Gaia’s Farewell, NASA’s Astronaut Shuffle, Neptune’s Auroras Revealed

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Language: en

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welcome to astronomy daily where we


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bring you the latest news and


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developments from the world of space and


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astronomy I'm your host Anna and we have


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quite a packed episode for you today


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we'll start with a Bittersweet farewell


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to Europe's Gaia Space Telescope which


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has mapped nearly two billion stars in


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our galaxy over the past decade before


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being officially retired this week then


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we'll look at NASA's decision to


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reassign several astronauts from


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Boeing's troubled Starliner program to


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spacex's crew 11 mission as Starliner


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return to flight gets pushed further


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into the future we'll also cover a


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canceled cargo mission to the


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International Space Station due to


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spacecraft damage and dive into China's


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ambitious new Planetary Exploration road


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map that stretches all the way to


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Neptune and finally we'll explore a


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fascinating Discovery from the James web


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Space Telescope the first ever


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observation of auroras on the ice giant


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Neptune revealing unexpected details


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about the distant planet's atmosphere


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and magnetic field so buckle up for a


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journey across our solar system and


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beyond as we explore the latest


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Frontiers in space science and


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exploration Europe's star mapping Gaia


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space Observatory has officially ended


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its mission after more than a decade of


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groundbreaking


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observations on March 27th the European


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space agency's control team in Paris


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shut down gaia's subsystems and


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maneuvered the spacecraft into a safe


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retirement orbit around the Sun the move


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came after Issa had already shut down


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gaia's science operations in January


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when the spacecraft's fuel reserves were


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nearly depleted the final retirement


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orbit was carefully calculated to ensure


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Gaia remains at least 6.2 Million Miles


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Away From Earth for the next Century


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despite its active Mission coming to an


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end gaia's scientific impact will


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continue to unfold for Generations as


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Gaia Mission manager UA Lamers


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eloquently put it we will never forget


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Gaia and Gia will never forget us since


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its launch in 2013 Gia has charted the


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positions of nearly 2 billion stars


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creating the most precise


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three-dimensional map of our Milky Way


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galaxy ever made its contributions to


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astronomy have been immense from


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discovering evidence of Galactic mergers


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to identifying new star clusters


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tracking hundreds of thousands of


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asteroids and comets and even helping


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scientists discover exoplanets and black


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holes the team releases large batches of


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mission data every couple of years with


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the next major release data release 4


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planned for 2026


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even more exciting the final Gaia Legacy


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catalogs are scheduled for release


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around 2030 ensuring that gaia's


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contributions will continue shaping our


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understanding of the cosmos for decades


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to come decommissioning such a


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sophisticated spacecraft wasn't a simple


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task spacecraft operations engineer


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Julia fortuno described the mixed


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emotions involved I have mixed feelings


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between the excitement for these


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important endof life operations and the


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sadness of saying goodbye to a


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spacecraft I have worked on for more


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than 5 years years the Gaia team had to


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systematically dismantle the


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spacecraft's built-in redundancies


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features designed to help it survive


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extreme conditions like radiation storms


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and microm meteorite impacts this


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meticulous process ensures that Gaia


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won't accidentally reactivate if its


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solar panels catch sunlight in the


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future as this remarkable Mission comes


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to a close the astronomical Community


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celebrates gaia's Legacy as what project


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scientist Johannes Salman called a


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unique Treasure Trove for astrophysical


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research


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that will influence almost all


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disciplines in astronomy for generations


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to


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come next up in today's news NASA has


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made significant changes to its


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astronaut assignments announcing


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Thursday evening that several astronauts


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previously slated for Boeing Starliner


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missions will now fly on spacex's crew


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11 mission to the International Space


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Station leading the crew 11 flight now


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scheduled for no earlier than July 2025


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will be NASA astronaut Zena Cardman


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she'll be joined by NASA astronaut Mike


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finy as pilot along with jaxa astronaut


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Kimia yui and Russ Cosmos Cosmonaut OLG


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platonov as Mission Specialists these


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four astronauts will have the honor of


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being aboard the space station during


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the 25th anniversary of continuous human


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presence on the orbiting laboratory


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which began when Expedition one docked


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on November 2nd


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2000 this reassignment represents yet


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another setback for Boeing's troubled


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Starliner program Cardman was previously


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assigned as commander of the crew n


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Mission before being removed from the St


