Lunar Landings, Asteroid Adventures & Andromeda Mysteries: #501 | Space Nuts: Exploring the Cosmos

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:00.199 --> 00:00:01.870
hello again thanks for joining us this


00:00:01.880 --> 00:00:03.949
is Space Nuts my name is Andrew Dunley


00:00:03.959 --> 00:00:05.710
thanks for joining us coming up on this


00:00:05.720 --> 00:00:09.190
episode we are going to be looking a a


00:00:09.200 --> 00:00:12.270
rather amazing achievement involving a


00:00:12.280 --> 00:00:14.589
an organization who have landed on the


00:00:14.599 --> 00:00:16.349
moon and you're saying yeah it's been


00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:19.310
done not like this it hasn't uh on top


00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:21.310
of that we've got a a mission that's


00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:23.990
going past the Moon that is in a little


00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.349
bit of trouble as well we'll also focus


00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:28.429
our attention on the Andromeda galaxy


00:00:28.439 --> 00:00:30.109
and we've had some questions recently


00:00:30.119 --> 00:00:32.109
about Andromeda well you'll be


00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:35.350
interested to know that it has been


00:00:35.360 --> 00:00:37.069
suffering from interference and it


00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:40.350
wasn't us was it we didn't do it and


00:00:40.360 --> 00:00:42.310
Voyager one back in the news again


00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.750
that's all coming up on this episode of


00:00:44.760 --> 00:00:47.670
Space Nuts 15 seconds guidance is


00:00:47.680 --> 00:00:52.630
internal 10 9 ignition sequence start


00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:58.470
Space Nuts 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1


00:00:58.480 --> 00:01:02.869
Space Nuts report it feels good and he's


00:01:02.879 --> 00:01:04.869
back in the big chair after a month away


00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:07.149
it's Professor Fred Watson astronom at


00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:09.710
large hello Fred hello Andrew good to be


00:01:09.720 --> 00:01:13.270
back as it's the politicians always say


00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:15.350
good to be with you don't yes they do


00:01:15.360 --> 00:01:18.390
don't they good to be with you I'm sure


00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:20.630
they sit there with um with consultants


00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:21.390
and


00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:24.190
committees the right way to say hello


00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:25.469
yes that's


00:01:25.479 --> 00:01:27.630
right and the answer is good to be with


00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:30.990
you good to be with you um now we talked


00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:33.910
on the last episode or two when you U


00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:37.230
when you you popped in on us uh about


00:01:37.240 --> 00:01:40.590
your trip North I I one thing I wondered


00:01:40.600 --> 00:01:42.870
is while you were there to look at the


00:01:42.880 --> 00:01:46.469
Aurora oralis and and and the like um on


00:01:46.479 --> 00:01:48.830
on an astronomy tour did you actually


00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:52.069
get to see uh the planetary alignment or


00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.350
couldn't you view it from that far


00:01:54.360 --> 00:02:00.270
north uh we could um but uh the you're


00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:02.190
right it's a good question because the


00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:04.469
ecliptic which is where all the planets


00:02:04.479 --> 00:02:06.910
lie uh just like the Equator the


00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:09.029
celestial equator is very low down at


00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:10.469
the latitudes we were at the furthest


00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:12.390
North we got was to North cap in which


00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:16.110
is 71 degrees latitude um a lot of the


00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:18.430
time we're in Greenland Iceland's a


00:02:18.440 --> 00:02:20.070
little bit further south it's only the


00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:21.910
top really the North Coast of Iceland


00:02:21.920 --> 00:02:23.869
that's within the Arctic Circle but


00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:25.470
we're also well in the Arctic Circle in


00:02:25.480 --> 00:02:27.270
Sweden and Norway nor North Cape of


00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:30.030
course is in Norway uh so yes you your


00:02:30.040 --> 00:02:33.309
view of the sky is is different um what


00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:35.550
always and and I remember being struck


00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.949
by this in my very very first visit to


00:02:38.959 --> 00:02:41.229
the Arctic which was back in 2012 when


00:02:41.239 --> 00:02:44.589
we laid our first expedition up there uh


00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:46.630
and I was struck by the fact that I


00:02:46.640 --> 00:02:51.470
could see stars which from our latitude


00:02:51.480 --> 00:02:53.190
in and I'm still thinking of the


00:02:53.200 --> 00:02:54.790
northern hemisphere from the latitude of


00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:57.070
the United Kingdom were only visible in


00:02:57.080 --> 00:02:58.910
the summertime and we were there in the


00:02:58.920 --> 00:03:01.509
middle of winter so you can see um at


00:03:01.519 --> 00:03:03.430
least two stars of something called the


00:03:03.440 --> 00:03:05.589
summer triangle the summer triangle is


00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:10.110
Vega alter and um the brightest star in


00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:14.350
signis which is um denb denb Vega and


00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:17.830
alter uh Vega and denb were very very


00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:22.070
visible uh in M midwinter uh near the


00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:24.589
North Pole because the you know the the


00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:26.949
the pole of the sky is tilted upwards so


00:03:26.959 --> 00:03:29.190
you can see things that from kind of


00:03:29.200 --> 00:03:32.030
middle latit you'd only see in summer uh


00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:33.949
so what it meant was yes your your


00:03:33.959 --> 00:03:36.070
question is well made uh we certainly


00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:39.550
saw Venus Jupiter and Mars very clearly


00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:41.550
probably Saturn although it was quite


00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:43.750
near the Horizon then and I don't think


00:03:43.760 --> 00:03:45.869
we got a glimpse of mercury so that


00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.789
parade of planets that really occupied


00:03:48.799 --> 00:03:50.630
the media for us in the southern


00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:52.110
hemisphere it was actually best back in


00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:54.589
January yeah uh it's uh it's only in the


00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:56.830
north that it's been a Hot Topic within


00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:59.270
the last few days the reason I ask is


00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.149
it's been in the news again because they


