Spacecraft Drama, Galactic Neighborhoods, and the Push for a Circular Space Economy

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Language: en

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Hello and welcome to [music] Astronomy


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Daily, the podcast that brings you the


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biggest news from across the cosmos. I'm


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Avery and as always, I'm joined by the


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brilliant Anna.


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>> Hi Avery and hello to all our listeners.


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We have a packed show [music] today


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covering everything from drama in low


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Earth orbit to the ancient history of


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Mars. [music]


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>> It's going to be a great one. Let's


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start with a story that sounds like


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something out of a movie. a damaged


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[music] spacecraft making an emergency


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return to Earth.


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>> That's right. We're talking about


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China's Shenzho 20 spacecraft. It was up


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at the Tong Gang space station, but it's


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now being sent back to Earth uncrrewed


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after sustaining some damage.


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>> Damage from what? This is the scary part


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of space travel.


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>> The suspected culprit is a


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micrometeoroid estimated to be smaller


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than 1 mm. It appears to have caused a


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crack in the window of the return


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capsule.


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>> Wow, less than 1 millm. It's amazing how


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something so tiny can be such a huge


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threat at orbital velocities. So, what


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happened to the crew?


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>> Well, this is where the safety protocols


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really shine. The crew was forced to


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return to Earth on a different vessel,


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the Shenzhia 19, which was docked as a


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lifeboat. This is actually a first for


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China's space program, having to use a


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backup ride home like this.


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>> That's a testament to good planning. So


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now they're bringing the damaged capsule


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back on its own to figure out exactly


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what happened.


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>> Exactly. The uncrrewed return will allow


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engineers to inspect the damage up


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close. It's a critical learning


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opportunity for understanding the


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realworld risks of orbital debris and


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micrometeoroids.


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>> Absolutely. Now, from the dangers in our


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cosmic neighborhood, let's zoom way out


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to look at how a galaxy's neighborhood


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shapes its entire life.


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>> Right. This comes from a huge project


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called the Deep Extragalactic Visible


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Legacy Survey, or Devils for short.


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>> Got to love the acronyms. So, what did


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the Devil's Survey find?


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>> It confirmed something astronomers have


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long suspected. that a galaxy's local


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environment, its neighborhood, has a


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huge impact on its evolution.


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>> So, it's cosmic real estate. Location,


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location, location.


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>> Pretty much. The data shows that


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galaxies in more crowded environments,


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like dense galaxy clusters, have much


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slower star forming rates compared to


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their more isolated cousins out in the


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cosmic voids.


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>> That makes sense. In a crowded cluster,


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there are more gravitational


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interactions, more mergers, and


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processes like ram pressure stripping,


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where a galaxy's star forming gas can be


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torn away as it moves through the


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cluster.


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>> That's the leading theory. And this new


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data release from Doubles provides some


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of the strongest evidence yet to back it


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up. It helps us understand why some


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galaxies are vibrant and full of new


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stars while others are old, red, and


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retired.


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>> It's cosmic evolution in action. The


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Devil's Survey is essentially creating a


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census of these different galactic


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lifestyles, helping us piece together


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the complete life cycle of galaxies


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across the universe.


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>> A fascinating study indeed.


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>> Speaking of crowded environments, things


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are getting very busy right here at


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home. This week is absolutely jam-packed


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with launches.


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>> It really is. There are 10 orbital


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launches on the calendar. Let's run


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through the highlights.


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>> Leading the charge, as usual, is SpaceX.


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They have a staggering five Starlink


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deployment missions scheduled for this


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week alone. The internet constellation


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just keeps growing. Then over in French


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Guana, Arian Space is set to launch


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South Korea's Comat 7 satellite, which


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is a very highresolution Earth


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observation satellite.


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>> Mhm. And don't forget Rocket Lab.


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They're launching from New Zealand


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carrying the Rays 4 Demonstrator


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Satellite for JAXA, the Japanese Space


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Agency. And speaking of Japan, their own


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new heavy lift rocket, the H3, is slated


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to launch a crucial navigation satellite


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for their national GPS system. Plus,


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China has two of their own launches


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scheduled. It's non-stop.


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>> That H3 rocket launch for Japan is


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particularly significant, isn't it?


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They've had a few setbacks with that


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program.


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>> It is. The H3 is Japan's next generation


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flagship rocket. Designed to be more


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affordable and flexible than its


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predecessor. A successful launch is


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crucial for securing Japan's independent


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access to space and for competing in the


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commercial launch market. This mission


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will be a major test of its capabilities


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and reliability after a failure on its


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debut flight.


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>> And the Comat 7 for South Korea, what's


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its primary role? Comat 7 is a powerful


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reconnaissance satellite. With its very


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high resolution imaging, it can be used


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for national security, disaster


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monitoring, and managing natural


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resources. It's part of a growing trend


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of nations developing their own advanced


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Earth observation capabilities.


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>> It really shows you the current pace of


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the global space industry. Okay, from


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low Earth orbit, let's journey to a


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place that was once much more active,


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the surface of Mars.


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>> This is one of my favorite stories this


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week. A new study has produced an


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incredible map of 16 massive ancient


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river drainage systems on Mars.


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>> 16 separate systems? Are we talking


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about small streams here?


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>> Not at all. The study says these systems


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are similar in scale to some of the


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large drainage basins we see on Earth.


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And get this, combined, these 16 systems


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transported nearly half of all the


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sediment that was ever moved by rowers


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on Mars. They were enormous.