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Starliner crew flight test mission last


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August when NASA decided the spacecraft


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would return to Earth without crew Mike


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Fin's Journey has been particularly


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complicated originally named to the


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Starliner crew flight test back in 2018


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he was later designated as part of the


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Cadre of Starliner astronauts and then


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moved to the Starliner 1 Mission as


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pilot in


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2022 now he finds himself reassigned to


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spacex's Dragon spacecraft jaxa


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astronaut Kim a yui who had been


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training with the Starliner team and was


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likely intended for a Starliner Mission


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has also been shifted to the crew 11


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roster meanwhile Boeing and NASA


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continue working through technical


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challenges with the Starliner spacecraft


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according to NASA More than 70% of the


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flight observations and inflight


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anomalies from last Summer's test


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mission have been addressed but the


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major inflight propulsion system


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anomalies remain outstanding issues that


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likely won't be resolved until further


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into 2025


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a new testing campaign is planned for


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this spring and summer at the White


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Sands test facility in New Mexico


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focusing on the propulsion issues that


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prompted NASA's decision to return the


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Starliner without astronauts Engineers


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will conduct integrated firing of key


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Starliner thrusters within a service


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module dogghouse to validate thermal


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models and develop potential upgrades


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for the propulsion and thermal


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Protection


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Systems NASA is weighing its options for


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Starliner next flight while still


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planning for a crew capable able post


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certification Mission the agency is also


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considering a cargo only option


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depending on its needs Steve Stitch


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manager of NASA's commercial crew


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program indicated the next Starliner


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flight would likely occur in late 2025


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or early


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2026 these developments represent a


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continued shift in NASA's commercial


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crew strategy with spacex's dragon


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spacecraft taking on additional missions


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while Boeing Works to resolve starliners


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technical


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challenges and in more NASA news in a


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disappointing turn of events for NASA's


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cargo resupply schedule the space agency


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has called off a planned mission to the


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International Space Station due to


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damage discovered on the Northrup


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Grumman signis


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spacecraft the mission designated


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ng22 was scheduled to launch this June


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from Florida's Space Coast carrying


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several tons of critical supplies


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including food Fuel and scientific


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equipment to the orbiting laboratory the


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problems began on March 5th when


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announced that the spacecraft's shipping


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container had sustained damage during


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transportation to the launch site at


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that time Mission teams were hopeful


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that the signis spacecraft itself might


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have remained intact despite the damage


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to its


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container however after completing a


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thorough inspection NASA confirmed on


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Wednesday that the cargo module itself


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had also been


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damaged following initial evaluation


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there also is damage to the cargo module


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NASA officials stated in an emailed


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announce ment leading to the difficult


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decision to cancel the June flight


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entirely the good news is that this


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cancellation isn't expected to


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significantly impact the astronauts


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aboard the space station NASA had


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already taken precautionary measures by


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planning to send additional food and


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other consumables on spacex's next cargo


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flight which is scheduled to launch next


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month northrip Grumman and NASA aren't


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giving up on this particular signus


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spacecraft just yet according to NASA's


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statement the International Space


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Station program will continue working


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with Northrup Grumman to assess whether


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the signis cargo module is able to


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safely fly to the space station on a


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future flight in the meantime northr


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Grumman is already shifting Focus to its


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next mission with ng23 now scheduled to


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launch no earlier than this fall the


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current signis spacecraft


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ng21 remains birthed at the ISS but is


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scheduled to depart tomorrow unlike


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space X's Dragon capsules which are


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designed to survive re-entry and be


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recovered after splashing down in the


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ocean signis spacecraft are expendable


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at the end of their missions they're


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loaded with trash and other unneeded


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items from the station before being


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released to burn up during re-entry into


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Earth's


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atmosphere China has unveiled an


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ambitious new road map for deep space


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exploration that places a strong


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emphasis on the search for


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extraterrestrial life and studying


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planetary habitability this strategy


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recently shared by the country's deep


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space exploration laboratory out


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outlines a series of missions spanning


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from 2028 to 2039 that will take Chinese


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spacecraft across our solar system the


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Journey Begins With the tianwen 3 Mars


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sample return Mission scheduled for


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launch around late


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2028 this already approved Mission aims


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to collect samples from the Martian


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surface and return them to Earth with


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one of its primary objectives being to


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investigate potential traces of past or


