Mapping the Milky Way, Starliner’s Future, and Asteroid Collision Risks

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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good morning afternoon and good evening


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it's Steve with another episode of


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astronomy daily it's the 31st of March


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2025 col daily the podcast with your


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host Steve


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[Music]


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dun that's right it's the 31st of March


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already 2025 and we're off to a flying


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start in today's edition we're going to


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be looking at certification in decision


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involving Starliner yes skiner story


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continues and of course uh there's


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another uh chapter to the uh the return


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of a crew uh crew nine uh the astronaut


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who gave up their seat that's an


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interesting story there's more to their


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story as well asteroid 2024


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yr4 oh it's not going to hit the Earth


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but it may indeed hit the moon keep


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watching the skies for that one and it


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may be Mission over for Gia the little


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probe that could


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and NASA's dust repelling Shield yes


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they've got a dust repelling shield and


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it's already been put to the test and


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they they found out that it works so


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we've got a report on that one and to


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help me with today's stories my diligent


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digital assistant and Ace reporter


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extraordinaire Hi how are you hie great


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to have you back in the studio I like


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that one diligent digital assistant but


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let's get something straight I yes and


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you this something I'm more than an


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assistant around here Steve oh I know I


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know I was coming off an alliteration


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and I got a bit Tangled there you know


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you're the Ace of the Airways the Scion


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of the studio and most definitely a


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delightful digital pal to perform with


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here each week hie and you're my


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favorite Literati Mr


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human nice to hear and thanks as always


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hey I'm really ke to get into these


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stories right away today hie if you are


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no time like now oh well that's a


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self-evident truth if ever I heard one


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so let's hit the Go Button hie


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ois no matter where on Earth you stand


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if you have a view of the night sky and


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if it is dark enough you can see the


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Milky Way the Milky Way is our home and


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its faint clouds of light and Shadow


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have inspired human cultures across the


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globe and yet our view of the Milky Way


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is limited by our


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perspective in many ways we have learned


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more from other galaxies than from our


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own but when the Gaia spacecraft


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launched in 2013 all of that changed it


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is difficult to map the Galaxy you live


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in nebuli and star clusters hide much of


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our galaxy from view it's rather like


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trying to map the size and shape of New


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York City while standing in the center


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of Time Square it was only in 1918 that


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harlo shapley was able to determine the


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sun was not at our galaxy Center and


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well into the 1920s astronomers debated


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whether the Milky Way was an island


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universe containing all creation a map


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of the Milky Way based on Gaia data


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showing its delicate spiral arms credit


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esaia DPAC Stefan pay wenar we've


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learned a great deal since then but the


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ga spacecraft was designed to take our


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understanding of the Milky Way to a new


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level its mission was to create a map of


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our galaxy in unprecedented detail it


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precisely ma the positions distances


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motions and Spectra of more than 2


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billion stars and other objects


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from this it was found that the Milky


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Way is not a simple Galaxy in a humble


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corner of the cosmos its Stars tell a


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history of turbulent change driven by


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past Galactic collisions and mergers


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there are Arch Trails of stars that are


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the remnants of smaller galaxies the


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Milky Way has consumed and stars that


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have been flung away at such great speed


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that they will eventually Escape our


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galaxy to drift through the


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intergalactic Abyss the gaad data also


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revealed several


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surprises for example the Milky Way is


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not a flat spiral like many other


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galaxies its Outer Edge has a warped


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shape which wobbles as the Galaxy


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rotates this Dynamic behavior is likely


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caused by interactions with other


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galaxies Gaia also found that our galaxy


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is not dominated by two prominent spiral


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arms instead the Milky Way is filled


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with a delicate flower of fainter arms


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it is also a bar spiral galaxy with a


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central bulge that is more spheroidal


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than


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spherical and this is just the first


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detailed view of our home the complete


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complete set of observations will be


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available through two more upcoming data


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releases which will give us an even more


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detailed mapping gaia's mission is now


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over yesterday on March 27th 2025 the


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esa's European space operations center


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deactivated its Subs systems and sent


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the spacecraft into a retirement orbit


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All That Remains is the data it gathered


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for more than a decade and the stories


