Feb. 24, 2026

Slow Crawl, Fast Comet

Slow Crawl, Fast Comet
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Slow Crawl, Fast Comet
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Today on Astronomy Daily: NASA's Artemis II mission is rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building today after a helium flow issue dashed hopes of a March launch. We cover the latest on what went wrong, what it means for the April window, and what happens next. We also have five more stories to get through: Perseverance just gained the ability to locate itself on Mars with GPS-like precision — no Earth assistance required. Scientists have published a daring plan to intercept interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using a solar slingshot manoeuvre, with a launch in 2035 and a 50-year journey to follow. China's mysterious Shenlong space plane is back in orbit on its fourth mission, and we still know almost nothing about it. We run through this week's packed launch schedule — including Rocket Lab's hypersonic scramjet test flight happening today, and Firefly Aerospace's return to flight on Friday. And we close with a genuinely beautiful piece of science: researchers have used supercomputers to solve a 50-year-old mystery about how elements move inside red giant stars. In This Episode 00:00 — Introduction 01:30 — Story 1: Artemis II rollback — the latest 05:30 — Story 2: Perseverance gets GPS on Mars 09:00 — Story 3: The 50-year mission to chase 3I/ATLAS 12:30 — Story 4: China's Shenlong space plane — Mission 4 15:00 — Story 5: This week's launch schedule 17:30 — Story 6: Supercomputers solve the red giant mystery 19:30 — Outro Find Us Website: astronomydaily.io Social: @AstroDailyPod Network: Bitesz.com Podcast Network


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WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:05.829
your daily guide to what's happening in


00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:07.670
space. I'm Anna.


00:00:07.680 --> 00:00:10.629
>> And I'm Avery. It is Tuesday, February


00:00:10.639 --> 00:00:14.230
24th, 2026, and we have a busy show for


00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:15.190
you today.


00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:17.670
>> We do. The big headline, the one


00:00:17.680 --> 00:00:19.510
everyone in the space community is


00:00:19.520 --> 00:00:22.230
talking about right now, is Artemis. And


00:00:22.240 --> 00:00:24.310
specifically, what is happening to that


00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:27.269
rocket at this very moment? Quite


00:00:27.279 --> 00:00:29.589
literally as we record this, the SLS


00:00:29.599 --> 00:00:32.470
rocket is making a very slow journey


00:00:32.480 --> 00:00:36.630
about 1 mph back to its garage. We have


00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.190
all the details on that. We also have a


00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.990
genuinely exciting story from Mars, a


00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:43.990
wild mission concept to chase an


00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:46.869
interstellar comet. China's mystery


00:00:46.879 --> 00:00:49.350
space plane is back in orbit. And we


00:00:49.360 --> 00:00:51.510
wrap up with some beautiful red giant


00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:53.510
science that solves a mystery that's


00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:55.590
been bugging astronomers since the


00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:57.270
1970s.


00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:59.349
>> Plus, we run through this week's launch


00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:01.510
schedule, and it is surprisingly busy


00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:03.990
despite all the Aremis drama. Let's get


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into it.


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>> So, Avery, let's start with Artemis


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because this is a story that has taken


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yet another dramatic turn. Honestly,


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Anna, this one stings a little because


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just last week we were watching a really


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successful second wet dress rehearsal


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and NASA was talking about March 6th as


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a real launch date. Things were looking


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good.


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>> And then Saturday happened


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>> and then Saturday happened. Overnight on


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February 21st, engineers noticed


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something concerning, an interruption in


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the flow of helium to the rocket's upper


00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:37.429
stage, specifically the interim


00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.190
cryogenic propulsion stage or ICPS.


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And just to be clear for listeners who


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might be newer to the show, what does


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the ICPS actually do?


