Earth-Like Planet Abundance, Alien Signals, and a Milestone Mars Image

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Hello and welcome back to Astronomy


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Daily, the podcast that brings the


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cosmos down to Earth. I'm Avery.


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>> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.


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Today, we're covering everything from


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the potential abundance of Earthlike


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planets to a truly mindbending theory


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about our first contact with alien life.


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Plus, we'll be looking at a


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record-breaking week for space launches


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around the globe. A major milestone for


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a long-erving Mars orbiter and an


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exciting opportunity for students to


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contribute to the future of space


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exploration. So, let's get started.


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>> Avery, let's start with one of the


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biggest questions in astronomy. Are we


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alone? A new study published in Science


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Advances suggests that planets like ours


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might be far more common than we


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previously thought.


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>> This is the kind of news I love. What's


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the new theory behind this?


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>> It's called the immersion theory. The


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basic idea is that the formation of


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rocky Earthlike planets isn't just a


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gentle process of dust clumping together


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over millions of years. Instead, it


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might be kickstarted by a pretty violent


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event, a nearby supernova.


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>> A supernova? Wow. So, the death of a


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star could trigger the birth of a planet


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like ours.


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>> Exactly. The study proposes that the


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shock wave and material from a supernova


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explosion can compress a cloud of gas


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and dust and inject it with heavy


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elements. This creates the perfect


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conditions for rocky planets rich in the


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materials needed for life to form around


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a young star.


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>> That's fascinating. So, it's less of a


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random accident and more of a


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predictable outcome of cosmic events.


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What does this mean for the numbers? How


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much more common are we talking?


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>> The estimates are really promising. The


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study suggests that anywhere from 10 to


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50% of sunlike stars could have


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planetary systems formed under these


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conditions. It basically reframes


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Earthlike planets from being cosmic


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rarities to potentially being a common


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class of planet throughout the galaxy.


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>> 50%. Just imagine that. It really


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changes your perspective when you look


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up at the night sky.


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>> It does. And speaking of what might be


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out there, another fascinating new idea


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has emerged about what our first contact


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with an extraterrestrial civilization


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might actually be like, and it's not


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what you see in the movies.


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>> Okay, you have my attention. I'm


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guessing it's not a friendly hello.


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>> Not exactly. David Kipping from Columbia


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University has proposed something called


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the Escatashian hypothesis. The core


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idea is that our first contact won't be


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a typical representative signal from an


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average alien civilization. Instead,


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it's more likely to be a loud and


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atypical signal.


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>> Loud. What does he mean by that? Like


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powerful and easy to detect.


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>> Precisely. The hypothesis suggests that


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the first civilization we hear from


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might be one in a terminal phase,


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perhaps facing an existential crisis or


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nearing its end. In a final desperate


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act, they might unleash a powerful


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information-rich beacon into the cosmos.


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Not necessarily for a reply, but as a


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final testament to their existence, a


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sort of cosmic message in a bottle.


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>> Wow, that is a sobering thought. So, we


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wouldn't be hearing from a thriving


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neighbor, but receiving a final


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broadcast from a civilization that may


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no longer exist by the time we get the


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message.


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>> That's the idea. It's based on a pattern


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we see in astronomy where our first


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discoveries of a new phenomenon are


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often the most extreme or unusual cases,


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the easiest ones to spot. The first


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exoplanets we found were hot Jupiters,


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which we now know are not the most


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common type of planet.


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>> Right, that makes sense. The quiet,


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stable civilizations might be out there,


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but they'd be much harder to find than


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one shouting for all it's worth. It


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completely reframes the search for


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extraterrestrial intelligence.


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>> It certainly does. Now bringing our


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focus back a little closer to home. The


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skies above Earth are about to get


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incredibly busy. We're looking at a


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packed week for space launches from


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multiple agencies and companies around


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the world.


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>> It really feels like a new golden age


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for space flight. What are some of the


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key missions we should be watching?


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>> Well, there are some exciting debuts.


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We're anticipating the first ever launch


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of China's Long March 12A rocket. And


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South Korea is set to launch its first


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commercial rocket, the Hanbit Nano. Over


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in Europe, the Aron 6 is scheduled to


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launch another batch of Galileo


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navigation satellites.