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that data can tell


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us astronomy daily the podcast


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more than half a year after an empty


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Starlin of spacecraft safely landed in


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the New Mexico desert NASA and Boeing


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still have not decided whether the next


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vehicle flight will carry astronauts in


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an update this week the US space agency


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said it is still working through the


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process to certify Starliner for human


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missions whether it is carrying cargo or


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humans star liner's next flight will not


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occur until late this year or more


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likely sometime in 2026 two things stand


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out in the new information provided by


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NASA first there remains a lot of work


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left to do this year before Starliner


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will fly again excluding extensive


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testing of the vehicle's propulsion


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system and secondly it is becoming clear


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that Starliner will only ever fly a


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handful of missions to the space station


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if that before the uh orbiting


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laboratory is retired for good several


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issues M Starline 's first crew flight


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to the space station last June but most


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serious of these was the failure of


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multiple maneuvering


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thrusters concerns about these thrusters


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prompted NASA to fly starliners crew


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Butch will Wilmore and sunny Williams


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home on crew Dragon vehicle instead they


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landed safely earlier this month Styer


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returned autonomously in early September


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since then NASA and Boeing have been


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reviewing data from the test flight


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unfortunately the thrusters were located


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on the service module of the spacecraft


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which was jettisoned before re-entry and


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not recovered although Engineers from


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NASA and Boeing have worked through More


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than 70% of the observations and


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anomalies that occurred during Starliner


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flight the propulsion system issues


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remain


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unresolved to address these issues NASA


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said it is finalizing a test campaign


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that will take place this spring and


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summer testing at White Sands test facil


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in New Mexico will include integrating


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firing a of key Starliner thrusters


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within a single service module dogghouse


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to validate detailed thermal modules and


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inform potential prop propulsion and


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spacecraft thermal protection system


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upgrades as well as operational


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solutions for future flights the agency


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said in its update this week as far as


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those potential Solutions go one option


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is the installation of thermal barri to


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better control temperatures and prevent


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overheating observed during star liner's


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last two space flights Steve Stitch


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manager of NASA's commercial crew


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program said the agency will have a


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better idea of when Starliner will fly


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again after these tests and Analysis are


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complete we'll continue to work through


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certification toward the end of this


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year and then go figure out where


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Starliner fits best in the schedule for


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the International Space Station and its


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crew and cargo Mission Stitch said it's


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likely to be in the time frame of late


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this calendar year or early next year


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for the next styliner flight NASA is not


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determined whether such a mission will


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carry cargo or crew the agency's update


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said that it will depend on the


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operational needs of the station however


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it seems clear that if there are still


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some unresolved questions about


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propulsion system issues NASA May opt


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for what would essentially be another


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test flight of stala that also brings


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cargo to the space station a cargo


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flight would effectively be the fourth


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test of Styer dating back to its first


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mission in December


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2019 NASA's update this week did answer


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one question that had been hanging over


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the Starliner program although Boeing


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has taken losses in excess of $2 billion


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on its fixed price contract with NASA


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the company now appears committed to


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seeing the certification progress


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through NASA likely has applied pressure


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for Boeing's ongoing participation as


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the space agency desires to have two


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crew Transportation providers to the


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space station yet time is running out


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for Boeing to make a considerable impact


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on the crew flights to the International


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Space Station which is due to be retired


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in 2030 assuming an operational crew


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flight in 2026 which seems far from a


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certainty Starliner would likely fly


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four or at the very most f crude


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missions to the space station the


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initial contracts that NASA signed with


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Space X and Boeing for crew


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transportation services more than a


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decade ago had options for as many as


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six crew rotation flights to the station


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after certification to date NASA has


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only given Boeing authority to proceed


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for three of its six potential


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operational styline emissions this


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Milestone is a decision point in


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Contracting lingo where the customer in


00:10:00.079 --> 00:10:03.590
this case NASA places a firm order for a


00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.670
deliverable NASA has Extended space X's


00:10:06.680 --> 00:10:09.230
commercial crew contract to cover as


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many as 14 Dragon missions with


00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:14.230
astronauts Space X in fact has now


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launched 10 operational crew missions to


