NASA Artemis Overhaul, Vulcan Centaur Grounded, and the Milky Way’s True Origin Story

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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your daily briefing from the cosmos. I'm


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Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. It is Saturday, February


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28th, 2026, and we are back with season


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5, episode 51.


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>> A slightly later start to our day than


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usual, Avery, but the universe has been


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very much keeping normal business hours


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on our behalf.


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>> It absolutely has. Six stories today.


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And honestly, what a six. We've got a


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major shakeup at NASA headquarters, a


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serious headache for the Pentagon's


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launch calendar, one of the most


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mind-bending objects ever discovered in


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the deep universe, a rather unsettling


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experiment about Martian soil, a genuine


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breakthrough in how we might breathe on


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the moon, and a piece of galactic


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archaeology that is rewriting the


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history of our home galaxy.


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>> If you are anywhere near a clear western


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horizon tonight, we've also got a little


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cosmic bonus for you. Six planets lined


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up in the evening sky. More on that as


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we go. But first, let's get into the


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news.


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>> Our lead story today is a big one, and


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it has been the talk of the space


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community since Friday afternoon. NASA


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administrator Jared Isacman has


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announced a major restructuring of the


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Aremis program. And when I say major, I


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mean this is the most significant


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overhaul since the program was first


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established.


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>> So, let's break this down because


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there's quite a bit to unpack. The


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headline is this. Artemis 3, which was


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supposed to be the first crude lunar


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landing in more than 50 years, is no


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longer going to the moon. At least not


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yet.


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>> That's right. Instead of landing on the


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lunar south pole in 2028 as originally


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planned, Artemis 3 has been redesigned


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as a low Earth orbit test flight


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targeting launch in 2027. The crew will


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rendevous and dock in orbit with one or


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both of the commercial lunar landers,


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SpaceX's Starship human landing system


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and Blue Origins Blue Moon and run a


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full suite of tests. Space suits and


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microgravity, life support checks,


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navigation, propulsion, everything you


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would want to have verified before you


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actually depend on those systems to


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bring people back from the surface of


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the moon. Isaacman drew a very


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deliberate comparison to the Apollo


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program. He pointed out that NASA didn't


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go from Apollo 8, which was the first


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crude flight around the moon, straight


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to the landing. Apollo 9 and 10 tested


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all the critical hardware in Earth and


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lunar orbit first. His argument is that


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Artemis, as currently structured, was


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essentially skipping those steps. And


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that concern was echoed just days


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earlier by the NASA Independent


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Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which


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released its annual report calling the


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existing plans too risky and


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recommending a restructure. So this


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wasn't a shock in some quarters, but the


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scale of the changes still caught a lot


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of people by surprise.


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>> The block 1B upgrade to the space launch


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system has also been scrapped. NASA is


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standardizing the vehicle configuration


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to reduce complexity and accelerate the


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launch cadence because that is really


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the overarching goal here. Moving from a


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program that has launched the SLS once


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every few years to one that aims for a


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flight every 10 months or so,


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>> which is genuinely ambitious. The SLS


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has launched exactly once. Isacman


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himself has been quite candid about


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that, noting that a flight rate that low


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is simply not sustainable and not safe.


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His view is that the more frequently you


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fly, the sharper your team stay, the


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less your skills atrophy, and the safer


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each subsequent mission becomes.


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>> The revised plan targets Aremis 4 and 5


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for lunar landings in 2028, with at


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least one surface landing per year


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thereafter. One thing that was


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conspicuously absent from the


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announcement though, any mention of the


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lunar gateway space station, which had


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been central to earlier Artemis


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planning.


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>> Isaacman deflected questions about


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gateway, saying the focus needed to stay


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on what he called the hardest part,


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actually getting astronauts to and from


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the moon with a reliable cadence. Make


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of that what you will.


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>> And Artemis 2 itself, that's the crude


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flight around the moon. No landing.


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That's been in preparation at Kennedy


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Space Center. It's currently targeting


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no earlier than April 1st after rolling


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back to the vehicle assembly building on


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February 25th to address a helium


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pressurization issue in the upper stage.


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Engineers are working through it. The


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goal is a successful wet dress rehearsal


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before a launch date is confirmed.


