From Earthly Concerns to Martian Innovations: A Journey Through Space News

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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the podcast bringing you the biggest


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news from across the cosmos. I'm your


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host, Avery.


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


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today. Avery, we're talking about a


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threat to one of Earth's best windows to


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the universe, some big reveals from Blue


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Origin, and a star that's singing a


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strange cosmic song.


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>> That's right. Plus, we'll dive into why


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time literally moves faster on Mars and


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a fascinating new idea for building


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Martian homes using bacteria. Let's


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start with that story from Earth, Anna.


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It sounds pretty serious.


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>> It is. We're talking about Chile's


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Otakama Desert, home to the Paranol


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Observatory and the Very Large


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Telescope. It's one of the best places


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on the planet for astronomy because of


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its clear, dark, and stable skies.


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>> An absolutely critical location for


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science.


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>> Exactly. But now that's under what some


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top scientists, including a Nobel


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laureate, are calling an imminent


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threat. A massive renewable energy


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project is planned for a site nearby.


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While green energy is vital, the scale


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of this project has astronomers deeply


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concerned.


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>> So, what are the specific worries? Is it


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just light pollution?


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>> That's a big part of it. The project


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could brighten the night sky, kick up


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dust that obscures faint objects, and


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the heat could disrupt the stable


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atmosphere that makes imaging so sharp.


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>> Wow. So, it's a triple threat to


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visibility. It's a tough situation, a


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conflict between two positive goals,


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advancing sustainable energy and


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protecting our ability to explore the


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universe.


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>> It is the open letter from the


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scientific community isn't trying to


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stop the project, but to raise the alarm


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and work with the developers to find a


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solution that mitigates these impacts.


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Hopefully, a compromise can be found.


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It's a truly delicate balance.


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Are there any specific technical


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solutions being discussed? I imagine


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it's more complex than just asking them


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to build it somewhere else. We're


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talking about things like specialized


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light shielding or perhaps operational


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agreements to limit dust creating


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activities during critical observation


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windows at night.


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>> Precisely. They're suggesting technical


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solutions like advanced dust


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suppression, special lighting to


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minimize sky glow, and even pausing


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industrial activity based on observatory


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schedules.


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>> Let's hope so.


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From a project threatening our view of


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space, let's turn to one that's actively


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building our way into it. Blue Origin


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has been making some serious


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announcements.


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>> Mhm. They've been very busy. Fresh off a


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successful New Shepard launch, they


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pulled the curtain back on a lot of new


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hardware.


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>> They sure have. First, they unveiled the


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Blue Moon Mark1 robotic lander scheduled


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to fly by 2026. It's the precursor to


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the crude lander for NASA's Aremis 5


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mission.


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>> Right. This is their cargo version. It's


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designed to test the landing systems and


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deliver payloads to the lunar surface


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ahead of the astronauts. They also


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announced a more powerful version of


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their new Glen rocket. Right.


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>> That's right. The 9 x4


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variant. But what really caught my eye


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were the other two announcements. They


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revealed details on something called


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Blue Ring, which is essentially a space


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tug. It can host payloads, refuel other


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spacecraft, and basically act as a


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logistics vehicle in Earth orbit and


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beyond. A space tug makes sense for


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building out in space infrastructure.


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And what was the last one? Something for


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Mars.


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>> Exactly. A new deployable aerobre


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technology like a giant parachute


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using a planet's atmosphere to slow a


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spacecraft for future Mars missions. It


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shows they're thinking about the entire


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ecosystem of space exploration.


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>> And that's a huge piece of the puzzle.


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We hear a lot about launching things,


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but not as much about what happens once


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they're up there. A versatile platform


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like Blue Ring could be used for


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satellite servicing, refueling, or maybe


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even tackling the growing problem of


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orbital debris. Right.


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>> Exactly. The long-term vision is a


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sustainable SIS lunar economy. We're


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talking about a future where space isn't


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just a destination, but a domain for


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industry and commerce. A vehicle like


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Blue Ring could refuel satellites,


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giving them a new lease on life, move


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infrastructure into place for future


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space stations, or even act as a mobile


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data relay. It transforms orbital space


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from a passive location into a dynamic


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workspace.


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>> It's an ambitious road map. Speaking of


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ambitious missions, NASA's test


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satellite, the transiting exoplanet


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survey satellite, has helped uncover a


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fascinating cosmic mystery. It's about a


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star that's singing a very strange song


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>> singing. Tell me more. Are we talking


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about vibrations?


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>> In a way, yes. Astronomers detected star


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quakes from a red giant. These seismic


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waves caused the stars brightness to


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vary, which is how test detected them.


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This star is orbiting a black hole known


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as Gaia BH2.


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>> Okay, a red giant and a black hole.


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That's already an interesting pair. So,


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what's so strange about the star quakes?


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>> Well, the data revealed a couple of odd


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things. First, the star is spinning way


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faster than a red giant should. They


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tend to slow down as they expand.


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Second, its chemical composition is


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weird. It seems to be relatively young,


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but it's made of very ancient materials.


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It's low in heavy elements.


