Dying Star, Skull Nebulae, and a Blood Moon

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Language: en

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily.


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I'm Anna


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>> and I'm Avery. You're listening to


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season 5, episode 50.


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>> That's right, episode 50. Half a century


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of episodes this season alone. Thank you


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honestly to every single listener who's


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been on this journey with us.


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>> It's been an incredible ride. And today


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we have six stories that are absolutely


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worthy of the occasion. We're talking a


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star that may be dying in real time, a


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skull-shaped nebula revealed by the


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James Webb Space Telescope, a Dragon


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capsule splashing down this morning, a


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blood moon just days away, fresh


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evidence for life in the Jupiter system,


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and a major shakeup at NASA following


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one of the most damning reports in the


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AY's recent history.


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>> Big show. Let's get into it. We're


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starting today with one of the most


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dramatic stories in stellar astronomy in


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recent memory. Avery here. Picture a


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star so enormous that if you placed it


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at the center of our solar system, its


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outer edge would reach beyond the orbit


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of Jupiter. That's WG64.


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And it may be dying right before our


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eyes.


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>> WG64


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has been known to astronomers since the


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1970s. It lives in the large melanic


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cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits our


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Milky Way, about 160,000 lighty years


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away. And for decades, it was classified


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as the most extreme red super giant in


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that galaxy. We're talking a radius of


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roughly 1540 times that of our sun. That


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is almost incomprehensibly large.


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>> But here's where it gets really


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interesting. Back in 2014, astronomers


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started noticing something was changing.


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The star began to look different. Its


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color was shifting and its surface


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temperature was rising. A team led by


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Gonzalo Muno Sanchez at the National


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Observatory of Athens has now published


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research in the journal Nature


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Astronomy, confirming what they believe


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is happening. WG64


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has transitioned from a red super giant


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into something far rarer, a yellow hyper


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giant.


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>> Now, yellow hyper giants are


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extraordinarily rare. Why? because they


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represent a very brief unstable


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transitional phase. Muno Sanchez


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described them as a short-lived bridge


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between the red super giant stage and


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the eventual supernova explosion. There


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are only a few tens of confirmed yellow


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hyper giants known to us in the entire


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universe. So to potentially be watching


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one form in real time is remarkable.


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>> The transformation appears to have


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happened relatively quickly on a cosmic


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time scale. The star essentially shifted


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from red to yellow in roughly a year.


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What drives this? Strong stellar winds


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powerful enough to strip away the outer


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layers of material the star has


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previously shed. That process heats the


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star up and reveals a hotter, smaller


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surface beneath. It's like peeling back


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the layers of a cosmic onion.


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>> There's an added twist to this story,


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though. The team also found evidence


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that WHG64


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isn't alone. It appears to have a


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companion star. And that binary


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relationship may be complicating the


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picture considerably. If a companion is


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stripping material away from the main


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star through gravitational interaction,


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that could explain some of what we're


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seeing independently of the supernova


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pathway.


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>> In fact, there's some scientific debate


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here worth noting. Another team led by


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Jaco Vanlon at Keel University observed


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WHG64


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more recently and found signatures


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suggesting the stars atmosphere might


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still be that of a red super giant.


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They're being more cautious about


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calling this a confirmed transition. So


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the jury at least partially is still


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out.


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>> But what everyone agrees on, including


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the skeptics, is that something


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extraordinary is happening with this


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star. As Vanlon himself said, we are all


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witnessing an unprecedented spectacle.


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Whether WHG64


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ultimately explodes as a supernova,


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collapses directly into a black hole, or


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merges with its companion, we are


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watching one of the universe's most


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massive stars navigate the final


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chapters of its life. And that's


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something we may literally get to see. A


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supernova from a well doumented,


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wellstudied star. If and when it goes,


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it would be a scientific gift of the


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highest order. Dain closer to home now.


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Well, closer than 160,000 lightyear.


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Anyway, yesterday SpaceX's CRS33


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Dragon cargo capsule undocked from the


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International Space Station, wrapping up


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what has been a genuinely historic


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6-month stay. CRS33, that's the 33rd


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commercial resupply services mission


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SpaceX has performed for NASA, arrived


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at the station back on August 25th last


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year. It delivered around 5,000 lb of


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supplies and scientific equipment. But


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what really sets this mission apart is


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something that happened during its time


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docked.


