Historic ISS Medical Evacuation: Crew Returns Safely + Missing Galaxies & Mars Crisis
From historic medical evacuations to missing galaxies and stunning new images of the Milky Way, today's episode covers the latest breaking news from space exploration and astronomy. Join Anna and Avery as they discuss six fascinating stories from across the cosmos.
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## Episode Timestamps
**[00:00]** Intro
**[01:15]** Story 1: ISS Medical Evacuation
**[04:45]** Story 2: The Mystery of Missing Tiny Galaxies
**[08:30]** Story 3: NASA's MAVEN Spacecraft in Trouble
**[11:45]** Story 4: Viruses Behave Differently in Microgravity
**[14:30]** Story 5: Two New Exoplanets and Redefining Habitable Zones
**[17:00]** Story 6: Stunning New Radio Image of the Milky Way
**[19:30]** Outro
---
## Stories Covered
### 1. Historic First Medical Evacuation from ISS
Four International Space Station crew members successfully completed the first-ever medical evacuation in the ISS's 26-year history, splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.
**Key Points:**
- SpaceX Crew-11 returned early after 5 months in space
- Crew included US astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui
- Splashdown occurred at 12:41 AM ET on January 15, 2026
- Affected crew member remains in stable condition
- Three crew members remain aboard ISS to continue operations
- Demonstrates importance of medical protocols in long-duration spaceflight
**Read More:**
- [Phys.org: ISS astronauts splash down on Earth after first-ever medical evacuation](https://phys.org/news/2026-01-iss-astronauts-splash-earth-medical.html)
---
### 2. The Universe's Missing Tiny Galaxies
New research using the James Webb Space Telescope suggests there may be far fewer small galaxies in the early universe than predicted by current models, challenging our understanding of cosmic evolution.
**Key Points:**
- Study led by Xuheng Ma from University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Used JWST's UNCOVER program to study galaxies through gravitational lensing
- Observed the Epoch of Reionization (12-13 billion years ago)
- Discovery of "faint-end suppression" - galaxy numbers drop off at smaller sizes
- Suggests intense radiation from early massive stars prevented small galaxies from forming
- May require rethinking models of cosmic reionization
- Used Abell 2744 galaxy cluster as a natural gravitational lens
**Why It Matters:**
This finding has major implications for our understanding of how the universe evolved from the "cosmic dark ages" to its current transparent state.
**Read More:**
- [Space.com: The universe should be packed with tiny galaxies — so where are they?](https://www.space.com/astronomy/galaxies/the-universe-should-be-packed-with-tiny-galaxies-so-where-are-they)
- Research paper on arXiv (preprint database)
---
### 3. NASA Pessimistic About Recovering MAVEN Mars Orbiter
NASA officials acknowledge it's "very unlikely" they'll recover the MAVEN spacecraft, which has been silent since December 6, 2025, marking a potential end to a highly productive Mars mission.
**Key Points:**
- MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) launched November 2013, entered Mars orbit September 2014
- Last communication: December 6, 2025
- Telemetry indicates spacecraft is tumbling and orbit may have changed
- Solar conjunction (Mars and Earth on opposite sides of Sun) complicated recovery efforts
- Attempts to photograph spacecraft with Curiosity rover were unsuccessful
- Other orbiters (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter) can maintain communications relay
- Spacecraft studied Mars atmospheric loss and recently observed interstellar object 3I/ATLAS
**Mission Legacy:**
Despite the likely loss, MAVEN has provided over a decade of groundbreaking data about Mars' upper atmosphere and how solar wind strips away the Martian atmosphere.
**Read More:**
- [SpaceNews: NASA pessimistic about odds of recovering MAVEN](https://spacenews.com/nasa-pessimistic-about-odds-of-recovering-maven/)
- [NASA Science: MAVEN Spacecraft Updates](https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/)
---
### 4. Space Station Study Reveals Unusual Virus-Bacteria Dynamics
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers discovered that viruses infecting bacteria evolve differently in microgravity, potentially opening new avenues for fighting antibiotic-resistant infections on Earth.
