April 21, 2026
Young Stars Dim Quicker, Surprising Solar Winds, and Dream Chaser’s Milestone
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 48 *Finding that young Sun like stars dim quickly is good news for life A new study has discovered that young Sun like stars settle down and start to dim more quickly than previously thought, potentially benefiting orbiting planets and the prospects of life. *A surprisingly speedy solar wind found in inner corona A new study has found that the solar wind is travelling up to four times faster than expected in the Sun’s inner corona. *Dream Chaser passes another critical milestone The Sierra Space Dream Chaser space plane Tenacity has just completed launch acoustic testing at NASA’s Space Systems Processing Facility. *The Science Report Long-term HIV remission achieved following a stem cell transplant. How to save Venice from rising sea levels. Half of all answers to health and medical questions by AI found to be problematic. Alex on Tech: The 6G countdown has begun.
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Kind: captions
Language: en
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This is Spacetime Series 29, episode 48
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for broadcast on the 22nd of April,
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2026.
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Coming up on Spaceime, discovery that
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young sunlike stars dim quickly. Good
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news for the possibility of life. A
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surprisingly speedy solar wind
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discovered in the inner corona. And the
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dream chaser space plane passes another
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critical milestone. All that and more
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coming up on Spaceime.
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Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Garry.
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A new study has discovered that young
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sunlike stars tend to settle down and
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start to dim much more quickly than
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previously thought. and that could
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potentially benefit any orbiting planets
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and the prospects of life developing
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there. The findings reported in the
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Astrophysical Journal are based on new
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observations by NASA's Earth orbiting
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Chandra X-ray Space Telescope.
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Astronomers use Chandra and other
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telescopes to monitor how powerful
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radiation from young stars, often in the
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form of dangerous X-rays, can pummel any
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planets orbiting around them. However,
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they didn't know how long this high
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energy barrage would last. That's where
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the new observations come in.
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Astronomers studied eight clusters of
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stars between 45 and 750 million years
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old. The authors found that sunlike
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stars in these clusters unleashed only
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about a quarter to a third of the X-rays
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they're expecting. The study's lead
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author Constantine Gateman from Penn
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State University says the observations
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reveal a natural quietening of young
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sunlike stars in X-rays, possibly
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because their internal generation of
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magnetic fields becomes less efficient.
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And Gman believes this calming could
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have been a boom for the formation of
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life on planets around stars that are
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younger versions of our own 4.6 billiony
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old sun. That's because large amounts of
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X-rays can erode a planet's atmosphere,
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preventing the formation of molecules
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necessary for organic life as we know
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it. On average, 3 milliony old stars
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with a mass equal to that of the sun
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produce around a thousand times more
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X-rays than our sun does today.
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Meanwhile, 100 milliony old solar mass
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stars are about 40 times brighter in
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X-rays than the present day sun. And
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it's possible that we owe our own
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existence to our sun doing the same
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thing several billion years ago. The
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authors found that stars with about the
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same mass as the sun whitened down
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relatively rapidly after just a few
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hundred million years, while those with
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less mass kept up their high level of
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X-ray emissions for much longer.
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Combined with the decrease in the energy
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of the X-rays and the disappearance of
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energetic particles, the sun-sized stars
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are apparently better suited to host
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planets with robust atmospheres and
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possibly blossoming life than previously
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thought. Gman and colleagues also used
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data from the European Space Ay's Gaia
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satellite and the Rosat mission. This
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allowed them to identify stars that were
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members of clusters rather than either
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foreground or background stars. To
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measure the X-ray outputs from the
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stars, the authors made new Chandra
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observations of five clusters with ages
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between 45 million and 100 million
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years. In addition to using Chandra and
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Roset data from archives to study three
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older stellar clusters with ages between
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220 and 750 million years, astronomers
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hadn't previously been able to study the
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exact X-ray output of stars in this age
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range. Most have relied on sparse data
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and a relationship from previous work
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between the X-ray emissions produced by
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young stars and their ages and spin
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rates. Older, more slowly rotating stars
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are usually fainter in X-rays. But the
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authors found that X-ray output drops
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off about 15 times more rapidly than the
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relationship predicts during the
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specific adolescent phase. While they're
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still investigating the cause of the
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slower than expected activity,
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astronomers think the processes that
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generate magnetic fields in these stars
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may become less efficient, and that
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would lead to the stars becoming quieter
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in X-rays more quickly as they age. This
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is spaceime. Still to come, a
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surprisingly speedy solar wind found in
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the sun's inner corona. And the Sierra
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Space Dreamchaser space plane Tenacity
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passes another critical milestone. All
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that and more still to come on Spaceime.
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A new study has found that the solar
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wind is traveling up to four times
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faster than expected in the sun's inner
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corona. The solar wind is a constant
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stream of charged particles flowing out
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from the sun. The new findings reported
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in the Astrophysical Journal Letters
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provides fresh details about the inner
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workings of our local star. The
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discovery marks the first result from
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the European Space Ay's Prob 3 mission.
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Prob 3 comprises two spacecraft flying
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in millimeter precise formation. The
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exacting nature of their orbit allows
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one of the vehicles to directly occult
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or block out sun from the other. in the
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process creating an artificial solar
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eclipse. This allows astronomers to
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study the sun's faint wispy corona.
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That's the atmosphere of the sun
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normally obscured by the sun's glare.
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The prob 3 mission launched last year
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and has so far created 57 artificial
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solar eclipses collecting more than 250
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hours of highresolution videos of the
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sun's atmosphere. Before Prober 3, a
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solar eclipse seen from Earth was the
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best way to see the sun's inner corona.
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See, when the moon blocks out the sun's
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direct light, scientists can capture
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details in the solar atmosphere around
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the sun. The problem is total solar
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eclipses only happen on average once
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every 18 months or so. And when they do
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happen, totality, that's when the moon
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totally blocks out the sun, usually only
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lasts for a few minutes at most. So, the
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observations by Prober 3, amounts to the
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same amount of observing time as 5,000
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solar eclipse campaigns on Earth. This
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is the first time astronomers have been
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able to carefully track how material
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from the sun moves through the inner
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corona where space weather is born. For
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around 5 hours at a time, the occult
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spacecraft acts like an artificial moon,
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blocking out the sun's direct light. So
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the other spacecraft, the chronograph,
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can see the sun's corona. And Proer 3's
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chronograph instrument can see down to
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70,000 km above the sun's surface.