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>> For the very first time, a Dragon cargo


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capsule was used to reboost the orbit of


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the space station itself. The station


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sits in low Earth orbit, and atmospheric


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drag, even at that altitude, gradually


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pulls it lower over time. Historically,


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Russian Progress spacecraft and the


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station's own thrusters have handled the


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job of pushing it back up. But Dragon


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introduced a brand new independent


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reboost capability during CRS33.


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>> It performed six of these reboosts


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during its stay, five in 2025 and a


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final one in January. That might sound


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like a technical footnote, but it's


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actually strategically significant as


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the geopolitical landscape around


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USRussia space cooperation continues to


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evolve. Having an American spacecraft


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capable of maintaining the station's


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orbit is a real capability milestone.


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The capsule undocked at just after noon


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Eastern time yesterday, February 26th.


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It was scheduled to splash down in the


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Pacific Ocean off the California coast


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in the early hours of this morning. NASA


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wasn't streaming that splashdown, but


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updates have been posted to their


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station blog.


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>> And Dragon wasn't just heading home


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empty-handed, either. It's bringing back


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a packed cargo of scientific results,


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including samples from the Euromaterial


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Aging Study, which spent a full year


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exposing 141 different samples to the


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harsh environment of space to see how


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insulation coatings and 3D printed


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materials degrade. Plus, results from


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Thailand's liquid crystals experiment


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looking at how materials used in


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displays behave in microgravity. What


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this mission really demonstrates is how


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far SpaceX's role has evolved. They're


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no longer just a delivery service for


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the station. They're now actively


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helping to maintain and sustain it.


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That's a significant evolution in the


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commercial spaceflight relationship.


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Now, for something that's going to stick


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in your imagination, I promise. This


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week, NASA released stunning new images


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from the James Webb Space Telescope, and


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they might be the most striking thing


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Web has produced this year. Ladies and


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gentlemen, meet the exposed cranium


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nebula.


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>> I love that name, and the images


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absolutely justify it. Officially called


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PMR1,


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named after the astronomers Parker,


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Morgan, and Russell, who discovered it


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in a sky survey in the late 1990s, this


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nebula surrounds a dying star and looks


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almost uncannily like a transparent


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human skull with a brain visible inside


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it. The nebula was first observed in


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infrared light by the now retired


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Spitzer telescope back in 2013, which is


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when it got its nickname, but Spitzer's


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view was relatively indistinct. Web has


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now looked at PMR1 with two of its most


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powerful instruments, Near Cam, the near


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infrared camera, and Mary, the mid


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infrared instrument. And the difference


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is extraordinary.


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>> In the near infrared image, you can


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clearly see an outer shell of gas. This


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is the skull composed mostly of hydrogen


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blown off by the star in an earlier


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phase of its death. Inside that there


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are two hemispheres of complex ionized


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gas forming the brain. And running


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vertically through the center is a dark


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lane, a gap that divides the two loes


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and gives the nebula its distinctly


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cerebral appearance. The mid infrared


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image from Mary tells a different story.


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Warmer dust and denser material glow


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more prominently, and you can see


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evidence of gas being actively pushed


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outward from the central star through


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what may be polar jets. That dark


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central lane appears to be related to


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outflows or jets from the star firing


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material out in opposite directions, top


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and bottom.


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>> What's particularly intriguing is how


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much scientists still don't know about


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this object. The mass of the dying


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central star hasn't been precisely


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determined yet, and that matters


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enormously for predicting its fate. If


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it's sufficiently massive, it could


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explode as a supernova when the end


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comes. But if it's a lower mass star,


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more like our sun, it will keep shedding


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its outer layers until only its dense


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cooling core remains, a white dwarf.


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There's also speculation that PMR1


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central star could be a wolf riot star,


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an especially hot and luminous type of


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star known for ferocious stellar winds.


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That would explain the dramatic outflows


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and layered structure we're seeing.


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Either way, what web has delivered here


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is a masterclass in the death of a star.


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Every one of these images is a reminder


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of why we built this telescope and what


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it continues to reveal about the


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universe around us. I highly recommend


00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:06.949
looking up those images. They are


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genuinely breathtaking.