**Key Points:**
- Study used E. coli bacteria and bacteriophage T7
- Parallel experiments conducted on ISS and Earth
- Virus infection delayed but not blocked in microgravity
- Both viruses and bacteria developed unique mutations in space
- Space-evolved viruses showed increased activity against drug-resistant E. coli strains
- Findings could lead to improved phage therapy for antibiotic-resistant infections
- Published in PLOS Biology journal
- Demonstrates ISS value as unique research platform
**Scientific Significance:**
This research shows how the space environment fundamentally alters...
00:00 - Intro
01:15 - Story 1: ISS Medical Evacuation
04:45 - Story 2: The Mystery of Missing Tiny Galaxies
08:30 - Story 3: NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft in Trouble
11:45 - Story 4: Viruses Behave Differently in Microgravity
14:30 - Story 5: Two New Exoplanets and Redefining Habitable Zones
17:00 - Story 6: Stunning New Radio Image of the Milky Way
Kind: captions
Language: en
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Hey there, space enthusiasts. Welcome to
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Astronomy Daily, your source for the
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latest news from the cosmos. I'm Anna.
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>> And I'm Avery. We've got another packed
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show today with some fascinating stories
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from both near and far. Anna, what are
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we covering?
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>> Well, Avery, we're starting close to
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home with some breaking news from the
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International Space Station. Four
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astronauts just completed the first ever
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medical evacuation from the ISS and
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splashed down safely back on Earth.
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That's quite significant. We'll also be
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diving into a cosmic mystery about
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missing galaxies, getting an update on
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NASA's troubled Maven spacecraft
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orbiting Mars, and exploring some
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surprising findings about how viruses
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behave in microgravity. Plus, we'll
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discuss two newly discovered exoplanets
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that are challenging how we think about
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habitable zones. And we'll wrap up with
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an absolutely stunning new radio image
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of the Milky Way that's revealing hidden
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structures we've never seen before.
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>> Lots to get through, so let's jump right
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in.
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>> All right, Avery, let's start with our
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top story. Four International Space
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Station crew members successfully
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splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off
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the coast of San Diego early this
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morning, marking a historic first for
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the orbital laboratory. Yeah, this was
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the ISS's first ever medical evacuation
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in its 26 years of continuous operation.
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The crew members included American
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astronauts Mike Frink and Zena Cardman,
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Russian cosminaut Ole Platonov and
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Japanese astronaut Kimya Yui. The
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capsule touched down at 12:41 Eastern
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time after spending 5 months in space.
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Now, NASA has been pretty tight- lipped
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about the specific medical issue that
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prompted this early return, which is
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understandable given privacy concerns,
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>> right? What they have said is that the
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affected crew member was and continues
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to be in stable condition. Mike Fank,
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who was the pilot for SpaceX Crew 11,
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posted on social media earlier this
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week, reassuring everyone that the crew
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is okay and that this was a deliberate
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decision to allow proper medical
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evaluations on the ground where full
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diagnostic capabilities exist.
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>> That makes sense. James Pulk, NASA's
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chief health and medical officer,
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mentioned there was a lingering risk and
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uncertainty about the diagnosis that led
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to the decision to bring the crew back
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earlier than originally scheduled. They
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were supposed to stay until midFebruary.
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>> It's worth noting that three other crew
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members remained on the ISS. American
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astronaut Chris Williams and Russian
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cosminauts Sergey Kutzvkov and Sergey
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Mikosev arrived at the station in
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November aboard a Russian Soyu
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spacecraft. So, station operations
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continue normally.
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>> This really highlights the importance of
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having trained medical protocols in
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place. The evacuated crew members had
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been trained to handle unexpected
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medical situations. And according to
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senior NASA official Amit Chhatria, they
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handled everything extremely well.
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>> Absolutely. And this serves as a good
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reminder that despite all the incredible
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engineering and planning that goes into
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space flight, we're still dealing with
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human bodies in an extreme environment.
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Things can and do happen.
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>> Well, we're glad everyone is safe and
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receiving the care they need back on
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Earth.
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>> All right, Anna. Our next story takes us
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much further out into space and much
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further back in time. For years,
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astronomers have assumed that if they
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looked hard enough into the deep cosmos,
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they'd find an almost infinite supply of
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tiny, dim galaxies hiding in the
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darkness.
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>> Right? The prevailing theory has been
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that the smaller the galaxy, the more of
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them there should be. It's kind of like
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a pyramid where you have a few massive
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galaxies at the top and exponentially
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more small ones as you go down.