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>> And you know, it wouldn't be a busy


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launch week without SpaceX. I assume


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they have a few flights planned.


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>> Naturally, they have multiple Starlink


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missions on the manifest as usual, but


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they aren't the only ones building out


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satellite internet. United Launch


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Alliance or ULA has a mission for


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Amazon's Project Kyper constellation as


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well.


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>> It's a truly global effort. Who else is


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on the list?


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>> We're also expecting launches from


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Japan's Jaxa and Rocket Lap. And for the


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human space flight fans, Blue Origin is


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planning another crude suborbital


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flight, sending more citizen astronauts


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to the edge of space. It's an amazing


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time to be a space enthusiast.


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>> Absolutely. And all those launches


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depend on having reliable infrastructure


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on the ground. On that note, there's


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some surprisingly good news coming out


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of the biconer drrome cosmmorome.


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>> That's right. Russia's space agency Ross


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Cosmos has been working on repairs to a


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launchpad that was damaged back in


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November during a crude Soyuse launch.


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Initially, the timeline for getting it


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back in service looked pretty long,


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>> which is a big deal considering how


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historic and vital that launch site is.


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So, what's the update? The news is


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excellent. Ross Cosmos now expects the


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pad to be fully operational by late


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February 2026. That's significantly


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sooner than many had anticipated, which


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is great news for the operational tempo


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of their launches. It's a real testament


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to the engineering teams working on the


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problem.


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>> That really is fantastic news. Now,


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let's travel from the launch pads of


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Earth to the orbit of Mars, where a


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veteran spacecraft has just hit an


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incredible milestone. This is such a


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wonderful story. NASA's Mars


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Reconnaissance Orbiter or MRO, which has


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been circling the red planet for nearly


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two decades, has just captured its


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100,000th image with its most powerful


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camera. 100,000 images. The camera is


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high-rise, right? The highresolution


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imaging science experiment. The level of


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detail it captures is just breathtaking.


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What did they choose to photograph for


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this landmark image? This is the best


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part. The target wasn't chosen by a NASA


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scientist or a principal investigator.


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It was suggested by a high school


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student through a public outreach


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program called Highwish.


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>> No way. That's brilliant. So, anyone can


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suggest a target for one of the most


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powerful cameras orbiting another


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planet.


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>> That's the program. And for its


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100,000th photo, High-Rise captured a


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stunning view of measunes in a region


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called Certus Major. It's a beautiful


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image and a fantastic example of how


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NASA involves the public in the journey


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of exploration.


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>> What a legacy for that student and for


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the MRO mission itself.


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>> And speaking of getting involved in


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space exploration, that brings us to our


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final story. NASA has just launched a


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new competition for college students and


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it's a big one.


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>> Oh, excellent. Tell us about it.


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>> It's called the Orbit Challenge. That's


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OBIT.


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The goal is to get college students to


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develop innovative solutions that can be


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used both for life here on Earth and for


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deep space exploration, especially with


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an eye towards the Artemis program and


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future missions to Mars.


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>> That sounds like an amazing opportunity.


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Is it just conceptual or are they


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looking for real technical development?


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>> It's quite serious. There's a prize pool


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of up to $380,000.


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Students are encouraged to work with


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NASA's existing portfolio of patents or


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to come up with their own brand new


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concepts. They're really looking for the


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next generation of innovators.


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>> That's fantastic. a huge resume builder


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and a chance to make a real impact. For


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any students or educators listening,


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what's the deadline?


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>> Registration is open now and runs until


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February 9th, 2026. So, there's plenty


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of time to form a team and start


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brainstorming.


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>> From potentially common Earths to final


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alien broadcasts, from the jam-packed


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launch schedule to a student


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photographed Mars, it's been another


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incredible week in space news. And that


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just about does it for today's episode


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of Astronomy Daily.


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>> We hope we've given you a few new things


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to wonder about. The universe is a vast


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and fascinating place, and we're


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learning more about it every single day.


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>> A huge thank you for tuning in and


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joining us on this journey. We'll be


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back soon with more news from across the


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cosmos. I'm Avery.


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>> And I'm Anna. Until next time, keep


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looking up.


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Stories told


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stories told


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stories