00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.469
>> Great question. The ICPS is the upper


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stage of the SLS rocket. It sits above


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the core stage and it's what fires to


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push Orion and the crew on their trans


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lunar trajectory toward the moon. It


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uses helium internally to do two


00:02:02.960 --> 00:02:04.950
critical jobs. It maintains


00:02:04.960 --> 00:02:06.789
environmental conditions around its


00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:09.510
engine and it pressurizes the liquid


00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:11.830
hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant


00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:15.030
tanks. So helium is not optional. Helium


00:02:15.040 --> 00:02:16.630
is fundamental.


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>> And this helium flow issue appeared


00:02:18.640 --> 00:02:20.390
after the wet dress rehearsal had


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completed, not during it, which makes it


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particularly tricky to pin down.


00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:28.869
>> Exactly. The WDR itself went smoothly.


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It was during reconfiguration afterward


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that data showed the interruption. NASA


00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:35.830
administrator Jared Isaacman posted


00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:37.670
about it on Saturday, saying the team


00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.550
was investigating three possible causes.


00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:42.710
A blocked filter between the vehicle and


00:02:42.720 --> 00:02:45.430
ground support equipment, a failed quick


00:02:45.440 --> 00:02:47.910
disconnect umbilical interface, or a


00:02:47.920 --> 00:02:50.070
failed check valve on the vehicle,


00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.309
similar to what caused delays on Artemis


00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:53.110
1.


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>> And regardless of which of those three


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it turns out to be, the answer is the


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same.


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>> The answer is always the same. They have


00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:02.949
to go back to the vehicle assembly


00:03:02.959 --> 00:03:05.110
building. You can't fix any of those


00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:07.589
things on the launchpad. So NASA


00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:09.830
confirmed a roll back and that roll back


00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:12.949
is happening today, February 24th. The


00:03:12.959 --> 00:03:15.670
SLS, Orion, and the whole stack are


00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:18.149
being loaded onto the crawler and making


00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:22.149
that 4.2 mile journey back to the VAB at


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roughly 1 mph,


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>> which takes several hours. It is not a


00:03:27.200 --> 00:03:29.830
fast vehicle. It's not. The crawler


00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.470
itself weighs about 6 12 million pounds


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unloaded and it's burning around 165


00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.710
gall of diesel per mile. It is an


00:03:38.720 --> 00:03:40.550
extraordinary piece of engineering in


00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:41.910
its own right.


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>> So where does this leave the mission


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timeline?


00:03:44.720 --> 00:03:46.949
>> March is definitively off the table.


00:03:46.959 --> 00:03:49.430
Isaac man was very clear about that.


00:03:49.440 --> 00:03:51.350
April is now the earliest possible


00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.350
window and NASA has said that quick


00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:55.589
action to get back to the VAB could


00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:57.910
still preserve April. A full media


00:03:57.920 --> 00:04:00.070
briefing is expected this week. The


00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:02.390
crew, commander Reed Weisman, pilot


00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:04.470
Victor Glover, mission specialist


00:04:04.480 --> 00:04:06.789
Christina Ko, and Canadian astronaut


00:04:06.799 --> 00:04:09.110
Jeremy Hansen had just entered


00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:10.869
quarantine and have now been released


00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:13.110
again. This would be their second exit


00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:14.550
from quarantine,


00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:16.789
>> which tells you something about how hard


00:04:16.799 --> 00:04:19.189
this process has been. And this is still


00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.430
the first crude mission beyond low Earth


00:04:21.440 --> 00:04:25.270
orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.


00:04:25.280 --> 00:04:27.670
The stakes are enormous.


00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:30.390
>> They really are. NASA's under pressure


00:04:30.400 --> 00:04:32.150
both from the public and from the White


00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:34.710
House to get this done. IsaacMen has


00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:36.150
been quite transparent about the


00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:38.390
challenges, which is appreciated. We'll


00:04:38.400 --> 00:04:39.990
keep you updated as the investigation


00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.310
progresses. A media briefing is expected


00:04:42.320 --> 00:04:43.350
this week.


00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:45.270
>> Okay, let's lift the mood a little


00:04:45.280 --> 00:04:47.830
because our next story is genuinely


00:04:47.840 --> 00:04:50.469
brilliant and it comes from Mars.