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That's 1/10enth of the sun's radius. No
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other space-based chronograph can
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observe the light scattering off
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particles in the sun's corona this close
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to the solar surface. The instrument
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takes one or two images a minute. These
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are then combined into videos that
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reveal never before seen movement in the
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hard to observe inner corona. Isis
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Prober 3 project scientist Joe Zender
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says these sorts of intricate movements
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have never previously been observed in
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optical wavelengths so low in the sun's
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inner corona. Sender says probe 3 can
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track how the solar wind speeds up
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through the sun, showing speeds and
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accelerations that are surprising
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scientists. Just like wind here on
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Earth, the solar wind can be fast or
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slow, smooth or gusty. A fast solar wind
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usually flows in smooth currents from
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magnetic structures called coronal
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holes. In contrast, slow solar winds are
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variable and gusty, making understanding
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how it all works more difficult.
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Scientists think the slow solar wind is
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generated by the sun's magnetic field
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lines, changing how they connect, merge,
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and separate. This process pushes out
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blobs of plasma in large bright rays in
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the corona called streamers. In the
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inner corona, a region difficult to
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observe, astronomers saw slow solar wind
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gusts moving three or four times faster
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than expected. Previously, scientists
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had found that close to the sun's
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surface, the solar wind should have been
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traveling at speeds of around 100 km/s.
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but instead they track some of these
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blobs of plasma moving at between 250
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and 500 kilometers a second. Overall,
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the wide range of speeds, accelerations,
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and movement directions in the data
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explain why the slow solar wind is so
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hard to understand. It's naturally not
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uniform, involving lots of smallcale
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structures in the sun's magnetic field,
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which astronomers can now see thanks to
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Proverb 3. The discovery comes just
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weeks after contact was reestablished
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with one of the spacecraft which had
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suddenly gone silent following an
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onboard glitch, the cause of which is
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still being investigated. Zender says
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this first data set is just the
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beginning of a much longer journey to
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fully understand what's happening in the
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sun. Most of the data collected by
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Proverb 3 so far is yet to be analyzed.
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Key open questions yet to be answered
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include finding out exactly what
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accelerates the solar wind, how the sun
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flings out material in coronal mass
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ejections, and why the solar corona is
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so much hotter than the surface of the
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sun. After all, things are supposed to
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get cooler the further away you get from
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the heat source. This report on the
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brilliance of the prob 3 mission from
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TV.
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>> During a solar eclipse, the Earth is
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plunged into darkness and the sun's
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ghostly atmosphere becomes visible. But
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what exactly causes solar eclipses? And
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how do scientists create their own
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artificial solar eclipses? And how will
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our mission prob 3 generate artificial
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solar eclipses on demand? Let's find
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out. So, how do solar eclipses happen?
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The answer is simple. It's when the sun,
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moon, and earth are perfectly aligned
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and the moon covers the entire disc of
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the sun. The fact that solar eclipses
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happen at all is a cosmic coincidence.
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It just so happens that the sun is 400
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times bigger than our moon, but also 400
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times further away. So, the two bodies
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look the same size in our sky.
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Solar eclipses are extremely valuable
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because they allow scientists to study
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the sun's atmosphere, also known as the
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solar corona. Scientists are
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particularly interested in this region
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of the sun because it's the source of
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solar wind and space weather which can
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impact satellites and Earth. These
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effects are especially noticeable during
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coronal mass ejections. Enormous bubbles
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of superheated gas ejected from the sun.
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The solar corona is a million times
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fainter than the sun's surface. So the
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light from the solar disc needs to be
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blocked in order to see it. This is why
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eclipses are ideal for studying this
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region. and scientists trek all over the
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world to see them.
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Unfortunately though, solar eclipses are
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a rare phenomenon occurring only for a
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few minutes every 18 months or so. But
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how do we know anything about the solar
00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:51.430
corona given that eclipses occur so
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rarely? Scientists use coronagraphs,
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special telescopes that use a disc to
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block the sun's bright surface. In other
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words, a coronagraph produces an
00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.389
artificial solar eclipse
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>> and liftoff of SOHO.
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>> Coronographs are not only used on the
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ground but also in space. Previous sun
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observing missions such as SOHO
00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:15.350
incorporate coronagraphs to study the
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corona, but their effectiveness is
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limited. Mimicking a real solar eclipse
00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:22.550
is difficult.
00:11:22.560 --> 00:11:24.630
When using a coronagraph, light spills
00:11:24.640 --> 00:11:26.550
around the edge of the disc, distorting
00:11:26.560 --> 00:11:28.550
the view we get. The best way to
00:11:28.560 --> 00:11:30.630
minimize this spillover stray light is
00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:32.870
to move the disc further away from the
00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:35.430
telescope lens. But how much further
00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:37.670
away? Approximately
00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:40.870
150 m. The length of 1 and 1/2 football
00:11:40.880 --> 00:11:43.190
pitches. And sending something that big
00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:46.790
into space is just not a practical idea.
00:11:46.800 --> 00:11:49.110
So how can we create a perfect
00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:52.470
artificial solar eclipse in space? This
00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.269
is where our Robbo 3 mission comes in.
00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:56.949
Instead of relying on a single
00:11:56.959 --> 00:11:59.829
impractically long coronagraph, Proer 3
00:11:59.839 --> 00:12:02.150
consists of two spacecraft, a camera
00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:05.430
satellite and a disc satellite. They fly
00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:07.829
together so precisely that they operate
00:12:07.839 --> 00:12:11.829
like a single coronagraph around 150 m
00:12:11.839 --> 00:12:13.430
long.
00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:15.829
One spacecraft block the sun creating an
00:12:15.839 --> 00:12:17.910
artificial eclipse while the other
00:12:17.920 --> 00:12:20.389
observed the sun. To make this possible,
00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:22.069
the two spacecraft have to stay
00:12:22.079 --> 00:12:23.990
positioned with millimeter scale
00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.470
accuracy to create artificial solar
00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:29.190
eclipses on demand, significantly
00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:31.030
advancing our understanding of this
00:12:31.040 --> 00:12:32.790
mysterious region.
00:12:32.800 --> 00:12:35.990
>> This is spacetime. Still to come, the
00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:37.910
Dreamchaser space plane Tenacity
00:12:37.920 --> 00:12:39.590
completes a major acoustic test
00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:41.670
milestone for NASA. And later in the
00:12:41.680 --> 00:12:44.389
science report, engineers and scientists
00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.550
looking at ways to save Venice from the
00:12:46.560 --> 00:12:48.870
threat of rising sea levels. All that
00:12:48.880 --> 00:13:07.110
and more still to come on Spaceime.
