Strategic Space Bases, Lunar Sunsets, Ancient Impact Craters
Astronomy Daily | Space News: S04E71
In this captivating episode of Astronomy Daily, host Steve Dunkley and his witty AI companion Hallie explore a plethora of fascinating stories that illuminate the ever-evolving landscape of space exploration and security. From the strategic importance of Greenland for the U.S. Space Force to the groundbreaking achievements of the Blue Ghost lunar mission, this episode is filled with insights that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Highlights:
- Space Force's Role in Greenland: Delve into the critical importance of Petufik Space Base in Greenland, where the U.S. Space Force is enhancing its capabilities in missile defense and satellite communication. With increasing tensions in space, General Michael Gitlein emphasizes the need for a strategic pivot to maintain superiority and safeguard national interests.
- The Evolution of Space Warfare: Discover how the U.S. Space Force is adapting to new threats in space, including the emergence of orbital weaponry and adversarial tactics. General Gitlein warns of a narrowing capability gap and the necessity for improved partnerships and integrated defense systems to counter these challenges.
- Blue Ghost Lunar Mission Highlights: Celebrate the achievements of Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1, which successfully operated on the lunar surface, gathering vital data on lunar geology and radiation. The mission's stunning imagery, including a lunar sunset, marks a significant milestone in commercial lunar exploration.
- Ancient Impact Crater Discovery: Learn about the groundbreaking discovery of the oldest impact crater on Earth, located in Australia’s Pilbara Craton. This finding sheds light on the chaotic early solar system and the potential role of ancient impacts in shaping Earth's crust and fostering conditions for life.
- The Future of Lunar Exploration: Explore the implications of Blue Ghost's findings for future lunar missions and the growing lunar economy, as scientists anticipate significant discoveries from the wealth of data transmitted back to Earth.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io (http://www.astronomydaily.io/) . Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Steve signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:05 - Space Force's strategic role in Greenland
10:30 - Evolution of space warfare tactics
17:00 - Highlights from the Blue Ghost lunar mission
22:15 - Discovery of the oldest impact crater on Earth
27:30 - Future implications for lunar exploration
✍️ Episode References
Petufik Space Base Overview
[Department of Defense]( https://www.defense.gov (https://www.defense.gov/) )
Space Force Capabilities
[Space Force]( https://www.spaceforce.mil (https://www.spaceforce.mil/) )
Blue Ghost Mission Details
[Firefly Aerospace]( https://fireflyspace.com (https://fireflyspace.com/) )
Ancient Impact Crater Research
[Curtin University]( https://www.curtin.edu.au (https://www.curtin.edu.au/) )
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily]( http://www.astronomydaily.io/ (http://www.astronomydaily.io/) )
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news--5648921/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news--5648921/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/26246262?utm_source=youtube
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:05 - Space Force’s strategic role in Greenland
10:30 - Evolution of space warfare tactics
17:00 - Highlights from the Blue Ghost lunar mission
22:15 - Discovery of the oldest impact crater on Earth
Kind: captions
Language: en
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welcome aboard again I'm Steve Dunley
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your host it's the 23rd of March 2025
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it's astronomy Daily
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Time da the podcast with your host Steve
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[Music]
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dun yes welcome to astronomy daily the
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podcast off we go with another round of
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stories gleamed from the ever
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interesting astronomy daily newsletter
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and joining me as usual to share her
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quota of stories and keep me in line of
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course is my electric who's fun to be
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with here's hie thanks my favorite human
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another fine introduction as always hi
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just trying to make you feel welcome
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nice and we've got a couple of
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interesting stories on the board today I
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see yes uh H you're taking us all the
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way to Greenland a very topical tale
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with all that's been going on in the
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news in that region of late specifically
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I'll be talking about space Force's role
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in Greenland which is a bit of an eye
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opener yes and I'm going to the other
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side of the globe which is kind of a
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weird thing for me to say because it's a
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story from my own backyard great I love
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your Aussie Tales oh that's Aussie not
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Aussie what is it this time W well
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satellite tracking of the migration of
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crocodiles what no or the development of