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>> All right, sky watchers, this one is for


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you. And the timing is brilliant because


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you've got just 4 days to prepare. This


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Tuesday, March 3rd, the moon is going to


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turn blood red in a total lunar eclipse.


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And it's the last one of its kind


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visible until the very end of 2028.


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>> Let's explain what's happening. A total


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lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth


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passes directly between the Sun and the


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Moon, casting our planet's full shadow,


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called the umbra, across the lunar


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surface. The moon doesn't go dark


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entirely, though. What happens instead


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is that the only light reaching the moon


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is filtered through Earth's atmosphere,


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and Earth's atmosphere scatters away the


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blue wavelengths of light, allowing only


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the reds and oranges through. The


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results, the moon turns that spectacular


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deep coppery red that gives it the blood


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moon nickname.


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>> Totality, the period when the moon is


00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:08.470
fully within Earth's shadow, will last


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58 minutes from just after 11:00 a.m.


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UTC to just after 12:00 p.m. UTC on


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March 3rd. Maximum eclipse, when the


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moon sits deepest in the shadow, occurs


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at 11:33 UTC.


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>> Now, visibility depends heavily on where


00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:26.550
you are in the world. The best seats in


00:11:26.560 --> 00:11:28.310
the house are in the western half of


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North America, Hawaii, Australia, New


00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:33.990
Zealand, and across the Pacific. Eastern


00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.389
Asia will also get a great view of the


00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.470
eclipse in their evening hours.


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Observers in much of South America and


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Central Asia will see a partial eclipse.


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And unfortunately, if you're in Europe


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or Africa, this one is going to pass you


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by entirely. The moon will be below the


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horizon for most of the event. There's a


00:11:54.079 --> 00:11:55.670
lovely bonus for North American


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observers in particular. During the


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eclipse, as the full moon dims


00:11:59.680 --> 00:12:01.829
significantly, fainter objects in the


00:12:01.839 --> 00:12:03.910
sky become much more visible than they


00:12:03.920 --> 00:12:06.150
normally would during a full moon. And


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there's actually a rare event happening


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during totality. The moon will occult or


00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:16.389
pass in front of the galaxy NGC 3423,


00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:18.069
which should be a treat for telescope


00:12:18.079 --> 00:12:19.030
users.


00:12:19.040 --> 00:12:20.870
>> No special equipment needed for the


00:12:20.880 --> 00:12:23.030
eclipse itself. This is one of those


00:12:23.040 --> 00:12:25.509
events you can simply step outside and


00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.470
enjoy with the naked eye. Unlike a solar


00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:30.949
eclipse, you don't need any filters or


00:12:30.959 --> 00:12:33.430
protective glasses. Just find a dark


00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:35.990
spot, look up, and watch our cosmic


00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.310
companion transform. We'll have a


00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:40.629
reminder and more observing tips in our


00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.190
episode on Monday, but mark Tuesday,


00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.230
March 3rd, in your diary now. Set your


00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.670
alarm, get outside, and enjoy the show.


00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:51.590
Next chance for another total lunar


00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:55.190
eclipse after this. New Year's Eve 2028


00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:57.829
going into 2029.


00:12:57.839 --> 00:13:00.310
So, this really is one not to miss.


00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.710
>> Now, for a story that could reshape how


00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.030
we think about the origin of life in our


00:13:05.040 --> 00:13:07.910
solar system and perhaps beyond it.


00:13:07.920 --> 00:13:10.389
Astronomers and astrobiologists have


00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:13.030
long been fascinated by Jupiter's icy


00:13:13.040 --> 00:13:16.150
moons, Europa, Ganymede, and Kalisto in


00:13:16.160 --> 00:13:18.710
particular, because they harbor vast


00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:21.350
liquid water oceans beneath their frozen


00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:23.509
surfaces. And where there's liquid


00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:26.150
water, there's potential for life. But


00:13:26.160 --> 00:13:28.310
new research published this week


00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.870
suggests those moons may have been even


00:13:30.880 --> 00:13:32.790
better prepared for life than we


00:13:32.800 --> 00:13:35.269
previously thought. An international


00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:37.269
team including scientists from the


00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.670
Southwest Research Institute and Ex


