possible. They

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conceptualised the ancient Martian landscape as

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consisting of a porous soil layer sitting atop

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basaltic bedrock. Incorporating all available

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data on temperature, gravity and soil

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permeability gathered from Martian Meteorites and

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rover missions. What makes their approach

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particularly powerful is the use of probability

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algorithms that account for numerous

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variables, including fluctuations in

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precipitation patterns, variations in soil

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porosity and temperature changes across the

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surface. This comprehensive modelling

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revealed that water's journey from surface to deep

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aquifer would have taken between 50 to

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200 years, dramatically slower than similar

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processes on Earth. Several key factors

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explain this stark difference in infiltration rates.

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Mars Lower gravity means that poor water pressure

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builds up much more slowly with depth compared to

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Earth. Additionally, the colder surface

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temperatures on Mars would have significantly reduced

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evaporation rates. Together, these

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conditions slowed water's descent by approximately

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two orders of magnitude compared to what we observe

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on our home planet. The implications of this

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research extend beyond simply understanding

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Mars's hydrological past. The model

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provides compelling evidence that Mars operated

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fundamentally differently from Earth in terms of water

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cycling. Without robust recycling mechanisms

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to return deep groundwater to the surface, Mars

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essentially had a one way hydrological system that gradually

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depleted its surface reserves. Once

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underground, Mars's water faced three possible

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becoming chemically bound to minerals, forming hydrated

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compounds, freezing into subsurface ice

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deposits, or in some cases, breaking down through

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radiation and escaping into space.

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This research helps scientists quantify the relative

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contribution of each process to Mars overall water

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loss. Shadab, now continuing

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this work as a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton

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University, plans to integrate this infiltration

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model with global climate simulations that incorporate

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rainfall patterns, surface runoff dynamics and

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volcanic activity. Such

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comprehensive modelling could test various historical

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scenarios, from the existence of a long lived

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northern ocean to short term flooding events

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triggered by impacts or volcanic eruptions.

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This research also has practical implications for future

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Mars exploration. The identification of these

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ancient aquifers could guide drilling operations on future

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missions, potentially reaching depths of up to one

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kilometre. To sample what remains of Mars's primordial

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waters. Such samples could undergo isotopic

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analysis to determine precisely how much water remains

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locked underground versus how much chemically altered

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the planet's crust. As Eric Hyatt eloquently

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summarised, the Red Planet's hydrologic engine

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lacked the robust recycling pump that powers Earth's blue

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marble. This fundamental difference in planetary

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water systems may ultimately explain why Earth

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remained hospitable while Mars transformed into

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the desert world we see today.

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Finally today, a little update. Japan's

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Resilience lunar lander is nearing a historic moment as it

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prepares for a touchdown attempt on June 5th.

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Just this week, Tokyo based company

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Ispace shared a stunning photograph taken by their

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spacecraft showing the moon's south polar region.

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The image beautifully captures the rugged terrain of the

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lunar surface with its many geological features and

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craters, what makes this particular

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photograph fascinating is the optical illusion it

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presents to viewers. While the image is filled

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with concave craters, they can appear convex depending

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on how you look at them, a common visual

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phenomenon in lunar photography where depressions can look

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like bumps to the human eye. Resilience began

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its journey on January 15th when it launched aboard a

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The same

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rocket carried another private Lunar Lander,

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Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost. While

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Blue Ghost completed its mission on March 2,

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becoming only the second commercial vehicle to successfully

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soft land on the moon, Resilience took a more energy

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efficient route, finally reaching lunar orbit on

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May 6 after a longer looping trajectory.

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The landing target for Resilience is Mare Frigoris,

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known as the Sea of Cold, a volcanic plain

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in the Moon's northern hemisphere. A successful

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touchdown would represent a tremendous achievement not only for

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Ispace but for Japan as a whole.

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The nation has only one successful moon landing to its

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credit the slim spacecraft that touched down in

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January of this year under the direction of JAXA,

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Japan's space agency. This attempt

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holds particular significance for ispace following their

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heartbreaking near miss in 2023.

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Their first lunar lander successfully reached orbit in

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March of that year, but failed during its landing

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attempt one month later when the spacecraft became

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confused by the rim of a crater.

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The company has clearly learned from this experience and made

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adjustments to ensure Resilience has a better chance at

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success. The mission's importance

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extends beyond national pride and corporate achievement.

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Resilience carries five scientific and

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technological payloads that could significantly

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advance our understanding of the lunar environment.

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The stakes are high, but after years of development

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and a previous setback, I space appears

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positioned to potentially make history in just two short weeks.

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Resilience isn't just aiming for a touchdown. It's carrying

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a suite of scientific tools designed to expand our

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understanding of the lunar environment. The lander hosts

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five distinct science and technology payloads, each

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with specific objectives to fulfil during its mission on the

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Moon's surface. Perhaps the most exciting

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component is Tenacious, a

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miniature rover built by Ispace's European

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subsidiary. This compact wheeled robot is

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designed with a critical mission collecting lunar

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regolith, or moon dirt, under a contract that

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Ispace signed with NASA back in 2020. The

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agreement is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services

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programme, which aims to leverage private industry

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capabilities for lunar exploration. Once

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deployed from the main lander, Tenacious will

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roll across the Mare Frigoris terrain using

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its specialised equipment to gather valuable samples.

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These collections could provide insights and into the composition

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of the Moon's northern regions, and potentially

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contribute to resource utilisation studies for future

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missions. What makes Tenacious

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particularly distinctive is an unexpected artistic

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element. The little rover carries a piece called

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Moon House on its front bumper. Created by

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Swedish artist Mikael Genberg, this

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inclusion represents the blending of scientific exploration with

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human creativity, a reminder that space

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exploration serves both practical and cultural

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purposes. The other payloads aboard Resilience

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are equally important, focusing on various

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aspects of lunar science and technology demonstration.

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Together they form a comprehensive package designed

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to maximise the scientific return from this mission,

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regardless of its relatively small size compared to

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government led initiatives.

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And that brings us to the end of today's episode. From the

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engineering challenges of SpaceX's Starship programme

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to the ancient mysteries of lunar magnetism and Martian

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hydrology, we've covered some truly fascinating

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developments in our cosmic neighbourhood. And of

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course, Japan's Resilience Lunar Lander is

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poised to make history with its upcoming landing attempt.

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The growing diversity of nations and private companies

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reaching for the Moon promises to accelerate

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our exploration of Earth's nearest neighbour. Stay

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tuned to Astronomy Daily for updates on all these

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00:22:21.080 --> 00:22:23.920
missions and more fascinating discoveries from across the

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cosmos. Next week we'll be covering the results

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of Starship Flight 9 and the Resilience

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00:22:29.280 --> 00:22:32.280
landing attempt. In the meantime, you can keep up

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00:22:32.280 --> 00:22:34.880
to date with all the latest in space and astronomy news

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00:22:35.120 --> 00:22:36.400
simply by visiting our

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00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:39.200
website@astronomydaily.IO and

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00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:42.080
checking out our continuously updating news feed.

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Until then, keep looking up. I'm Anna signing off