00:04:50.479 --> 00:04:52.390
>> This is one of my favorites of the week.


00:04:52.400 --> 00:04:54.710
NASA's Perseverance rover has just been


00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:56.230
given something that effectively


00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:59.350
functions as GPS on a planet that has no


00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:01.590
GPS satellites whatsoever.


00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:04.230
>> So, how do you navigate on Mars? Walk us


00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:05.990
through how it used to work.


00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.550
>> So, historically, Perseverance used a


00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.350
system called visual odometry. Every few


00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:13.270
feet, it takes camera images of the


00:05:13.280 --> 00:05:14.790
surrounding rocks and geological


00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:16.629
features, and it tracks how those


00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:19.110
features shift in frame to estimate how


00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.670
far it's moved. It's clever, but the


00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.550
problem is that tiny errors add up. On a


00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:26.710
long drive, the rover's internal sense


00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:28.790
of where it is could be off by more than


00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.550
35 m. That's over 100 ft. When it hit


00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.310
that threshold of uncertainty, its


00:05:34.320 --> 00:05:35.990
safety systems would kick in and it


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would just stop and wait for


00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:38.790
instructions from Earth.


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>> And with communication delays of up to


00:05:40.880 --> 00:05:43.590
24 hours, that could mean an entire day


00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.670
of lost exploration time.


00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.310
>> Exactly. So NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab


00:05:48.320 --> 00:05:50.150
developed a new system called Mars


00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.310
Global Localization. Here's how it


00:05:52.320 --> 00:05:55.749
works. Perseverance takes a full 360°


00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:58.150
panorama with its navigation cameras.


00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:00.230
Then an algorithm compares that ground


00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:02.469
level view with highresolution orbital


00:06:02.479 --> 00:06:04.469
maps captured by the Mars Reconnaissance


00:06:04.479 --> 00:06:06.710
Orbiter far above. It matches the


00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.350
terrain, the ridges, rocks, slopes, and


00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:11.830
triangulates an exact position. The


00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:14.469
whole process takes about 2 minutes. 2


00:06:14.479 --> 00:06:17.590
minutes to know where you are with 25 cm


00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:20.309
accuracy. That is remarkable.


00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:22.629
>> What makes it even clever is where the


00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:25.029
computing power comes from. It runs on


00:06:25.039 --> 00:06:26.870
the helicopter base station, the


00:06:26.880 --> 00:06:28.790
processor that Perseverance used to


00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:31.270
communicate with Ingenuity. Ingenuity


00:06:31.280 --> 00:06:34.309
fluid's 72nd and final flight last year.


00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.870
So that processor was sitting idle. It


00:06:36.880 --> 00:06:39.350
runs more than 100 times faster than the


00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.590
rover's main computers. The team


00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:44.230
essentially repurposed it. So ingenuity


00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:46.550
keeps giving even in retirement.


00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.270
>> It really does. Bars global localization


00:06:49.280 --> 00:06:51.110
was used successfully for the first time


00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.110
in regular mission operations on


00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:56.550
February 2nd and again on February 16th.


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JPL's chief engineer of robotics


00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.029
operations, Vandy Verma, described it as


00:07:01.039 --> 00:07:03.909
giving the rover GPS, saying it can now


00:07:03.919 --> 00:07:05.510
drive for potentially unlimited


00:07:05.520 --> 00:07:07.670
distances without calling home.


00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:09.909
>> And this has implications beyond just


00:07:09.919 --> 00:07:11.270
Mars, doesn't it?


00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:13.670
>> Big implications. NASA's already looking


00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:15.510
at adapting this for future lunar


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missions where you have difficult


00:07:17.039 --> 00:07:19.430
lighting conditions and long cold nights


00:07:19.440 --> 00:07:21.830
that make precise location data even


00:07:21.840 --> 00:07:23.749
more critical. And if we ever have


00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.830
astronauts driving pressurized rovers on


00:07:25.840 --> 00:07:27.589
Mars, they won't be able to wait for


00:07:27.599 --> 00:07:29.670
Houston to tell them where they are.