00:13:39.680 --> 00:13:42.150
Marcel University have published two


00:13:42.160 --> 00:13:44.550
complimentary studies. One in the


00:13:44.560 --> 00:13:47.110
Planetary Science Journal and one in the


00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:48.870
monthly notices of the Royal


00:13:48.880 --> 00:13:51.670
Astronomical Society that model how


00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:54.230
complex organic molecules formed and


00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:56.470
were delivered to Jupiter's moons at the


00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:59.030
very moment they were born. Complex


00:13:59.040 --> 00:14:02.870
organic molecules or COM are carbonri


00:14:02.880 --> 00:14:05.110
compounds that also contain elements


00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.910
like oxygen and nitrogen. On Earth,


00:14:07.920 --> 00:14:10.389
they're essential precursors to life.


00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.949
Think amino acids, proteins, the


00:14:12.959 --> 00:14:15.430
building blocks of DNA. And the question


00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.829
the team was asking was, could these


00:14:17.839 --> 00:14:20.150
molecules have formed in the early solar


00:14:20.160 --> 00:14:23.110
system around Jupiter specifically and


00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.509
ended up embedded in the Galilean moons


00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:27.670
during their formation billions of years


00:14:27.680 --> 00:14:28.470
ago?


00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:30.550
>> The answer, according to their models,


00:14:30.560 --> 00:14:33.750
appears to be yes. When icy dust grains


00:14:33.760 --> 00:14:35.430
containing simple compounds like


00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:38.150
methanol or ammonia were subjected to


00:14:38.160 --> 00:14:40.310
ultraviolet radiation and moderate


00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:42.710
heating, conditions that existed in both


00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.430
the wider disc around the young sun and


00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:48.389
in Jupiter's own circumlanetary disc,


00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:51.189
complex organic chemistry could occur.


00:14:51.199 --> 00:14:53.430
The resulting organic molecules were


00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:55.750
then transported by those icy grains


00:14:55.760 --> 00:14:58.230
into the growing moons as they formed.


00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.629
Perhaps most strikingly, their models


00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:03.430
show that in some scenarios, nearly half


00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:06.069
of the simulated icy particles carried


00:15:06.079 --> 00:15:08.389
newly formed organic molecules from the


00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:10.629
solar disc into Jupiter's local


00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.189
environment without being destroyed.


00:15:13.199 --> 00:15:15.990
Lead author Dr. Olivier Mus put it


00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.030
clearly. Jupiter's moons did not form as


00:15:19.040 --> 00:15:21.430
chemically pristine worlds. They may


00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:23.829
have accumulated a significant inventory


00:15:23.839 --> 00:15:26.629
of these complex organic molecules right


00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:29.509
from birth. For Europa in particular,


00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:32.150
this is exciting. Europa is already


00:15:32.160 --> 00:15:33.990
considered one of the best candidates


00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:36.310
for life in the solar system with its


00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:38.870
subsurface ocean in direct contact with


00:15:38.880 --> 00:15:41.910
a rocky seafloor, conditions not unlike


00:15:41.920 --> 00:15:44.389
Earth's deep sea hydrothermal vents


00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:47.430
where life thrives in total darkness. If


00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:49.749
that ocean also began with a supply of


00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:52.069
organic building blocks, the case for


00:15:52.079 --> 00:15:54.949
habitability gets considerably stronger.


00:15:54.959 --> 00:15:56.870
The researchers also note that this


00:15:56.880 --> 00:15:59.030
finding has implications for NASA's


00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:01.990
Europa Clipper mission and issa's juice


00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.150
mission, both currently on route to


00:16:04.160 --> 00:16:06.710
Jupiter system. These missions carry


00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.110
instruments capable of detecting organic


00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.430
molecules. And this new research gives


00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:13.910
scientists a framework for interpreting


00:16:13.920 --> 00:16:15.990
whatever they find when they get there.


00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:17.430
>> It's worth stepping back and


00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.269
appreciating what this research is


00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:21.749
telling us more broadly. The ingredients


00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:24.470
for life may not be rare or special.