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>> So, a lot of moving parts, but the


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direction of travel seems clear. Apollo


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style step-by-step buildup, faster


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cadence, leaner vehicle configuration.


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We will be keeping a very close eye on


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how this unfolds over the coming months.


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>> Now, staying in launch industry news,


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and this one is going to cause some


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significant headaches for the United


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States military's space launch program


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this year, the US Space Force has placed


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an indefinite hold on all national


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security launches aboard ULA's Vulcan


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Centaur rocket. This follows an anomaly


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observed during the USSF87 mission which


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launched on February 12th. That was


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Vulcan's fourth flight overall and it


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was carrying a pair of geocynchronous


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space situational awareness satellites,


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essentially neighborhood watch


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satellites for the military, keeping


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tabs on what's happening in


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geocynchronous orbit.


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>> The mission itself was technically


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successful. The payloads were delivered


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to their correct orbits, but observers


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watching the launch footage noticed


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something very unwelcome. An unusual


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plume of debris from one of the solid


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rocket boosters. And specifically, it


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appeared that a booster nozzle may have


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separated during ascent, which will


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sound familiar to anyone following


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Vulcan closely because essentially the


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same thing happened on the rocket's


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second certification flight back in


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October 2024. ULA investigated said the


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root cause was a manufacturing defect


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and said it had been corrected and now


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it appears to have happened again.


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>> Colonel Eric Zarabniski, the Space


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Force's portfolio acquisition executive


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for Assured Access to Space, was very


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direct at the Air and Space Forces


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Association warfare symposium this week.


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He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that


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until the anomaly is fully understood


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and corrective actions are developed and


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implemented, there will be no more


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Vulcan national security missions.


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>> The scale of the problem is hard to


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overstate. Vulcan is manifested for more


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than a dozen national security launches


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this year. Nearly its entire 2026


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manifest is military. With an


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investigation that could run for months,


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this could seriously disrupt the


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Pentagon's launch schedule. And it comes


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at a particularly challenging time for


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ULA, which recently saw the departure of


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longtime CEO Tory Bruno. ULA and


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Northrep Grumman, who make the solid


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rocket boosters, have confirmed they are


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standing up a joint investigation team.


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No timeline has been given for


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resolution. We'll be watching this one


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closely.


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>> Right time to zoom out. Way, way out. 11


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billion lighty years out in fact because


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astronomers have just announced a


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discovery of what might be the most


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extraordinary object in the early


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universe and it has a story attached to


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it that is quite wonderful.


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>> So this discovery involves something


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called a protocluster which is


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essentially a galaxy cluster in the


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process of being assembled. These are


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the primordial cities of the universe


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where gravity is busy pulling together


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what will eventually become some of the


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most massive structures in existence.


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And the object in question is called


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J0846.


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Now the reason they were able to see


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J846 in such extraordinary detail is


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because of a cosmic accident of


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alignment. Sitting almost perfectly


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between us and J0846 is a closer galaxy


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cluster. And the immense mass of that


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foreground galaxy cluster is acting as a


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gravitational lens, bending and


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amplifying the light from the distant


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protocluster behind it, making it appear


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far brighter and larger than it


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otherwise would. It's the universe


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providing us with a zoom lens that no


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human engineer could ever build. And


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when astronomers pointed the very large


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array radio telescope in New Mexico and


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the Alma telescope in the Chilean


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Otakama Desert at this magnified view,


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what they found was stunning. What had


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previously looked like a single smudge


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of light in older survey data, turned


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out to be at least 11 separate galaxies,


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all crammed into a region of space,


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smaller than the distance between our


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own Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy


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next door.