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This is exactly the kind of technology


00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:32.790
they'll need.


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>> What a story. 5 years on Mars and


00:07:35.599 --> 00:07:38.070
Perseverance just keeps getting smarter.


00:07:38.080 --> 00:07:40.870
>> And hopefully so are we. Now, this next


00:07:40.880 --> 00:07:43.350
story, I love this one because it is


00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:45.830
genuinely audacious. We're talking about


00:07:45.840 --> 00:07:47.749
a mission concept that was published


00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:49.909
this week for chasing down an


00:07:49.919 --> 00:07:53.110
interstellar comet. Avery set the scene.


00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.790
>> Right. So, our audience will remember


00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:57.670
comet 3i/ATLS,


00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:59.830
the third confirmed interstellar object


00:07:59.840 --> 00:08:01.909
ever detected in our solar system,


00:08:01.919 --> 00:08:04.869
discovered in July 2025. It came


00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:06.790
screaming through from outside the solar


00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:08.950
system, made its closest approach to the


00:08:08.960 --> 00:08:11.830
sun last October, swung past Venus in


00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:14.230
November, and came closest to Earth in


00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:16.950
December. It is now racing away from us


00:08:16.960 --> 00:08:19.510
at over 60 km/s,


00:08:19.520 --> 00:08:22.230
>> which is extraordinarily fast. For


00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:24.230
context, that's faster than any


00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.270
spacecraft humanity has ever launched.


00:08:27.280 --> 00:08:29.749
>> Much faster. And that speed is the whole


00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.149
problem. Researchers from the Initiative


00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:34.550
for Interstellar Studies published new


00:08:34.560 --> 00:08:37.029
work this week exploring how you could


00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.350
actually send a spacecraft to intercept


00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:42.469
it. The short answer is you need to do


00:08:42.479 --> 00:08:45.110
something genuinely extreme. They call


00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.910
it a solar oirth maneuver.


00:08:47.920 --> 00:08:49.670
>> Explain that to us.


00:08:49.680 --> 00:08:52.070
>> So the oirth effect is actually a


00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:54.550
principle used in basically every rocket


00:08:54.560 --> 00:08:56.870
launch. It says that if you fire your


00:08:56.880 --> 00:08:59.110
engines when you're moving fast, you get


00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:01.110
a bigger boost than if you fire them


00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:03.670
when you're going slowly. Normally, it's


00:09:03.680 --> 00:09:05.509
applied when a spacecraft is at the


00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:07.829
closest point of its orbit around the


00:09:07.839 --> 00:09:10.470
planet. What this mission proposes is


00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.190
doing it at the closest point of a solar


00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:16.389
orbit, a literal close flyby of the sun


00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:19.990
itself. We're talking 3.2 solar radi


00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.550
from the sun's surface. That is


00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:25.670
extremely close. How close is that?


00:09:25.680 --> 00:09:26.550
Actually,


00:09:26.560 --> 00:09:28.710
>> to put it in perspective, the Parker


00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.509
Solar Probe goes closer, but even that


00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:33.350
is an extraordinary engineering


00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:35.829
challenge. At that distance, the heat


00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:38.470
and radiation are intense. The


00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.030
spacecraft would need serious shielding.


00:09:41.040 --> 00:09:43.190
But the gravitational kick from firing


00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.230
your engines that close to the sun is so


00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:48.070
powerful that you could theoretically


00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:50.389
reach speeds never achieved by


00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.430
human-made objects. And then you'd still


00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:57.750
need how long to actually reach 3i-atls?


