Artemis II Countdown, Auroras Over Sydney, and the Lava World That Broke the Rules

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Good day, stargazers, and welcome back


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to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. And honestly, this might


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be our most packed episode of the season


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so far.


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>> Between a rocket still sitting on a pad


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in Norway waiting for its shot at


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history, a cargo ship that needed a


00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:21.429
human hand on the wheel, and an entirely


00:00:21.439 --> 00:00:23.670
different kind of skyhow happening over


00:00:23.680 --> 00:00:26.230
Australian cities last night, today


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really has it all. Plus, fresh science


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off the James Webb Space Telescope that


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has astronomers questioning everything


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they thought they knew about lava


00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.030
worlds. We've got news about sealed moon


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rocks finally giving up their secrets


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after 50 years. And we'll walk you


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through one of the busiest weeks in


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global rocketry in recent memory. And


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with less than 2 weeks to go until the


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most historic human space flight in half


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a century, the countdown to Aremis 2 is


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well and truly on. though not everyone


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agrees it should be.


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>> There's a scientist out there saying


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NASA should hold off. We'll get to that.


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>> Without further ado, then let's dive in.


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>> Let's start with the big one. As of


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today, NASA is officially targeting


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April 1st. And yes, we know how that


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sounds. As the launch date for Artemis


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2, the 6-day window runs April 1st


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through to the 6th. And just to be clear


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for anyone just joining us on the show,


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Artemis 2 is the first time human beings


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will travel to the vicinity of the moon


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since Apollo 17 in December 1972,


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over 50 years. This is genuinely


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historic.


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>> Four astronauts aboard the Orion


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spacecraft launched on the space launch


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system or SLS from Kennedy Space Center


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in Florida. The crew is commander Reed


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Weisman, pilot Victor Glover, mission


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specialist Christina Coach, and Canadian


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Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.


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>> Victor Glover will become the first


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person of color to travel beyond Earth


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orbit. Christina Coach will be the first


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woman, and Jeremy Hansen will be the


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first non-American citizen to leave low


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Earth orbit. This mission is full of


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firsts. The crew entered quarantine at


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Johnson Space Center in Houston on March


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18th, and they traveled down to Florida


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on March 27th. From there, it's really


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just a matter of weather systems, and


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that launch window.


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>> Now, the road to get here has had its


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bumps. There were liquid hydrogen leaks,


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helium flow issue that caused a roll


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back to the vehicle assembly building


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just last month. Engineers found a


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blocked seal in a cable connecting the


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rocket to the ground systems. That's


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fixed now. A successful wet dress


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rehearsal in late February cleared the


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way.


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>> And the mission itself, once it


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launches, will be a 10day free return


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trajectory around the moon. They'll


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swing out to about 5,000 m beyond the


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lunar surface, giving the crew and the


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world a view of the moon that no human


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has had since Jean Cernin and Harrison


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Schmidt were there in person.


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>> Now, Avery, you mentioned earlier that


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not everyone thinks this is the right


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moment to go. Yeah, this is a genuinely


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interesting wrinkle. A researcher at


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Mexico's National Autonomous University,


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Victor Velasco Era, has published a new


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analysis suggesting that we are


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currently in a window of elevated solar


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superflare risk. His models point to a


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high activity period running from mid


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2025 through to mid 2026, focus on the


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sun's southern hemisphere. He's


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recommending NASA delay the mission


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until the second half of this year at


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the earliest. And you can see why he'd


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be concerned. We've had a G3 geomagnetic


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storm this week, which we're going to


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get to in a moment. The sun is extremely


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active right now.


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>> Right. Though NASA has assessed the


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risks and all teams pulled go for


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launch. Lorie Glaze from NASA's


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exploration systems directorate said,


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and I'm paraphrasing, that an incredible


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amount of work has gone into preparing


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for this, and they've had very open,


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transparent discussions about risk


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posture and mitigation. So, the mission


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is proceeding, but it does add a certain


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tension to an already extraordinary


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story, doesn't it? The sun is at the


00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.189
peak of its 11-year cycle. We're heading


00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:19.430
back to the moon, and a scientist is


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saying, "Are you sure you want to do


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this now?"


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>> Humanity doing bold things anyway. Feels


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on brand, honestly.