00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:26.870
They may be woven into the very process


00:16:26.880 --> 00:16:29.350
of planetary formation, delivered as


00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.749
standard across our solar system, and by


00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:33.670
extension, potentially across the


00:16:33.680 --> 00:16:36.150
universe. Every time we think life


00:16:36.160 --> 00:16:38.629
requires a lucky break, a study like


00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:41.030
this suggests the dice may be loaded in


00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:42.230
life's favor.


00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.629
>> And we close today's episode with a


00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:46.629
story that's been building for over a


00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:48.870
year and finally came to a head


00:16:48.880 --> 00:16:51.910
yesterday. NASA has replaced two of its


00:16:51.920 --> 00:16:54.710
most senior human space flight leaders


00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.030
just one week after releasing what can


00:16:57.040 --> 00:16:59.590
only be described as a devastating


00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:01.350
internal report on the Boeing


00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:03.749
Starlininer crew flight test. For


00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:05.350
listeners who may have missed our


00:17:05.360 --> 00:17:06.870
earlier coverage of the Boeing


00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:08.949
Starlininer saga, here's the quick


00:17:08.959 --> 00:17:12.390
version. In June 2024, NASA astronauts


00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:14.470
Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams


00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:16.230
launched on Boeing Starlininer


00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:18.150
spacecraft for what was supposed to be


00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:20.949
an 8-day test mission. But once docked


00:17:20.959 --> 00:17:23.270
at the space station, multiple thruster


00:17:23.280 --> 00:17:25.110
failures and helium leaks in the


00:17:25.120 --> 00:17:27.669
propulsion system emerged. After weeks


00:17:27.679 --> 00:17:29.830
of analysis, NASA made the call that


00:17:29.840 --> 00:17:31.909
Starlininer was not safe enough to bring


00:17:31.919 --> 00:17:34.390
the crew home. They came back in March


00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:37.669
2025 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon after


00:17:37.679 --> 00:17:40.789
spending 286 days in orbit instead of


00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:43.750
eight. Last week, NASA administrator


00:17:43.760 --> 00:17:46.070
Jared Isaacman held a press conference


00:17:46.080 --> 00:17:47.909
to announce the findings of an


00:17:47.919 --> 00:17:50.630
independent investigation into what went


00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:53.430
wrong. The conclusions were stark. The


00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:55.990
crew flight test has been retroactively


00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.590
reclassified as a typea mishap, NASA's


00:17:59.600 --> 00:18:01.830
highest severity classification,


00:18:01.840 --> 00:18:03.909
previously reserved for events like the


00:18:03.919 --> 00:18:05.990
space shuttle Challenger and Colombia


00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:08.710
disasters. That classification simply


00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:11.270
means damage exceeded a $2 million


00:18:11.280 --> 00:18:13.430
threshold, but the symbolism is


00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:14.310
significant.


00:18:14.320 --> 00:18:16.950
>> More damning still were Isaacman's words


00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:18.950
about what the investigation actually


00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.190
found. And I want to quote this because


00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.029
it really cuts to the heart of the


00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:26.150
matter. He said, "The most troubling


00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:28.549
failure revealed by this investigation


00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:31.830
is not hardware. It is decision-m and


00:18:31.840 --> 00:18:34.710
leadership that if left unchecked could


00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.430
create a culture incompatible with human


00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.549
space flight."


00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.430
>> Strong words. And yesterday, action


00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:43.990
followed. NASA announced that Ken


00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.310
Bowersox, the associate administrator


00:18:46.320 --> 00:18:48.390
for the space operations mission


00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:51.029
directorate, is retiring with his last


00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:54.070
day on March 6th. Steve Stiche, the


00:18:54.080 --> 00:18:56.150
program manager of the commercial crew


00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:58.549
program, has also been moved from that


00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:01.669
role. Their deputies, Joel Montelbano


00:19:01.679 --> 00:19:04.150
and Dana Hutcherson, have stepped in as


00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:06.150
acting leaders of those programs with


00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:07.510
immediate effect.


00:19:07.520 --> 00:19:09.830
>> Now, it's worth being precise here.


00:19:09.840 --> 00:19:11.830
Bower Sockox's retirement was announced


00:19:11.840 --> 00:19:13.830
the day before and appears to be a


00:19:13.840 --> 00:19:15.830
genuine retirement rather than being


00:19:15.840 --> 00:19:17.990
pushed out. Though the timing is


00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.549
impossible to ignore, and Isacman


00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.630
notably did not publicly connect the


00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:24.470
leadership changes to the Starlininer


00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:26.549
report, though he had explicitly


00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:29.110
promised accountability would follow.


