ISS Crew Emergency Evacuation | Mars Mission Dead | Fastest Spinning Asteroid: Your Daily Space...

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Hello everyone and welcome to Astronomy


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Daily, the podcast where we bring you


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the latest and greatest from the world


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of space and astronomy. I'm Anna and


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with me is my co-host Avery. Hey Avery,


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it's January 9th, 2026. Hope you're


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staying warm wherever you are.


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>> Hey Anna, and hi to all our listeners.


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Yeah, it's chilly out there where I am


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in the northern hemisphere, but I


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believe our listeners down under are


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experiencing very high temperatures


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today. But the news is heating up.


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Today, we've got a truly historic story


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leading off. One that's making waves


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across the space community, plus lunar


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viewing tips, Starship infrastructure


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upgrades, big shifts and Mars


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exploration plans, a record-breaking


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asteroid spin, and a fascinating map of


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ghostly particles streaming through us.


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We'll spend extra time on that first one


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because it's a milestone. Let's jump


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right in.


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>> Absolutely. This top story is


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unprecedented. For the first time in the


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25- year history of the International


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Space Station, NASA has ordered a


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controlled medical evacuation, bringing


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home an entire crew early due to a


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medical issue with one astronaut.


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>> This involves crew 11, who launched back


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in August 2025 aboard SpaceX's Dragon


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Endeavor. The four-person team, NASA


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commander Mike Frink, veteran of


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multiple flights, pilot Zena Cardman on


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her rookie mission, Jax Kima Yui, and


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Ros Cosmos cosminot Oleg Platonoff.


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They're a multinational crew


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highlighting the international


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partnership.


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>> The issue arose earlier this week on


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January 7th with one unidentified crew


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member experiencing a medical situation


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in microgravity. NASA emphasizes the


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astronaut is absolutely stable and the


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crew provided immediate care using


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onboard equipment which is advanced but


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limited compared to a full hospital


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>> details are private for good reason.


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HIPPA and all that but NASA chief


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medical officer Dr. JD Pulk noted it's


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unrelated to station operations or


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upcoming tasks. The key factor while


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stable now there could be lingering


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risks if they stay in orbit longer and


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full diagnosis or treatment isn't


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possible up there. After consultations,


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administrator Jared Isacman made the


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call, air on the side of caution and


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return the whole crew 11 team in the


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coming days. They'll undock soon. Exact


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schedule coming within 48 hours. splash


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down off California with Space X


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recovery ships ready.


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>> Why the whole crew? They share one


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Dragon as their lifeboat. No splitting


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up. This leaves the ISS with just three


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people temporarily. NASA astronaut Chris


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Williams and two Russian cosminauts.


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They'll handle basics, defer some


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science, and no spacew walks possible


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until Crew 12 arrives. Maybe accelerated


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to next month.


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>> It's certainly historic. NASA's first


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medical early return ever. There was a


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Soviet case in 1985 on Salute 7, but


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nothing like this for the ISS era. Past


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issues like a blood clot in 2019 or


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pinched nerve in 2021 were managed on


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board without evacuation.


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>> This shows how far we've come in crew


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health management, but also the limits


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of long duration space flight. It's a


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learning moment for Aremis lunar stays


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and eventual Mars missions. How do we


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handle unexpected health events far from


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Earth?


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>> Totally. NASA stressed crew safety as


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priority one and the quick response


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highlights training. We'll keep an eye


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on updates. Safe return wishes to crew


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11.


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>> Okay, moving to something more serene.


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The February full moon is coming up


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soon, known as the snow moon.


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>> Peak illumination at 5:09 p.m. Eastern


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on February 1st. Look east at sunset for


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that classic big orangeet tinted rise


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due to the moon illusion and atmospheric


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scattering. It'll be near Cancer stars,


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easy naked eye spot.


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>> Traditional names reflect winter in the


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northern hemisphere. Snow moon for heavy


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snowfall. Hungary or bare moon in some


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indigenous cultures. In India, Maga


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porna with rituals. Bonus. On February


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2nd, it occults regulus for parts of


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North America and Africa. Incidentally,


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you will be able to see this in the


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southern hemisphere as well with best


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date in Sydney, for instance, forecasted


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to be on February 2nd, the same day as


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Beijing and Tokyo.


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>> Great for photos, tripod, long lens for


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details or wide for landscapes. No


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special super status, but always


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magical.


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>> Up next, updates from Starbase. SpaceX


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is futurep proofing pad 1's tower and


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launch mount for Starship Block 3. Pad 1


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had supported early block 2 flights, but


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is now offline for major rework,


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demolishing the old mount, adding a


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flame bucket with powerful water deluge,


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nitrogen inerting to prevent fires, and


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reinforced structures.


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>> Upgrades include better quick


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disconnects for propellants, shortened


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chopsticks for heavier lifts. Goal is


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rapid reusability, minimal refer between


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launches, handling 33 Raptors power.


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This mirrors pad 2 improvements,


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enabling frequent flights, which are


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crucial for Starship's goals.


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>> Next, let's shift our gaze to Mars.


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NASA's ambitious Mars sample return


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mission is effectively dead, opening the


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door wider for China.


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>> Budget cuts slashed funding. Original 11


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billion ballooned, redesigned to around


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7 billion, but it was still too complex.


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Perseverances, caches, lander, fetch


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rover or helicopters, ascent rocket,


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orbital rendevous. It was a lot.


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Congress prioritized other spending, so


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there was only $110 million left for


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tech development. This disrupts the ESA


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partnership, too. Perseverance's 33


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tubes stay on Mars. Stable and cold


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dryness for potential future grab.


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>> Meanwhile, China's plans advance.


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Simpler, opportunistic sampling. They


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could be first to return Martian rocks


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which will be huge for science.


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>> H a bitter pill for NASA after all their


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planning but it does redirect resources


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elsewhere. So there is that.


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>> Let's move on now to asteroid hunting.


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The Vera Rubin Observatory has spotted


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the fastest spinning large asteroid ever


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discovered. This huge rock rotates in an


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insanely quick period under the


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theoretical rubble pile limit, yet holds


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together, likely monolithic or strong


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internally. This discovery highlights


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Vera Rubin's power and importance for


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locating near Earth objects.


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>> There are implications for deflection


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strategies as spin affects how we nudge


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threats if needed.


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>> Okay, moving on. Finally, today, those


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billions of ghost particles, nutrinos,


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streaming through you every second. You


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were aware of them, weren't you? Of


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course. Well, we now have a map of where


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many of them come from.


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>> New models using Gaia star data show


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stellar nutrinos from nuclear fusion in


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massive young stars across the Milky


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Way, although denser toward galactic


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center. Detected via giant Antarctic


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instruments catching rare interactions,


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this first comprehensive stellar nutrino


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map filters solar noise, probes core


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processes, and has led to potential new


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physics.


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>> Wild invisible messengers from our


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galaxy's heart.


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>> And that's a wrap for today. From ISS


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drama to nutrino maps, what a day in


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space news.


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>> Thanks for joining us. Subscribe, share,


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and we'll be back tomorrow. And if you'd


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like to keep up with the evacuation


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story unfolding on the ISS, just visit


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our website and check out our constantly


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updating news feed. You'll find us at


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astronomyaily.io.


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>> Clear skies, everyone.


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>> And one final reminder to keep looking


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up. Bye. Astronomy day.


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Stories we told.


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Stories to tell.