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>> We'll have everything you need to watch


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the launch live in our show notes.


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Fingers crossed for April the 1st. Okay,


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so speaking of the sun, let's talk about


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what it's been doing to our skies this


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week because it has been spectacular.


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>> A series of coronal mass ejections or


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CMEs that left the sun on March 16th and


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18th arrived at Earth around the equinox


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and they drove geomagnetic storming to


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G3 levels on the Noah scale. That's


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classified as strong.


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>> And the result were auroras visible from


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an extraordinary range of latitudes.


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We're talking reports of vivid displays


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from New York, London, Northern France,


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even parts of Scotland lit up. And when


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you see aurora reports from Scotland,


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you're already dealing with something


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significant.


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>> But the story closest to home for many


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of our listeners. The Aurora Arales was


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visible across major Australian cities


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last night. The Australian Bureau of


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Meteorology issued a severe geomagnetic


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storm warning and the southern lights


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were reported from Melbourne, Sydney,


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Brisbane, and Adelaide.


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>> That is remarkable. Sydney is not what


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you'd call a typical aurora viewing


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destination. If you were outside last


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night and happened to look south,


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especially from somewhere with a clear


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horizon, you may well have caught it.


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>> As of today, March 24th, conditions are


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easing. We're dropping back to KP 3 to


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4, unsettled to active with a slight


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chance of isolated G1 minor storm


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intervals. So, there may still be some


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activity tonight, but the peak has


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passed.


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>> Now, why is March such a good month for


00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:11.110
auroras? This is something a lot of


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people don't know.


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>> It's called the equinox effect. Around


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the March and September equinoxes, the


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geometry of Earth's magnetic field


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relative to the solar wind becomes


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particularly favorable. The field lines


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are better aligned to allow charged


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particles in, which means you can get


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strong auroral activity even from


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moderate solar events. Combined with the


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current solar maximum, the peak of solar


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cycle 25, and we're living through what


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could genuinely be the best aurora


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viewing period until the mid 2030s. So,


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if you've been meaning to chase the


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lights, the message from scientists is


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this is your window. The sun will start


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winding down from here, and the next


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solar maximum is over a decade away.


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>> We'll have Aurora forecast links in the


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show notes so you can track what tonight


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looks like from your location.


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>> I'm sure our producer, who lives in


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Sydney, will be out and looking up. Now,


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let's head into deep space and into one


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of the most genuinely surprising pieces


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of planetary science we've seen in a


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while. James Webb has done it again.


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>> I love a story where the headline is


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basically, "Scientists found something


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they were almost certain couldn't be


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there."


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>> So, the planet in question is called toi


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561b.


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It's a super Earth about twice the mass


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of our planet orbiting a star around 280


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lighty years away. And when we say close


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to its star, we mean absurdly, almost


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comically close. It completes a full


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orbit in just 10.56 hours. A year on


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this world is shorter than the average


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working day.


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>> It orbits at 140th the distance that


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Mercury sits from our sun. The dayside


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is in permanent unrelenting sunlight.


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The planet is likely tidily locked. Same


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face always towards the star. Same face


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always in darkness. The surface is


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thought to be a global ocean of molten


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rock. And under those conditions,


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extreme radiation, extreme heat, extreme


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proximity to the star, the scientific


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consensus was that any atmosphere this


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planet might have once had would have


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been stripped away long ago. It should


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be a bare airless rock. Except it isn't.


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The Carnegie Institution's le team used


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Web's near infrared spectroscope,


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Nearspec, to take the planet's


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temperature by measuring how much light


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the system emitted when TOI561B


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passed behind its star. If it were a


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bare rock, the dayside should reach


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something close to 4,900°


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F, around 2700 C. Instead, they measured


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around 3,200° F or 1,800 C. Still


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extraordinarily hot, but significantly


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cooler than expected. And the only


00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:09.430
explanation that fits the data is that


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there's an atmosphere up there,


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redistributing heat from the dayside to


00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:14.710
the night side.


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>> The lead researcher, Johanna Tesca at


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Carnegie Science, described the planet


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as, and this is a direct quote, really


00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.269
like a wet lava ball. The idea is that


00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:27.269
there's a feedback loop happening.


