Stranded Astronauts, Scenic Mars Missions, and a Super Earth Discovery

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Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast that

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brings you the universe, one story at a time.

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I'm Avery, and as always, I'm joined by my co

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host, Anna.

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Anna: Uh, it's great to be here, Avery. Today

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we'll be covering a tense situation aboard

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the Tiangong Space Station now that the Crew

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20 mission astronauts have returned home

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safely. A new NASA mission taking a

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scenic route to Mars, a heads up about

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the upcoming Leonid meteor shower, and a

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very exciting discovery of a new super Earth

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that's surprisingly close to home.

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Avery: A packed show indeed. Let's get right

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into it.

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Anna, um, why don't you start us off with a

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situation in low Earth orbit?

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Anna: Absolutely. Our first story involves the

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three astronauts of China's Shenzhou 21

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mission. Currently on the Tiangong Space

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Station. It seems they are temporarily

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stranded.

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Avery: Stranded? That sounds serious. What

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happened?

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Anna: It's a bit of a domino effect. The previous

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crew, Shenzhou 20, had their

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own capsule damaged by a piece of space

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debris. So to get them home safely,

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the China National Space Administration

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made the call to use the Shenzhou 21

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capsule, which was docked at the station,

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as the current crew's ride home. Wow.

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Avery: So they gave up their lifeboat to

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save the other crew. That's a tough decision,

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but definitely the right one.

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Anna: Exactly. It highlights the dangers of

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space debris. The station itself is well

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protected, but these smaller capsules are

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more vulnerable. Now. The Shenzhou

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21 crew is safe on the station, but without

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a return vehicle.

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Avery: So what's the rescue plan?

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Anna: A new spacecraft, Shenzhou 22,

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is being prepared for an uncrewed launch.

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It will serve as the new lifeboat and

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eventual ride home for the crew. Chinese

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officials say the crew is not in any

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immediate danger and has plenty of supplies.

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Avery: Right, but being on a space station without

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an escape route is still a high risk

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situation. Any delay in that rescue launch

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could be critical if another emergency were

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to happen on the station.

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Anna: That's the core of the issue. The situation

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is temporary, but the risk is elevated until

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Shenzhou 22 is docked and ready.

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We'll certainly be following this story

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closely.

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Avery: It's a good reminder of how hostile the space

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environment is. Does a situation like this

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trigger any international rescue protocols,

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or is China handling this entirely on its

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own?

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Anna: For now, it's an internal CNSA operation.

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Unlike the iss, which is a partnership with

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established mutual support agreements, the

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Tiangong is operated solely by China,

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while other space agencies are monitoring.

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The rescue is entirely dependent on the

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successful and timely launch of Shenzhou

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22.

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Avery: Definitely now from low Earth

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orbit. Let's travel a little Bit farther out.

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Our next story is about NASA's newest mission

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to Mars. But it's not taking the direct

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route you might expect.

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Anna: This is the Escapade mission. Correct. The

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twin probes.

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Avery: That's the one. The probes nicknamed Blue

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and Gold, have just launched. But instead of

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pointing straight at Mars, they're heading in

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the opposite direction, out to a point in

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space called L2, about 1.5

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million kilometers from Earth.

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Anna: The second Lagrange point. That's a

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gravitationally stable spot where the

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Webb telescope also operates. So why

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send Mars probes there first?

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Avery: It's a clever fuel saving trajectory. They'll

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spend a year at L2 studying space weather,

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essentially getting some bonus science in.

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Then in late 2026, they'll loop back

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towards Earth.

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Anna: Ah, uh, for a gravity assist.

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Avery: Exactly. Earth's gravity will act like a

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slingshot, flinging them towards Mars with

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the speed they need to get into. Or in

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2027. It's a much more efficient way to

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travel for smaller, lighter spacecraft.

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Anna: And once they arrive, what's their primary

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mission?

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Avery: This is the really cool part. Blue and Gold

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will orbit Mars in formation, giving us the

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first ever stereo or 3D view

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of the planet's upper atmosphere. They'll

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study how solar wind strips atmospheric

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particles away from Mars, which is crucial

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for understanding how the planet lost its

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water and became the cold, dry world it is

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today.

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Anna: A stereo view that will provide a much more

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complete picture than any single orbiter ever

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could. A very innovative mission, both in its

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science and its journey.

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Avery: It really is.

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And while on the subject of the Escapade

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mission, catching a ride on the twin probes,

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uh, are the first Kiwis to fly to the red

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planet. The Escapade probes are the first

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Mars bound vehicles to be designed, built

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and tested by Rocket Lab, the space

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company headquartered in California, but

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founded in New Zealand.

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Anna: Hence the Kiwis.