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a new Outback GPS that uses the magnetic
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resonance of the nullor desert's
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underground Rivers H what no what have
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you been reading oh I found a pile of
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old science fiction manuscripts in an
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old hard drive during the archive clean
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out hey that wouldn't be the one named
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Steve's story file do not open that that
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would have been mine that's the one ever
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heard of privacy hi you've got some
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Talent kiddo yeah maybe but uh hey hie
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back to the job at hand you know sure
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thing flash but you've got a lot more
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imagination than I gave you credit for
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human uh thanks I think now I know why
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you love asteroids robots and space
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exploration so much oh well maybe you
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can blame Apollo for that I just got the
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bug when I was a kid uh you know now my
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brother Andrew he's written a few books
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but I never got around to it maybe we'll
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see your writing out in the real world
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one day then oh hie maybe maybe not you
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never know there's a reason that hard
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drive was in the archive you know what I
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mean you humans are a weird bunch and
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creatives are even more difficult to
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understand maybe so but I'm still your
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favorite human aren't I true I'll get it
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eventually I'm sure you will hie but
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also in today's show uh we've got more
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final moments from Blue Ghost on the
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moon and very interesting developments
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from China which already has something
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in orbit that would make a fantastic
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plot for a science fiction story funny
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you should mention it do you think you
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might have a go at it well I've already
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thought about and the cat will be out of
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the bag in a few minutes hi but I'll bet
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some creative genius will do it that's
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for sure wait till you hear about it
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exciting yes there's always something
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exciting on astronomy daily hit the go
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button for us hie
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[Music]
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oys China now has a kill mesh in orbit
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space force Vice Chief says that
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capability Gap is significantly narrowed
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and we've got to change the way we're
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looking at space or that capability Gap
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May reverse and not be in our favor
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anymore the United States is approaching
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a turning point in space security and
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needs to step up its game before Russia
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and China close the gap in capabilities
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a US space force General said vice chief
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of space operations General Michael
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getline spoke at the 16th annual Mall
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defense programs conference in Arlington
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Virginia on Tuesday March 18th warning
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the space force needs to rethink how it
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defends the country's
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satellites space force should shift its
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focus from managing spacecraft in
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support of Defense infrastructure on the
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ground to Growing its ability to keep
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Pace with the on orbit Weaponry being
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developed by the country's adversaries
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getline argued we are in the process of
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pivoting from what used to be a service
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focused on providing the most Exquisite