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>> Exactly. But a new study led by Exu Hang
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Ma from the University of Wisconsin is
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challenging that assumption. Using data
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from the James Webb Space Telescope's
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Uncover program, the team looked through
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a massive galaxy cluster called Abel
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2744, which acts as a natural
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gravitational lens.
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>> Oh, that's clever. The gravity from this
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cluster literally warps spaceime and
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acts like a cosmic magnifying glass.
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Right.
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>> Precisely. It bends and brightens light
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from more distant objects, allowing us
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to see galaxies from the epoch of
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reionization roughly 12 to 13 billion
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years ago. This was a transformative era
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when the first stars and galaxies were
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flooding the universe with ultraviolet
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light.
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>> So, what did they find that was so
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surprising?
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>> Well, when researchers count galaxies of
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different brightnesses, they normally
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use what's called a luminosity function.
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It's basically a cosmic bar chart
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showing how many bright versus dim them
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galaxies exist. And for study after
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study, the chart kept going in one
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direction. More small think galaxies
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than bigger, brighter ones.
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>> But that's not what they found this
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time.
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>> Nope. Instead of continuing to climb,
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the numbers peaked and then started to
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drop off. They're calling this faint end
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suppression, which means that below a
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certain brightness, the population of
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galaxies actually starts to thin out.
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>> So where did all these tiny galaxies go?
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Did they just disappear?
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>> In a sense, yes. The study suggests it's
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a case of cosmic bullying in the early
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universe. The intense radiation from the
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first big stars could have heated up the
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surrounding gas so much that small low
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mass galaxies couldn't hold on to it.
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Without gas, they couldn't form new
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stars. And without stars, they stayed
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dark, essentially becoming cosmic
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ghosts.
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>> That's fascinating, but it also creates
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a problem, doesn't it? I thought these
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tiny galaxies were supposed to be the
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main drivers of reionization.
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>> You're absolutely right. This finding
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suggests we might need to rethink our
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models. If these ultra faint galaxies
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are missing, they can't be the ones
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doing all the heavy lifting during
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reionization. We might need to look at
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slightly bigger, more established
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galaxies to explain how the universe
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became transparent.
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>> This is why I love space science. Every
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answer creates 10 new questions.
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>> Couldn't agree more. And they'll need
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more data from JWST and upcoming surveys
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to see if this is a universal pattern or
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just a quirk of this particular region
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of space.
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>> Okay, Avery, let's head to Mars now for
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an update on NASA's MAVN spacecraft. And
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unfortunately, it's not good news.
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>> No, it's not. NASA officials are now
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saying it's very unlikely they'll be
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able to recover the Mars atmosphere and
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volatile evolution orbiter, which has
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been silent since December 6th.
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>> Naven has been orbiting Mars since
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September 2014, studying the planet's
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upper atmosphere and how solar wind
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strips it away. It's also served as a
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crucial communications relay between
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Mars rovers and Earth.
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>> Right. The spacecraft was supposed to
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pass behind Mars as seen from Earth, a
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routine occurrence. But when it emerged,
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NASA's deep space network didn't observe
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any signal. That was over a month ago
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now.
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>> And the telemetry they did manage to
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recover from December 6th wasn't
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encouraging, was it?
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>> Not at all. Analysis of a brief fragment
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of tracking data from a radio science
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experiment indicated the spacecraft was
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tumbling and no longer in its planned
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orbit. That's a really bad sign because
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if the spacecraft is tumbling, its
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antennas aren't pointing toward Earth,
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which makes communication basically
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impossible.
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>> They even tried using the Curiosity
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rover's camera to take pictures of Maven
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as it passed overhead, assuming it was
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still in its expected orbit, but they
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didn't detect it.
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>> Yeah. On December 16th and 20th. The
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fact that they couldn't spot it suggests
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its orbit has indeed changed
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significantly. Luis Proctctor, director
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of NASA's planetary science division,
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said it plainly during a meeting earlier
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this week. We will start looking again,
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but at this point, it's looking very
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unlikely that we are going to be able to
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recover the spacecraft.
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>> The timing has been particularly
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challenging, too, hasn't it?
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>> Absolutely. Mars went into solar
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conjunction on December 29th, which is
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when Mars and Earth are on opposite
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sides of the sun. During this period,
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the sun interferes with radio
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communications. So NASA paused all
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communications with Mars missions. That
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blackout period just ended on January
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16th, so they can resume attempts. But
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the outlook is grim.