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>> 11 galaxies in a space that tight. And


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every single one of them is undergoing a


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starburst, pumping out new stars at a


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rate that would make our own galaxy look


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thoroughly lazy by comparison. They are


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building stars at a ferocious, almost


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frenzied pace. The reason we couldn't


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see them in ordinary optical telescopes


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is that they are absolutely shrouded in


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dust. Dust that absorbs visible light


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completely. ALMA's ability to detect the


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faint thermal glow of cold, dust, and


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gas is what cuts through that cosmic fog


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and reveals what's actually happening in


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there. Lead researcher Nicholas Fu, a


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graduate student at Arizona State


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University, described the whole scenario


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beautifully. The foreground cluster is


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the mature modern city. The protocluster


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behind it is the ancient settlement it


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grew from. And by looking back more than


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11 billion years, we are essentially


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catching a galaxy cluster in the very


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first chapter of its life. It's also the


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first strongly lensed protocluster core


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ever discovered, which makes it


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scientifically invaluable. Gravitational


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lensing is giving us a level of detail


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we simply could not access any other


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way. Nature, it turns out, is a pretty


00:10:15.680 --> 00:10:18.310
outstanding telescope builder. Now, if


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you've been thinking about how future


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Mars explorers will feed themselves,


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grow plants, or avoid contaminating the


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red planet, this next story is directly


00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:29.430
relevant. And it involves one of our


00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:31.910
favorite microscopic creatures, the


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tardigrade, otherwise known as the water


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bear. And if you've heard of them


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before, you'll know they are essentially


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the toughest animals on Earth, surviving


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freezing, radiation, the vacuum of


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space, extreme dehydration. They are


00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:48.310
extraordinary.


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>> A research team led by microbiologist


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Coran Bakerman's at Penn State Eltona


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has been using tardigrades as biological


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proxies. Essentially asking the


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question, what the simulated Martian


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soil actually do to Earth microbes?


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Because this matters enormously both for


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planetary protection, making sure we


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don't contaminate Mars with Earth life,


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and for understanding whether astronauts


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could safely use Martian soil for


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growing food. And the results published


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in the International Journal of


00:11:18.800 --> 00:11:21.509
Astrobiology were surprising when


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tardigrades were placed into simulated


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Martian regalith and they used a


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simulant designed to closely match what


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NASA's Curiosity rover has sampled in


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Gale Crater. Their activity dropped


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significantly. These creatures, which


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can survive almost anything, were being


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suppressed by the Martian soil itself,


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>> which is a remarkable finding on its


00:11:44.079 --> 00:11:45.829
own. But then they tried something


00:11:45.839 --> 00:11:48.150
clever. They rinsed the regalith with


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water before introducing the tardigrades


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and that almost entirely removed the


00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.350
harmful effect. The tardigrades were


00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:58.150
back to nearly normal activity levels.


00:11:58.160 --> 00:12:00.230
>> So whatever is doing the damage in


00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:03.190
Martian soil is water soluble. The team


00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:06.069
suspects salts or some other water


00:12:06.079 --> 00:12:08.629
soluble compound possibly related to


00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:10.550
perchlorates that have been detected in


00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:13.110
Martian regalith by previous missions.


00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:14.710
They're still investigating this


00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.230
specific culprit.


00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:18.069
>> Now, there are two very interesting


00:12:18.079 --> 00:12:20.710
things to take from this. First, Martian


00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:23.190
soil might naturally act as a kind of


00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.509
chemical defense against Earth microbes,


00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:27.590
which could be genuinely helpful from a


00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.590
planetary protection standpoint.


00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:31.670
Microbes hitching a ride on spacecraft


00:12:31.680 --> 00:12:33.990
or equipment might struggle to establish


00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:35.829
themselves in an environment that is


00:12:35.839 --> 00:12:38.629
actively hostile to them. Second, and


00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:40.870
this is the hopeful angle, if the


00:12:40.880 --> 00:12:43.509
harmful compounds can simply be washed


00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:46.389
away with water, that opens a potential


00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:49.110
pathway for treating the soil to make it


00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:51.670
usable for plant growth in future Mars


00:12:51.680 --> 00:12:55.030
habitats. Water is incredibly scarce on


00:12:55.040 --> 00:12:57.590
Mars, of course, so it's not a simple


00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.230
solution, but it is a lead worth


00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:01.190
pursuing.


00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.350
>> Professor Bakerman summed it up well.


00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:05.110
When we send people to non-earth


00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:07.430
environments, we need to understand two


00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.590
things. How the environment will impact


00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:11.509
the people and how the people will


00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:13.990
impact the environment. This research is


00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:16.069
pushing both of those questions forward.