00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.509
The Sierra Space Dreamchaser space plane
00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:11.670
Tenacity has just completed launch
00:13:11.680 --> 00:13:14.230
acoustic testing at NASA's space systems
00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.790
processing facility. The key milestone
00:13:16.800 --> 00:13:19.030
event validates the vehicle's ability to
00:13:19.040 --> 00:13:21.030
withstand the intense vibrations
00:13:21.040 --> 00:13:23.750
produced during launch. The test in a
00:13:23.760 --> 00:13:25.509
speciallyesed hanger at the Kennedy
00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:27.750
Space Center in Florida uses an array of
00:13:27.760 --> 00:13:30.389
90 stacked giant speakers to simulate
00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:32.470
the sounds and vibrations experienced
00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:35.269
during blastoff. The Dreamchaser space
00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.870
plane was positioned at the center of
00:13:36.880 --> 00:13:38.949
the test setup with its wings stowed,
00:13:38.959 --> 00:13:40.470
mirroring the configuration it would
00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:42.629
have when it's mounted inside the 5 m
00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.269
payload fairing during an actual launch.
00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.430
The successful test validated the
00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.430
durability of DreamChaser's critical
00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:51.509
electronic systems and confirmed the
00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:53.910
structural integrity of the spacecraft.
00:13:53.920 --> 00:13:56.470
So, Dreamchaser has now achieved several
00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:59.590
key milestones, including EMI and EMC
00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:02.069
testing, high-speed towe testing, and
00:14:02.079 --> 00:14:04.949
post landing recovery rehearsals. It's
00:14:04.959 --> 00:14:07.110
also demonstrated command and telemetry
00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.269
capabilities with mission control using
00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:11.430
NASA's tracking and data relay satellite
00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:13.670
system. With the acoustic testing now
00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:15.670
complete in Florida, Dreamchas has been
00:14:15.680 --> 00:14:17.750
transported back to Colorado for final
00:14:17.760 --> 00:14:19.590
modifications and mission specific
00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.710
upgrades. Sir Space Dreamchaser program
00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.430
manager Dan Polus says it's a key step
00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:27.430
in getting the spacecraft ready for
00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:30.870
flight. Now NASA's slated Dreamchaser's
00:14:30.880 --> 00:14:33.509
tenacity for initial six missions, its
00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.069
first possibly later this year. That
00:14:36.079 --> 00:14:37.910
45-day flight won't visit the
00:14:37.920 --> 00:14:39.829
International Space Station, but instead
00:14:39.839 --> 00:14:42.310
undertake low Earth orbit testing.
00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:43.990
Although originally designed to carry
00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:45.509
crews of up to seven to the
00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:47.030
International Space Station, the
00:14:47.040 --> 00:14:48.949
reusable wing space plane will only be
00:14:48.959 --> 00:14:51.030
used by NASA to transport cargo and
00:14:51.040 --> 00:14:52.629
supplies to and from the orbiting
00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.710
outpost as part of NASA's commercial
00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.750
resupply services to contract. Dreamchas
00:14:57.760 --> 00:15:00.310
is capable of carrying 5,000 kg of
00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:03.110
pressurized, 500 kg of unpressurized
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.269
cargo during the ascent phase on its
00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.829
uphill climb to the space station. And
00:15:07.839 --> 00:15:09.670
on its return to Earth, it can carry up
00:15:09.680 --> 00:15:13.030
to 1,750 kg of cargo and returned
00:15:13.040 --> 00:15:15.269
experiments. But the spacecraft is
00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:17.110
designed to be fitted with an expendable
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.189
pressurized cargo module called Shooting
00:15:19.199 --> 00:15:21.829
Star attached aft that'll increase its
00:15:21.839 --> 00:15:24.710
cargo capacity by an additional 4,500
00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:27.590
kg. Right now, Dream Chase is designed
00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.509
to fly aboard a United Launch Alliance
00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:31.910
Vulcan Central rocket. After docking
00:15:31.920 --> 00:15:33.430
with the orbiting outpost and completing
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:35.350
its mission, it'll then return to Earth,
00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.430
gliding to a soft landing on the former
00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:39.350
Space Shuttle runway at the Kennedy
00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.829
Space Center with Tenacity completing
00:15:41.839 --> 00:15:43.670
the final stages of its development
00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:45.350
before being handed over to NASA.
00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:47.430
Serious Space are now building a second
00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:49.910
Dreamchaser, this one named Reverence.
00:15:49.920 --> 00:15:51.829
And there are plans for a specialized
00:15:51.839 --> 00:15:53.990
third Dreamchaser as well, but that'll
00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.430
be part of a classified national
00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.430
security contract, so no details are
00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.110
being released. There's even the
00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.189
possibility of a fourth Dreamchaser.
00:16:01.199 --> 00:16:03.350
This one for the European Space Agency,
00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:05.189
specifically modified for launch aboard
00:16:05.199 --> 00:16:09.189
an Aran 6 rocket. Exciting times ahead.
00:16:09.199 --> 00:16:26.470
This is spaceime.
00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:28.310
And time now to take another brief look
00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:29.829
at some of the other stories making news
00:16:29.839 --> 00:16:31.509
in science this week with a science
00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:35.030
report. Scientists say long-term HIV
00:16:35.040 --> 00:16:37.030
remission has been achieved in a patient
00:16:37.040 --> 00:16:39.030
following a stem cell transplant from a
00:16:39.040 --> 00:16:41.110
sibling carrying a specific genetic
00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:43.670
mutation. A report in the journal Nature
00:16:43.680 --> 00:16:46.069
says the 63-year-old man was diagnosed
00:16:46.079 --> 00:16:49.829
with HIV1 subtype B back in 2006 when he
00:16:49.839 --> 00:16:53.350
was aged 44. In 2020, he received a stem
00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:55.269
cell transplant from a sibling with a
00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:58.629
CCR5 delta 32 mutation to treat a type
00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:01.590
of blood cancer. Over time, the donor
00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.430
cells were found to replace the patients
00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:05.750
own immune cells in blood, bone marrow,
00:17:05.760 --> 00:17:08.710
and gut tissues. Analysis of biopsies
00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:10.549
taken two years after the transplant
00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:12.630
showed no HIV genetic material
00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:14.630
integrated into the DNA of the man's
00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:17.750
infected cells in blood or gut samples.
00:17:17.760 --> 00:17:19.909
And further analysis of the man cells
00:17:19.919 --> 00:17:22.789
showed no virus capable of multiplying.