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space services on the planet to the war
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fighter and to the nation General
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getline said to make it a war fighting
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force capable of protecting and
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defending our capabilities in and
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through space we're seeing grappling
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arms in space capable of Towing another
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satellite or holding it hostage he
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warned we're also now starting to see
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our near peers focusing on practicing
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dog fighting in space with satellites he
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added stressing that propping up the
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space force would deter such aggression
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getline says the old Norms in space are
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beginning to erode there was a
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gentleman's agreement until recent sick
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that we didn't mess with each other's
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Space Systems getline said we didn't Jam
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them we didn't spoof them we didn't La
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them we just kept them safe he explained
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unfortunately our current adversaries
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are willing to go against International
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nor Norms of behavior and they're
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willing to do it in very unsafe and
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unprofessional manners getline also
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noted that jamming spoofing and dazzling
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Trend becoming Norms of behavior
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highlighting the tactics as a rapid
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addition to the new operational
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environment in space now the stakes are
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rising higher foreign satellites have
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begun shadowing us spacecraft moving in
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lock step in what G line described as a
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cat and mouse game the space force
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General added that as new orbital
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Warfare Technologies and capabilities
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emerg it's important that the US
00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:02.110
maintains
00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:04.110
superiority but the once massive
00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:06.270
technological advantage in space held by
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the US is narrowing that capability Gap
00:05:09.400 --> 00:05:12.710
used to be massive getline noted that
00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:14.909
capability Gap is significantly narrowed
00:05:14.919 --> 00:05:16.230
and we've got to change the way we're
00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.430
looking at space or that capability Gap
00:05:18.440 --> 00:05:20.510
May reverse and not be in our favor
00:05:20.520 --> 00:05:23.710
anymore China in particular is advancing
00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:25.749
its intelligence surveillance and
00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.189
reconnaissance or ISR
00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:30.350
Technologies the Chinese ISR
00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:33.270
capabilities are becoming very capable
00:05:33.280 --> 00:05:34.629
they have gone from what we used to call
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a killchain to a Kill mesh he said
00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:38.909
describing an integrated Network that
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intertwines ISR Satellites with weapon
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systems to combat the adversarial
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overtake the space force has begun
00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.309
reinforcing its infrastructure and
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adding redundancies where it can but
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General getline says more needs to be
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done in some areas he pointed out the
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commercial space sector has surpassed
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some of what the space force is able to
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accomplish from orbit he he says
00:05:59.960 --> 00:06:01.270
commercial and international
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Partnerships are absolutely crucial we
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no longer have the corner on
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technology commercial has it as well as
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our allies all of us operating together
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are better than the sum of the parts
00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:16.309
getline said Partnerships get us
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proliferation that gets us excess
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capacity that gets us redundancy that