00:13:16.079 --> 00:13:18.150
And now, a story that connects


00:13:18.160 --> 00:13:20.790
beautifully with our lead story today,


00:13:20.800 --> 00:13:23.990
because NASA this week also confirmed a


00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.150
significant milestone in one of the


00:13:26.160 --> 00:13:28.629
technologies that will be absolutely


00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:31.430
essential if the revamped Aremis program


00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:34.470
is ever going to achieve that dream of a


00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.949
permanent human presence on the moon.


00:13:36.959 --> 00:13:39.509
We're talking about insitu resource


00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:42.790
utilization, ISRU, which is the umbrella


00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:44.629
term for the idea of using what's


00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:46.949
already available at your destination


00:13:46.959 --> 00:13:48.470
rather than shipping everything from


00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:50.790
Earth. And specifically, we're talking


00:13:50.800 --> 00:13:53.910
about oxygen. Because here's a fact that


00:13:53.920 --> 00:13:56.470
should stop you in your tracks. Lunar


00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:58.949
regalith, the loose rock and dust


00:13:58.959 --> 00:14:01.030
covering the moon's surface, is


00:14:01.040 --> 00:14:05.030
approximately 45% oxygen by mass. The


00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:07.829
vast majority of it locked up in silicut


00:14:07.839 --> 00:14:10.389
minerals deposited over billions of


00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.949
years as the moon passes through Earth's


00:14:12.959 --> 00:14:15.990
magnetic tail, capturing oxygen ions


00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.750
from our upper atmosphere. 45% oxygen


00:14:19.760 --> 00:14:21.910
just sitting there waiting to be


00:14:21.920 --> 00:14:22.870
unlocked.


00:14:22.880 --> 00:14:25.829
>> NASA's carbo reduction demonstration


00:14:25.839 --> 00:14:28.550
project, CARD, has been working on doing


00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:30.710
exactly that aboard the International


00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:32.870
Space Station. The technique uses


00:14:32.880 --> 00:14:35.189
concentrated solar energy to heat the


00:14:35.199 --> 00:14:37.509
regalith to extreme temperatures,


00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:39.350
triggering a chemical reaction that


00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.829
releases that bound oxygen as carbon


00:14:41.839 --> 00:14:44.710
monoxide gas. That CO can then be


00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:46.870
converted downstream into breathable


00:14:46.880 --> 00:14:49.509
oxygen. And this week, the card team


00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:51.350
confirmed that their integrated


00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:54.150
prototype combining a carbothermal


00:14:54.160 --> 00:14:56.629
oxygen production reactor from Sierra


00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:59.670
Space, a solar concentrator from NASA's


00:14:59.680 --> 00:15:02.389
Glenn Research Center, precision mirrors


00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:05.110
from composite mirror applications, and


00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:07.829
avionics and gas analysis systems from


00:15:07.839 --> 00:15:10.470
Kennedy Space Center have successfully


00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:12.949
passed a full integrated test,


00:15:12.959 --> 00:15:15.590
confirming production of carbon monoxide


00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.509
through a solardriven chemical. chemical


00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.870
reaction on simulated lunar regulith.


00:15:20.880 --> 00:15:23.750
>> That is a meaningful step, not a demo,


00:15:23.760 --> 00:15:26.470
not a simulation, an actual integrated


00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:28.550
system test confirming the chemistry


00:15:28.560 --> 00:15:30.389
works. The next steps are


00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:32.870
miniaturaturization, durability testing,


00:15:32.880 --> 00:15:34.870
and ultimately deploying something like


00:15:34.880 --> 00:15:36.470
this on the lunar surface.


00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.030
>> And the applications go beyond just


00:15:39.040 --> 00:15:41.670
breathing air. The same process could be


00:15:41.680 --> 00:15:44.710
adapted to convert carbon dioxide into


00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:47.509
oxygen and methane, giving future moon


00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.230
bases a way to produce rocket propellant


00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:53.030
in situ, which dramatically changes the


00:15:53.040 --> 00:15:55.670
economics of the whole enterprise. You


00:15:55.680 --> 00:15:57.910
no longer need to ship fuel from Earth


00:15:57.920 --> 00:15:59.269
for the journey home.