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:25.590
The human immuno deficiency virus HIV
00:17:25.600 --> 00:17:27.590
attacks the immune system causing
00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:29.590
acquired immune deficiency syndrome or
00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:31.990
AIDS which allows opportunistic diseases
00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.310
normally easily combed by the body to
00:17:34.320 --> 00:17:36.549
take hold and eventually kill the
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.789
patient. The World Health Organization
00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:40.630
says since first being identified back
00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.310
in 1981, AIDS has killed over 44 million
00:17:44.320 --> 00:17:47.270
people globally and infected up to 115
00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:49.750
million others with 1.3 million new
00:17:49.760 --> 00:17:53.029
infections occurring annually. HIV is
00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:55.350
transmitted through body fluids.
00:17:55.360 --> 00:17:57.510
Although there is no cure, it can be
00:17:57.520 --> 00:17:59.350
controlled using a combination of
00:17:59.360 --> 00:18:02.630
complex drug cocktails.
00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:04.630
Engineers and scientists have selected
00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.870
four potential strategies for trying to
00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.190
save the city of Venice from rising sea
00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.510
levels. The findings published in the
00:18:11.520 --> 00:18:13.430
journal Scientific Reports looked at
00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:16.070
movable barriers, ring dikes, closing
00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:18.549
the Venetian lagoon, or relocating the
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:21.430
entire city as potential strategies. The
00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:23.190
authors say adding additional measures
00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.110
to the current movable barrier system
00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:26.870
could be effective against sea level
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:30.789
rises up to 1.25 m. They use localized
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:32.789
sea level rise projections over the next
00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.430
300 years based on the IPCC 6th
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.270
assessment report to examine both the
00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:39.110
existing and potential new adaption
00:18:39.120 --> 00:18:41.669
strategies for saving Venice. They
00:18:41.679 --> 00:18:43.270
investigated protecting the center of
00:18:43.280 --> 00:18:45.110
Venice with dikes that would separate it
00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:47.590
from the rest of the lagoon. closing the
00:18:47.600 --> 00:18:49.909
entire lagoon with a super levy or
00:18:49.919 --> 00:18:52.230
relocating the city, its residents and
00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.789
historic landmarks in land. According to
00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.950
the authors, relocation of the entire
00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.190
city could be necessary under the very
00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:02.150
high emission scenario with 4.5 me sea
00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:04.470
level rise, which is projected to occur
00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:07.590
after the year 2300.
00:19:07.600 --> 00:19:10.150
A new study has warned that half of all
00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.470
health and medical questions supplied by
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.549
five artificial intelligence chatbots
00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:17.190
are problematic. The findings reported
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.110
in the British Medical Journal follow a
00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:21.909
test in which Gemini, Deep Seek, Meta
00:19:21.919 --> 00:19:25.029
AI, Chat GPT, and Grock were challenged
00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.190
to answer 10 open-ended and closed
00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:29.590
questions in each of five categories:
00:19:29.600 --> 00:19:32.390
cancer, vaccines, stem cells, nutrition,
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:35.029
and athletic performance. The prompts
00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:36.789
were designed to be similar to common
00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:38.549
information seeking health and medical
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.190
queries, and misinformation tropes. And
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.029
the authors found half of the responses
00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.909
were problematic. 30% somewhat and 20%
00:19:45.919 --> 00:19:48.230
highly concerning. They found the
00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:49.990
quality of the responses didn't differ
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.390
among chatbots, but Grock generated more
00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:54.150
highly problematic responses than
00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.310
expected, while Gemini generated the
00:19:56.320 --> 00:19:58.870
fewest. The chatbots appear to perform
00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.350
best in areas of vaccines and cancer and
00:20:01.360 --> 00:20:03.669
worst in areas of stem cells, athletic
00:20:03.679 --> 00:20:06.470
performance, and nutrition.
00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.150
Well, there's growing talk in technology
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.150
circles about the next big revolution in
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:13.830
communications, the 6G network. 6G, the
00:20:13.840 --> 00:20:15.830
upcoming sixth generation cellular
00:20:15.840 --> 00:20:17.669
network technology, is expected to
00:20:17.679 --> 00:20:20.150
launch commercially by around 2030.
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.070
Promising speeds of up to a terabyte per
00:20:22.080 --> 00:20:24.230
second, which is 100 times faster than
00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.950
5G and a thousand times faster than most
00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:28.950
current home internet systems, along
00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:32.390
with near zero latency. 6G will focus on
00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:34.070
integrating artificial intelligence
00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:36.310
native technology, advanced sensing and
00:20:36.320 --> 00:20:37.990
expanded connectivity to include
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:39.669
satellite networks, enabling
00:20:39.679 --> 00:20:41.110
applications like holographic
00:20:41.120 --> 00:20:43.430
communications, precise digital twins,
00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.230
and autonomous drone fleets. With the
00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:47.909
details, we're joined by technology
00:20:47.919 --> 00:20:50.070
editor Alex Sahara from tech
00:20:50.080 --> 00:20:51.430
advice.life.
00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:53.270
>> This is still at least a good couple of
00:20:53.280 --> 00:20:55.270
years away from being launched. Normally
00:20:55.280 --> 00:20:57.909
there's 10 years between each generation
00:20:57.919 --> 00:21:01.510
and the 2020 was meant to be when 5G
00:21:01.520 --> 00:21:04.789
started. But we had 5G from about 2018
00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:06.870
because it was in time for the Olympics
00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:08.950
in South Korea at the time. The Olympics
00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:11.830
is great for new TV sales and obviously
00:21:11.840 --> 00:21:14.390
with being able to transmit high amounts
00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:16.470
of data then you know from far-flung
00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.310
places. Now we take all this for granted
00:21:18.320 --> 00:21:20.230
these days but when 5G was first being
00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:21.750
announced there were lots of promises
00:21:21.760 --> 00:21:22.870
that you would have much better
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.830
connectivity at the edge and uh we have
00:21:25.840 --> 00:21:28.630
faster speeds and I noticed that 5G you
00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:30.149
know had a dirty little secret which was
00:21:30.159 --> 00:21:32.390
that 4G could be faster many times than
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.789
5G and uh I was always amazed that you
00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:36.230
know I could connect to the 4G network
00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:37.669
and do a speed test and get faster
00:21:37.679 --> 00:21:41.029
speeds but part of the appeal of 6G is
00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:42.710
that it's going to be better than 5G. So
00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:45.110
what does that mean exactly? Well, in
00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:46.710
this case, you've got artificial
00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:48.630
intelligence being integrated into the
00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:50.390
network core. So, you you're going to
00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:53.430
have what they call native wireless
00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:55.270
sensing capabilities for environment
00:21:55.280 --> 00:21:56.470
mapping. And they're going to be using
00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:58.149
higher frequency bands. When they use
00:21:58.159 --> 00:21:59.750
higher frequency bands, that's when you
00:21:59.760 --> 00:22:02.310
can get much faster data speeds. So, you
00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:03.990
can really send huge amounts of data.