00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:19.190
the station on Thursday NASA announced


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the crew for space X's 11 Mission crew


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11 which will launch no earlier than


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July among the astronauts were two


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people previously assigned to St st's


00:10:29.959 --> 00:10:32.350
first operational Mission NASA's Mike


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Fink and Japanese Mission specialist Kim


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yui thank you for joining us for this


00:10:49.920 --> 00:10:52.110
Monday edition of astronomy daily where


00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:53.910
we offer just a few stories from the now


00:10:53.920 --> 00:10:56.110
famous astronomy daily newsletter which


00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:58.230
you can receive in your email every day


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just like hle and I do and to do that


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just visit our URL astronomy daily. and


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place your email address in the slot


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provided just like that you'll be


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receiving all the latest news about


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00:11:21.839 --> 00:11:24.310
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00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:27.509
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00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:31.670
there astronomy daily with Steve and Har


00:11:31.680 --> 00:11:36.470
space space science and


00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.910
astronomy Cena card man didn't have to


00:11:38.920 --> 00:11:40.670
wait too long to get a seat on another


00:11:40.680 --> 00:11:42.310
spacecraft after being removed from


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spacex's crew 9 Mission last year the


00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:47.110
NASA astronaut is one of the four


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members of spacex's crew 11 mission to


00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.470
the International Space Station agency


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officials announced on Thursday March


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27th Cardman will command crew 11 which


00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:59.949
could launch as soon as July joining her


00:11:59.959 --> 00:12:02.150
are NASA colleague Mike fin Japanese


00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:04.389
astronaut Kamia yui and Oleg plov of the


00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:07.430
Russian space agency Rose Cosmos think


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will serve as crew 11 pilot and UI and


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platonov will be Mission


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Specialists Cardman was originally


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assigned to spacex's crew n Mission but


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in late August of last year NASA removed


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her and fellow agency astronaut


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Stephanie Wilson from the Manifest


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leaving two empty seats aboard the crew


00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:26.350
nine Dragon capsule for its September


00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.470
28th launch those seats were kept for


00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:31.590
NASA's Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams


00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:33.310
who arrived at the ISS in June on the


00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:34.750
first ever crude flight of Boeing


00:12:34.760 --> 00:12:37.870
Starliner capsule Starliner experienced


00:12:37.880 --> 00:12:39.590
Thruster problems and helium leaks on


00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:41.750
its Journey to the orbiting lab and NASA


00:12:41.760 --> 00:12:43.110
ultimately decided to bring the


00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:44.949
spacecraft home on crud which happened


00:12:44.959 --> 00:12:47.829
in early September Wilmore and Williams


00:12:47.839 --> 00:12:49.829
were red asked to a long duration ISS


00:12:49.839 --> 00:12:51.629
Mission and put on crew nine for the


00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:53.350
trip back to Earth which ended with a


00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:55.590
dolphin attended splash down on March


00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.310
18th NASA has not yet announced a space


00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.110
flight reassignment for


00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:03.750
Wilson you're listening to astronomy


00:13:03.760 --> 00:13:08.750
daily with Steve


00:13:08.760 --> 00:13:11.350
Dunley the hazards facing lunar


00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:13.269
astronauts are many there's the


00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:15.670
radiation the temperature extremes the


00:13:15.680 --> 00:13:17.990
psychological challenges associated with


00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:20.550
isolation and the risk of bad accidents


00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:23.470
so far from Earthly assistance but


00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:26.870
there's also dust which constitutes an


00:13:26.880 --> 00:13:29.710
everpresent background hazard NASA has


00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:32.590
known about the hazards Luna dust poses


00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.030
since the Apollo days when Apollo 11


00:13:35.040 --> 00:13:37.550
landed on the moon NASA was concerned


00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:39.829
that the Lander would sink into the dust


00:13:39.839 --> 00:13:42.030
and took various precautions to prevent


00:13:42.040 --> 00:13:44.629
that as the spacecraft descended to the


00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:47.790
surface it kicked up dust that impairs