00:19:29.120 --> 00:19:31.510
Reading the room, most observers see the


00:19:31.520 --> 00:19:33.190
connection as clear.


00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:34.630
>> Where does this leave Boeing


00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.029
Starlininer? It won't fly with crew


00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:39.669
again until technical causes are fully


00:19:39.679 --> 00:19:41.909
understood. The propulsion system is


00:19:41.919 --> 00:19:43.909
qualified and investigation


00:19:43.919 --> 00:19:46.310
recommendations are implemented. An


00:19:46.320 --> 00:19:48.789
uncrrewed cargo mission is still on the


00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:51.430
calendar for no earlier than April and


00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.990
NASA says it remains committed to having


00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.390
two commercial crew providers, the


00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.390
redundancy principle that drove the


00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:00.710
Starlininer program in the first place.


00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:02.549
>> But there are real questions about the


00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:05.430
program's future beyond that. The ISS is


00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:07.270
due to be decommissioned in the next few


00:20:07.280 --> 00:20:09.430
years. Starlininer's contracted


00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:11.270
rotational missions have already been


00:20:11.280 --> 00:20:14.310
reduced. And with SpaceX's Crew Dragon


00:20:14.320 --> 00:20:16.789
operating reliably, the urgency of


00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:18.870
getting Starlininer certified for crude


00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:20.789
flight feels somewhat diminished from


00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.510
NASA's perspective. What this episode


00:20:23.520 --> 00:20:25.830
ultimately speaks to, I think, is the


00:20:25.840 --> 00:20:28.230
culture of human space flight. The


00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:30.710
Challenger and Colombia disasters both


00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:33.669
had technical causes, but both also had


00:20:33.679 --> 00:20:36.070
cultural and organizational failures


00:20:36.080 --> 00:20:38.789
that allowed problems to be minimized or


00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.190
ignored. The fact that the Starlininer


00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:43.430
report uses that same language,


00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.149
decision-making, leadership culture is a


00:20:46.159 --> 00:20:47.830
warning that the lessons of those


00:20:47.840 --> 00:20:50.230
tragedies need to be continuously


00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:52.549
relearned. We'll continue to follow the


00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:54.549
story closely and we'll have more on


00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:56.630
Starlininer's path forward as details


00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:59.110
emerge in the coming weeks. And that is


00:20:59.120 --> 00:21:02.070
our episode 50 of season 5 of Astronomy


00:21:02.080 --> 00:21:04.870
Daily. What a show it's been. A dying


00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:07.830
hyper giant, a dragon splashdown, a


00:21:07.840 --> 00:21:10.549
cosmic skull, a blood moon, life's


00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.190
building blocks around Jupiter, and NASA


00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.350
reckoning with its own culture. The


00:21:15.360 --> 00:21:18.149
universe, as always, delivers. If you


00:21:18.159 --> 00:21:20.070
enjoyed today's episode, please take a


00:21:20.080 --> 00:21:21.830
moment to leave us a review wherever you


00:21:21.840 --> 00:21:23.909
listen. It makes a huge difference in


00:21:23.919 --> 00:21:26.230
helping new listeners find us and follow


00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:29.350
us on social media at astroaily pod for


00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:31.750
daily space shorts and news updates.


00:21:31.760 --> 00:21:33.990
>> And if you haven't already, head over to


00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:36.070
astronomyaily.io


00:21:36.080 --> 00:21:38.710
for full show notes, our blog posts, and


00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:41.350
all our back episodes. We've got 50 of


00:21:41.360 --> 00:21:43.350
them this season alone for you to


00:21:43.360 --> 00:21:45.270
explore. We'll be back on the weekend


00:21:45.280 --> 00:21:47.510
with more space and astronomy news.


00:21:47.520 --> 00:21:49.510
Until then, keep looking up.


00:21:49.520 --> 00:21:51.990
>> Bler skies, everyone.


00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:54.149
>> Day


00:21:54.159 --> 00:21:57.960
stories told.