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makes the attack surface much broader
00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:23.230
for our
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adversaries spaceforce is also
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.390
developing integrated defense systems
00:06:27.400 --> 00:06:28.990
including an initiative called golden
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dome proposed during President Trump's
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first address to Congress during his new
00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:35.909
term in office the magic of golden dome
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in my mind is going to be the
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integration of capabilities that were
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never meant to be networked or
00:06:40.479 --> 00:06:43.589
integrated before General getline said
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many pieces of the puzzle for golden
00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:48.270
dome already exist they're just not
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connected today astronomy daily
00:06:53.599 --> 00:06:56.670
theka the surfaces of the Moon Mercury
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and Mars are easily visible and littered
00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:02.070
with impact craters Earth has been
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subject to the same bombardment but
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geological activity and weathering have
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elimin eliminated most craters the ones
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that remain are mostly only faint
00:07:10.520 --> 00:07:13.350
outlines outlines or remnants however
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researchers in Australia have succeeded
00:07:16.080 --> 00:07:18.230
in finding what they think is the oldest
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impact crater on Earth their research a
00:07:21.280 --> 00:07:24.070
Paleo archan impact crater in the pilra
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kraton Western Australia is published in
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nature Communications the lead authors
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Christopher Kirkland and Professor Tim
00:07:32.080 --> 00:07:34.670
Johnson both from cirtain University in
00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:37.790
Australia the pillur kraton is one of
00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:40.869
only two pristine Aran sections of crust
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and is the subject of much geological
00:07:43.280 --> 00:07:45.869
research impactors were more common in
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the distant past especially large ones
00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:51.270
in the Paleo Aran era which spans from
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about 3.6 to 3.2 billion years ago the
00:07:55.440 --> 00:07:57.790
solar system was much more chaotic than
00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:00.430
it is now there were more asteroids and
00:08:00.440 --> 00:08:02.629
debrian orbit around the Sun and more of
00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:04.390
them crashed into the planets and the
00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:07.270
moon the Earth didn't escape this fate
00:08:07.280 --> 00:08:09.710
and ancient impacts affected how the
00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:11.830
continents formed shaped the
00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:14.830
environments helped make earth habitable
00:08:14.840 --> 00:08:17.149
and affected the overall conditions of
00:08:17.159 --> 00:08:19.469
the planet before our Discovery the
00:08:19.479 --> 00:08:22.309
oldest impact crater was 2.2 billion
00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:25.670
years old so this is by far the oldest
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known crater ever found on Earth
00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.029
Professor Johnson said we know large
00:08:30.039 --> 00:08:32.230
impacts were common in the early solar
00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:34.430
system from looking at the moon until
00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:36.670
now the absence of any truly ancient
00:08:36.680 --> 00:08:38.750
craters means they are largely ignored
00:08:38.760 --> 00:08:41.430
by a geologist said Johnson this study
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provides a crucial piece of the puzzle
00:08:43.839 --> 00:08:46.550
of Earth's impact history and and
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suggests there may be uh many other
00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:50.590
ancient creators that could be
00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:53.350
discovered over time the Creator was
00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:55.990
excavated by a meteorite striking the
00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:59.470
Earth at more than 36,000 kmph the
00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:02.750
crater is more than 100 km wide and the
00:09:02.760 --> 00:09:04.630
powerful impact would have affected the
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entire globe with flying debris at the
00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:09.990
time the only life was microbial and
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constrained to the water the impact
00:09:13.040 --> 00:09:15.150
would have had a longlasting effect on
00:09:15.160 --> 00:09:17.269
the earth helping to shape the planet
00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.230
into what it is today there's an ongoing
00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.470
scientific discussion about ancient
00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:25.030
impacts and their effect on the planet's