00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:04.429
said that well the the popular press is


00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:06.270
saying oh you know the the big alignment


00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:08.270
first time you last time we'll see it in


00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:11.309
60 years blah blah um jonty has a


00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:13.550
particular problem with the way the


00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:16.509
media spews this kind of information out


00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:18.749
and and you know don't let the truth get


00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:20.670
in the way of good story type attitude


00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:22.590
that's right um


00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:26.350
but it was uh apparently it was the


00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:28.430
whole set at the end of February because


00:04:28.440 --> 00:04:31.430
Mercury was part of the the deal then


00:04:31.440 --> 00:04:33.670
from the Northern Hemisphere yeah well


00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.670
there you go and um yeah I was just


00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:39.070
wondering if you got a chance to spot it


00:04:39.080 --> 00:04:42.310
but uh no didn't see Mercury no I didn't


00:04:42.320 --> 00:04:45.390
see any of it much okay I did go out and


00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:47.670
look but where I am in town it's it's a


00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.310
really bad position and I'd have to go


00:04:50.320 --> 00:04:52.469
out and find a hill and as you know


00:04:52.479 --> 00:04:54.270
there are not that many of them around


00:04:54.280 --> 00:04:56.430
here no no you're a bit a bit low on


00:04:56.440 --> 00:04:57.950
Hills up there you need somebody to come


00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:00.990
and build one for you yeah


00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.230
yeah or just cut all the trees down and


00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:04.950
well there that too but that's not a


00:05:04.960 --> 00:05:07.749
good idea no not really no okay all


00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:09.830
right uh let's get onto our first


00:05:09.840 --> 00:05:12.510
official story and this one is very


00:05:12.520 --> 00:05:15.270
exciting and and again getting a lot of


00:05:15.280 --> 00:05:17.629
press and that's been the successful


00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:21.749
Landing of the blue Ghost lunar lander


00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:25.550
on the moon this this is uh this is a a


00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:27.350
lot different to what we were witnessing


00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:30.390
in the 60s and70s and and a few of the


00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:32.909
more recent missions because they were


00:05:32.919 --> 00:05:36.390
uh publicly funded and um government


00:05:36.400 --> 00:05:38.710
gazetted and all that Jaz this is a


00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:40.950
completely different kettle of


00:05:40.960 --> 00:05:44.309
fish indeed because it's it is a


00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:46.150
commercial space flight it's a


00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:48.590
commercial company uh with the lovely


00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:50.230
name of firefly


00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:52.870
Aerospace uh their blue Ghost Lander is


00:05:52.880 --> 00:05:56.350
named after a rare species of firefly


00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:58.629
which is found in the Appalachian area


00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.350
of the United States


00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:02.550
uh I love the name of the mission it's


00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.150
not Apollo or emis or anything it's


00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:09.189
called Ghost Riders in the Sky I love


00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.390
it uh and we did see uh earlier in the


00:06:12.400 --> 00:06:14.189
week before the spacecraft landed


00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:16.589
successfully which it did on uh March


00:06:16.599 --> 00:06:20.469
the 2nd uh Eastern Standard Time Sunday


00:06:20.479 --> 00:06:23.070
um at the weekend the weekend just gone


00:06:23.080 --> 00:06:24.950
uh we did some see some images during


00:06:24.960 --> 00:06:26.790
the week from the navigation cameras


00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.270
which uh showed the Earth and the moon


00:06:29.280 --> 00:06:32.710
as the Lander flew by but the reason why


00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:34.629
this Lander is going to the moon or has


00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:38.029
gone to the Moon is that it's part of uh


00:06:38.039 --> 00:06:39.230
something you and I have talked about


00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:41.790
Andrew NASA's commercial Luna pay


00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:45.189
payload Services Program clps commercial


00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:47.870
commercial Luna payload uh which


00:06:47.880 --> 00:06:51.029
basically is NASA Contracting to private


00:06:51.039 --> 00:06:54.830
companies uh for payloads to go to the


00:06:54.840 --> 00:06:58.629
lunar surface uh either experiments or


00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.830
um you know I suppose they they're all


00:07:00.840 --> 00:07:03.029
experiments or at least things that test


00:07:03.039 --> 00:07:06.909
the technology uh basically to check


00:07:06.919 --> 00:07:09.909
things out before the timis mission


00:07:09.919 --> 00:07:12.830
really gets underway with a Luna Landing


00:07:12.840 --> 00:07:16.070
uh we hope that Artemis will see humans


00:07:16.080 --> 00:07:18.390
walking on the moon


00:07:18.400 --> 00:07:22.629
2027 I think is the current date uh but


00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:24.830
that could change because all sorts of


00:07:24.840 --> 00:07:27.189
things are happening uh inside NASA


00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.550
which we really didn't expect um anyway


00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:32.270
the launch was on the 15th of January so


00:07:32.280 --> 00:07:34.589
it's taken a little while to get there


00:07:34.599 --> 00:07:36.749
uh it is


00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:39.790
uh the spacecraft Road into orbit on a


00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:43.110
falcon 9 a SpaceX Falcon 9 uh and


00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:45.710
essentially uh having gone into lunar


00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:48.869
orbit uh earlier in February 13th of


00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:53.589
February it was descended or Center um a


00:07:53.599 --> 00:07:56.469
command to to descend to the lunar


00:07:56.479 --> 00:07:58.749
surface uh on the 1st of March and


00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:01.189
successfully touch down on the second so


00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:05.070
really great stuff fantastic news that a


00:08:05.080 --> 00:08:07.510
commercial space flight has landed


00:08:07.520 --> 00:08:10.149
successfully on the Moon yes it is


00:08:10.159 --> 00:08:13.270
marvelous and um it's a very short


00:08:13.280 --> 00:08:14.430
Mission though isn't it they're not


00:08:14.440 --> 00:08:16.309
going to be doing much for long from


00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:18.390
what I understand I think that's right I