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Volatile gases bubble up from the magma


00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.590
ocean into the atmosphere while the


00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.070
magma ocean simultaneously pulls some


00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:36.389
gases back in. It's a strange


00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:38.389
equilibrium. What makes this


00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:40.310
scientifically significant beyond the


00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:42.550
wow factor is what it tells us about


00:09:42.560 --> 00:09:45.110
rocky planet evolution. We've assumed


00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:47.430
for a long time that small, hot,


00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:50.389
close-in worlds can't hold atmospheres.


00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.990
POI 561B suggests the reality is more


00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:56.070
complicated and potentially more


00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.110
interesting.


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>> The team is now analyzing the full data


00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:01.269
set to map temperature patterns all the


00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:03.110
way around the planet and try to narrow


00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.870
down what the atmosphere is actually


00:10:04.880 --> 00:10:07.910
made of. Water vapor, carbon dioxide,


00:10:07.920 --> 00:10:10.630
silicate clouds, all on the table.


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>> One of JWST's core missions is finding


00:10:13.760 --> 00:10:16.150
atmospheres around rocky worlds. Because


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as far as we know, an atmosphere is a


00:10:18.560 --> 00:10:22.389
prerequisite for life. POI 561b is


00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:24.310
certainly not habitable in any


00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.470
conventional sense. But understanding


00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:28.870
how a world this extreme holds onto its


00:10:28.880 --> 00:10:31.030
air could tell us a great deal about


00:10:31.040 --> 00:10:33.350
rocky planets that are far more


00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.829
temperate. There's something genuinely


00:10:35.839 --> 00:10:38.470
poetic about today's next story. We're


00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:41.670
going back to December 1972, the last


00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:43.829
time humans walked on the moon, and


00:10:43.839 --> 00:10:45.269
discovering that some of what they


00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:47.910
brought home has been quietly waiting 50


00:10:47.920 --> 00:10:50.550
years to tell us something unexpected.


00:10:50.560 --> 00:10:52.710
>> The Apollo Next Generation Sample


00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.509
Analysis Program, or ANXA, was set up


00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.670
specifically for this purpose. When the


00:10:57.680 --> 00:10:59.509
Apollo astronauts returned from the


00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:01.910
moon, NASA deliberately sealed some of


00:11:01.920 --> 00:11:04.069
the samples and set them aside, knowing


00:11:04.079 --> 00:11:06.230
that future scientists with better tools


00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:08.470
would be able to extract more from them


00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.949
than the technology of the 1970s ever


00:11:10.959 --> 00:11:11.750
could.


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>> And that moment has now arrived for a


00:11:13.920 --> 00:11:15.990
double drive tube pushed into the lunar


00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:18.550
surface at the Taurus litau region by


00:11:18.560 --> 00:11:20.870
Jean Cernin and Harrison Schmidt during


00:11:20.880 --> 00:11:24.470
Apollo 17. A team led by James Den at


00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.030
Brown University used a technique called


00:11:27.040 --> 00:11:29.590
secondary ion mass spectrometry to


00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:31.990
measure sulfur isotopes. And what they


00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.470
found was not what anyone expected.


00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:36.870
>> So for context, Earth and the moon have


00:11:36.880 --> 00:11:39.190
remarkably similar oxygen isotope


00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:41.590
signatures. Scientists have long assumed


00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.269
that sulfur would follow the same


00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:45.590
pattern, that the moon's interior would


00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:47.590
look chemically similar to Earth's in


00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.150
this regard. Dotton's team expected to


00:11:50.160 --> 00:11:51.990
confirm that assumption.


00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.389
>> Instead, the volcanic material in the


00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:56.870
sample is strongly depleted in sulfur


00:11:56.880 --> 00:12:00.389
33, one of four stable sulfur isotopes.


00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.110
The values are, in Dotton's own words,


00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:05.030
very different from anything we find on


00:12:05.040 --> 00:12:07.030
Earth. He said he simply wasn't


00:12:07.040 --> 00:12:08.310
expecting that.


00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:10.389
>> So, what does it mean? There are two


00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:12.710
leading explanations and neither is


00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.870
boring. The first is that this is


00:12:14.880 --> 00:12:17.430
evidence of very ancient chemistry.


