From UAP Mysteries to Cosmic Dipoles: Your Daily Space Update

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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the podcast that brings you the latest


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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, we'll be looking at the slow but


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steady progress in UAP research and a


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new discovery that suggests our universe


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might be surprisingly lopsided.


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>> We'll also journey to Mars to see the


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largest fresh impact crater ever


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confirmed. Witness a rare cosmic dance


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of three super massive black holes and


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explore the innovative ways scientists


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are trying to protect future astronauts


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from cosmic rays. So, let's get started.


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Our first story brings us back to


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Earth's atmosphere. After years of


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headlines, whistleblower testimonies,


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and even congressional hearings,


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unidentified anomalous phenomena, or


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UAPs are still being reported in America


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skies. But getting to the bottom of it


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all has been slowgoing in 2025.


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>> Right. And experts agree that the only


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way forward is with disciplined


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scientific study. The holdup, according


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to Michael Sophony of the Society for


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UAP Studies, isn't a lack of interest,


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but a reluctance to invest serious time


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and money into what many still see as a


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wild goose chase.


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>> Exactly. The good news is that the focus


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is finally shifting away from old flying


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saucer cold cases and towards


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observational and experimental science.


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But that requires real funding and


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institutional support.


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>> And we're starting to see that happen.


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Institutions like the University of


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Wartsburg in Germany and the Galileo


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project at Harvard are developing


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sophisticated sensor arrays to collect


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highquality realtime data on UAPs.


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>> But it's a massive undertaking. Robert


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Powell of the Scientific Coalition for


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UAP Studies says that if you want to


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seriously test the hypothesis that some


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UAP are extraterrestrial, you need high


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precision scientific gear that could


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cost hundreds of millions of dollars.


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>> Mhm. And this isn't just an academic


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question. Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves,


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who now chairs an aerospace committee on


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UAPs, emphasizes the national security


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implications. He states that these


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objects are operating in sovereign


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airspace and could be collecting


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intelligence.


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>> That's the angle that seems to be


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getting the most traction. There's even


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a bipartisan bill, the Safe Airspace for


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Americans Act, designed to support


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civilian UAP reporting.


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>> Between that and the Department of


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Defense's own all domain anomaly


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resolution office, it feels like


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momentum is building. Graves says he's


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optimistic that we may finally get some


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closure on this topic.


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>> It will be fascinating to see what they


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find.


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>> From the skies above Earth to the very


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fabric of the cosmos, our next story


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challenges one of the most fundamental


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assumptions in cosmology. A new study in


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the reviews of modern physics suggests


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the universe may not be as symmetrical


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as we've always thought.


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>> Not symmetrical? What does that mean


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exactly? I thought the cosmological


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principle was that the universe looks


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the same in all directions from any


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vantage point.


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>> That principle is called isotropy and


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this new evidence directly challenges


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it. The phenomenon is known as the


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cosmic dipole anomaly and it was


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discovered through precise measurements


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of the cosmic microwave background or


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CMB.


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>> Right. The CMBB is the afterglow of the


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Big Bang, the oldest light in the


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universe.


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>> Exactly. And while it's incredibly


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uniform, it does have tiny temperature


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variations. What's strange is that these


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variations seem to be biased. The CMBB


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is slightly hotter in one direction and


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slightly cooler in the opposite


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direction. It suggests our entire galaxy


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might be moving through space in a


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preferred direction at a very high


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speed,


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>> which shouldn't be happening if the


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universe expanded uniformly. So this


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throws a wrench in the standard model of


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cosmology.


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>> It certainly could. If this anomaly is


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confirmed to be a real largecale feature


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of the universe, it would have profound


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implications. It could change our


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understanding of cosmic inflation, dark


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energy, and dark matter. It might point


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to entirely new physics, an undiscovered


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cosmic force, or even require us to


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revise our theory of the Big Bang


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itself.


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Wow, that is a truly cosmic mystery.


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>> And as you know, we love a good mystery


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here on Astronomy Daily.


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>> From that grand scale, let's zoom in on


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our planetary neighbor, Mars. NASA's


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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has


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discovered the largest fresh impact


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crater ever confirmed on the red planet.