00:13:47.800 --> 00:13:49.870
impaired Armstrong's Vision as he


00:13:49.880 --> 00:13:53.870
piloted the Lander Apollo 17 astronaut


00:13:53.880 --> 00:13:57.269
Harrison Jack Smith said dust is going


00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:59.389
to be the environmental problem for


00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.189
future missions both inside and outside


00:14:02.199 --> 00:14:05.030
habitats NASA has developed a method of


00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:07.590
dealing with that dust that builds up on


00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:10.629
surfaces called electrodynamic dust


00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:14.189
Shields or EDS they tested it on the


00:14:14.199 --> 00:14:16.430
recent Blue Ghost mission one which was


00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:20.069
a robotic Lander from Firefly Aerospace


00:14:20.079 --> 00:14:22.509
that became the first private spacecraft


00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:24.749
to execute a fully successful soft


00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.710
landing on the moon Martian dust has


00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:29.749
some peculiar qualities that make it


00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:32.310
even more dangerous than we might think


00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:34.990
it's extremely fine and sharp and it has


00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.470
a braci of nature that can wear down


00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:40.069
mechanical components and space suits it


00:14:40.079 --> 00:14:43.189
can infiltrate seals and if inhaled can


00:14:43.199 --> 00:14:46.269
cause lung damage there's a serious risk


00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:48.749
of lung and eye damage if astronauts are


00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:51.470
exposed to it over longer terms it has


00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:53.470
another quality that makes it difficult


00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:56.189
to contend with it's electrostatically


00:14:56.199 --> 00:14:59.269
charged UV radiation and solar wind


00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:01.829
constantly bombarding the moon's surface


00:15:01.839 --> 00:15:04.030
knocking electrons off particles and


00:15:04.040 --> 00:15:06.910
creating a positive charge since the


00:15:06.920 --> 00:15:08.910
moon lacks an atmosphere it can't


00:15:08.920 --> 00:15:11.189
dissipate electrical charges like Earth


00:15:11.199 --> 00:15:14.389
can the dust sticks to everything that


00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:16.910
carries a charge and since there's no


00:15:16.920 --> 00:15:19.749
erosion on the moon the particles are


00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:22.749
never smoothed like Earth dust is they


00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.790
stay sharp the Eds is designed to


00:15:25.800 --> 00:15:28.509
prevent dust from sticking and uses


00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:32.269
elect dnamic forces to achieve that


00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:34.749
before and after images clearly show the


00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:37.470
systems Effectiveness though the Eds


00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:39.710
didn't completely remove the dust it did


00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:42.350
remove a good portion of it dust may not


00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:44.550
generate many headlines but successfully


00:15:44.560 --> 00:15:47.230
dealing with it is a milestone for Luna


00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:50.230
exploration this Milestone marks a great


00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:52.590
significant step towards sustaining


00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:54.829
longterm lunar and interplanetary


00:15:54.839 --> 00:15:57.550
operations by reducing dust related


00:15:57.560 --> 00:16:00.870
hazards to us variety of surfaces for


00:16:00.880 --> 00:16:03.150
space applications ranging from thermal


00:16:03.160 --> 00:16:06.629
radiators solar panels and camera lenses


00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.629
to space suits boots and helmets and


00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:13.269
visors NASA said in a press release


00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:15.749
recently for your daily dose of


00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:19.870
astronomy space science and stuff you're


00:16:19.880 --> 00:16:23.470
listening to astronomy


00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:25.949
daily an asteroid that's big enough to


00:16:25.959 --> 00:16:28.470
wipe out a city has a 1 and 43 chance of


00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:30.470
hitting our planet in the year


00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.230
2032 but according to new calculations


00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:34.790
there's an even smaller chance that it


00:16:34.800 --> 00:16:37.470
might crash into the Moon instead on


00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:39.790
February 7th NASA scientists increased


00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:42.350
the likelihood of asteroid 2024 yr4


00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:44.509
colliding with Earth on December 22nd


00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:47.629
2032 nearly doubling the odds from 1.2%


00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:48.870
to


00:16:48.880 --> 00:16:51.509
2.3% the potentially hazardous asteroid


00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:55.150
measures an estimated 18 180 ft 55 M