00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:20.189
think the the you know the essential


00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:21.950
part was just demonstrating that they


00:08:21.960 --> 00:08:24.309
can get there yeah which they've now


00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:29.950
done very successfully um it's uh it's I


00:08:29.960 --> 00:08:32.269
think it's uh as you said it's a short


00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:34.909
Mission uh I I think it's one of these


00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:37.350
things that will only last for Luna day


00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:38.949
I need to check that but it's that sort


00:08:38.959 --> 00:08:42.870
of time um uh it's easy to find some


00:08:42.880 --> 00:08:45.870
really nice pictures of uh of what the


00:08:45.880 --> 00:08:48.230
SK for the sky would look like for for


00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.509
for Blue Ghost there's a very nice


00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:53.670
picture on X of a gentleman by the name


00:08:53.680 --> 00:08:57.030
of BZ Aldren watching The Landing yes


00:08:57.040 --> 00:08:58.910
yeah he sent he sent him a message of


00:08:58.920 --> 00:08:59.990
congratul


00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.750
yes yeah yeah uh which is great and you


00:09:02.760 --> 00:09:05.110
know who better to to send a


00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:08.590
congratulations to a a company like that


00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:11.269
than bazin the second man to walk on the


00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.350
moon absolutely yes and uh I think I've


00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:15.710
mentioned before I've had the great


00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:17.870
pleasure of meeting and interviewing him


00:09:17.880 --> 00:09:19.790
in my radio career so that was one of


00:09:19.800 --> 00:09:23.030
the big highlights for me uh one of the


00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:24.550
highlights for me was having dinner with


00:09:24.560 --> 00:09:28.310
him oh that's better yeah it was really


00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:29.910
interesting World talk about that some


00:09:29.920 --> 00:09:31.470
of the time a very interesting meeting


00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:33.150
but he was very stimulating this is


00:09:33.160 --> 00:09:35.870
probably a decade ago yeah was yeah


00:09:35.880 --> 00:09:38.630
great great company as you know yeah I I


00:09:38.640 --> 00:09:41.150
noticed uh in one of the stories I think


00:09:41.160 --> 00:09:44.710
it's in sky and Telescope uh do.org they


00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.949
they refer to The Descent orbit


00:09:47.959 --> 00:09:51.430
insertion as nine minutes of Terror yes


00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:53.430
we we talked about these terrifying


00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.750
Landings on other worlds particularly


00:09:55.760 --> 00:09:58.550
Mars I wouldn't have thought that it


00:09:58.560 --> 00:10:00.670
would be as bigger deal on the moon


00:10:00.680 --> 00:10:02.630
given that there's you know no


00:10:02.640 --> 00:10:06.670
atmosphere of con you're right yeah and


00:10:06.680 --> 00:10:08.870
you're absolutely right because um you


00:10:08.880 --> 00:10:11.310
know if you're landing on Mars a lot of


00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:14.310
the trajectory is dictated not just by


00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.470
uh orbital mechanics which is how things


00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.030
work in space but dictated by the


00:10:19.040 --> 00:10:20.630
vagaries of the atmosphere if you got


00:10:20.640 --> 00:10:21.829
slightly higher pressure than you


00:10:21.839 --> 00:10:23.910
expected you you've got more breaking


00:10:23.920 --> 00:10:26.269
force and suddenly your your spacecraft


00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:28.389
is heading for a different part of the


00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.509
surface a higher speed than you would


00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:33.190
want or lower speed or whatever um and


00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:35.269
you're right that um in the case of the


00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:37.949
moon it's all about orbital mechanics


00:10:37.959 --> 00:10:40.350
which are very very predictable but you


00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:42.150
can imagine you know you've got to fire


00:10:42.160 --> 00:10:44.310
those thrusters at just the right moment


00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.150
to break it so that when it lands on the


00:10:46.160 --> 00:10:48.590
Moon it doesn't land too hard and smash


00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.269
up on the rocks or basically bounce off


00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:53.389
and then Smash Up you've got to get


00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:55.550
things just right so nine minutes of


00:10:55.560 --> 00:10:57.750
Terror I can I can sympathize with that


00:10:57.760 --> 00:10:59.629
I think I'd feel like that too well when


00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.910
you're talking about breaking from 3,800


00:11:02.920 --> 00:11:07.670
mph to 90 mph yes that that would be


00:11:07.680 --> 00:11:10.110
that would be terrifying if um you know


00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:12.230
you pushed the wrong button


00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:16.509
on fail and I think I had to smile when


00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:19.190
I read the story because they they said


00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:23.829
uh successful landing and upright so I


00:11:23.839 --> 00:11:26.030
think I think they were sort of saying


00:11:26.040 --> 00:11:27.389
well you know even if it lands on its


00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:28.990
side that's a success but it's even


00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.069
better that it's standing right yes it


00:11:31.079 --> 00:11:32.910
was last year wasn't it that one of the


00:11:32.920 --> 00:11:34.750
one of the spacecraft did land on its


00:11:34.760 --> 00:11:37.069
side remember I think it was the Indian


00:11:37.079 --> 00:11:39.190
mission was it was it Indian or Japanese


00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:41.750
I can't remember um but yeah so it was


00:11:41.760 --> 00:11:43.470
landed in such a way that the solar


00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:46.150
panels weren't seeing the sun yes that's


00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:47.629
so yes it's very important to have it


00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:49.629
the right way up yeah anyway we wish


00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:52.670
them well it'll be a quick visit and uh


00:11:52.680 --> 00:11:55.550
you it paves the way for emus too we


00:11:55.560 --> 00:11:56.829
still don't know when that's going to


00:11:56.839 --> 00:11:59.389
happen seems to be getting pushed back


00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:00.949
time and time again but they will get