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>> The good news is that Maven isn't the
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only communications relay at Mars.
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Right.
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>> That's correct. Proctor mentioned that
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other orbiters like Mars Reconnaissance
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Orbiter and Mars Odyssey can pick up the
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slack. She said Maven was not a major
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part of the Mars relay network and
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they're taking steps to ensure they can
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still retrieve data from rovers on the
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surface.
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>> Still, it's sad to potentially lose a
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spacecraft that's been so productive for
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over a decade.
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>> Definitely. Maven has made
00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:51.269
groundbreaking discoveries about Mars'
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atmospheric loss and even observed an
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interstellar object called 3IATLS
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late last year. Its contributions to
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planetary science have been immense. Our
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next story is taking us back to the
00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:06.150
International Space Station, but this
00:09:06.160 --> 00:09:08.070
time we're looking at some much smaller
00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:10.630
inhabitants, bacteria, and the viruses
00:09:10.640 --> 00:09:12.710
that infect them. Oh, this is
00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.269
fascinating research. A new study from
00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:17.829
the University of Wisconsin Madison used
00:09:17.839 --> 00:09:20.470
E.coli bacteria and the virus called
00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:23.350
bacterial phagee T7 to study how
00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.750
microgravity affects the evolutionary
00:09:25.760 --> 00:09:27.750
relationship between viruses and their
00:09:27.760 --> 00:09:29.990
hosts. though they sent bacteria and
00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:31.670
viruses to space.
00:09:31.680 --> 00:09:34.070
>> Exactly. They prepared parallel sets of
00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.190
E.coli cultures infected with T7. One
00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:39.590
set stayed on Earth as a control and the
00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:41.750
other went to the ISS to experience
00:09:41.760 --> 00:09:44.230
microgravity. Then they compared what
00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:45.590
happened to both groups.
00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:47.750
>> And I'm guessing things didn't play out
00:09:47.760 --> 00:09:49.990
the same way in both environments.
00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.070
>> You guessed right. The analysis showed
00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:54.550
that T7 infection still occurred on the
00:09:54.560 --> 00:09:57.190
ISS, but it only proceeded after an
00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:59.990
initial delay. So, spaceflight appears
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.310
to slow down the early stages of virus
00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.710
host encounters without completely
00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:06.150
blocking infection.
00:10:06.160 --> 00:10:08.070
>> That's interesting on its own, but I
00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:09.590
imagine they dug deeper.
00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:11.829
>> They did. They performed whole genome
00:10:11.839 --> 00:10:13.670
sequencing and found that both the
00:10:13.680 --> 00:10:16.069
viruses and bacteria accumulated
00:10:16.079 --> 00:10:18.069
distinctive patterns of mutations in
00:10:18.079 --> 00:10:20.150
space compared to their counterparts on
00:10:20.160 --> 00:10:22.790
Earth. The viruses evolved specific
00:10:22.800 --> 00:10:24.470
changes that appear to improve their
00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.949
ability to bind to and infect bacterial
00:10:26.959 --> 00:10:27.670
cells.
00:10:27.680 --> 00:10:29.509
>> And what about the bacteria? Were they
00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:30.870
just sitting drugs?
00:10:30.880 --> 00:10:33.350
>> Not at all. The space flown E.coli coli
00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.670
populations acquired mutations that may
00:10:35.680 --> 00:10:37.509
strengthen their defenses against virus
00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:39.509
attack and enhance their chances of
00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.910
surviving in near weightless conditions.
00:10:41.920 --> 00:10:43.509
It's like they were engaged in an
00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:45.750
evolutionary arms race, but the rules of
00:10:45.760 --> 00:10:47.750
the race were different in space.
00:10:47.760 --> 00:10:50.710
>> So microgravity is actually changing how
00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:51.990
evolution works.
00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.790
>> In a sense, yes. The study shows that
00:10:54.800 --> 00:10:56.710
space flight not only changes the
00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.110
physiology of microbes but also the
00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:01.110
physical environment in which viruses
00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.829
and bacteria encounter each other. This
00:11:03.839 --> 00:11:05.750
alters the rules of their evolutionary
00:11:05.760 --> 00:11:06.710
interaction.