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Avery: That's right. Rocket Lab has a tradition of

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hiding Kiwis in many areas of its design,

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said Lindsey McLaurin, senior communications

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manager for Space Systems at Rocket Lab, in

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response to an inquiry from collectspace.com

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the birds have snuck onto our rockets and

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satellites since the beginning of the

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company, reflecting the New Zealand roots of

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the company and as a challenge among our

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designers and spacecraft builders.

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Anna: The birds appear as graphics on twin

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plaques attached to blue and gold.

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The metal plates, which adorn, uh, one of the

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two solar panels on each probe, also feature

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the Rocket Lab logo. The company's motto,

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Non sufficient hick orbis or

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this world is not enough. And a

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similar icon of a bald eagle to

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represent our company's global presence, said

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McLaurin, referring to the American icon.

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Avery: A nice fun touch to an important mission.

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Okay, let's bring our focus back closer to

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home for all our listeners who enjoy some

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good old fashioned stargazing. We've got an

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update on the Leonid meteor shower.

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Anna: Right. The Leonids are one of the most famous

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showers known for producing spectacular

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meteor storms in the past. They're peaking

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next week on the morning of Tuesday, November

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18th.

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Avery: So should everyone be setting their alarms?

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Anna: Well, this is one of those times. We have to

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manage expectations. This year is

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predicted to be a, uh, very weak showing.

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We're expecting a peak rate of only about

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five to ten meteors per hour.

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Avery: Only five to ten? That's not much.

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Why is it so quiet this year?

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Anna: It's because Earth is passing through a, uh,

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very sparse part of the debris stream

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left by the parent comet, Tempel Tuttle.

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The really dense clouds of debris that cause

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the famous storms of hundreds or even

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thousands of meteors per hour are not what

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we're intersecting with right now.

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Avery: So it's worth a look if you're already an

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early riser, but maybe not worth a special

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trip to a dark sky site. When can we expect

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the next big show from the Leonids?

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Anna: Astronomers are predicting the next major

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displays won't be until the2030s

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as we get closer to the next pass of the

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parent comet. So we'll have to be patient for

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the next big storm, it seems.

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Avery: We'll have to be patient.

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Now for our final story. We have something

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that could be truly groundbreaking. A new

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super Earth has been discovered, and it's

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practically in our cosmic backyard.

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Anna: This is very exciting. The planet is named

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GJ251C. A, uh, super

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Earth means it's larger than Earth, but

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smaller than Neptune and likely rocky.

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And as you said, it's close. Just 18 light

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years away.

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Avery: 18 light years in galactic terms, that's next

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door. But what makes this planet so special

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is its location, its orbit.

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Anna: It's located right in the middle of its

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star's habitable zone. That's the orbital

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region where temperatures are just right for

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liquid water to potentially exist on a

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planet's surface.

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Avery: The Goldilocks zone. Not too hot, not too

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cold. The combination of its size, its

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position, and its incredible proximity to us

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is what makes this a huge deal.

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Anna: It really is, because it's so close.

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Close. GJ251C is now

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a prime target for future observation.

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We're talking about the next generation of

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extremely large telescopes like the 30

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meter telescope.

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Avery: So these new telescopes could actually

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analyze the planet's atmosphere.

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Anna: That's the goal. They'll be powerful enough

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to look for biosignatures, specific

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gases in its atmosphere like oxygen,

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methane, or even water vapor

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that could hint at the presence of life. We

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are decades away from being able to visit,

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but in the near future, we might be able to

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tell if it has water.

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Avery: An incredible discovery and a

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tantalizing glimpse into what we might find

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as our technology improves. It really makes

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you wonder what's out there.

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Anna: And its star, GJ25.1, is a

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red dwarf, right? That comes with its own set

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of challenges for habitability, like

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potential tidal locking and stellar

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flares.

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Avery: That's the crucial next question. Red

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dwarfs are long lived, which is good for

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life. But they can be volatile, especially

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when they're young. One of the key tasks for

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future telescopes will be to study the star's

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activity and see if the planet has a strong

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enough magnetic field and atmosphere to

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withstand those flares. But finding a rocky

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world in the habitable zone of our neighbor

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is a critical first step.

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Anna: It certainly is. And that's all the time we

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have for today. We covered the precarious but

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stable situation for the Shanzhou 21

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astronauts. The scenic route of the escapade

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mission to Mars, a subdued Leonid

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meteor shower, and the discovery of a

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promising new super Earth just next door.

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Avery: Thanks for tuning in to Astronomy Daily. Be

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sure to subscribe wherever you get your

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podcasts so you don't miss an episode. Until

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next time. I'm Avery.

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Anna: And I'm Anna. Keep looking up.