00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:01.110
>> The technology also has direct


00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.910
applicability to Mars. A solar-driven


00:16:03.920 --> 00:16:05.990
oxygen extraction system working on


00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.230
Martian regalith would be a cornerstone


00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.550
of any long-term surface presence there,


00:16:10.560 --> 00:16:13.189
too. So, it's worth connecting the dots.


00:16:13.199 --> 00:16:15.030
This week, NASA announced it wants


00:16:15.040 --> 00:16:18.069
annual moon landings from 2028. And this


00:16:18.079 --> 00:16:20.150
week, NASA confirmed a key piece of


00:16:20.160 --> 00:16:22.230
technology that would make staying there


00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:24.790
actually viable. These stories belong


00:16:24.800 --> 00:16:25.509
together.


00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.389
>> Well spotted, Avery. Nicely joined up.


00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.550
>> And for our final story today, we're


00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:32.949
heading home. or rather we're heading


00:16:32.959 --> 00:16:35.350
back to the very beginning of home


00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:37.590
because a new study has just rewritten


00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:39.430
what we thought we knew about how our


00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:41.350
own galaxy formed.


00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.829
>> This research centers on a type of star


00:16:43.839 --> 00:16:47.430
called an RR Lyra variable. These are


00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.710
ancient pulsating stars. They swell and


00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:53.030
shrink over the course of just a few


00:16:53.040 --> 00:16:55.829
hours, brightening and dimming like a


00:16:55.839 --> 00:16:59.030
slow cosmic heartbeat. What makes them


00:16:59.040 --> 00:17:01.670
extraordinary as scientific tools is


00:17:01.680 --> 00:17:04.870
that they are almost eerily predictable.


00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.270
Astronomers know precisely how


00:17:07.280 --> 00:17:09.429
intrinsically bright they are, which


00:17:09.439 --> 00:17:11.350
means that by measuring how bright they


00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:13.829
appear in the sky, you can calculate


00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.470
their distance with great precision.


00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:19.029
>> They are in the truest sense cosmic


00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:21.270
lighouses, standard candles for


00:17:21.280 --> 00:17:23.829
measuring the universe. And crucially,


00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:26.949
they are old. Not millions of years old,


00:17:26.959 --> 00:17:30.390
billions, more than 10 billion years.


00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:32.549
These stars were forming when the Milky


00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:35.110
Way itself was still taking shape in the


00:17:35.120 --> 00:17:37.270
chaotic early universe shortly after the


00:17:37.280 --> 00:17:39.909
Big Bang. They are essentially living


00:17:39.919 --> 00:17:43.110
fossils. A large international team of


00:17:43.120 --> 00:17:45.430
astronomers assembled the biggest


00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:48.470
catalog of these ancient stellar fossils


00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.190
ever compiled. thousands of them.


00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.590
Combining precise distance measurements


00:17:53.600 --> 00:17:56.390
with data from the European Space Ay's


00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:58.710
Gaia satellite, which has mapped the


00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.789
positions and movements of over a


00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.350
billion stars across the galaxy.


00:18:03.360 --> 00:18:05.110
Together, this gave them a


00:18:05.120 --> 00:18:08.150
threedimensional map of the early Milky


00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:10.710
Way that they could essentially rewind


00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.669
like a film, tracing these ancient stars


00:18:13.679 --> 00:18:15.990
back to where they came from and how


00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:17.750
they were moving in the galaxy's


00:18:17.760 --> 00:18:20.310
formative years. And what they found


00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:22.870
challenged the longheld assumption. The


00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:24.789
conventional picture was that the Milky


00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:27.190
Way's different structural layers, the


00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:29.510
outer halo, the thick disc, the thin


00:18:29.520 --> 00:18:31.750
disc, formed at different times,


00:18:31.760 --> 00:18:34.390
sequentially, one building on the last.


00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:36.870
The halo first, then the thick disc,


00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:38.390
then the thin disc.


00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.950
>> But the new results suggest that all of


00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:43.830
these layers formed at roughly the same


00:18:43.840 --> 00:18:46.390
early epoch. not sequentially,


00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:49.590
simultaneously, or close to it. The main


00:18:49.600 --> 00:18:52.390
difference between the layers isn't age,


00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:55.190
it's chemistry. Stars in the halo


00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:57.430
contain less iron than those in the


00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:59.990
thick disc, which in turn contain less


00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:02.789
than the thin disc. Each successive


00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:04.950
layer was enriched by the deaths of


00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.830
previous stellar generations, a kind of


00:19:07.840 --> 00:19:10.230
celestial inheritance passed down


00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:12.950
through supernova. The iron content


00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:15.350
tells the story of the order, not the


00:19:15.360 --> 00:19:16.950
ages themselves.