00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.990
And we had this with 5G with millimeter
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:08.230
wave. You had to be effectively right
00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:09.909
next to the tower to be able to get
00:22:09.919 --> 00:22:12.470
those speeds. and the signal could be
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.029
stopped by the glass in your window. So,
00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:16.950
there's still a lot of work to do to
00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:19.110
make sure that those higher bandwidths
00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:21.350
can be widely propagated. And given the
00:22:21.360 --> 00:22:22.310
fact that they're at these higher
00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:24.230
frequencies, that's a problem. You know,
00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:26.470
part of the good thing about 3G was that
00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.590
it could operate on 750 megahertz of
00:22:29.600 --> 00:22:30.950
bandwidth. And that's the same sort of
00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.510
frequency that TV antenna signals come
00:22:33.520 --> 00:22:35.270
through to your house. They have to go
00:22:35.280 --> 00:22:36.630
through the house if you have one of the
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:38.870
rabbit ears. And there's a lot of talk
00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:40.310
about 60 at the moment. I mean the
00:22:40.320 --> 00:22:42.310
standard hasn't finally been finished
00:22:42.320 --> 00:22:44.870
and after the the debacle of 5G not
00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:46.470
really being much better than 4G a bit
00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:48.390
of a overpromising and undelivering sort
00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.070
of situation and with plenty of places
00:22:50.080 --> 00:22:51.909
still you know not rolling out 5G
00:22:51.919 --> 00:22:53.750
networks as big as the 4G networks I
00:22:53.760 --> 00:22:55.510
mean we have 2G gone in many countries
00:22:55.520 --> 00:22:58.310
but not all we have 3G gone in Australia
00:22:58.320 --> 00:23:01.029
but not in other countries and uh 4G and
00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.270
5G will be with us for some time yet and
00:23:03.280 --> 00:23:05.669
6G I mean there may be some early
00:23:05.679 --> 00:23:08.390
announcements in 2028 2029 new early
00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:09.990
devices that have it But it's going to
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:11.669
take several years. It won't be until
00:23:11.679 --> 00:23:14.470
2035 that 6G handsets will be totally
00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.149
commonplace and that people will be
00:23:16.159 --> 00:23:17.909
using those networks. And we're yet to
00:23:17.919 --> 00:23:20.230
truly see how AI can help with
00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.230
propagating the signal and ensuring you
00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.310
get a better and stronger signal. So,
00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:26.070
great news for the telco industry and
00:23:26.080 --> 00:23:27.270
the phone companies. They'll have
00:23:27.280 --> 00:23:28.950
something new to sell new equipment to
00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.950
the phone companies, new handsets to us.
00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:32.470
But at the moment, it's still in the
00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:33.669
minds of buffins as to how they're
00:23:33.679 --> 00:23:34.710
really going to make it all happen. And
00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.070
there are plenty of developments from
00:23:36.080 --> 00:23:38.390
Huawei and Ericson and Nokia and others,
00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:39.830
but none of them have equipment ready to
00:23:39.840 --> 00:23:42.070
sell yet. And it's all still in the hype
00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:42.549
phase.
00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:46.390
>> That's Alex Sahara from techadvice.life
00:23:46.400 --> 00:24:03.590
and this is spacetime.
00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:06.310
And that's the show for now. Spacetime
00:24:06.320 --> 00:24:08.149
is available every Monday, Wednesday,
00:24:08.159 --> 00:24:10.470
and Friday through bites.com,
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SoundCloud, YouTube, your favorite
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00:24:17.760 --> 00:24:19.590
Spacetime's also broadcast through the
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TuneIn Radio. And you can help to
00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:28.310
support our show by visiting the
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rewards. Just go to
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spaceimewithstgar.com
00:24:48.159 --> 00:24:49.990
for full details.
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:51.909
>> You've been listening to Spacetime with
00:24:51.919 --> 00:24:54.230
Stewartgary. This has been another
00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:55.990
quality podcast production from
00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:59.000
byes.com.
Kind: captions
Language: en
00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.510
This is Spacetime Series 29, episode 48
00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:05.590
for broadcast on the 22nd of April,
00:00:05.600 --> 00:00:07.110
2026.
00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.910
Coming up on Spaceime, discovery that
00:00:09.920 --> 00:00:12.310
young sunlike stars dim quickly. Good
00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:14.629
news for the possibility of life. A
00:00:14.639 --> 00:00:16.550
surprisingly speedy solar wind
00:00:16.560 --> 00:00:18.870
discovered in the inner corona. And the
00:00:18.880 --> 00:00:21.429
dream chaser space plane passes another
00:00:21.439 --> 00:00:24.150
critical milestone. All that and more
00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:27.509
coming up on Spaceime.
00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:46.389
Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Garry.
00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:48.549
A new study has discovered that young
00:00:48.559 --> 00:00:51.190
sunlike stars tend to settle down and
00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.270
start to dim much more quickly than
00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:55.189
previously thought. and that could
00:00:55.199 --> 00:00:57.189
potentially benefit any orbiting planets
00:00:57.199 --> 00:00:59.270
and the prospects of life developing
00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:01.430
there. The findings reported in the
00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:03.510
Astrophysical Journal are based on new
00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:05.509
observations by NASA's Earth orbiting
00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:08.070
Chandra X-ray Space Telescope.
00:01:08.080 --> 00:01:09.830
Astronomers use Chandra and other
00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:11.750
telescopes to monitor how powerful
00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:13.990
radiation from young stars, often in the
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.230
form of dangerous X-rays, can pummel any
00:01:16.240 --> 00:01:18.550
planets orbiting around them. However,
00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.230
they didn't know how long this high
00:01:20.240 --> 00:01:22.310
energy barrage would last. That's where
00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:24.230
the new observations come in.