00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.590
sulfur that interacted with ultraviolet


00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:22.389
light in an early thin lunar atmosphere


00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:24.710
billions of years ago. The implication


00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:26.790
there would be that material somehow


00:12:26.800 --> 00:12:29.110
cycled from the lunar surface into the


00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.069
mantle, a kind of protoplate tectonics


00:12:32.079 --> 00:12:34.230
on a world we don't think has ever had


00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:35.670
plate tectonics.


00:12:35.680 --> 00:12:37.750
>> The second explanation reaches even


00:12:37.760 --> 00:12:39.829
further back. The leading theory of the


00:12:39.839 --> 00:12:42.230
moon's origin is the giant impact. A


00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:44.470
Mars-sized body called Thea collided


00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:46.629
with the early Earth, and the debris


00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.190
eventually coalesed into the moon. If


00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:51.030
Thea had a very different sulfur


00:12:51.040 --> 00:12:53.190
composition from Earth, that signature


00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:54.949
might still be locked inside the lunar


00:12:54.959 --> 00:12:57.190
mantle today. A fingerprint from a


00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:59.910
collision that happened 4 billion years


00:12:59.920 --> 00:13:00.710
ago.


00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:03.110
>> The data doesn't currently favor one


00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.590
explanation over the other. Dottton is


00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:07.350
hoping that comparisons with samples


00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.590
from Mars and other planetary bodies


00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:11.750
will help resolve it. But the broader


00:13:11.760 --> 00:13:14.150
message is clear. These samples are


00:13:14.160 --> 00:13:17.269
still yielding genuine surprises decades


00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.350
after they were collected. And there are


00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.750
more sealed Apollo containers still to


00:13:21.760 --> 00:13:22.790
be opened.


00:13:22.800 --> 00:13:24.550
>> There is something remarkable about the


00:13:24.560 --> 00:13:26.310
fact that astronauts who have been gone


00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:29.110
for over 50 years are still in a very


00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:31.030
real sense contributing to our


00:13:31.040 --> 00:13:33.269
understanding of the solar system. All


00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.670
right, let's do a lap of the launchpads


00:13:35.680 --> 00:13:37.590
because this week is genuinely


00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:39.190
exceptional for space activity


00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:42.150
worldwide. NASA spaceflight.com


00:13:42.160 --> 00:13:44.230
published their weekly preview and


00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.389
honestly it reads like a greatest hits


00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:48.629
of the current space age. Let's start


00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:51.110
with what's already happened. SpaceX


00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:52.790
kicked off the week with the Falcon 9


00:13:52.800 --> 00:13:54.710
launch from Vandenberg in California


00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.590
today, Tuesday, carrying 25 Starling


00:13:57.600 --> 00:13:59.910
satellites to sun-synchronous orbit.


00:13:59.920 --> 00:14:03.990
Booster B1081 flying for the 23rd time.


00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.670
Routine at this point, but still


00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:07.670
remarkable when you say it out loud.


00:14:07.680 --> 00:14:09.910
>> Tomorrow, Wednesday, is arguably the


00:14:09.920 --> 00:14:12.389
biggest single day in the schedule. ESAR


00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:14.470
Aerospace's Spectrum rocket has its


00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.509
window at 8:00 p.m. UTC from Endoa in


00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:19.350
Norway. We'll talk about that more in


00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.389
the update segment. And at 9:14 a.m.


00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:25.430
UTC, Rocket Labs Electron launches from


00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:28.069
New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula, carrying


00:14:28.079 --> 00:14:30.949
two ESA Celeste satellites. Those are


00:14:30.959 --> 00:14:33.030
the first of 10 planned navigation


00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:35.189
demonstration satellites that will test


00:14:35.199 --> 00:14:37.189
positioning technology in low Earth


00:14:37.199 --> 00:14:37.910
orbit.


00:14:37.920 --> 00:14:40.629
>> Also Wednesday, China launches a Chang


00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:44.550
Zang 2C from Taiwan, payload classified,


00:14:44.560 --> 00:14:47.350
which will be that rocket's 87th mission


00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:51.430
overall. The CZ2C has been flying since


00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:52.949
1982,


00:14:52.959 --> 00:14:54.389
which puts it in some pretty


00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:55.750
distinguished company.