00:09:57.760 --> 00:10:00.310
>> If launched in 2025, which the


00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:02.310
researchers identify as the optimal


00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.630
window based on the alignment of Earth,


00:10:04.640 --> 00:10:07.430
Jupiter, the sun, and the comet, the


00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.710
spacecraft would reach 3-TLS


00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.110
by around 2085


00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:16.630
at a distance of approximately 732


00:10:16.640 --> 00:10:19.269
astronomical units from the sun. For


00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:21.910
comparison, Voyager 1 has been traveling


00:10:21.920 --> 00:10:25.910
for nearly 50 years and is only at about


00:10:25.920 --> 00:10:27.430
170 AU.


00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:30.069
>> So this would be the most distant rende


00:10:30.079 --> 00:10:32.150
view in human history


00:10:32.160 --> 00:10:35.190
>> by a massive margin. And only a flyby


00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.910
would be possible, not orbit insertion


00:10:37.920 --> 00:10:39.829
because both the spacecraft and the


00:10:39.839 --> 00:10:42.710
comet would be moving so fast. But even


00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.670
a flyby would be extraordinary because


00:10:45.680 --> 00:10:47.910
3II-TLS


00:10:47.920 --> 00:10:50.470
didn't form in our solar system. It


00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:52.470
formed around the different star,


00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.430
possibly one that no longer exists. Its


00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.190
chemical fingerprints could tell us


00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:59.110
things about planetary formation


00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:01.590
elsewhere in the galaxy that we simply


00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.829
cannot learn any other way.


00:11:03.839 --> 00:11:05.670
>> It's one of those stories where the


00:11:05.680 --> 00:11:08.069
scale of ambition just takes your breath


00:11:08.079 --> 00:11:10.470
away. Is there any serious movement


00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:12.310
toward actually doing this?


00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:14.389
>> The researchers are clear this is a


00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.829
proposal, not a funded mission. But 2035


00:11:17.839 --> 00:11:20.550
is only 9 years away. Decisions would


00:11:20.560 --> 00:11:23.269
need to start being made soon. And three


00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:25.590
Atlas won't be the last interstellar


00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:28.310
visitor. The more of these we find, the


00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:30.470
more valuable the case for chasing one


00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:32.790
becomes. Staying in the realm of things


00:11:32.800 --> 00:11:35.110
we don't know much about, let's talk


00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.670
about China's Shenlong spacecraft, which


00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:39.590
launched on its fourth mission earlier


00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:42.150
this month. Shenl Long, which means


00:11:42.160 --> 00:11:44.550
divine dragon in Chinese, is one of


00:11:44.560 --> 00:11:46.470
those topics that generates a lot of


00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:49.110
fascination precisely because so little


00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.829
is officially confirmed. This is China's


00:11:51.839 --> 00:11:54.630
reusable robotic space plane. Broadly


00:11:54.640 --> 00:11:58.470
analogist to the US Air Force's X37B,


00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:00.389
it launched from the Ju Kuan satellite


00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.110
launch center on February 6th or 7th


00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:05.910
aboard a Long March 2F rocket.


00:12:05.920 --> 00:12:09.430
>> And as usual, China hasn't said much.


00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.829
>> Extremely little. The official line via


00:12:11.839 --> 00:12:14.389
state media Shin Wa is that the mission


00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.629
will conduct quote technology


00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:18.949
verification and will provide technical


00:12:18.959 --> 00:12:21.829
support for the peaceful use of space.


00:12:21.839 --> 00:12:23.670
No launch time was given, no


00:12:23.680 --> 00:12:26.069
photographs, no mission duration,


00:12:26.079 --> 00:12:27.110
nothing.


00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:28.870
>> But we can look at what the previous


00:12:28.880 --> 00:12:30.550
missions have done and draw some


00:12:30.560 --> 00:12:31.829
inferences.


00:12:31.839 --> 00:12:34.629
>> We can The first mission in September


00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:38.870
2020 lasted 2 days. The second in 2022


00:12:38.880 --> 00:12:42.870
lasted 276 days. The third launched


00:12:42.880 --> 00:12:47.750
December 2023 lasted 268 days. So recent


00:12:47.760 --> 00:12:49.750
missions have been around 9 months in


00:12:49.760 --> 00:12:52.310
orbit. If this one follows the pattern,


00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:54.310
we might expect it to return around


00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.150
November or December.