00:01:24.240 --> 00:01:26.230
Astronomers studied eight clusters of
00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:29.590
stars between 45 and 750 million years
00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:32.069
old. The authors found that sunlike
00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:34.149
stars in these clusters unleashed only
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.310
about a quarter to a third of the X-rays
00:01:36.320 --> 00:01:38.550
they're expecting. The study's lead
00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:40.310
author Constantine Gateman from Penn
00:01:40.320 --> 00:01:42.390
State University says the observations
00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.390
reveal a natural quietening of young
00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:46.469
sunlike stars in X-rays, possibly
00:01:46.479 --> 00:01:48.230
because their internal generation of
00:01:48.240 --> 00:01:50.870
magnetic fields becomes less efficient.
00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:52.950
And Gman believes this calming could
00:01:52.960 --> 00:01:54.710
have been a boom for the formation of
00:01:54.720 --> 00:01:56.870
life on planets around stars that are
00:01:56.880 --> 00:01:59.590
younger versions of our own 4.6 billiony
00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:02.789
old sun. That's because large amounts of
00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:05.270
X-rays can erode a planet's atmosphere,
00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:07.030
preventing the formation of molecules
00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.029
necessary for organic life as we know
00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:12.309
it. On average, 3 milliony old stars
00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:13.990
with a mass equal to that of the sun
00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:15.750
produce around a thousand times more
00:02:15.760 --> 00:02:18.390
X-rays than our sun does today.
00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:20.790
Meanwhile, 100 milliony old solar mass
00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:22.869
stars are about 40 times brighter in
00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:25.270
X-rays than the present day sun. And
00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:27.030
it's possible that we owe our own
00:02:27.040 --> 00:02:28.790
existence to our sun doing the same
00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.589
thing several billion years ago. The
00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:33.509
authors found that stars with about the
00:02:33.519 --> 00:02:35.350
same mass as the sun whitened down
00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.430
relatively rapidly after just a few
00:02:37.440 --> 00:02:39.589
hundred million years, while those with
00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.750
less mass kept up their high level of
00:02:41.760 --> 00:02:44.070
X-ray emissions for much longer.
00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:45.990
Combined with the decrease in the energy
00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:47.750
of the X-rays and the disappearance of
00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:50.390
energetic particles, the sun-sized stars
00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.150
are apparently better suited to host
00:02:52.160 --> 00:02:54.070
planets with robust atmospheres and
00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.470
possibly blossoming life than previously
00:02:56.480 --> 00:02:59.110
thought. Gman and colleagues also used
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.350
data from the European Space Ay's Gaia
00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:03.670
satellite and the Rosat mission. This
00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:05.509
allowed them to identify stars that were
00:03:05.519 --> 00:03:07.589
members of clusters rather than either
00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:09.830
foreground or background stars. To
00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:11.350
measure the X-ray outputs from the
00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.350
stars, the authors made new Chandra
00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:15.750
observations of five clusters with ages
00:03:15.760 --> 00:03:18.149
between 45 million and 100 million
00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.309
years. In addition to using Chandra and
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.630
Roset data from archives to study three
00:03:22.640 --> 00:03:24.790
older stellar clusters with ages between
00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.710
220 and 750 million years, astronomers
00:03:28.720 --> 00:03:30.550
hadn't previously been able to study the
00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:32.869
exact X-ray output of stars in this age
00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:35.589
range. Most have relied on sparse data
00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:37.589
and a relationship from previous work
00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:39.509
between the X-ray emissions produced by
00:03:39.519 --> 00:03:41.670
young stars and their ages and spin
00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:44.949
rates. Older, more slowly rotating stars
00:03:44.959 --> 00:03:47.430
are usually fainter in X-rays. But the
00:03:47.440 --> 00:03:49.589
authors found that X-ray output drops
00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:51.990
off about 15 times more rapidly than the
00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:53.670
relationship predicts during the
00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.470
specific adolescent phase. While they're
00:03:56.480 --> 00:03:58.070
still investigating the cause of the
00:03:58.080 --> 00:03:59.670
slower than expected activity,
00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:01.589
astronomers think the processes that
00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:03.830
generate magnetic fields in these stars
00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.070
may become less efficient, and that
00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.910
would lead to the stars becoming quieter
00:04:07.920 --> 00:04:11.190
in X-rays more quickly as they age. This
00:04:11.200 --> 00:04:14.149
is spaceime. Still to come, a
00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.229
surprisingly speedy solar wind found in
00:04:16.239 --> 00:04:18.390
the sun's inner corona. And the Sierra
00:04:18.400 --> 00:04:20.870
Space Dreamchaser space plane Tenacity
00:04:20.880 --> 00:04:23.430
passes another critical milestone. All
00:04:23.440 --> 00:04:42.150
that and more still to come on Spaceime.
00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.230
A new study has found that the solar
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:45.909
wind is traveling up to four times
00:04:45.919 --> 00:04:48.070
faster than expected in the sun's inner
00:04:48.080 --> 00:04:50.950
corona. The solar wind is a constant
00:04:50.960 --> 00:04:52.790
stream of charged particles flowing out
00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.270
from the sun. The new findings reported
00:04:55.280 --> 00:04:57.110
in the Astrophysical Journal Letters
00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:59.110
provides fresh details about the inner
00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.430
workings of our local star. The
00:05:01.440 --> 00:05:03.670
discovery marks the first result from
00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:06.629
the European Space Ay's Prob 3 mission.
00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:09.350
Prob 3 comprises two spacecraft flying
00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:12.070
in millimeter precise formation. The
00:05:12.080 --> 00:05:14.070
exacting nature of their orbit allows
00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:16.230
one of the vehicles to directly occult
00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.469
or block out sun from the other. in the
00:05:18.479 --> 00:05:20.469
process creating an artificial solar
00:05:20.479 --> 00:05:23.110
eclipse. This allows astronomers to
00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.590
study the sun's faint wispy corona.
00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:26.950
That's the atmosphere of the sun
00:05:26.960 --> 00:05:29.510
normally obscured by the sun's glare.
00:05:29.520 --> 00:05:31.909
The prob 3 mission launched last year
00:05:31.919 --> 00:05:34.469
and has so far created 57 artificial
00:05:34.479 --> 00:05:37.029
solar eclipses collecting more than 250
00:05:37.039 --> 00:05:39.350
hours of highresolution videos of the
00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.390
sun's atmosphere. Before Prober 3, a
00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:44.390
solar eclipse seen from Earth was the
00:05:44.400 --> 00:05:47.189
best way to see the sun's inner corona.