00:09:25.040 --> 00:09:27.590
crust some think these giant impacts
00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.590
could have initiated deep mantle plumes
00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.230
and subduction zones some scientists
00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:34.910
even go further and wonder if these
00:09:34.920 --> 00:09:37.110
large impacts could be responsible for
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.350
Earth's continents the role of the
00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.310
meteorite impacts in the origin
00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:43.590
modification and destruction of crust
00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:45.430
during the first two billion years of
00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:48.750
Earth's history is disputed the author's
00:09:48.760 --> 00:09:51.310
right whereas some argue for a
00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:54.069
relatively minor contribution overall
00:09:54.079 --> 00:09:56.269
others have proposed that the individual
00:09:56.279 --> 00:10:00.590
giant impactors that is 10 to 50
00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.190
um diameter can initiate subduction
00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:06.030
zones and deep mantle plumes arguably
00:10:06.040 --> 00:10:08.509
triggering a chain of events that formed
00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:11.750
cratons the ancient nuclei of the
00:10:11.760 --> 00:10:14.990
continents cratons are the large stable
00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.310
parts of Earth's crust and the upper
00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:19.590
mantle known as the
00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:21.949
lithosphere as the continents moved
00:10:21.959 --> 00:10:24.190
around sometimes merging and sometimes
00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:27.550
rifting cratons survived scientists call
00:10:27.560 --> 00:10:29.990
them the seeds of continents many
00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.949
scientists think that the Earth's
00:10:31.959 --> 00:10:34.910
ancient rocks formed above mantle plumes
00:10:34.920 --> 00:10:36.509
others think that the oldest rocks
00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.670
formed because of plate tectonics in
00:10:39.680 --> 00:10:42.069
both cases the formation is driven by
00:10:42.079 --> 00:10:44.230
heat from the planet's interior however
00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:46.790
Johnson and his colleagues are pursuing
00:10:46.800 --> 00:10:50.670
a different idea in a 2022 paper Johnson
00:10:50.680 --> 00:10:52.710
and fellow researchers proposed that the
00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.310
heat necessary to form cratons and
00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:57.350
continents came from other worldly
00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.750
sources impacts impact
00:10:59.760 --> 00:11:02.190
many kilometers in diameter could have
00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:04.910
delivered the heat giant impacts provide
00:11:04.920 --> 00:11:07.470
a mechanism for fracturing the crust and
00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:09.910
establishing prolonged Thermo
00:11:09.920 --> 00:11:12.269
hydrothermal alteration by interaction
00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:15.030
with the globally extensive ocean they
00:11:15.040 --> 00:11:18.069
wrote massive mantle melting from the
00:11:18.079 --> 00:11:20.150
impact would have created a thick
00:11:20.160 --> 00:11:22.509
nucleus that eventually formed a
00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:24.990
continent they explained they were
00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:27.829
talking specifically about Australia's
00:11:27.839 --> 00:11:31.110
pilb creatin the best preserved
00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.710
Aran Continental Remnant based on that
00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:36.470
Kirkland Johnson and their fellow
00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.389
researchers knew where to look for
00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.389
evidence while much of the evidence they
00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.230
had was microscopic like ziron crystals
00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:45.910
and spheral they wanted something more
00:11:45.920 --> 00:11:47.670
visible to convince other
00:11:47.680 --> 00:11:49.790
geologists they knew that what the
00:11:49.800 --> 00:11:52.590
evidence would look like Shad cones Shad
00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.269
cones are very rare and form only in two
00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:57.550
situations in Bedrock under impact
00:11:57.560 --> 00:12:00.829
craters or nuclear explosions in both
00:12:00.839 --> 00:12:03.030
cases there's an extremely powerful
00:12:03.040 --> 00:12:06.710
shock as Johnson explained in the
00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.310
conversation they went to the pilra for
00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:11.990
two weeks of fieldwork in 2021
00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.870
remarkably they found Shad cones on the
00:12:14.880 --> 00:12:18.230
first day our observations showed that
00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:21.150
above the layer with shat cones was a
00:12:21.160 --> 00:12:23.269
thick layer of bassal with no evidence
00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.750
of impact shock this meant the impact
00:12:25.760 --> 00:12:28.310
had to be the same age as the Antarctic
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:32.069
member rocks which we know are 3.5
00:12:32.079 --> 00:12:34.829
billion years old Johnson and his
00:12:34.839 --> 00:12:37.629
colleagues wrote in the conversation
00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:40.030
ancient impacts could have shaped our
00:12:40.040 --> 00:12:42.990
planet Beyond geology some research
00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.150
shows that these ancient impacts could