00:12:00.959 --> 00:12:03.350
there eventually I'm sure they will one


00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:04.910
we'll


00:12:04.920 --> 00:12:08.069
hope let's take a short break from Space


00:12:08.079 --> 00:12:10.750
Nuts to tell you about our sponsor Nord


00:12:10.760 --> 00:12:13.230
VPN now I've talked about virtual


00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:15.430
private networks before and how they can


00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:18.470
protect you online and no one does it


00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:21.030
better than Nord now I've been using


00:12:21.040 --> 00:12:24.509
Nord for over two years and I have no


00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:26.990
complaints I'm also using uh some of


00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:28.389
their other tools including the


00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:31.470
brilliant past word manager and the one


00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:34.030
terabyte of cloud storage and let's face


00:12:34.040 --> 00:12:36.069
it you just can't get enough storage


00:12:36.079 --> 00:12:38.269
these days and cloud storage is good


00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:40.150
because it's backed up if you've got it


00:12:40.160 --> 00:12:42.310
on a a drive attached to your computer


00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:44.069
that drive will eventually die and you


00:12:44.079 --> 00:12:45.870
don't want to lose all that


00:12:45.880 --> 00:12:48.470
stuff um so yeah cloud storage is the


00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:51.670
way to go uh right now Nord is offering


00:12:51.680 --> 00:12:54.910
up to 74% off for Space Nuts listeners


00:12:54.920 --> 00:12:58.550
on top of an extra six months added on


00:12:58.560 --> 00:13:01.470
if you sign up for a 2-year deal that is


00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:04.069
a brilliant offer and it's all backed by


00:13:04.079 --> 00:13:06.269
their 30-day money back


00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:09.189
guarantee now the level of discount does


00:13:09.199 --> 00:13:11.269
vary with the different plans but the


00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:13.110
longer you sign on for the better the


00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.230
deal gets on a monthly cost basis you


00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:18.269
just need to work out what's right for


00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:21.990
you uh nordvpn is great for streaming


00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:24.069
and won't slow you down in fact it does


00:13:24.079 --> 00:13:26.670
the opposite with no interruptions no


00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:28.750
limits on bandwidth and no limits on


00:13:28.760 --> 00:13:31.550
speed need and with over 7,000 servers


00:13:31.560 --> 00:13:33.910
around the world they've got you covered


00:13:33.920 --> 00:13:36.110
so take advantage of their exclusive


00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:38.870
Space Nuts deal today by going to


00:13:38.880 --> 00:13:40.389
nordvpn.com


00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:43.949
SPAC nuts and click on get


00:13:43.959 --> 00:13:46.750
nordvpn and discover all the options


00:13:46.760 --> 00:13:47.550
that's


00:13:47.560 --> 00:13:51.990
nordvpn.com SPAC nuts the six-month


00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:55.030
extra deal is for a limited time only so


00:13:55.040 --> 00:13:59.389
check it out today at nordvpn.com


00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.269
Space Nuts you'll be very glad you did


00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:04.750
I'm sure now back to the


00:14:04.760 --> 00:14:06.189
[Music]


00:14:06.199 --> 00:14:08.189
show Space


00:14:08.199 --> 00:14:11.150
Nuts now while we're talking about these


00:14:11.160 --> 00:14:13.069
kinds of commercial missions there's


00:14:13.079 --> 00:14:14.790
another one that's in the news this is a


00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:17.790
private Mission uh that was heading out


00:14:17.800 --> 00:14:21.189
past the moon to the Odin asteroid the


00:14:21.199 --> 00:14:24.790
um private Odin asteroid probe uh all


00:14:24.800 --> 00:14:28.710
was looking nominal until recently


00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:30.990
things seems to have gone ay


00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:35.030
somewhat yes the uh the comment that


00:14:35.040 --> 00:14:36.910
perhaps highlights the situation comes


00:14:36.920 --> 00:14:39.949
from uh uh Somebody by the name of


00:14:39.959 --> 00:14:42.590
Matthew galish I think it is who is the


00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:45.269
co-founder and CEO of Astro Forge which


00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:48.749
is the um the the organization that is


00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:52.110
operating the Odin spacecraft uh what he


00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:55.110
said on uh Friday the 28th of February


00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:57.790
was we don't fully understand the state


00:14:57.800 --> 00:15:01.590
of the vehicle uh it's thought still


00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.749
though to be in a mode that means it's


00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:07.430
not being Fried by the Light of the sun


00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:11.269
it's in a an attitude in regard to the


00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:15.310
Sun that will um you know not have parts


00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.949
of it being unduly heated although uh we


00:15:18.959 --> 00:15:22.470
believe that it is tumbling um and you


00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.949
know the this is not a good thing for a


00:15:24.959 --> 00:15:30.150
spacecraft um uh to to experience uh


00:15:30.160 --> 00:15:32.550
it's that that's one of two Alternatives


00:15:32.560 --> 00:15:35.470
which I think are still valid Andrew one


00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:37.829
is that the spacecraft is tumbling uh


00:15:37.839 --> 00:15:40.590
which is not nice uh or the other is


00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:42.230
that everything's fine but there are


00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:44.350
issues with the Telemetry back on Earth


00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:45.949
their ground receivers not being


00:15:45.959 --> 00:15:48.150
properly configured or whatever yeah uh


00:15:48.160 --> 00:15:50.470
so they're still basically worrying


00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:52.590
about what's what's going on we should


00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:54.829
check that story again perhaps next week


00:15:54.839 --> 00:15:56.670
M what's the goal of the mission they're


00:15:56.680 --> 00:15:58.389
going to visit an asteroid but what do


00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.030
they what are they want to do with it it


00:16:00.040 --> 00:16:03.949
basically check it out uh to send


00:16:03.959 --> 00:16:07.829
imagery uh of an asteroid which rejoices


00:16:07.839 --> 00:16:10.309
in the name of 2022


00:16:10.319 --> 00:16:16.389
ob5 uh and um it's it's a possible first


00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:21.350
step in basically recovering resources