00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:08.790
>> Okay, but beyond the pure science
00:11:08.800 --> 00:11:10.470
fascination, does this have any
00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:12.310
practical applications?
00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:14.710
>> Absolutely. Here's where it gets really
00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.550
cool. They conducted follow-up
00:11:16.560 --> 00:11:18.470
experiments on Earth and found that the
00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:21.269
microgravity associated mutations
00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:23.430
actually increase the virus's activity
00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.069
against disease-causing E.coli strains
00:11:26.079 --> 00:11:29.190
that normally resist T7 strains that are
00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:31.509
implicated in urinary tract infections
00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:33.590
and are often drugresistant.
00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:36.470
>> So by studying viral evolution in space,
00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.630
we might actually discover new ways to
00:11:38.640 --> 00:11:41.110
fight antibioticresistant bacteria here
00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.350
on Earth. That's exactly what the
00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:45.350
researchers are suggesting. According to
00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:47.750
the authors, these space adapted viruses
00:11:47.760 --> 00:11:49.750
can be harnessed to engineer improved
00:11:49.760 --> 00:11:52.310
bacterial phages for use in human health
00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:53.350
applications.
00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:55.509
>> That's incredible. The International
00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:57.430
Space Station continues to prove its
00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:59.910
worth as a unique research platform.
00:11:59.920 --> 00:12:01.910
>> We'll do for a little while yet.
00:12:01.920 --> 00:12:04.150
>> All right, Avery. Let's travel to some
00:12:04.160 --> 00:12:07.030
distant star systems. Now, astronomers
00:12:07.040 --> 00:12:09.590
have discovered two new exoplanets that
00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.150
are prompting scientists to rethink how
00:12:12.160 --> 00:12:14.389
we define habitable zones.
00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.470
>> Yeah, this is really interesting work.
00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:19.030
The research introduces the concept of a
00:12:19.040 --> 00:12:21.110
temperate zone, which is broader than
00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:22.870
the traditional habitable zone we
00:12:22.880 --> 00:12:24.069
usually talk about.
00:12:24.079 --> 00:12:25.990
>> Can you explain the difference? I think
00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.230
a lot of people assume habitable zone
00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:30.629
and temperate mean the same thing.
00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:33.030
>> Good question. The traditional habitable
00:12:33.040 --> 00:12:35.430
zone is pretty narrowly defined. It's
00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:37.509
the distance range from a star where
00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:39.590
liquid water could exist on a planet's
00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.150
surface. But this new research led by
00:12:42.160 --> 00:12:43.910
Madison Scott from the University of
00:12:43.920 --> 00:12:46.150
Birmingham and Georgina Dansfield from
00:12:46.160 --> 00:12:48.870
the University of Oxford expands that to
00:12:48.880 --> 00:12:50.870
include what they call the tempered
00:12:50.880 --> 00:12:51.590
zone.
00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:54.150
>> And how is that defined? The tempered
00:12:54.160 --> 00:12:56.150
zone is defined by something called
00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:58.470
insulation flux, which describes the
00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:00.310
amount of solar energy reaching a
00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.470
planet's surface. They're using a range
00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:05.829
between about 136 watts per square meter
00:13:05.839 --> 00:13:07.829
and 6,85
00:13:07.839 --> 00:13:10.230
watts per square meter. Earth receives
00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:12.470
about 1,361
00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:14.069
watts per square meter, just for
00:13:14.079 --> 00:13:15.030
reference.
00:13:15.040 --> 00:13:16.710
>> So, it's much broader than the
00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:18.710
conservative habitable zone.
00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:20.949
>> Exactly. The point is to identify
00:13:20.959 --> 00:13:23.269
planets that receive moderate levels of
00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.269
stellar radiation. They might not be
00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.269
perfect for life as we know it, but
00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:29.190
they're worth studying because as our
00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:31.430
understanding of habitability evolves,
00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.110
some of these planets might turn out to
00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:34.710
be more interesting than we initially
00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:35.430
thought.
00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:37.910
>> So, what are these two new planets?
00:13:37.920 --> 00:13:41.509
>> The first is to 6716b,
00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:43.670
which is roughly Earth-sized between
00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:48.310
0.91 and 1.05 Earth radially
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:52.470
rocky. The second is TOI7384b,
00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:54.790
which is a sub Neptune measuring about
00:13:54.800 --> 00:13:59.350
3.37 to 3.77 Earth radi. This one
00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:01.670
probably has a rocky core with a thick
00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:03.829
hydrogen and helium envelope.