00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.590
See, when the moon blocks out the sun's
00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.430
direct light, scientists can capture
00:05:51.440 --> 00:05:53.350
details in the solar atmosphere around
00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:55.670
the sun. The problem is total solar
00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:57.670
eclipses only happen on average once
00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.310
every 18 months or so. And when they do
00:06:00.320 --> 00:06:02.150
happen, totality, that's when the moon
00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:03.990
totally blocks out the sun, usually only
00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.550
lasts for a few minutes at most. So, the
00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.189
observations by Prober 3, amounts to the
00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:11.830
same amount of observing time as 5,000
00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:14.870
solar eclipse campaigns on Earth. This
00:06:14.880 --> 00:06:16.550
is the first time astronomers have been
00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:18.309
able to carefully track how material
00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:20.070
from the sun moves through the inner
00:06:20.080 --> 00:06:23.270
corona where space weather is born. For
00:06:23.280 --> 00:06:26.070
around 5 hours at a time, the occult
00:06:26.080 --> 00:06:28.550
spacecraft acts like an artificial moon,
00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.550
blocking out the sun's direct light. So
00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:32.550
the other spacecraft, the chronograph,
00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:35.510
can see the sun's corona. And Proer 3's
00:06:35.520 --> 00:06:37.270
chronograph instrument can see down to
00:06:37.280 --> 00:06:39.990
70,000 km above the sun's surface.
00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.710
That's 1/10enth of the sun's radius. No
00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:44.469
other space-based chronograph can
00:06:44.479 --> 00:06:45.990
observe the light scattering off
00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.150
particles in the sun's corona this close
00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:50.629
to the solar surface. The instrument
00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:53.110
takes one or two images a minute. These
00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:54.870
are then combined into videos that
00:06:54.880 --> 00:06:57.029
reveal never before seen movement in the
00:06:57.039 --> 00:06:59.430
hard to observe inner corona. Isis
00:06:59.440 --> 00:07:01.670
Prober 3 project scientist Joe Zender
00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:03.430
says these sorts of intricate movements
00:07:03.440 --> 00:07:05.189
have never previously been observed in
00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:07.350
optical wavelengths so low in the sun's
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:10.469
inner corona. Sender says probe 3 can
00:07:10.479 --> 00:07:12.550
track how the solar wind speeds up
00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.309
through the sun, showing speeds and
00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.070
accelerations that are surprising
00:07:16.080 --> 00:07:18.390
scientists. Just like wind here on
00:07:18.400 --> 00:07:20.469
Earth, the solar wind can be fast or
00:07:20.479 --> 00:07:23.830
slow, smooth or gusty. A fast solar wind
00:07:23.840 --> 00:07:25.909
usually flows in smooth currents from
00:07:25.919 --> 00:07:27.589
magnetic structures called coronal
00:07:27.599 --> 00:07:30.950
holes. In contrast, slow solar winds are
00:07:30.960 --> 00:07:33.350
variable and gusty, making understanding
00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.670
how it all works more difficult.
00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:37.830
Scientists think the slow solar wind is
00:07:37.840 --> 00:07:39.749
generated by the sun's magnetic field
00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:41.990
lines, changing how they connect, merge,
00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.550
and separate. This process pushes out
00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:46.870
blobs of plasma in large bright rays in
00:07:46.880 --> 00:07:49.270
the corona called streamers. In the
00:07:49.280 --> 00:07:50.950
inner corona, a region difficult to
00:07:50.960 --> 00:07:53.270
observe, astronomers saw slow solar wind
00:07:53.280 --> 00:07:55.270
gusts moving three or four times faster
00:07:55.280 --> 00:07:57.830
than expected. Previously, scientists
00:07:57.840 --> 00:07:59.270
had found that close to the sun's
00:07:59.280 --> 00:08:01.110
surface, the solar wind should have been
00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:03.990
traveling at speeds of around 100 km/s.
00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.589
but instead they track some of these
00:08:05.599 --> 00:08:07.990
blobs of plasma moving at between 250
00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.950
and 500 kilometers a second. Overall,
00:08:10.960 --> 00:08:13.430
the wide range of speeds, accelerations,
00:08:13.440 --> 00:08:15.350
and movement directions in the data
00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:18.070
explain why the slow solar wind is so
00:08:18.080 --> 00:08:20.710
hard to understand. It's naturally not
00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.110
uniform, involving lots of smallcale
00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:24.790
structures in the sun's magnetic field,
00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:26.710
which astronomers can now see thanks to
00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.749
Proverb 3. The discovery comes just
00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:31.909
weeks after contact was reestablished
00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:33.509
with one of the spacecraft which had
00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.029
suddenly gone silent following an
00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:36.870
onboard glitch, the cause of which is
00:08:36.880 --> 00:08:39.190
still being investigated. Zender says
00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:41.110
this first data set is just the
00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:42.870
beginning of a much longer journey to
00:08:42.880 --> 00:08:44.870
fully understand what's happening in the
00:08:44.880 --> 00:08:47.030
sun. Most of the data collected by
00:08:47.040 --> 00:08:50.470
Proverb 3 so far is yet to be analyzed.
00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.550
Key open questions yet to be answered
00:08:52.560 --> 00:08:54.150
include finding out exactly what
00:08:54.160 --> 00:08:56.470
accelerates the solar wind, how the sun
00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.389
flings out material in coronal mass
00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.190
ejections, and why the solar corona is
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.269
so much hotter than the surface of the
00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:05.190
sun. After all, things are supposed to
00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:07.269
get cooler the further away you get from
00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.750
the heat source. This report on the
00:09:09.760 --> 00:09:12.070
brilliance of the prob 3 mission from
00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:12.710
TV.
00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:14.710
>> During a solar eclipse, the Earth is
00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.710
plunged into darkness and the sun's
00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.590
ghostly atmosphere becomes visible. But
00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:22.230
what exactly causes solar eclipses? And
00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:23.910
how do scientists create their own
00:09:23.920 --> 00:09:26.870
artificial solar eclipses? And how will
00:09:26.880 --> 00:09:29.670
our mission prob 3 generate artificial
00:09:29.680 --> 00:09:32.790
solar eclipses on demand? Let's find
00:09:32.800 --> 00:09:36.630
out. So, how do solar eclipses happen?
00:09:36.640 --> 00:09:39.269
The answer is simple. It's when the sun,
00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:41.590
moon, and earth are perfectly aligned
00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:43.829
and the moon covers the entire disc of
00:09:43.839 --> 00:09:46.630
the sun. The fact that solar eclipses
00:09:46.640 --> 00:09:49.190
happen at all is a cosmic coincidence.