00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:23.470
from a space object in other words


00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:26.470
asteroid mining wow so if this mission


00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:28.949
was successful and we're not sure that


00:16:28.959 --> 00:16:31.629
that's the case at the moment um that


00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:34.670
this mission is basically designed to


00:16:34.680 --> 00:16:39.350
focus uh the cameras uh on that asteroid


00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:40.590
2022


00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:45.030
ob5 uh in order to get a a survey of the


00:16:45.040 --> 00:16:47.430
surface see what's there take lots of


00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.389
images um use the filters in the cameras


00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:53.110
to get some idea of the surface texture


00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:55.230
and things of that sort which you can do


00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:56.629
uh particularly in the infrared Wave


00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:59.670
band but that's a precursor to a second


00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:01.790
mission this mission is called Odin the


00:17:01.800 --> 00:17:03.910
second mission is called vestri which


00:17:03.920 --> 00:17:06.270
will aim to land on the asteroid so


00:17:06.280 --> 00:17:09.309
that's perhaps the more ambitious one


00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:10.710
that we will be looking at down the


00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.590
track assuming that Odin uh pulls it off


00:17:14.600 --> 00:17:16.470
or space Forge pulls it off as far as


00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:19.309
Odin's concerned yeah uh well fingers


00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:23.350
crossed I um I I think this quote from


00:17:23.360 --> 00:17:27.069
Matt gck uh who you quoted earlier says


00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.430
it all I think we all know the hope is


00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.310
fading as we continue the


00:17:31.320 --> 00:17:35.029
mission yeah um I mean it's what we've


00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:37.710
always said space is hard it's tough out


00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:40.510
there yeah yeah it's uh it's a difficult


00:17:40.520 --> 00:17:43.549
gig but they keep on trying and you know


00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:45.470
not all missions are absolute failures


00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:47.909
even when they don't go well there's


00:17:47.919 --> 00:17:49.549
something to learn and there's always


00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:50.789
something to learn that's right it's


00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:54.350
better next time yes indeed and uh you


00:17:54.360 --> 00:17:57.390
can read about that story if you like at


00:17:57.400 --> 00:17:59.909
space.com this is Space Nuts with Andrew


00:17:59.919 --> 00:18:03.590
Dunley and Professor Fred


00:18:03.600 --> 00:18:06.270
Watson okay we checked all four systems


00:18:06.280 --> 00:18:09.830
and space Nets okay Fred let's uh head


00:18:09.840 --> 00:18:11.909
towards Andromeda or is it heading


00:18:11.919 --> 00:18:16.029
towards us by the way uh we we've had a


00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:18.350
few questions recently with jonty about


00:18:18.360 --> 00:18:21.190
Andromeda and he was um yeah he had a


00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.870
lot to say about it uh and one of the


00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.630
questions we got recently was is the


00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:30.149
Milky Way already affecting


00:18:30.159 --> 00:18:33.190
Andromeda and you know to a certain


00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.470
degree not a massive amount the answer


00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:38.510
is yes according to jonty uh but uh we


00:18:38.520 --> 00:18:40.990
don't have to do that because it's now


00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:43.149
been discovered that Andromeda is um


00:18:43.159 --> 00:18:46.350
being picked on by some little cousin


00:18:46.360 --> 00:18:49.630
cousins nearby it's already getting a


00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:53.830
bit of a a dust up so to speak it may


00:18:53.840 --> 00:18:57.230
yeah so this may be the results of


00:18:57.240 --> 00:18:58.830
something bigger something that we


00:18:58.840 --> 00:19:02.430
probably need to know about as well um


00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:05.470
the bottom line here is you're quite


00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:09.669
right uh the Andromeda galaxy we can see


00:19:09.679 --> 00:19:11.070
we see it in the constellation of


00:19:11.080 --> 00:19:13.830
Andromeda obviously uh at a distance of


00:19:13.840 --> 00:19:16.590
about two and a half million light years


00:19:16.600 --> 00:19:20.390
uh like the Earth sorry let me re


00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:24.310
rephrase that like the Milky Way our own


00:19:24.320 --> 00:19:28.310
Galaxy um it's surrounded by a swarm of


00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:31.990
dwarf galaxies uh in fact about three or


00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:35.590
four dozen of them alog together um it's


00:19:35.600 --> 00:19:39.430
uh it is uh those dwarf galaxies we call


00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:41.110
them satellite galaxies because they are


00:19:41.120 --> 00:19:44.710
satellites of Andromeda uh have been


00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.830
analyzed to death uh in a in in you know


00:19:47.840 --> 00:19:50.149
some new research that's been carried


00:19:50.159 --> 00:19:51.990
out using the Hubble Space Telescope


00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.510
still after 35 years still doing a very


00:19:55.520 --> 00:19:58.830
very fine job in giving us Spectra and


00:19:58.840 --> 00:20:02.029
images of distant objects so uh the


00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:04.310
researchers have used the Hubble uh


00:20:04.320 --> 00:20:07.110
essentially to to to map the motion of


00:20:07.120 --> 00:20:08.870
these dwarf galaxies which is an


00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:11.430
extraordinary thing to be able to do um


00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:13.350
and look at


00:20:13.360 --> 00:20:16.070
their position in three dimensions


00:20:16.080 --> 00:20:20.710
around uh the Andromeda galaxy uh and


00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.630
it's uh comparing what they found with


00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:26.870
what we know from the dwarf galaxies


00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:28.710
that orbit our own and it's it's


00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:30.390
probably a similar sort of number it's


00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:33.110
about two dozen I think uh satellite


00:20:33.120 --> 00:20:34.669
galaxies that we have the biggest two


00:20:34.679 --> 00:20:37.390
are the large and small melanic clouds


00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:40.710
uh so you you take all that um uh you


00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:42.549
build a map of where these galaxies are


00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:44.669
around Andromeda and you find that


