A Silent Mars Orbiter Update, Interstellar Comet Encounters, and Mining the Cosmos

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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the podcast that brings you the universe


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one day at a time. I'm Avery.


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>> And I'm Anna. Today we're covering


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everything from an update to a


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spacecraft anomaly at Mars to potential


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signs of primordial dinosaur stars.


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>> That's right. We'll also be looking at a


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successful private spacecraft rendevous,


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our visiting interstellar comet, the


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dazzling Gemini meteor shower, and the


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future of asteroid mining. So, let's get


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started.


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>> First up, an update on some concerning


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news from the red planet. NASA's Maven


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spacecraft, which has been studying the


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Martian atmosphere since 2014, has gone


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silent, as we reported late last week.


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>> Yeah, this is a tough one. The mission


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team reported losing connection on the


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6th, and so far, they haven't been able


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to reestablish a connection.


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>> What's the leading theory on what


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happened? Well, they did receive a very


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brief signal on the 6th, and an analysis


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of that signal suggests the spacecraft


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was rotating unexpectedly.


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That could mean its orbit has changed,


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which would explain the communication


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loss.


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>> And Maven isn't just a science orbiter.


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It's also a crucial communication relay


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for the rovers on the surface. Right.


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>> Exactly. The good news is that NASA is


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already mitigating the impact. They're


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rerouting communications through their


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other three orbiters at Mars, the Mars


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Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey,


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and ISA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.


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>> So, Perseverance and Curiosity can


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continue their work.


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>> That's the plan. The rover teams have


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had to adjust her daily planning, but


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the missions are continuing. Still, it's


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a significant loss if Maven can't be


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recovered.


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>> It's worth reminding our listeners just


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how important Maven's primary mission


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has been. It stands for Mars atmosphere


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and volatile evolution. Its entire


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purpose was to figure out how Mars lost


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its once thick atmosphere and abundant


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water.


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>> That's right. It carried a suite of


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instruments to study the upper


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atmosphere, the ionosphere, and its


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interactions with the solar wind. It's


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thanks to Maven that we have a much


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clearer picture of Mars' climate history


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and its transition from a potentially


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habitable world to the cold, dry planet


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we see today. So, the loss of Maven


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isn't just an operational setback for


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the rovers. It's a scientific one, too.


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Let's hope the team can work some magic


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and get it back online. The data it


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provides is invaluable.


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>> That's right. We're keeping our fingers


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crossed for the mission team.


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>> From a mission in trouble to a mission


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demonstrating incredible new


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capabilities. Two private companies,


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Starfish Space and Impulse Space, have


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successfully performed a surprise


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rendevous in Earth orbit. This is a


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really cool story. It's part of a


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mission called Reora. Essentially, an


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orbital transfer vehicle from Impulse


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Space named Meera used autonomous


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software developed by Starfish to


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approach a second Mirror spacecraft.


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>> How close did they get?


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>> Within 4,100 ft or about 1,250 m. What's


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amazing is that this was a 9-month


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project from conception to execution.


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The second mirror launched in January


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2025 and met up with the first one which


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had been in orbit since November 2023.


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>> That's incredibly fast for a space


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mission. And this kind of autonomous


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rendevous is a critical step for future


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satellite servicing. Right. Things like


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refueling, repairs, or even deorbiting


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space junk.


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>> Absolutely. This isn't Starfish's first


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success either. They had another


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mission, Otter Pup 1, that maneuvered


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close to a different space tug back in


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April 2024. They are really proving out


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the technology for a new era of in space


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logistics.


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>> Next up, as you probably know by now, we


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have a special visitor from outside our


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solar system. The interstellar comet 3i


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Atlas is set to make its closest


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approach to Earth on December 19th.


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That's this coming Friday. This is only


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the third confirmed interstellar object


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we've ever detected after Umu Amua and


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Borosov. It's a really rare event.


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>> And when we say closest approach, we


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should clarify it's passing at a very


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safe distance.


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>> Oh, absolutely. About 1.8 astronomical


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units away. That's around 168 million


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miles. So, no need to worry. But it's


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close enough for our telescopes to get a


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fantastic look. And that's the real


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prize here, isn't it? The chance to


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study its composition and learn about


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the materials that make up other star


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systems.


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>> Mhm. Observatories like the Hubble Space


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Telescope and even ESA's Juice Probe,


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which is on its way to Jupiter, have


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already been observing it. For everyone


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at home, the virtual telescope project


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will be hosting a free live stream, so


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you can see this interstellar visitor


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for yourself.


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>> Put it in your diary. This is one of


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those opportunities that doesn't come


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around too often. All right, let's go


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from visitors from other stars to the


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stars themselves, the very first ones.


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Anna, this next story about the James


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Webb Space Telescope is mindbending.


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>> It really is. JWST may have found the


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first evidence of what some are calling


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dinosaur stars. These aren't just big,


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they are truly colossal stars from the


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very early universe with masses


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potentially up to 10,000 times that of


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our own sun. 10,000 times? That's almost


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impossible to imagine. How would a star


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like that even exist?