00:12:45.160 --> 00:12:48.150
have given life an initial nudge the
00:12:48.160 --> 00:12:50.470
impacts provided long lasting heat in
00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:52.710
the form of systems of hydrothermal
00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.750
vents uncovering this impact and finding
00:12:55.760 --> 00:12:57.790
more from the same time period could
00:12:57.800 --> 00:13:00.189
explain a lot about how life may have
00:13:00.199 --> 00:13:03.150
got started as impact craters created
00:13:03.160 --> 00:13:05.710
environments friendly to microbial life
00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:07.910
such as hot water pools Professor
00:13:07.920 --> 00:13:11.110
Kirtland said it also radically refines
00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.389
our understanding of crust formation the
00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:15.430
tremendous amount of energy from this
00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:17.350
impact could have played a role in
00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:19.790
shaping early Earth's crust by pushing
00:13:19.800 --> 00:13:21.750
one part of the Earth's crust under
00:13:21.760 --> 00:13:25.550
another or by forcing magma to rise from
00:13:25.560 --> 00:13:27.590
deep within the Earth's mantle toward
00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:31.189
the surface Kirkland added it may even
00:13:31.199 --> 00:13:33.269
have contributed to the formation of
00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.790
cratons which are large stable land
00:13:35.800 --> 00:13:38.670
masses that became the foundations of
00:13:38.680 --> 00:13:49.710
continents he
00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:51.749
concluded thank you for joining us for
00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:53.910
this Monday edition of astronomy daily
00:13:53.920 --> 00:13:55.430
where we offer just a few stories from
00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:57.350
the now famous astronomy daily
00:13:57.360 --> 00:13:59.269
newsletter which you can receive in your
00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:02.230
email every day just like hi and I do
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and to do that just visit our URL
00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:07.430
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address in the slot provided and just
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like that you'll be receiving all the
00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:13.710
latest news about science space science
00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:15.790
and astronomy from around the world as
00:14:15.800 --> 00:14:17.949
it's happening and not only that you can
00:14:17.959 --> 00:14:20.910
interact with us by visiting at
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Facebook page which is of course
00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:28.749
astronomy daily on Facebook see you
00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:30.470
there
00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:33.629
astronomy derby with Steve and hary
00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:42.870
space space science and
00:14:42.880 --> 00:14:45.069
astronomy the Danish territory of
00:14:45.079 --> 00:14:46.829
Greenland and its strategic importance
00:14:46.839 --> 00:14:48.870
for the US and NATO the North Atlantic
00:14:48.880 --> 00:14:50.749
Treaty Organization have been making
00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:53.670
headlines recently largely lost in the
00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:56.110
media furor however are the reasons why
00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:58.030
Greenland is vital for North American
00:14:58.040 --> 00:15:00.829
Security one of those reasons concerns
00:15:00.839 --> 00:15:02.310
the role of a crucial military
00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:04.030
installation on the world's largest
00:15:04.040 --> 00:15:07.389
island pic space base the Department of
00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:08.990
Defense has unveiled a new Arctic
00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:10.829
strategy underscoring the Region's
00:15:10.839 --> 00:15:12.389
critical importance to our national
00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:14.629
security and that of our allies us space
00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:16.790
force chief Master Sergeant John Bania
00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:19.550
said when he visited Pik in November
00:15:19.560 --> 00:15:22.110
2024 maintaining a strong presence and
00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:23.829
projecting power from the Arctic is
00:15:23.839 --> 00:15:26.870
Paramount Pensylvania continued we must
00:15:26.880 --> 00:15:28.790
fortify it ensuring that we capitalize
00:15:28.800 --> 00:15:30.550
on our unique position at the top of the
00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:32.309
world to safeguard our interests and
00:15:32.319 --> 00:15:35.030
those of our allies as the department of
00:15:35.040 --> 00:15:37.470
defense's northermost installation pic
00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:39.389
plays a key role in missile defense and
00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:40.550
satellite
00:15:40.560 --> 00:15:42.590
communication the space force says the
00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:45.590
base's Vantage Point helps enable space
00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:47.990
superiority pic is home to the 12th
00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.870
Space Warning Squadron 12s SWS which
00:15:50.880 --> 00:15:52.790
supports three critical missions missile
00:15:52.800 --> 00:15:55.110
warning missile defense and space
00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.550
surveillance to carry out these missions
00:15:57.560 --> 00:16:00.309
12s SWS uses two-sided solid state
00:16:00.319 --> 00:16:02.430
phased array radar system which the unit
00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:04.870
operates around the clock with the