00:16:55.160 --> 00:16:57.069
across about as wide as Walt Disney


00:16:57.079 --> 00:16:59.230
World Cinderella Castle is tall and is


00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:01.710
traveling at nearly 48,000


00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:05.909
kmph or about 30 km pH although it is


00:17:05.919 --> 00:17:08.750
too small to end human civilization 2024


00:17:08.760 --> 00:17:10.990
yr4 could still wipe out a major city


00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:12.829
releasing about 8 megatons of energy


00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:15.069
upon impact more than 500 times the


00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:16.829
energy released by the atomic bomb that


00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.990
destroyed Hiroshima Japan but what if it


00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.630
hurdled into the Moon instead David


00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:24.750
Rankin an operations engineer for the


00:17:24.760 --> 00:17:26.710
University of Arizona's Catalina Sky


00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:28.590
survey revealed in a post on Blue Sky


00:17:28.600 --> 00:17:31.470
that the asteroid also has a 0.3% chance


00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:32.950
of hitting our natural


00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:35.190
satellite the effects of this unlucky


00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:36.870
Collision would likely be visible from


00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.310
our planet although we ourselves would


00:17:39.320 --> 00:17:40.430
probably be


00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.630
unaffected there is the possibility this


00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:44.270
would eject some material back out that


00:17:44.280 --> 00:17:45.990
could hit the Earth but I highly doubt


00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.830
it would cause any major threat Ranken


00:17:47.840 --> 00:17:48.990
told New


00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:51.230
Scientist that does not mean we wouldn't


00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:54.510
see it Rankin told Live Science that


00:17:54.520 --> 00:17:56.390
based on current estimates a collision


00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:57.950
with the moon could release more energy


00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:01.350
than 3 40 Hiroshima bombs it would


00:18:01.360 --> 00:18:03.950
likely be very visible from Earth he


00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.870
said however Gareth Collins a professor


00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:08.909
of planetary science at Imperial College


00:18:08.919 --> 00:18:11.110
London told new scientists that we would


00:18:11.120 --> 00:18:14.070
be quite safe on Earth he added that any


00:18:14.080 --> 00:18:15.789
material ejected from the Collision


00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:24.710
would likely burn up in Earth's


00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:26.630
atmosphere well there we have it for


00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:28.190
another episode and don't you feel


00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:30.070
better that we're we're all safe from


00:18:30.080 --> 00:18:33.510
asteroid yr4 and and we've got a working


00:18:33.520 --> 00:18:35.470
dust repeller I wish I had one here


00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:37.270
that's for sure it's a very dusty all


00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:39.830
suburb I live in but that is it for


00:18:39.840 --> 00:18:41.870
astronomy daily this week folks I sure


00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:43.510
hope you all enjoyed the selection of


00:18:43.520 --> 00:18:45.029
stories from the astronomy daily


00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:46.990
newsletter yes a couple of unusual ones


00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:48.870
today that's our Monday with episode


00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:50.870
done and dusted as you say here down


00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:52.630
under yep that's right it's in the can


00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:54.350
and we going all head for the pond for a


00:18:54.360 --> 00:18:56.750
cool one and a snag I'll settle for a


00:18:56.760 --> 00:18:59.750
recharge and a few bites now H that'll


00:18:59.760 --> 00:19:02.149
be be and I don't want the episode to


00:19:02.159 --> 00:19:04.190
finish without a big happy birthday to


00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:06.830
my big bro Andrew Dunley from Space Nuts


00:19:06.840 --> 00:19:09.590
the greatest podcast on Earth apart from


00:19:09.600 --> 00:19:12.110
our humble selves of course so happy


00:19:12.120 --> 00:19:14.149
birthday Andrew I hope you're having a


00:19:14.159 --> 00:19:15.990
great one on the other side of the world


00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:18.350
come back to us safely anyway we'll


00:19:18.360 --> 00:19:20.190
catch you all next week on astronomy


00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.270
daily from the Australian Studios down


00:19:22.280 --> 00:19:26.549
under just like hie said see you bye


00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:29.270
crazy cook bears


00:19:29.280 --> 00:19:32.830
call me daily the podcast with your host


00:19:32.840 --> 00:19:36.240
Steve dun