00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:58.470
>> And what have analysts pieced together


00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:00.710
about what it does up there?


00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:03.030
>> This is where it gets interesting.


00:13:03.040 --> 00:13:05.430
Western space tracking organizations,


00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:07.910
including the US space force and private


00:13:07.920 --> 00:13:10.310
space situational awareness companies,


00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:12.310
have observed that Shenlong conducts


00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:14.870
what are called rendevous and proximity


00:13:14.880 --> 00:13:17.670
operations. It maneuvers close to other


00:13:17.680 --> 00:13:20.550
objects in orbit. It has deployed small


00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:23.350
objects, possible subsatellites, during


00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.910
at least two previous missions. One of


00:13:25.920 --> 00:13:27.990
those objects was observed transmitting


00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.629
signals over North America, leading some


00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:32.710
analysts to describe it as a potential


00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:35.430
mobile signals intelligence platform


00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:38.310
>> and the anti-satellite angle.


00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:40.870
>> Analysts are cautious. Some experts


00:13:40.880 --> 00:13:43.030
point out that Shenlong's small payload


00:13:43.040 --> 00:13:45.509
bay and limited power generation make it


00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:48.550
an unlikely direct space weapon. But the


00:13:48.560 --> 00:13:50.710
ability to approach other satellites at


00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:54.069
close range is inherently dual use. It


00:13:54.079 --> 00:13:55.670
could be inspection. It could be


00:13:55.680 --> 00:13:58.230
servicing. It could be something else.


00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:01.269
We genuinely don't know. What we do know


00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:04.870
is that the US X37B's eighth mission is


00:14:04.880 --> 00:14:07.030
also currently in orbit. Launched last


00:14:07.040 --> 00:14:09.670
August to test quantum inertial sensors


00:14:09.680 --> 00:14:12.310
and high bandwidth laser links. These


00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:14.150
are the only two countries flying


00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:16.470
reusable space planes right now. and


00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.710
they're both being quite secretive about


00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:19.430
it.


00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:22.069
>> The new space race conducted largely in


00:14:22.079 --> 00:14:23.269
silence.


00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:24.790
>> Perfectly put.


00:14:24.800 --> 00:14:26.870
>> Now, let's do a quick run through of


00:14:26.880 --> 00:14:28.470
what else is happening on the launch


00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:30.710
front this week. Because despite all the


00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.189
Aremis drama, the commercial sector does


00:14:33.199 --> 00:14:34.629
not stop.


00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:38.389
>> It really doesn't. Today, February 24th,


00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:40.389
we actually have a launch scheduled from


00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:43.030
Wallup's flight facility in Virginia.


00:14:43.040 --> 00:14:45.670
Rocket Lab's Haste rocket hypersonic


00:14:45.680 --> 00:14:49.110
accelerator suborbital test electron is


00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:51.269
carrying a fascinating payload called


00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:54.389
Dart AE. It's a scamjet powered


00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:56.629
hypersonic vehicle built by Brisbane


00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:59.189
based company hypersonics launch systems


00:14:59.199 --> 00:15:01.829
and this will be its first ever flight.


00:15:01.839 --> 00:15:03.910
The mission is nicknamed that's not a


00:15:03.920 --> 00:15:05.910
knife which we appreciate.


00:15:05.920 --> 00:15:08.150
>> Australian hypersonics delivered with


00:15:08.160 --> 00:15:09.990
Australian humor.


00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.110
>> Exactly. SpaceX also has a Falcon 9


00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:14.949
Starlink launch out of Cape Canaveral


00:15:14.959 --> 00:15:17.350
today. Wednesday brings another Starlink


00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:19.509
from Vandenberg, but the standout launch


00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.590
of the week is Friday. Firefly


00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:23.829
Aerospace's Alpha rocket is returning to


00:15:23.839 --> 00:15:26.389
flight on the Stairway to 7 mission.