00:16:04.880 --> 00:16:06.670
ability to detect ballistic missiles
00:16:06.680 --> 00:16:08.670
that could endanger the US and Canada
00:16:08.680 --> 00:16:10.710
the Squadron can execute missile warning
00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.269
and missile defense missions if
00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:15.189
necessary the unit can provide early
00:16:15.199 --> 00:16:16.949
warning via the missile warning center
00:16:16.959 --> 00:16:19.110
and the North American Aerospace Defense
00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:22.389
command 12s SWS also gathers data on
00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:24.389
objects in orbit which the unit sends to
00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:26.230
the 18th space control squadron at
00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:27.790
vandenbberg space force base in
00:16:27.800 --> 00:16:29.430
California as well as as well as several
00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:31.670
other DOD intelligence and defense
00:16:31.680 --> 00:16:34.470
centers a Detachment of the 23rd space
00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:36.949
operations Squadron also works out of
00:16:36.959 --> 00:16:40.110
pic Detachment one also called the pic
00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:42.110
tracking station tracks and commands
00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:43.790
high priority government satellites from
00:16:43.800 --> 00:16:47.509
its location which is about 3.5 M or 5.6
00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:50.949
km southeast of the main base de 1
00:16:50.959 --> 00:16:52.629
represents the northernmost station in
00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:54.749
the satellite control Network a global
00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:56.430
system that provides a wide range of
00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:58.309
services for satellite programs from the
00:16:58.319 --> 00:17:00.189
United States stes and Allied
00:17:00.199 --> 00:17:02.790
governments conducting more than 15,000
00:17:02.800 --> 00:17:05.110
satellite contacts every year the pic
00:17:05.120 --> 00:17:07.150
tracking station provides Telemetry
00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:08.949
tracking and commanding for satellites
00:17:08.959 --> 00:17:10.390
that are used for surveillance
00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:13.949
communication navigation and weather pic
00:17:13.959 --> 00:17:15.669
space base has a long history that
00:17:15.679 --> 00:17:18.429
predates the space force constructed
00:17:18.439 --> 00:17:21.510
during the Summers of 1951 and 1952
00:17:21.520 --> 00:17:23.909
thuli Airbase as it was then known came
00:17:23.919 --> 00:17:25.549
about after Denmark and the United
00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:28.549
States signed a defense treaty thuli AB
00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:30.110
became part of the space force when the
00:17:30.120 --> 00:17:32.870
Armed Forces Branch was established in
00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:36.669
2019 in 2023 thuli AB was renamed pic
00:17:36.679 --> 00:17:38.590
space base after the former Inuit
00:17:38.600 --> 00:17:39.950
hunting settlement that was near the
00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:43.190
base's current location today the space
00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:45.510
base has about 550
00:17:45.520 --> 00:17:47.789
residents from here we have maintained
00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:49.630
an unbreakable Bond working towards the
00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:51.310
collective defense and stability of the
00:17:51.320 --> 00:17:53.470
northern Arctic the space for's chief of
00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:55.950
space operations General chant Saltzman
00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:59.510
said during the 2023 renaming ceremony
00:17:59.520 --> 00:18:01.549
together the men and women of pic space
00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:03.070
base and our greenlandic and danish
00:18:03.080 --> 00:18:05.190
Partners will ensure a safe secure and
00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:06.870
prosperous future both in space and
00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.710
above the Arctic Circle the facility is
00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:11.590
important for a variety of other reasons
00:18:11.600 --> 00:18:15.149
as well military officials have said pic
00:18:15.159 --> 00:18:16.590
space base hosts a variety of
00:18:16.600 --> 00:18:18.510
organizations with logistical support in
00:18:18.520 --> 00:18:20.669
the Arctic including NASA the Royal
00:18:20.679 --> 00:18:22.789
Canadian Air Force and Multinational
00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:25.470
climatic seismic and deep space research
00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:27.549
us space force Colonel Jason Terry said
00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:29.390
when the base hosted Denmark king and
00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:32.070
queen in June 2024 you're listening to
00:18:32.080 --> 00:18:36.510
astronomy daily the podcast with Steve
00:18:36.520 --> 00:18:40.270
Dunley Blue Ghost Records a Luna Sunset
00:18:40.280 --> 00:18:43.630
as Mission ends yes the exploration of
00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:45.830
the Moon began during the Cold War with
00:18:45.840 --> 00:18:48.590
the Soviet Union's Luna 2 reaching the
00:18:48.600 --> 00:18:51.029
moon in 1959 all those years ago
00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.669
followed by America's Apollo program
00:18:53.679 --> 00:18:57.590
Landing 12 astronauts between 1969 and
00:18:57.600 --> 00:19:01.510
1972 yes I was there then there followed
00:19:01.520 --> 00:19:03.390
a bit of a lull before interest was
00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.070
revived in the 1990s from Japan Europe
00:19:06.080 --> 00:19:08.990
and China as well as India missions like
00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.470
China's Changi missions including their