00:20:44.679 --> 00:20:47.430
they're in quite different orientations


00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:52.750
from what we find in our own Galaxy um


00:20:52.760 --> 00:20:57.149
uh one of the comments uh in this story


00:20:57.159 --> 00:20:59.430
uh and this is uh coming from from uh


00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:01.510
some of the researchers in fact uh


00:21:01.520 --> 00:21:04.110
Daniel Weiss of the University of


00:21:04.120 --> 00:21:08.270
California at Berkeley uh has basically


00:21:08.280 --> 00:21:11.909
pointed out that something significant


00:21:11.919 --> 00:21:15.510
has happened to Andromeda to change the


00:21:15.520 --> 00:21:18.789
distribution of the satellite galaxies


00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.990
um because half of them are rather than


00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.909
sort of swarming around like you know


00:21:24.919 --> 00:21:27.590
moths around a flame half of these


00:21:27.600 --> 00:21:30.430
galaxies are actually in a plane uh you


00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:33.470
know that they're they're basically in


00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.230
in one plane of the space around around


00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:38.669
Andromeda and they're all going in the


00:21:38.679 --> 00:21:43.029
same direction and that is as um as


00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:46.390
Daniel Weiss says that is weird um he


00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:49.110
says it was actually a total surprise to


00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:50.390
find the satellites in that


00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:52.390
configuration and we still don't fully


00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:55.590
understand why they appear that way uh


00:21:55.600 --> 00:21:59.630
another colleague uh says um


00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:02.950
this is alesandro Savino says it is


00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:05.430
clear it's a clear indication of how


00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:08.830
small Galaxy growth is disturbed by the


00:22:08.840 --> 00:22:11.350
influence of a massive Galaxy like


00:22:11.360 --> 00:22:15.110
Andromeda um and I think the the bottom


00:22:15.120 --> 00:22:19.470
line here is that they've got um much


00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:22.950
younger uh stars in them these dwarf


00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:26.230
galaxies uh form their Stars very early


00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:27.630
on in the history of the Andromeda


00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:28.990
galaxy which probably goes was about 12


00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:32.710
or 13 billion years um and then kept on


00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:37.470
and uh the idea is that


00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:40.750
the the perhaps and and they say that


00:22:40.760 --> 00:22:42.669
they really don't know what's happening


00:22:42.679 --> 00:22:45.110
but perhaps there was a collision


00:22:45.120 --> 00:22:49.149
between Andromeda and another galaxy uh


00:22:49.159 --> 00:22:51.870
some billions of years ago which caused


00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:53.070
this


00:22:53.080 --> 00:22:55.870
peculiarity of the uh of the of the


00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:58.710
dwarf Galaxy surrounding Andromeda uh


00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:00.430
everything about it is weird uh


00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:04.230
including my uh my account of it


00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.310
just uh so there saying it's weird they


00:23:07.320 --> 00:23:08.950
say they don't really know what happened


00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:12.110
but it would have to be some kind of


00:23:12.120 --> 00:23:14.269
gravitational effect or interference


00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:15.909
wouldn't it yeah I think you're


00:23:15.919 --> 00:23:18.149
absolutely right and I think that's


00:23:18.159 --> 00:23:19.310
probably what they're looking at you


00:23:19.320 --> 00:23:21.029
know is they try to understand how you


00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:24.750
can end up with a with a set of uh


00:23:24.760 --> 00:23:27.990
something like 15 or 20 dwarf galaxies


00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:29.750
all of which lie in a single plane that


00:23:29.760 --> 00:23:31.430
flies in the face of everything we


00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:33.789
understand about dwarf Galaxy


00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:35.990
formation and certainly is very


00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:37.430
different from what we find in our own


00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.870
Milky Way galaxy and from what I can


00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:41.750
tell they've tried to figure this out


00:23:41.760 --> 00:23:44.430
using computer simulations and it didn't


00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:47.990
work yeah yeah so there you go and


00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:50.990
that's just basically telling you that


00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:52.789
you need to put something else into the


00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:54.470
simulation and maybe it is a collision


00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:56.909
with another large Galaxy something else


00:23:56.919 --> 00:23:59.510
that's not in there already to try and


00:23:59.520 --> 00:24:02.190
replicate what we see in the real world


00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:04.230
so could that mean that if there was a


00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:06.470
collision with another large Galaxy that


00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:09.549
the result is Andromeda yes that's I


00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:12.149
think what you'd have to agree with that


00:24:12.159 --> 00:24:13.390
uh


00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:16.909
um it it's not been a I mean the


00:24:16.919 --> 00:24:18.870
collision between Andromeda and the


00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:21.110
Milky Way when it happens in three and a


00:24:21.120 --> 00:24:23.149
half billion years or whenever it says


00:24:23.159 --> 00:24:25.470
in the diary that that's going to happen


00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:28.389
uh it's that changes the shape of both


00:24:28.399 --> 00:24:30.909
both of them uh it basically you get a


00:24:30.919 --> 00:24:33.310
collision all the shock waves


00:24:33.320 --> 00:24:36.789
gravitational shock waves cause um


00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.029
formation of supern noi uh basically


00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:42.909
form really big stars which last only a


00:24:42.919 --> 00:24:45.149
short time then explode as super noi


00:24:45.159 --> 00:24:48.029
that uses up all the gas uh in the


00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:50.070
galaxies and you end up with what we


00:24:50.080 --> 00:24:51.830
call Mil mil


00:24:51.840 --> 00:24:54.830
Mila the Milky Way Andromeda combination


00:24:54.840 --> 00:24:56.669
which looks more like a what we call an


00:24:56.679 --> 00:24:59.110
elliptical galaxy a galaxy with no


00:24:59.120 --> 00:25:02.830
um no gas no star formation uh and


00:25:02.840 --> 00:25:05.190
Andromeda now is not like that at all


00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:07.909
it's a actively star forming Galaxy so