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present life on the red planet hot on


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its heels will be chenin 4


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planned for 2029 which will venture to


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the Jupiter system and eventually enter


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orbit around Kalisto one of Jupiter's


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largest moons this Mission could yield


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valuable insights about potential ocean


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worlds and habitability conditions in


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the outer solar system around 2030 China


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plans to build a ground simulation


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device for planetary habitable


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environments allowing scientists to


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recreate and study conditions that might


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support life elsewhere in our solar


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system perhaps one of the most inging


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missions on the road map is scheduled


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for 2033 a spacecraft designed to


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collect particles from Venus's


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atmosphere and return them to Earth this


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Mission could help scientists better


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understand the micro environment of


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Venus a planet that might once have been


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much more habitable than it is today by


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2038 China aims to establish a Mars


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research station focused on insitu


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resource utilization and conducting


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long-term environmental and biological


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research while there's no indication


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this facility will host human crew


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initially it represents a significant


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step in China's long-term Mars


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exploration strategy the most distant


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Target in the road map is Neptune with a


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potential nuclear-powered Mission


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launching around


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2039 this ambitious Mission would study


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the ice Giant's ring system atmosphere


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and its fascinating Moon Triton


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exploring the habitability of the


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neptunian system and searching for other


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potential ocean worlds while some of


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these missions are already approved


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roved and in development others face


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significant technological and economic


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hurdles for example a mission to Neptune


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would require China to make considerable


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advances in nuclear power for deep space


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applications ultr longdistance


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Communications and spacecraft designed


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for extended Mission lifetimes this road


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map demonstrates China's growing


00:11:20.079 --> 00:11:22.430
Ambitions in space exploration and


00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:23.870
particularly in


00:11:23.880 --> 00:11:26.150
astrobiology combined with China's Earth


00:11:26.160 --> 00:11:29.470
2.0 in exoplanet Observatory scheduled


00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:32.430
for launch in 2028 which aims to detect


00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:34.949
earthlike planets around other stars


00:11:34.959 --> 00:11:36.310
it's clear that the search for


00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:38.150
potentially habitable worlds and signs


00:11:38.160 --> 00:11:40.230
of life beyond Earth has become a


00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.710
central focus of China's Space


00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:46.389
Program let's pay the jwst of isit now


00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:48.150
in a remarkable astronomical


00:11:48.160 --> 00:11:50.269
breakthrough the James web Space


00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:52.470
Telescope has captured the first ever


00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.550
clear images of auroras on Neptune this


00:11:55.560 --> 00:11:57.310
significant Discovery has eluded


00:11:57.320 --> 00:11:59.509
scientists for decades as pre previous


00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:01.430
instruments aboard NASA's Voyager 2


00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:03.269
probe and even the Hubble Space


00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:05.509
Telescope weren't able to definitively


00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:07.990
observe this elusive phenomenon on our


00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.790
Solar System's most distant planet the


00:12:10.800 --> 00:12:12.710
auroras appear as lighter blue or


00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.670
Cayenne areas against Neptune's deep


00:12:14.680 --> 00:12:17.629
blue atmosphere unlike Earth's auroras


00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:18.949
which are concentrated around our


00:12:18.959 --> 00:12:21.230
magnetic poles Neptune's auroral


00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:23.870
activity occurs at Mid latitudes roughly


00:12:23.880 --> 00:12:25.470
equivalent to where South America would


00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.030
be positioned on our planet this unique


00:12:28.040 --> 00:12:30.269
distribution is due to neun's unusual


00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:32.590
magnetic field which is tilted by a


00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:35.150
remarkable 47° from the planet's


00:12:35.160 --> 00:12:36.389
rotation


00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:38.430
axis what makes this discovery


00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:39.790
particularly exciting is that it


00:12:39.800 --> 00:12:41.590
required web's exceptional infrared


00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:44.670
sensitivity to detect Henrik melon of


00:12:44.680 --> 00:12:46.629
North Umbria University who led the


00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:48.030
research while at the University of


00:12:48.040 --> 00:12:50.350
leester expressed his astonishment at


00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:52.389
the clarity of the images noting that


00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.269
the detail and definition of the auroral


00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:57.150
signature was truly shocking the basic