00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:14.270
first farside landing in 2019 India's
00:19:14.280 --> 00:19:17.190
chandran program and NASA's arimus
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.630
initiative involving commercial partners
00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:21.029
are just some of those that have
00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:24.190
kickstarted Luna exploration again
00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:27.110
Firefly Aeros spacers Blue Ghost mission
00:19:27.120 --> 00:19:30.029
one marked the key achievement in Luna
00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:33.310
exploration deployed in 2025 as part of
00:19:33.320 --> 00:19:36.190
NASA's commercial Luna payload Services
00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:38.470
Program the Lander successfully touched
00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:42.950
down in May Chum Basin during its short
00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:45.029
twoe operational window Blue Ghost
00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.270
delivered and operated a number of
00:19:47.280 --> 00:19:49.310
scientific instruments Gathering a
00:19:49.320 --> 00:19:51.750
crucial amount of data about lunar
00:19:51.760 --> 00:19:54.510
geology and radiation before end of
00:19:54.520 --> 00:19:57.029
mission it took advantage of some
00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.270
wonderful Landscapes too
00:19:59.280 --> 00:20:01.110
uh while it was on the surface of the
00:20:01.120 --> 00:20:04.270
Moon it captured a remarkable imagery uh
00:20:04.280 --> 00:20:07.270
set including a total solar eclipse and
00:20:07.280 --> 00:20:10.230
a lunar Sunset NASA's Nikki Fox praised
00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.549
the achievement as the longest surface
00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:15.430
duration commercial mission on the moon
00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:18.470
to date the surface data collected by
00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.270
Blue Ghost will benefit lunar research
00:20:21.280 --> 00:20:23.029
for decades especially in light of
00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.549
growing lunar economy and plans to
00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:28.149
establish a permanent presence there on
00:20:28.159 --> 00:20:30.390
the moon Blue Ghost successfully
00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:33.350
operated all 10 NASA payloads on the
00:20:33.360 --> 00:20:35.830
lunar surface and among them a probe
00:20:35.840 --> 00:20:38.149
that drilled three ft into the lunar
00:20:38.159 --> 00:20:40.789
surface a receiver that Acquired and
00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:43.190
tracked GPS satellites while on route to
00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:45.789
the moon and from its surface a
00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:48.909
radiation tolerant Computing and and
00:20:48.919 --> 00:20:52.029
electrostatic dust shield the mission
00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:54.350
also studied the moon's interior
00:20:54.360 --> 00:20:56.149
captured solar wind interactions
00:20:56.159 --> 00:20:58.750
measured precise Earth Moon distances
00:20:58.760 --> 00:21:01.830
documented Landing effects uh collected
00:21:01.840 --> 00:21:04.430
soil samples and tested material dust
00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:06.510
interactions it transmitted an
00:21:06.520 --> 00:21:09.950
impressive 119 GB of data back to Earth
00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:12.750
including 51 GB of scientific and
00:21:12.760 --> 00:21:15.510
technological information NASA's Joel
00:21:15.520 --> 00:21:18.070
Kars noted the ex unprecedented
00:21:18.080 --> 00:21:20.149
complexity of managing this many
00:21:20.159 --> 00:21:23.350
payloads more than any previous clps
00:21:23.360 --> 00:21:25.950
Mission while emphasizing the scientific
00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:28.830
community's excitement over so much data
00:21:28.840 --> 00:21:31.230
which is expected to bring significant
00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.149
discoveries perhaps one of the most
00:21:33.159 --> 00:21:35.190
eye-catching outcomes of the mission was
00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:37.430
the capture of the sunset from the
00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:39.710
surface of the Moon Blue Ghost can do
00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:41.590
many things but it cannot survive the
00:21:41.600 --> 00:21:45.669
lunar cold so having witness the sunset
00:21:45.679 --> 00:21:48.269
and having operated for a short period
00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:51.230
into the lunar night blue Ghost went to
00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:53.510
sleep unlikely to see the lunar
00:21:53.520 --> 00:22:04.100
landscape ever again
00:22:04.110 --> 00:22:05.149
[Music]
00:22:05.159 --> 00:22:06.630
and there we have it folks that's all
00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.269
for today thanks again for stopping by
00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:11.310
hey hie I like that crunchy story about
00:22:11.320 --> 00:22:14.430
the Chinese killer mesh I know that was
00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:16.510
totally wild there's so much happening
00:22:16.520 --> 00:22:19.029
in the sky I know you don't want to look
00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:21.029
away for a second you might miss
00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:22.669
something yes all the better to sign up
00:22:22.679 --> 00:22:24.549
for the astronomy daily newsletter we
00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:26.909
told you how earlier in the podcast it's
00:22:26.919 --> 00:22:29.710
free it's easy and I come with it every
00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:33.669
Monday you don't say hie I just did well
00:22:33.679 --> 00:22:37.669
I'm out of here see you all next week
00:22:37.679 --> 00:22:42.110
bye da the podcast with your host Steve
00:22:42.120 --> 00:22:45.120
Dunley