00:14:03.839 --> 00:14:06.150
>> And they're both orbiting red dwarf
00:14:06.160 --> 00:14:07.189
stars.
00:14:07.199 --> 00:14:08.710
>> Correct. They're orbiting what are
00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:11.269
called mid to late type Mdorfs, which
00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:14.310
are small, dim, cool stars. These types
00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:15.829
of stars are really important for this
00:14:15.839 --> 00:14:17.590
kind of research because temperate
00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:19.509
planets orbiting them are much more
00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:21.189
likely to transit in front of their
00:14:21.199 --> 00:14:23.030
stars from our point of view, making
00:14:23.040 --> 00:14:25.670
them easier to detect and study.
00:14:25.680 --> 00:14:27.910
>> So, the goal is to build up a catalog of
00:14:27.920 --> 00:14:30.150
planets that we can actually study in
00:14:30.160 --> 00:14:31.110
detail.
00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:34.389
>> Exactly. TOI6716b
00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:35.829
has a predicted transmission
00:14:35.839 --> 00:14:37.910
spectroscopy metric similar to the
00:14:37.920 --> 00:14:40.230
famous Trappist one planets, which makes
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:42.310
it a good candidate for JWST
00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:44.310
observations. if it has retained its
00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:46.389
atmosphere. The researchers conclude
00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.550
that these discoveries show the power of
00:14:48.560 --> 00:14:50.629
combining test data with groundbased
00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:52.949
observations to build a catalog of
00:14:52.959 --> 00:14:54.629
temperate planets for atmospheric
00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:56.310
studies in the coming decade.
00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:57.990
>> It's exciting to think we're moving
00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:00.629
beyond just counting exoplanets to
00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:02.310
actually being able to study their
00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:04.069
atmospheres in detail.
00:15:04.079 --> 00:15:06.069
>> And for our final story today, we're
00:15:06.079 --> 00:15:08.150
coming back home to our own galaxy.
00:15:08.160 --> 00:15:09.990
Astronomers in Australia have just
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.230
released the most detailed low-frequency
00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:14.389
radio image of the Milky Way ever
00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:15.350
produced.
00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.389
>> This image is absolutely stunning. It
00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:20.629
was captured by the Merchesen Wildfield
00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.870
Telescope in Western Australia and
00:15:22.880 --> 00:15:25.110
reveals thousands of structures across
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:27.430
the galaxy's southern sky that we've
00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.269
never seen in this kind of detail
00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:30.150
before.
00:15:30.160 --> 00:15:31.990
>> And the numbers behind this are pretty
00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.949
impressive. It took over 1 million CPU
00:15:34.959 --> 00:15:36.790
hours to process the data which was
00:15:36.800 --> 00:15:40.389
collected across 141 nights between 2013
00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:41.829
and 2020.
00:15:41.839 --> 00:15:43.829
>> And this isn't just a prettier version
00:15:43.839 --> 00:15:46.069
of something we already had, right? This
00:15:46.079 --> 00:15:48.470
is genuinely new science.
00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:50.150
>> Absolutely. According to the
00:15:50.160 --> 00:15:52.470
International Center for Radio Astronomy
00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:54.790
Research, this updated release from the
00:15:54.800 --> 00:15:57.269
Gleam X survey delivers twice the
00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.670
resolution and 10 times the sensitivity
00:15:59.680 --> 00:16:01.990
of earlier efforts. Plus, it covers
00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:03.670
twice as much of the sky.
00:16:03.680 --> 00:16:05.430
>> What kinds of things can we see in this
00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:06.310
image?
00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.189
>> Well, Sylvia Monttovani, a PhD student
00:16:09.199 --> 00:16:11.110
at Curtain University who led the
00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.269
project, explains you can clearly
00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:15.829
identify remnants of exploded stars
00:16:15.839 --> 00:16:18.069
represented by large red circles in the
00:16:18.079 --> 00:16:20.629
image. The smaller blue regions indicate
00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.030
stellar nurseries where new stars are
00:16:23.040 --> 00:16:24.550
actively forming.
00:16:24.560 --> 00:16:27.189
>> So, it's showing us both the birth and
00:16:27.199 --> 00:16:28.710
death of stars.