00:14:55.760 --> 00:14:58.069
>> Thursday brings another Falcon 9 from


00:14:58.079 --> 00:15:00.629
Cape Canaveral carrying 29 Starling


00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:02.790
satellites. And this one has a record


00:15:02.800 --> 00:15:06.310
attached. Booster B1067 will be making


00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:09.030
its 34th flight, setting a new record


00:15:09.040 --> 00:15:11.910
for Falcon 9 booster reuse. This rocket


00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:14.870
first flew in June 2021 on a cargo


00:15:14.880 --> 00:15:16.710
resupply mission to the International


00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.110
Space Station. It's now flying for the


00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:22.389
34th time. SpaceX has fundamentally


00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:24.870
changed what reusability means.


00:15:24.880 --> 00:15:27.350
>> Friday is enormous. China's commercial


00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:29.670
launch company CAS Space flies its


00:15:29.680 --> 00:15:32.470
Kinetic 1 solid rocket from Juan with an


00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:35.030
undisclosed payload. And Rosscosmos


00:15:35.040 --> 00:15:36.949
launches the first ever flight of the


00:15:36.959 --> 00:15:39.990
Soyuse 5 rocket from Biconor, also


00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.790
called. This rocket is Russia's long-


00:15:42.800 --> 00:15:45.110
aaited replacement for the Zenit family.


00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:46.949
It carries a mass simulator on this


00:15:46.959 --> 00:15:49.189
debut flight, launching from a pad that


00:15:49.199 --> 00:15:51.269
hasn't seen an orbital launch since


00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.069
2017. Big moment for Russian launch


00:15:54.079 --> 00:15:55.430
vehicle development.


00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.910
>> And the week closes out on Sunday with


00:15:57.920 --> 00:16:01.910
two more. ULA's Atlas V5 launching 29


00:16:01.920 --> 00:16:03.670
Amazon LEO satellites from Cape


00:16:03.680 --> 00:16:06.470
Canaveral in its powerful 551


00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:08.870
configuration. That's five solid rocket


00:16:08.880 --> 00:16:11.350
boosters for what will be that rocket's


00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.629
107th overall mission. And SpaceX wraps


00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:17.269
things up with Transporter 16, a ride


00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:19.430
share mission from Vandenberg carrying


00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.910
dozens of small satellites. That will be


00:16:21.920 --> 00:16:25.590
SpaceX's 40th Falcon 9 launch of 2026


00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.310
alone and the 73rd orbital launch


00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.670
attempt worldwide this year. So, five


00:16:31.680 --> 00:16:34.470
countries, six different rockets, Falcon


00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:39.030
9, Electron, Spectrum, CZ2C, Kinetica 1,


00:16:39.040 --> 00:16:42.389
Soyuse 5, Atlas V5, launching from


00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.629
California, Florida, New Zealand,


00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:46.870
Norway, two sites in China, and


00:16:46.880 --> 00:16:49.670
Kazakhstan in one week.


00:16:49.680 --> 00:16:52.790
>> The age of routine space flight is here.


00:16:52.800 --> 00:16:54.710
It's just also occasionally


00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.189
extraordinary. Before we wrap, a quick


00:16:57.199 --> 00:16:58.870
followup on two stories we covered


00:16:58.880 --> 00:17:00.550
yesterday because both have had


00:17:00.560 --> 00:17:02.790
developments today. Let's start with the


00:17:02.800 --> 00:17:05.189
ISS. You'll remember that Russia


00:17:05.199 --> 00:17:08.549
launched the Progress MS33 cargo ship,


00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:11.829
also called Progress 94 on Sunday from


00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.789
the Biconor Cosmodrome, carrying about 2


00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:17.829
and 1/2 tons of supplies for the 7person


00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:22.069
Expedition 74 crew. Food, fuel, water,


00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:24.870
oxygen, the good stuff. But there was a


00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:27.189
complication. Shortly after launch, one


00:17:27.199 --> 00:17:29.430
of the spacecraft's two KURS automated


00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.830
docking antennas failed to deploy. The


00:17:31.840 --> 00:17:34.150
KUR system is the normal hands-off


00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.110
approach. The ship guides itself in with


00:17:37.120 --> 00:17:38.710
only one antenna working. Full


00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:40.630
automation wasn't available.