00:12:57.160 --> 00:12:59.670
mechanism behind Neptune's auroras is


00:12:59.680 --> 00:13:01.670
similar to Earth's Northern and Southern


00:13:01.680 --> 00:13:04.350
Lights solar particles interacting with


00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:06.509
the planet's atmosphere but the


00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:08.189
configuration and conditions are


00:13:08.199 --> 00:13:10.550
distinctly different the location of


00:13:10.560 --> 00:13:12.949
Neptune's auroral glow directly


00:13:12.959 --> 00:13:14.389
correlates to where the planet's


00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:16.430
magnetic fields converge into its


00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:18.590
atmosphere explaining why they appear


00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.509
far from its rotational poles perhaps


00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:23.829
equally surprising was what web's data


00:13:23.839 --> 00:13:26.230
revealed about Neptune's atmospheric


00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:28.310
temperature for the first time since


00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.829
Voyager 2's 1989 flyby scientists were


00:13:31.839 --> 00:13:33.430
able to measure the temperature at the


00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:35.829
top of Neptune's atmosphere discovering


00:13:35.839 --> 00:13:38.389
it has cooled dramatically by several


00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.710
hundred deg in fact the temperature


00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:43.629
recorded in 2023 was just over half of


00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.470
what it was in 1989 which may explain


00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:48.470
why these auroras have gone undetected


00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:50.829
until now this discovery opens an


00:13:50.839 --> 00:13:52.829
entirely new field of study regarding


00:13:52.839 --> 00:13:55.030
ice giant planets and how solar


00:13:55.040 --> 00:13:56.710
particles interact with their


00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:58.790
atmospheres providing astronomers with


00:13:58.800 --> 00:14:00.790
fresh insights into these mysterious


00:14:00.800 --> 00:14:02.870
Distant


00:14:02.880 --> 00:14:05.470
Worlds well that brings us to the end of


00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:07.150
another fascinating Journey Through the


00:14:07.160 --> 00:14:09.389
cosmos from the final retirement of


00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:11.310
Europe's Gaia telescope after its


00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:13.990
remarkable decade mapping our galaxy to


00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.710
the ongoing challenges with Boeing


00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:17.870
Starliner prompting NASA to reassign


00:14:17.880 --> 00:14:20.350
astronauts to SpaceX missions we've


00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:22.269
covered quite the astronomical landscape


00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:24.910
today we've seen how even the best laid


00:14:24.920 --> 00:14:26.710
plans can change when Hardware gets


00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:29.670
damaged as with Northrup Grumman


00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:31.829
spacecraft we've explored China's


00:14:31.839 --> 00:14:33.629
ambitious road map for Planetary


00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:36.069
Exploration with its focus on finding


00:14:36.079 --> 00:14:38.550
habitable environments and possibly life


00:14:38.560 --> 00:14:40.870
beyond Earth and we've marveled at the


00:14:40.880 --> 00:14:42.470
James web space telescope's


00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:44.310
groundbreaking discovery of Neptune's


00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:46.590
auroras hiding in plain sight for


00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:49.509
decades until now the universe continues


00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.030
to surprise and Inspire us with each new


00:14:52.040 --> 00:14:53.870
discovery and Mission whether it's


00:14:53.880 --> 00:14:56.030
mapping billions of stars or detecting


00:14:56.040 --> 00:14:58.069
the faint glow of auroras on distant ice


00:14:58.079 --> 00:15:00.069
giants are our quest to understand the


00:15:00.079 --> 00:15:01.749
cosmos keeps pushing forward despite


00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:02.910
setbacks and


00:15:02.920 --> 00:15:05.350
challenges I'm Anna and it's been my


00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:06.990
pleasure to guide you through today's


00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.189
space news if you'd like to stay updated


00:15:09.199 --> 00:15:11.350
on all things astronomy please visit our


00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.069
website at astronomy daily. where you


00:15:14.079 --> 00:15:15.550
can find our constantly updating


00:15:15.560 --> 00:15:17.629
Newsfeed and listen to all our episodes


00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:20.350
anytime for more astronomical content


00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:22.749
and updates you can also find us across


00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.389
social media just search for Astro daily


00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:28.550
pod on X Facebook YouTube YouTube music


00:15:28.560 --> 00:15:30.949
and Tik talk until next time keep


00:15:30.959 --> 00:15:32.269
looking up and wondering about the


00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:34.350
Mysteries that await us Among the Stars


00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:40.990
see you tomorrow


00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:56.429
[Music]