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>> That's fantastic. How big is it, and how


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did they spot it? The crater is about 50


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m wide, roughly half the length of a


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football field. And the way they found


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it is quite clever. Bruce Caner of Malin


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Space Science Systems was using the Mars


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Color imager, a camera primarily used


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for weather monitoring when he noticed


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an unusual dark spot that appeared


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between March 27th and 28th, 2012.


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>> So he found it by noticing something had


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changed in the daily weather maps.


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>> Precisely. The crater itself is


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relatively shallow, and scientists


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believe it was caused by an asteroid


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only about 10 to 18 feet long. When they


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pointed the highresolution high-rise


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camera at the spot, they not only


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confirmed the crater, but also saw


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smaller nearby craters and even


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landslides caused by the impact


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shockwave.


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>> And studying a fresh crater like this


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must be incredibly valuable.


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>> Absolutely. It provides crucial data on


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current impact rates on Mars and gives


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us a pristine look at the subsurface


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materials that were blasted out. A


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powerful reminder that the solar system


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is still a very active place.


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>> Speaking of active places, our next


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story involves a truly rare and dynamic


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system. Astronomers have confirmed the


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first known triple system where all


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three merging galaxies host actively


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feeding radi super massive black holes.


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>> A triple black hole system. That sounds


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like something out of science fiction.


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How far away is it?


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>> This system known as J1218


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+ 1035


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is about 1.2 billion lightyears from


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Earth. Using highresolution observations


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from radio telescopes like the Very


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Large Array, scientists confirmed that


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all three galaxies have active galactic


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nuclei or AGN which are powered by these


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growing black holes.


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>> And you said this is a first. What makes


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this so unique? While a few other triple


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AGN systems have been found, this is the


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first confirmed triple radio AGN,


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meaning all three black holes are


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blasting out powerful jets of radiation


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detectable in radio wavelengths.


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>> That makes sense. And I imagine this


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tells us a lot about how galaxies


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evolve.


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>> Exactly. Finding these systems is a key


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prediction of the hierarchical model of


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galaxy evolution where large galaxies


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grow by merging with smaller ones. This


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discovery provides a perfect natural


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laboratory for testing how these


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galactic encounters drive gas into the


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galactic centers and ignite the black


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holes causing them to grow.


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>> Finally, today let's turn our attention


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to the human element of space


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exploration. One of the single biggest


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obstacles for future longduration


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missions to the moon and Mars is the


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constant threat of cosmic rays.


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>> Right? These aren't like the rays from


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our sun. Cosmic rays are high energy


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particles from distant exploding stars


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and they are incredibly damaging to


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biological tissue. They can shred DNA,


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damage proteins, and significantly


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increase the risk for things like


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cancer. Here on Earth, our magnetic


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field and thick atmosphere protect us.


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But in deep space, astronauts are


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completely exposed. And physical


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shielding, like lining a spacecraft with


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polyethylene, can only do so much. The


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most energetic rays can punch right


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through.


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>> Mhm. And they can even create a shower


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of secondary radiation inside the ship


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when they hit the shielding material,


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which can sometimes be worse. So with


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shielding limitations, scientists are


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turning to biology for creative new


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solutions. What are they looking into?


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>> Several strategies are being explored.


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One is the use of powerful antioxidant


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drugs which have been shown to reduce


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cognitive damage in mice exposed to


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simulated cosmic radiation. Another


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fascinating area is learning from


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radioresistant organisms


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>> like tardigrades, the little water bears


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that can survive almost anything.


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>> Exactly. By studying how tardigrades and


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even hibernating animals protect their


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cellular components from damage, we


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might be able to develop treatments that


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do the same for astronauts. A third


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approach is to activate the body's own


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cellular stress responses through


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specific diets or drugs, essentially


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preparing the cells for the harsh


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environment of space.


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>> So, the answer probably isn't just one


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thing.


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>> That's the consensus. It will likely


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require a combination of improved


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physical shielding and a cocktail of


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these biological strategies to make


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longduration space travel truly safe for


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humans.


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


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today on Astronomy Daily. From the


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ongoing search for answers about UAPs to


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the fundamental nature of our universe


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and from new craters on Mars to


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protecting the next generation of


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explorers,


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>> it's been an episode that shows us once


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again how much there is still to


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discover out there.


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>> Absolutely. A huge thanks to all of you


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for tuning in. Be sure to join us next


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time for more news from across the


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cosmos.


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>> Until then, keep looking up.


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Stories we told.