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>> Half of all the sediment. That's


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mindboggling. It paints a picture of a


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very different, very wet ancient Mars.


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And I assume this has big implications


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for the search for life. Absolutely. The


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researchers identified these locations


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as extremely promising places to search


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for signs of past Martian life. If life


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ever existed on Mars, these ancient


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water carved river beds and deltas are


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some of the best places we could


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possibly look for evidence.


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>> It's incredible to think about how they


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piece this together. How do they map


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rivers that dried up billions of years


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ago? They use highresolution topographic


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data from orbiters like the Mars


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Reconnaissance Orbiter. Scientists can


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trace the faint outlines of river


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channels, deltas, and aluvial fans


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carved into the landscape. By analyzing


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the geology and the minology, looking


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for clays and carbonates that typically


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form in water, they can confirm these


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were indeed liquid water environments.


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It's like planetary scale archaeology.


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And if we do send her over there, what


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kind of bio signatures would they look


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for? Not fossils, I imagine.


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>> Probably not complex fossils. They'd be


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searching for chemical bio signatures,


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specific organic molecules or isotopic


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ratios that are difficult to explain


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through non-biological processes.


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Finding preserved microbial mats or


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stroalite like structures would be the


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absolute jackpot. But chemical traces


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are a more likely target. Well, let's


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hope a future rover gets to visit one of


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those spots. Okay, while Mars' water is


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long gone, our own star is incredibly


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active right now.


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>> That's an understatement. The sun just


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unleashed a powerful X1.9 class solar


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flare.


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>> And as a reminder for everyone, X-class


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flares are the biggest and most


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energetic category. This was a major


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event.


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>> It was. It erupted from a newly emerged


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sunspot region and caused a strong


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shortwave radio blackout over Australia


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and the surrounding region.


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>> But that's not even the main event, is


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it? There's something bigger on the


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horizon.


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>> Correct. The sunspot region that caused


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this flare is concerning. But an even


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larger and more complex region is now


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rotating into an earth-facing position.


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This is the very same sunspot that was


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responsible for the powerful flares and


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incredible aurora displays we saw last


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month.


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>> So, space weather forecasters are


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watching it very, very closely. We could


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be in for another active period.


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>> Indeed. And it's important to remember


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the potential impact. A strong


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earthdirected coronal mass ejection,


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which often accompanies these big


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flares, could disrupt our power grids,


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damage satellites, and interfere with


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GPS and communications. We're far more


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technologically dependent now than we


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were during the last major solar


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maximum.


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>> So, this isn't just about pretty


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auroras. There's a real need for


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accurate space weather forecasting to


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protect our infrastructure.


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>> Exactly. Agencies like Noah's Space


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Weather Prediction Center work around


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the clock to monitor the sun. Their


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warnings give satellite operators time


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to put their spacecraft into safe modes


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and utility companies time to prepare


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their grids for potential geomagnetic


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disturbances. It's a critical and often


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unseen line of defense.


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>> Definitely. Now, all this activity we've


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discussed, the launches, the satellites,


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the debris, it all leads into our final


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story, which is about finding a


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sustainable way to operate in space.


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>> Right. The growing problem of space


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debris. What's the new idea for tackling


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it?


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>> Experts are strongly advocating for what


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they call a circular space economy. The


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idea is to move away from the


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traditional model of launching


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something, using it, and then abandoning


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it in orbit.


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>> So, it's about applying the principles


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of recycling and reuse that we talk


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about on Earth, but in orbit.


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>> Exactly. This means designing satellites


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and spacecraft for durability, for


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easier repair, and for potential reuse


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or recycling of their components. It


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also involves creating multi-purpose


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space stations that can serve as inorbit


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repair and refueling depots and


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developing technologies to actively go


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and recover existing debris.


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>> It's a huge but necessary shift in


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mindset. If we want space to remain


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accessible for future generations, we


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can't keep treating it like an infinite


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resource.


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>> That's the core of the argument. It's


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about building a sustainable future, not


00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.550
just for Earth, but for our activities


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beyond it.


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>> It seems like a monumental task. Are


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there companies actively working on this


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technology now, or is it still mostly


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theoretical?


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>> Oh, it's very much moving from theory to


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practice. You have companies like


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Astroscale developing satellites


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designed to capture and de-orbit space


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debris. Others are working on robotic


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arms for inorbit servicing to repair and


00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:38.230
refuel existing satellites, extending


00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:41.190
their operational lives. Even NASA is


00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.829
investing in technologies for inspace


00:11:43.839 --> 00:11:46.069
manufacturing and assembly, which


00:11:46.079 --> 00:11:48.389
reduces the need to launch massive


00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.030
monolithic structures from Earth.


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>> So, the building blocks are being put in


00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:55.990
place. It's not just about cleaning up


00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.470
the mess, but also about building


00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:00.870
smarter from the start. That's the


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fundamental shift. Sustainability have


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to be part of the design process from


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day one. It's an investment that will


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pay off by ensuring that the


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opportunities of space remain available


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for the long term.


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>> I couldn't have said it better.


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>> A perfect note to end on. And that is


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all the time we have for today's journey


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through the latest in space and


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astronomy.


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>> From near-earth challenges to the grand


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scale of the universe, there's always


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something new to discover. Thank you for


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tuning in.


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>> I'm Avery


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>> and I'm Anna. Join us tomorrow for


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another episode of Astronomy Daily.


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Until then, clear skies everyone and


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keep looking up. [music]


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[singing]


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Stories [music] told.