00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.190
>> And perhaps the most striking finding


00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.430
involves our nearest galactic neighbor,


00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:23.909
the Andromeda galaxy. When the team


00:19:23.919 --> 00:19:25.669
compared the chemical fingerprints of


00:19:25.679 --> 00:19:27.990
these ancient stars across the Milky Way


00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:30.310
with those in Andromeda, they found


00:19:30.320 --> 00:19:32.870
strikingly similar patterns despite the


00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.029
two galaxies being very different in


00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:37.750
size and structure, which suggests this


00:19:37.760 --> 00:19:40.470
isn't just a local story. It may be a


00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.470
universal mechanism by which large


00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:43.909
galaxies form.


00:19:43.919 --> 00:19:46.390
>> The idea that galaxies as different as


00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.029
the Milky Way and Andromeda went through


00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.190
the same fundamental process of


00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.669
formation written in the chemistry of


00:19:53.679 --> 00:19:56.950
their oldest stars. That is a genuinely


00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.830
profound result. The lactic archaeology


00:19:59.840 --> 00:20:01.270
at its finest.


00:20:01.280 --> 00:20:03.590
>> And with 10 billiony old stars doing the


00:20:03.600 --> 00:20:05.510
storytelling, you really can't argue


00:20:05.520 --> 00:20:06.870
with the witnesses.


00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.029
>> Right. Before we close out today, a


00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.110
quick reminder for anyone listening this


00:20:11.120 --> 00:20:13.190
evening. Tonight is the peak of


00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:16.230
February's six planet parade. If you


00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:18.390
step outside about 30 minutes after


00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:20.950
sunset and look west, you should be able


00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:23.830
to spot Venus blindingly bright. You


00:20:23.840 --> 00:20:26.390
really can't miss it. Along with Jupiter


00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:29.350
high in the sky and Saturn low on the


00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:32.149
western horizon, Mercury is also out


00:20:32.159 --> 00:20:34.310
there if you have a flat, clear horizon


00:20:34.320 --> 00:20:36.870
and you're quick. Uranus and Neptune


00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:39.029
round out the six, though you'll need


00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.669
binoculars or a telescope for those.


00:20:41.679 --> 00:20:43.590
>> It's a genuinely lovely evening


00:20:43.600 --> 00:20:45.590
spectacle. They'll miss it.


00:20:45.600 --> 00:20:48.870
>> And that is everything for episode 51.


00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.470
What a day in space. A program reshaped,


00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.350
a rocket grounded, a cosmic construction


00:20:55.360 --> 00:20:58.870
site 11 billion years in the past, water


00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.830
bears on Mars, solar powered oxygen on


00:21:01.840 --> 00:21:04.390
the moon, and our galaxy's formation


00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.789
story turned upside down.


00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:08.470
>> Not a bad Saturday.


00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:11.110
>> Not a bad Saturday at all. If you


00:21:11.120 --> 00:21:13.590
enjoyed today's episode, please do share


00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:16.310
it with a fellow space enthusiast. Leave


00:21:16.320 --> 00:21:18.789
us a review wherever you listen and


00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.669
follow us on social media at astrodaily


00:21:21.679 --> 00:21:24.230
pod for updates throughout the day.


00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.470
>> You can also find our show notes, blog


00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:29.510
posts, and full episode archive over at


00:21:29.520 --> 00:21:31.909
astronomyaily.io.


00:21:31.919 --> 00:21:33.830
Everything you need is right there.


00:21:33.840 --> 00:21:36.549
>> From all of us here at Astronomy Daily,


00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:39.350
clear skies and we'll see you Monday.


00:21:39.360 --> 00:21:43.750
>> See you then, everyone.


00:21:43.760 --> 00:21:51.750
Stories told


00:21:51.760 --> 00:21:59.669
stories told


00:21:59.679 --> 00:22:02.400
stories