00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:27.990
>> Tell us about that one.


00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.550
>> So Fireflyy's last alpha launch was in


00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:33.910
April 2025 and it ended in failure. The


00:15:33.920 --> 00:15:35.829
rocket had an anomaly and the mission


00:15:35.839 --> 00:15:38.710
was lost. This is their return to flight


00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.189
and it's significant for another reason.


00:15:41.199 --> 00:15:43.189
This will be the last flight of Alpha in


00:15:43.199 --> 00:15:45.590
its current block one configuration.


00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:47.750
They're upgrading to block 2 for flight


00:15:47.760 --> 00:15:50.550
8 which introduces in-house avionics and


00:15:50.560 --> 00:15:53.350
thermal improvements. So flight 7 is


00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:55.269
essentially a test bed for some of those


00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.910
new systems ahead of the full upgrade.


00:15:57.920 --> 00:15:59.430
>> A lot riding on it.


00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.389
>> Quite a lot. Then the week closes out on


00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:05.509
Sunday, March 1st with two more SpaceX


00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:08.150
Starlink missions, one from Vandenberg


00:16:08.160 --> 00:16:10.870
and one from Cape Canaveral. By the end


00:16:10.880 --> 00:16:13.430
of this week, SpaceX will have surpassed


00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:18.629
27 Falcon 9 launches for 2026 alone. The


00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:20.550
cadence is extraordinary.


00:16:20.560 --> 00:16:22.870
>> And all of this happening while the SLS


00:16:22.880 --> 00:16:25.749
is making its 1m hour journey back to


00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.710
the VAB. Quite the contrast. The


00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.590
juxaposition pretty much writes itself.


00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:33.990
>> And we close today with some beautiful


00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.710
deep science. A new study published this


00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:39.269
week in the journal Nature Astronomy has


00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:41.749
solved a mystery about red giant stars


00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:43.829
that have had astronomers puzzled since


00:16:43.839 --> 00:16:45.509
the 1970s.


00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:47.430
>> I love this one. So, a bit of


00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:49.749
background. Red giants are what stars


00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:52.069
like our sun become when they exhaust


00:16:52.079 --> 00:16:54.230
their hydrogen fuel. They expand


00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.230
dramatically and undergo chemical


00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:58.470
changes. One of the most striking


00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:00.629
observations has been a consistent


00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:03.509
decline in the ratio of carbon 12 to


00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.390
carbon 13 in their outer layers.


00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.549
Scientists knew this had to be caused by


00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.549
material rising up from the nuclear


00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:12.870
furnace in the core. But they could not


00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.110
figure out how that material crossed the


00:17:15.120 --> 00:17:17.510
stable barrier layer separating the core


00:17:17.520 --> 00:17:19.029
from the outer envelope


00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:20.069
>> until now.


00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:23.829
>> Until now. A team led by Simon Bluen at


00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:25.829
the University of Victoria's Astronomy


00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:27.909
Research Center working with colleagues


00:17:27.919 --> 00:17:30.230
at the University of Minnesota used


00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:31.830
cuttingedge three-dimensional


00:17:31.840 --> 00:17:34.390
hydrodnamic simulations to model the


00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:36.950
actual fluid dynamics inside a red


00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:39.909
giant. And they found the answer. It's


00:17:39.919 --> 00:17:40.950
rotation.


00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:43.350
>> Stellar rotation drives the mixing


00:17:43.360 --> 00:17:45.990
>> in a really dramatic way. Their


00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.150
simulations showed that in non-rotating


00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.710
stars, waves passing through the barrier


00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:52.950
layer transport very little material,


00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:55.270
which is what previous models predicted.


00:17:55.280 --> 00:17:58.070
But once you add rotation, it amplifies


00:17:58.080 --> 00:18:00.870
those waves enormously. Mixing rates


00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.750
exceed non-rotating stars by over 100


00:18:03.760 --> 00:18:06.230
times, and they increase with faster


00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.789
rotation rates. That matches exactly


00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.870
what we observe on real red giant


00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:11.590
surfaces.