00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:43.590
>> So this morning, ISS Commander Sergey


00:17:43.600 --> 00:17:47.669
Kudkov took over manually using the Tou


00:17:47.679 --> 00:17:49.830
system. That's the Telerobotically


00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:52.310
operated rendevous system, a control


00:17:52.320 --> 00:17:55.190
panel inside the Zvezda service module.


00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:58.070
The spacecraft flew itself to within 200


00:17:58.080 --> 00:18:00.710
m of the station and from there Cuds


00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:03.270
Ferkov guided it in. Docking was


00:18:03.280 --> 00:18:06.390
scheduled for 9:34 Eastern time. Ross


00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:07.990
Cosmos were quick to point out that


00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:09.990
manual approaches are routinely


00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.310
practiced during Cosmo training. This


00:18:12.320 --> 00:18:14.630
was a contingency, not a crisis. And


00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:16.310
there's a second layer to the story


00:18:16.320 --> 00:18:18.710
worth noting. This was the first launch


00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.510
from site 31 at Biconor since that pad


00:18:21.520 --> 00:18:23.990
was damaged during the Soyuse MS28


00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.230
launch last November when part of the


00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:28.549
launch infrastructure collapsed. That


00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:30.710
pad is Russia's only one capable of


00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.710
sending crude missions and cargo ships


00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.669
to the ISS. Its return to service is


00:18:35.679 --> 00:18:37.270
genuinely significant.


00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:39.750
>> We'll keep watching and with any luck,


00:18:39.760 --> 00:18:42.390
Progress 94 is safely birthed at the


00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:45.110
Pois module as you listen to this. And


00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:47.430
on the other story we promised to follow


00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:49.830
Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket is


00:18:49.840 --> 00:18:52.549
still on the pad. Weather Andoya pushed


00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.230
the attempt from Sunday then from


00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.310
yesterday. The current window is


00:18:56.320 --> 00:18:58.710
Wednesday night 8:00 p.m. to 900 p.m.


00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.110
UTC. We'll have an update in tomorrow's


00:19:01.120 --> 00:19:01.750
episode.


00:19:01.760 --> 00:19:03.909
>> If it succeeds, it will be the first


00:19:03.919 --> 00:19:06.310
time a rocket designed, built, and


00:19:06.320 --> 00:19:08.710
launched from continental European soil


00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:11.590
has reached orbit. That is a headline we


00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:13.590
very much want to be able to read.


00:19:13.600 --> 00:19:15.669
Fingers crossed for ISAR and the whole


00:19:15.679 --> 00:19:17.510
European space industry.


00:19:17.520 --> 00:19:19.430
>> Again, we'll update any new developments


00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:20.789
in tomorrow's show.


00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:22.870
>> That is your Astronomy Daily for


00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.830
Tuesday, March 24th. We've got a lot of


00:19:25.840 --> 00:19:28.310
threads in the air right now. Artemis 2


00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:30.789
approaching its launch window. Spectrum


00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:32.870
waiting for the weather. A sun that


00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.110
doesn't want to sit still. So, it's a


00:19:35.120 --> 00:19:36.549
great time to make sure you're


00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:38.150
subscribed wherever you get your


00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:40.630
podcast. All the sources, links, and


00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:42.310
reading for today's stories are in the


00:19:42.320 --> 00:19:44.310
show notes. And if today's episode


00:19:44.320 --> 00:19:46.549
sparks something for you, whether it's


00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:48.549
aurora chasing or thinking about those


00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:51.350
Apollo samples or just looking up at the


00:19:51.360 --> 00:19:53.110
moon tonight and doing the maths on


00:19:53.120 --> 00:19:55.590
April 1st, we'd love to hear from you.


00:19:55.600 --> 00:19:57.830
>> Find us on Twitter and Instagram at


00:19:57.840 --> 00:20:01.110
Astro Daily Pod and on Tik Tok, X,


00:20:01.120 --> 00:20:03.510
YouTube, and Tumblr at the same handle.


00:20:03.520 --> 00:20:06.470
The website is astronomyaily.io.


00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.990
And we're proud to be part of the


00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.310
byes.com podcast network


00:20:10.320 --> 00:20:12.950
>> for Anna. I'm Avery. Keep looking up


00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:14.710
>> and we'll see you tomorrow.


00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:17.750
>> Astronomy day.


00:20:17.760 --> 00:20:21.559
Stories we told.