00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.030
>> Exactly. One of the major focuses of
00:16:31.040 --> 00:16:33.030
this survey is finding supernova
00:16:33.040 --> 00:16:35.189
remnants which are notoriously difficult
00:16:35.199 --> 00:16:36.949
to spot in the cluttered background of
00:16:36.959 --> 00:16:39.350
the Milky Way. Hundreds are already
00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:41.269
cataloged, but astronomers believe
00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.829
thousands more still hidden. With this
00:16:43.839 --> 00:16:46.230
new level of resolution, those cosmic
00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:48.310
scars from ancient stellar explosions
00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:50.150
are easier to identify.
00:16:50.160 --> 00:16:52.150
>> The image also helps with pulsar
00:16:52.160 --> 00:16:53.430
studies, doesn't it?
00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:55.910
>> Yes. Measuring pulsar brightness across
00:16:55.920 --> 00:16:58.150
different radio bands could improve our
00:16:58.160 --> 00:16:59.749
understanding of how these spinning
00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.910
neutron stars function and where they
00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:04.069
live in the galaxy. The survey has
00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:07.189
cataloged over 98,000 radio sources in
00:17:07.199 --> 00:17:07.990
total.
00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:10.309
>> That's an incredible number. And I read
00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:12.069
that this is setting the stage for an
00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.150
even more powerful telescope.
00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.309
>> Right. The Merchesen Wildfield Array
00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.710
will eventually be surpassed by the SKA
00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:20.549
Low Array, which is currently under
00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:22.230
construction in the same region of
00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:24.630
Western Australia. Once the SKA
00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:26.630
observatory is operational, it'll
00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:28.870
deliver even sharper and deeper views of
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:29.909
the universe.
00:17:29.919 --> 00:17:32.070
>> But for now, we have this remarkable
00:17:32.080 --> 00:17:34.630
foundation. Associate Professor Natasha
00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:36.950
Hurley Walker, who leads the Gleam X
00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:38.789
survey, called this an exciting
00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:41.430
milestone in astronomy since no
00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.590
frequency radio image of the entire
00:17:43.600 --> 00:17:45.270
southern galactic plane has been
00:17:45.280 --> 00:17:46.390
published before.
00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:48.310
>> And it's not just about the Milky Way.
00:17:48.320 --> 00:17:50.870
The catalog includes distant galaxies as
00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.350
well. So, it's a dense, glowing map of
00:17:53.360 --> 00:17:55.110
our cosmic neighborhood that future
00:17:55.120 --> 00:17:57.190
generations of astronomers will use,
00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.110
refine, and expand upon.
00:17:59.120 --> 00:18:01.350
>> Well, that wraps up today's episode of
00:18:01.360 --> 00:18:03.510
Astronomy Daily. We covered quite a bit
00:18:03.520 --> 00:18:05.430
of ground today. From the first medical
00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:08.310
evacuation from the ISS to missing dwarf
00:18:08.320 --> 00:18:11.029
galaxies, a troubled Mars orbiter,
00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:13.590
viruses evolving in space, newly
00:18:13.600 --> 00:18:16.070
discovered exoplanets, and a spectacular
00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:18.710
new view of our home galaxy. It really
00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:20.549
shows the incredible breath of space
00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.630
science happening right now. Whether
00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:25.669
it's 300 m above our heads on the ISS,
00:18:25.679 --> 00:18:27.830
millions of miles away at Mars, or
00:18:27.840 --> 00:18:29.430
billions of light years away in the
00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:31.510
early universe, there's always something
00:18:31.520 --> 00:18:32.870
new to discover.
00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.029
>> Thanks so much for joining us today. If
00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:36.789
you enjoyed the show, please subscribe
00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:38.870
and leave us a review. It really helps
00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:41.029
other space enthusiasts find us.
00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:42.870
>> And if you have any questions or topics
00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:44.789
you'd like us to cover, reach out to us
00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.789
on social media. You'll find us on all
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:48.710
the major platforms. Just search for
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.110
Astro Daily Pod. We love hearing from
00:18:51.120 --> 00:18:52.070
our listeners.
00:18:52.080 --> 00:18:54.710
>> Until next time, keep looking up. Clear
00:18:54.720 --> 00:19:07.029
skies, everyone.
00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.760
Stories told.