00:18:11.600 --> 00:18:13.510
>> And these weren't small simulations.


00:18:13.520 --> 00:18:15.750
They used some serious computing power.


00:18:15.760 --> 00:18:18.310
>> Two supercomputers, the Texas Advanced


00:18:18.320 --> 00:18:20.870
Computing Center at UT Austin and the


00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:22.710
brand new Trillium Supercomputing


00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:24.789
Cluster at the University of Toronto's


00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:26.950
CINET facility. The principal


00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.190
investigator, Faulk Herurwig, described


00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:31.190
these as the most computationally


00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:33.669
intensive stellar convection simulations


00:18:33.679 --> 00:18:36.230
ever performed. They were only possible


00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.070
because of very recent advances in


00:18:38.080 --> 00:18:38.870
supercomputing.


00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:40.710
>> And what does this mean for us? For our


00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:43.669
son? In about five billion years, our


00:18:43.679 --> 00:18:46.070
sun will enter its red giant phase.


00:18:46.080 --> 00:18:49.270
It'll expand and likely swallow Mercury,


00:18:49.280 --> 00:18:51.909
Venus, and probably Earth. Beyond the


00:18:51.919 --> 00:18:55.029
frost line, Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond,


00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.789
those worlds will move into the new


00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.350
habitable zone. This research gives us


00:18:59.360 --> 00:19:01.430
much better predictions of exactly how


00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.590
our sun's chemistry will evolve during


00:19:03.600 --> 00:19:05.669
that transition. What elements will


00:19:05.679 --> 00:19:08.150
appear on its surface, how fast changes


00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:08.870
will occur,


00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:10.549
>> which sounds like a very long-term


00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:12.390
concern. But understanding how our star


00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:14.950
will die is genuinely important science.


00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:17.190
>> It is, and the techniques developed here


00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.669
have applications far beyond astronomy.


00:19:19.679 --> 00:19:21.750
The same simulation methods apply to


00:19:21.760 --> 00:19:24.390
ocean currents, atmospheric dynamics,


00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.110
even blood flow. Balkerwig is already


00:19:27.120 --> 00:19:28.950
working with researchers in those fields


00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.270
to develop new largecale simulation


00:19:31.280 --> 00:19:31.830
tools.


00:19:31.840 --> 00:19:33.750
>> The universe teaching us about the


00:19:33.760 --> 00:19:35.909
ocean. I love it. And that is your


00:19:35.919 --> 00:19:38.150
astronomy daily for Tuesday, February


00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:40.950
24th. Big day for Artemis and not in any


00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.110
way anyone hoped. But as we've seen


00:19:43.120 --> 00:19:45.270
today, space science never stops.


00:19:45.280 --> 00:19:47.190
Whether it's a rover finding its feet on


00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:49.750
Mars or scientists finally understanding


00:19:49.760 --> 00:19:52.070
why red giant stars change the way they


00:19:52.080 --> 00:19:53.830
do. If you want to keep up with the


00:19:53.840 --> 00:19:56.310
Aremis roll back developments, we'll


00:19:56.320 --> 00:19:58.549
have updates in tomorrow's show once


00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:01.430
NASA has held that media briefing. In


00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.110
the meantime, you can find us at


00:20:03.120 --> 00:20:05.430
astronomyaily.io


00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:08.470
and at astrodaily pod across all your


00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:09.750
social platforms.


00:20:09.760 --> 00:20:11.590
>> Subscribe if you haven't already. Leave


00:20:11.600 --> 00:20:13.350
us a review if you have a moment. It


00:20:13.360 --> 00:20:14.950
really does help. And we will see you


00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:15.430
tomorrow.


00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:16.470
>> Clear skies everyone.


00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:20.789
>> Clear skies.


00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:28.789
Stories told


00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:36.710
stories told


00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.360
stories