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>> Young, but made of old stuff and


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spinning too fast. That doesn't add up.


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What's the theory?


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>> The leading hypothesis is a dramatic


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one. That this star is actually two


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stars that merged. A cosmic merger would


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explain both the strange chemical mix


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and its high spin rate.


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>> It really is. And the fact that they


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could deduce all this from tiny


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fluctuations in starlight is incredible.


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This field of astroysmology


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studying star quakes is like listening


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to the inside of a star with a


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stethoscope. It's revealing details we


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could never see directly.


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>> It's a perfect example of multi-m


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missission astronomy. Gaia provided the


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position and motion while test provided


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the internal diagnostics. Combining the


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data let them piece together a hidden


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history.


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from cosmic collisions to cosmic clocks.


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And I saw a story that sounds like it's


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straight out of science fiction.


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Apparently, time itself moves at a


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different speed on Mars.


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>> It does. And it's not science fiction.


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It's just pure Einstein. Based on


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calculations from his theory of general


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relativity, time on Mars passes slightly


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faster than it does here on Earth.


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>> How much faster are we talking? Am I


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going to age noticeably quicker if I


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move to Mars?


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>> Hardly. The difference is a tiny


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fraction of a second per day. It comes


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down to relativistic effects. Mars'


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weaker gravity and slower orbit mean


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time passes slightly faster there


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relative to us.


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>> Okay, so I won't need extra anti-aging


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cream. I believe the figure is 477


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micros seconds a day. That sounds small,


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but I bet it adds up when you're dealing


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with high precision technology. That's


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the critical point. Just like our GPS


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satellites, future Martian missions will


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need to account for this time dilation


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for synchronized communications and


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navigation. It's fundamental for our


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interplanetary future.


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>> It really puts into perspective how


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interconnected everything is at that


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level of physics. Does this also mean


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we'd need a separate time standard for


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Mars? Something like coordinated Mars


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time, similar to UTC on Earth?


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>> That's exactly what space agencies are


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working on. A defined Martian time


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standard is essential for mission


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coordination. Without it, every mission


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would be using its own reference frame,


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leading to chaos. It's not just about


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convenience. It's about safety and


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precision. Imagine trying to coordinate


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a landing while your orbiter and ground


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control are seconds out of sync.


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Establishing a common clock that


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accounts for the relativistic drift is a


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foundational step before we can have


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rovers, orbiters, and future human bases


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all working in perfect sync. It's a


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complex problem of interplanetary


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timekeeping that has to be solved.


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>> Speaking of our interplanetary future,


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let's talk about actually living on


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Mars. Our final story today is about a


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really innovative approach to


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construction on the red planet using


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what scientists call insitu resource


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utilization. Right. The idea of living


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off the land, it's far too expensive to


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launch everything we'd need from Earth.


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So, we have to use what's already on


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Mars.


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>> Exactly. And this new proposal is


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brilliant. It suggests using Martian


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soil or regalith mixed with two specific


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types of Earth bacteria to create


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building materials.


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>> Bacteria as cement mixers. How would


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that work?


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>> It's a two-part system. The first


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bacterium, sporoscina pasteuri, creates


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calsy, a powerful binding agent. When


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mixed with Martian soil, it creates a


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solid concrete-like material, bio


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concrete.


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>> That's incredible. So, you can create


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bricks and foundations right there. What


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about the second bacteria?


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>> That's where it gets even better. The


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second one, caracosidaxis,


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is a type of cyanobacteria.


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Its superpower is photosynthesis. It


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would be engineered to take in the


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Martian atmosphere, which is mostly


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carbon dioxide, and sunlight, and


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produce oxygen as a byproduct.


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>> So, you get building materials and a


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life support system in one package. One


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set of microbes builds your house, and


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the other helps you breathe inside it.


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>> That's the concept. It's a truly elegant


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solution that integrates construction


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and life support. We are essentially


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using nature's own nanotechnology to


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solve monumental engineering challenges


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light years from home. It's still in the


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early stages of course with huge hurdles


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around planetary protection and ensuring


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these microbes perform as expected in


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the harsh Martian environment. But it's


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this kind of creative biological


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engineering that might just make living


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on Mars a reality. Turning the planet's


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own resources into a sustainable


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habitat. Okay, that's a gamecher. But


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what about the conditions on Mars? We're


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talking about extreme cold, low


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atmospheric pressure, and intense


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radiation. Can these Earthbased bacteria


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actually survive there long enough to do


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their jobs?


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>> That's the focus of the research. One of


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the bacteria is an extramaphile,


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incredibly tough and radiation


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resistant. The plan is to use them in


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shielded bioreactors to create building


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materials in a controlled environment.


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>> And what a future that would be. And


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that brings us to the end of today's


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episode of Astronomy Daily. From


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protecting our view of the stars in


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Chile to listening to their songs and


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even planning our homes among them, it's


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been quite a journey.


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>> Thanks for tuning in. Join us again


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tomorrow as we continue to explore the


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universe. Until then, keep looking up.


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Sunny day


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stories told




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stories