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>> Well, the theory is they would have


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lived very short, incredibly brilliant


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lives before collapsing directly into


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massive black holes. And this could be


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the missing piece of a major puzzle in


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cosmology.


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>> You mean how super massive black holes


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got so big so fast in the early cosmos?


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>> Exactly. These dinosaur stars would


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provide the perfect seeds. The evidence


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comes from a galaxy named GS3073,


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which has a very unusual chemical


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signature, specifically a strange


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nitrogen to oxygen ratio. Right? And


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that signature matches the theoretical


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models of what these super massive


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primordial stars would produce. They'd


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get so hot they could fuse carbon and


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hydrogen together, creating enormous


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amounts of nitrogen that later enrich


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the galaxy. It's an incredible find by


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Web. And this discovery opens up a whole


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new field of study. If these dinosaur


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stars were common in the early universe,


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it would fundamentally change our models


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of galaxy formation. It suggests that


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the first galaxies were seated with


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massive black holes almost immediately.


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>> It also raises new questions. For


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instance, what were the conditions that


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allowed stars to grow to such


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unimaginable sizes? The early universe


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was a very different place, mostly


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hydrogen and helium without the heavier


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elements that help cool gas clouds and


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limit star size today.


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>> So, the next step for astronomers will


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be to hunt for more galaxies with this


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unique chemical fingerprint. If they can


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find a population of them, it would move


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this from a fascinating possibility to a


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cornerstone of early universe cosmology.


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It's a testament to Web's power that we


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can even ask these questions. And yet


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another great example of the JWST's


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value to us here on Earth.


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>> Okay, bringing our focus back closer to


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home, sky watchers were treated to a


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phenomenal display over the past week.


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The Gemini meteor shower peaked on


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December 13th and it was truly


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spectacular.


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>> I saw some of the photos coming in


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online and they were breathtaking. The


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Geminites are always one of the best


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showers of the year, known for their


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bright, fast meteors. And they're


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interesting because they don't come from


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a comet. The debris that creates the


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meteors is from an asteroid named 3200


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Fthon.


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>> That's right. Astrophotographers


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captured some stunning images from all


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over the world. There are shots from


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Yusede National Park from across China


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and Germany showing these bright streaks


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of light against familiar constellations


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like Gemini, Taurus, and Orion. It's a


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beautiful reminder of the celestial


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mechanics happening all around us. And


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speaking of asteroids, our final story


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looks at their potential, not as a


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source of meteor showers, but as a


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source of resources for future space


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exploration. We're talking about


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asteroid mining.


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>> This has been a staple of science


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fiction for decades. But a recent study


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suggests that small asteroids could be


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the key to making missions to the moon


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and Mars more sustainable.


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>> So, what kind of materials are we


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looking for?


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>> The researchers focused on a type called


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carbonatous condrites. These are fragile


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asteroids rich in carbon, organic


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compounds, and potentially valuable


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metals. Most importantly, many contain


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water ice.


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>> And water is the gold of space


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exploration. You can use it for life


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support, and you can split it into


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hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel.


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>> Precisely. Now, we should be clear that


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the technology for largecale extraction


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is still a long way off. The loose


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grally surface of these asteroids, the


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regalith, presents a lot of engineering


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challenges.


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>> But the potential is huge. It's not just


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about fuel and resources. Studying these


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asteroids up close could also help us


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understand and figure out how to


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mitigate any potentially hazardous


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asteroids that might threaten Earth.


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It's a technology with dual benefits.


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>> It's a fascinating prospect. But beyond


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the engineering challenges of actually


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grabbing onto and processing these loose


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piles of rubble, there's also the


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economic and legal side of things, the


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1967 outer space treaty is a bit


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ambiguous on the ownership of space


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resources.


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>> That's a key point. Countries like the


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United States and Luxembourg have passed


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national laws recognizing the right of


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private companies to own resources they


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extract. But there isn't a global


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consensus yet. It's a new frontier, not


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just technologically, but legally as


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well.


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>> And economically, the initial investment


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is astronomical. No pun intended. The


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business case relies on creating a


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self-sustaining inspace economy. You're


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not bringing these materials back to


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Earth. You're using them to build and


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fuel operations in space, making


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everything cheaper in the long run.


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>> It's the ultimate long-term investment.


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But with companies like Astroforge and


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Transastra already developing


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technologies and planning missions, it


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feels like we're on the cusp of this


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science fiction concept becoming a


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reality. It will be exciting to see how


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it unfolds over the next decade.


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>> And that's all the time we have for


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today. From a still silent orbiter at


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Mars to the promise of mining asteroids,


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it's been another busy day in space and


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astronomy news.


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>> Thanks for tuning in to Astronomy Daily.


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We'll be back tomorrow with another


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roundup of the latest from our amazing


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universe. Until then, I'm Avery


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>> and I'm Anna. Keep looking up.


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>> Day


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stories be told.