00:25:07.919 --> 00:25:09.510
the suggestion is that maybe it was a


00:25:09.520 --> 00:25:11.590
smaller object that caused this


00:25:11.600 --> 00:25:14.149
disruption to the satellite galaxies it


00:25:14.159 --> 00:25:17.870
it's is it classified as a spiral galaxy


00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:21.350
yes it's a it's a spiral definitely okay


00:25:21.360 --> 00:25:23.549
um and so is ours but when they get


00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:25.470
together they're just going to be boring


00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:27.149
yeah they will they'll be shaped like a


00:25:27.159 --> 00:25:30.110
football uh with no spiral arms nothing


00:25:30.120 --> 00:25:32.950
happening nothing to see here yeah it's


00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:34.990
a b sad really I mean yeah because


00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:37.750
they're both pretty smart looking now


00:25:37.760 --> 00:25:41.590
yeah what a p oh well um you know we


00:25:41.600 --> 00:25:44.549
can't stop it we'll just have to put up


00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:46.029
with it when the time comes how long


00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:48.909
three and a half billion yeah it's um


00:25:48.919 --> 00:25:50.669
something to look forward to you know


00:25:50.679 --> 00:25:53.710
with trepidation perhaps yes event all


00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:57.430
right uh that story is uh uh at Cosmos


00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:00.350
magazine if you'd like to read up on


00:26:00.360 --> 00:26:02.830
that


00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:09.950
one 3 2 1 Space Nuts uh Fred Let's uh go


00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:12.269
and visit an old friend uh someone who


00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:14.630
we thought had stopped writing to us we


00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:16.830
don't know what we did wrong but they


00:26:16.840 --> 00:26:19.070
have reached out to say hello I'm still


00:26:19.080 --> 00:26:22.549
here I'm alive again Voyager one yeah


00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.669
that's right uh 20 I I looked it up the


00:26:26.679 --> 00:26:30.190
other day 25


00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:33.029
is that right gu know 2 about 27 billion


00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:34.149
kilometers


00:26:34.159 --> 00:26:38.269
away uh and the most distant human-made


00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:42.950
object uh I think it's got uh


00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:47.230
22.5 light hours of travel time for the


00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:52.590
commands um so the what the basically


00:26:52.600 --> 00:26:57.750
the story goes back in fact to uh the 20


00:26:57.760 --> 00:26:59.310
I think can't remember what date it was


00:26:59.320 --> 00:27:02.269
but it's back in November 2023 so it's


00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:06.549
um you know well over a year ago uh that


00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:08.950
um the transmission started coming


00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:13.430
through in a gobbley go format uh and


00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:17.310
there was I think an issue with one of


00:27:17.320 --> 00:27:22.510
the memory chips um and you know that


00:27:22.520 --> 00:27:25.630
there was work done on trying to fix


00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:28.750
that uh which basically I think took


00:27:28.760 --> 00:27:33.389
five months or so uh and then uh was it


00:27:33.399 --> 00:27:35.669
the in April


00:27:35.679 --> 00:27:39.630
2024 uh there was uh a


00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:45.950
successful uh receipt of data um and


00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:49.230
that the machine was sending back things


00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:50.590
that you could actually read rather than


00:27:50.600 --> 00:27:55.310
just gobbley C so that was back in April


00:27:55.320 --> 00:27:59.430
2024 um but I think this another loss


00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:04.190
since then uh and the you know the the


00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:07.870
um difficulties that voer one has are to


00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:12.149
some extent ongoing um but uh there is


00:28:12.159 --> 00:28:14.789
you know it's good news that uh uh at


00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:17.590
least we are still in some sort of


00:28:17.600 --> 00:28:20.470
communication with voyager one uh and


00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:23.830
hopefully there's still potential for uh


00:28:23.840 --> 00:28:26.470
intelligible signals to come back the


00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:28.549
the really interesting thing I yes is


00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:30.549
the the power supply which is the


00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:33.190
radioisotope thermoelectric generator


00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:35.669
which is now delivering a tiny fraction


00:28:35.679 --> 00:28:36.990
of what it delivered right at the


00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:38.909
beginning of the mission in the late


00:28:38.919 --> 00:28:42.950
1970s and so we've got um an issue there


00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:45.430
and what NASA has done is Switched Off


00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.149
various instruments progressively so


00:28:48.159 --> 00:28:50.070
that things like the magnetometers that


00:28:50.080 --> 00:28:51.630
record the magnetic field and things


00:28:51.640 --> 00:28:53.830
like that I think they are now switched


00:28:53.840 --> 00:28:57.149
off so that you're saving power just for


00:28:57.159 --> 00:28:58.870
pointing the antenna which is done by


00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:01.230
the spacecraft thrusters and and


00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:02.990
essentially sending signals backwards


00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.750
and forwards yeah it's uh it's quite


00:29:05.760 --> 00:29:08.470
remarkable though after all these


00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:11.269
decades that it's still going we still


00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:14.190
communicate with it we can still send it


00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.909
information yes and uh of course Voyager


00:29:17.919 --> 00:29:20.750
2 is still out there and still going


00:29:20.760 --> 00:29:23.110
strong although it too has had some


00:29:23.120 --> 00:29:24.750
issues although I


00:29:24.760 --> 00:29:28.070
think um the most recent big issue with


00:29:28.080 --> 00:29:31.070
Voyager 2 was July 2023 when a series of


00:29:31.080 --> 00:29:33.950
commands were sent to the spacecraft


00:29:33.960 --> 00:29:35.149
causing its


00:29:35.159 --> 00:29:37.549
antenna to point away from Earth I think


00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:39.310
we did talk about that we did talk about


00:29:39.320 --> 00:29:41.389
it that's right and it stopped the a


00:29:41.399 --> 00:29:43.190
spacecraft from receiving commands or


00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:45.549
sending data back to


00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:49.789
Earth and I think they managed to


00:29:49.799 --> 00:29:54.549
somehow circumvent that um I I I believe


00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:56.630
it involved the canra deep space


00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:58.789
communic complex I was just going to


00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:01.029
mention that in fact it must have done


00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:04.269
because that cber deep space complex uh


00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:06.830
the tidb Billa Dish as we call it in the


00:30:06.840 --> 00:30:11.190
trade is the only uh the only antenna on


00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:13.149
Earth that can actually communicate with


00:30:13.159 --> 00:30:15.710
Voyager 2 oh and that's because Voyer


00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:17.870
2's at a Latitude if I remember rightly


00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:22.110
it's about 66 degrees below the equator


00:30:22.120 --> 00:30:24.470
in terms of the direction it's going out


00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:26.710
to which makes it invisible to the other


00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:30.870
two uh in the deep space Network which


00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:32.990
are in Madrid and gold stone in


00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:37.190
California so yes only only tidb can see


00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:39.669
Voyer 2 yeah and then that's how they


00:30:39.679 --> 00:30:41.590
saved it they picked up a very faint


00:30:41.600 --> 00:30:44.630
signal right NASA was able to transmit


00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:48.590
some corrective data like uh to Voyager


00:30:48.600 --> 00:30:51.549
2 and and got it back online which was


00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:54.070
very good news uh and and Voyager one's


00:30:54.080 --> 00:30:55.669
now back with us so they're both still


00:30:55.679 --> 00:30:58.070
going they're both still talking to us


00:30:58.080 --> 00:30:59.750
we didn't extraordinary yeah we thought


00:30:59.760 --> 00:31:01.990
we'd offended both of them but no it's


00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.389
it's all good me they've been alone for


00:31:04.399 --> 00:31:06.190
so long I can understand them being a


00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:08.590
bit grumpy


00:31:08.600 --> 00:31:10.909
yeah they might like their own company


00:31:10.919 --> 00:31:12.750
though and they've got they've both got


00:31:12.760 --> 00:31:14.710
music to listen to so going different


00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:16.750
ways aren't they yes they are that's a


00:31:16.760 --> 00:31:19.149
thing Voyer 2 is heading much more to


00:31:19.159 --> 00:31:22.029
the South than Voyer one is yeah but


00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:26.230
it's such amazing an amazing story for


00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:28.389
both of them to


00:31:28.399 --> 00:31:30.470
I mean how far past end of mission have


00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.710
they survived that's it's extraordinary


00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:36.909
yeah decades it is it is it's fantastic


00:31:36.919 --> 00:31:39.590
and they you know that eventually their


00:31:39.600 --> 00:31:41.230
batteries will run out those


00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:43.509
radioisotope thermal thermoelectric


00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:45.669
generators will fizzle out so that they


00:31:45.679 --> 00:31:48.750
can't even send power to the uh to the


00:31:48.760 --> 00:31:50.870
transmitters but the spacecraft will


00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:52.200
keep on going because


00:31:52.210 --> 00:31:53.310
[Music]


00:31:53.320 --> 00:31:55.590
they orbital mechanics maybe for


00:31:55.600 --> 00:31:57.990
billions of years we just don't know yes


00:31:58.000 --> 00:31:59.789
until someone catches them in a venus


00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.750
fly trap on some other planet and it's


00:32:02.760 --> 00:32:05.310
all over Red Rover who knows who knows


00:32:05.320 --> 00:32:07.789
yeah uh great story about Voyager one


00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:10.110
you can um find that online there's


00:32:10.120 --> 00:32:13.029
quite a few new stories about it can I


00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:15.509
just um yeah add add one comment so the


00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:19.350
CRA deep space communication complex is


00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:22.710
60 years old this month wow there you go


00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:23.830
I should have should have remembered


00:32:23.840 --> 00:32:26.950
that you did yeah should have remembered


00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:30.230
it earlier 60 years old this month yes


00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:33.549
it took you 60 years to remember that


00:32:33.559 --> 00:32:37.789
yes all right um we are just about done


00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:39.350
uh thanks for your comany thank you Fred


00:32:39.360 --> 00:32:41.389
as always we'll wrap it up and we'll


00:32:41.399 --> 00:32:43.110
catch you on the next episode that


00:32:43.120 --> 00:32:46.549
sounds wonderful I look forward to it


00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:47.909
all right we'll see you then Professor


00:32:47.919 --> 00:32:50.070
Fred Watson astronomer at large don't


00:32:50.080 --> 00:32:52.149
forget to visit us uh on our website in


00:32:52.159 --> 00:32:53.710
the meantime you can do that at Space


00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:56.990
Nuts podcast.com or SPAC nuts. all sorts


00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:01.230
of things to see and do and buy there um


00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:02.789
more mainly Fred's books but you know


00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:05.269
there's other stuff as well some of it's


00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:08.950
even interesting oh sorry um I if it's


00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:11.389
not I think I wrote those books never


00:33:11.399 --> 00:33:13.830
mind uh and uh thanks to here in the


00:33:13.840 --> 00:33:16.149
studio who couldn't be with us today


00:33:16.159 --> 00:33:19.389
because he was um stirring the pot


00:33:19.399 --> 00:33:21.950
around Andromeda causing all sorts of


00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:24.950
Mayhem typical of you and from me Andrew


00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:26.310
Dunley thanks for your company catch you


00:33:26.320 --> 00:33:28.750
on the very next episode of space nuts


00:33:28.760 --> 00:33:31.710
bye-bye nuts you been listening to the


00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:33.750
Space Nuts


00:33:33.760 --> 00:33:36.789
podcast available at Apple podcasts


00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.789
Spotify iHeart radio or your favorite


00:33:39.799 --> 00:33:42.070
podcast player you can also stream on


00:33:42.080 --> 00:33:44.789
demand at bites.com this has been


00:33:44.799 --> 00:33:47.190
another quality podcast production from


00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:50.000
bites.com