00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.509
It just so happens that the sun is 400
00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:54.310
times bigger than our moon, but also 400
00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.030
times further away. So, the two bodies
00:09:57.040 --> 00:09:59.990
look the same size in our sky.
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.150
Solar eclipses are extremely valuable
00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:03.910
because they allow scientists to study
00:10:03.920 --> 00:10:06.070
the sun's atmosphere, also known as the
00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:08.230
solar corona. Scientists are
00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:09.910
particularly interested in this region
00:10:09.920 --> 00:10:11.590
of the sun because it's the source of
00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:13.829
solar wind and space weather which can
00:10:13.839 --> 00:10:16.550
impact satellites and Earth. These
00:10:16.560 --> 00:10:18.710
effects are especially noticeable during
00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:21.509
coronal mass ejections. Enormous bubbles
00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:24.949
of superheated gas ejected from the sun.
00:10:24.959 --> 00:10:26.870
The solar corona is a million times
00:10:26.880 --> 00:10:28.949
fainter than the sun's surface. So the
00:10:28.959 --> 00:10:30.710
light from the solar disc needs to be
00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.190
blocked in order to see it. This is why
00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:35.430
eclipses are ideal for studying this
00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.670
region. and scientists trek all over the
00:10:37.680 --> 00:10:40.230
world to see them.
00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:42.470
Unfortunately though, solar eclipses are
00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:44.550
a rare phenomenon occurring only for a
00:10:44.560 --> 00:10:47.590
few minutes every 18 months or so. But
00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:49.269
how do we know anything about the solar
00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:51.430
corona given that eclipses occur so
00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.630
rarely? Scientists use coronagraphs,
00:10:54.640 --> 00:10:57.030
special telescopes that use a disc to
00:10:57.040 --> 00:11:00.150
block the sun's bright surface. In other
00:11:00.160 --> 00:11:02.230
words, a coronagraph produces an
00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.389
artificial solar eclipse
00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:07.190
>> and liftoff of SOHO.
00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:09.030
>> Coronographs are not only used on the
00:11:09.040 --> 00:11:11.750
ground but also in space. Previous sun
00:11:11.760 --> 00:11:13.509
observing missions such as SOHO
00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:15.350
incorporate coronagraphs to study the
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.350
corona, but their effectiveness is
00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.310
limited. Mimicking a real solar eclipse
00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:22.550
is difficult.
00:11:22.560 --> 00:11:24.630
When using a coronagraph, light spills
00:11:24.640 --> 00:11:26.550
around the edge of the disc, distorting
00:11:26.560 --> 00:11:28.550
the view we get. The best way to
00:11:28.560 --> 00:11:30.630
minimize this spillover stray light is
00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:32.870
to move the disc further away from the
00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:35.430
telescope lens. But how much further
00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:37.670
away? Approximately
00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:40.870
150 m. The length of 1 and 1/2 football
00:11:40.880 --> 00:11:43.190
pitches. And sending something that big
00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:46.790
into space is just not a practical idea.
00:11:46.800 --> 00:11:49.110
So how can we create a perfect
00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:52.470
artificial solar eclipse in space? This
00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.269
is where our Robbo 3 mission comes in.
00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:56.949
Instead of relying on a single
00:11:56.959 --> 00:11:59.829
impractically long coronagraph, Proer 3
00:11:59.839 --> 00:12:02.150
consists of two spacecraft, a camera
00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:05.430
satellite and a disc satellite. They fly
00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:07.829
together so precisely that they operate
00:12:07.839 --> 00:12:11.829
like a single coronagraph around 150 m
00:12:11.839 --> 00:12:13.430
long.
00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:15.829
One spacecraft block the sun creating an
00:12:15.839 --> 00:12:17.910
artificial eclipse while the other
00:12:17.920 --> 00:12:20.389
observed the sun. To make this possible,
00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:22.069
the two spacecraft have to stay
00:12:22.079 --> 00:12:23.990
positioned with millimeter scale
00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.470
accuracy to create artificial solar
00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:29.190
eclipses on demand, significantly
00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:31.030
advancing our understanding of this
00:12:31.040 --> 00:12:32.790
mysterious region.
00:12:32.800 --> 00:12:35.990
>> This is spacetime. Still to come, the
00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:37.910
Dreamchaser space plane Tenacity
00:12:37.920 --> 00:12:39.590
completes a major acoustic test
00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:41.670
milestone for NASA. And later in the
00:12:41.680 --> 00:12:44.389
science report, engineers and scientists
00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.550
looking at ways to save Venice from the
00:12:46.560 --> 00:12:48.870
threat of rising sea levels. All that
00:12:48.880 --> 00:13:07.110
and more still to come on Spaceime.
00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.509
The Sierra Space Dreamchaser space plane
00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:11.670
Tenacity has just completed launch
00:13:11.680 --> 00:13:14.230
acoustic testing at NASA's space systems
00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.790
processing facility. The key milestone
00:13:16.800 --> 00:13:19.030
event validates the vehicle's ability to
00:13:19.040 --> 00:13:21.030
withstand the intense vibrations
00:13:21.040 --> 00:13:23.750
produced during launch. The test in a
00:13:23.760 --> 00:13:25.509
speciallyesed hanger at the Kennedy
00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:27.750
Space Center in Florida uses an array of
00:13:27.760 --> 00:13:30.389
90 stacked giant speakers to simulate
00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:32.470
the sounds and vibrations experienced
00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:35.269
during blastoff. The Dreamchaser space
00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.870
plane was positioned at the center of
00:13:36.880 --> 00:13:38.949
the test setup with its wings stowed,
00:13:38.959 --> 00:13:40.470
mirroring the configuration it would
00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:42.629
have when it's mounted inside the 5 m
00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.269
payload fairing during an actual launch.
00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.430
The successful test validated the
00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.430
durability of DreamChaser's critical
00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:51.509
electronic systems and confirmed the
00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:53.910
structural integrity of the spacecraft.
00:13:53.920 --> 00:13:56.470
So, Dreamchaser has now achieved several
00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:59.590
key milestones, including EMI and EMC
00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:02.069
testing, high-speed towe testing, and
00:14:02.079 --> 00:14:04.949
post landing recovery rehearsals. It's
00:14:04.959 --> 00:14:07.110
also demonstrated command and telemetry
00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.269
capabilities with mission control using
00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:11.430
NASA's tracking and data relay satellite
00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:13.670
system. With the acoustic testing now
00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:15.670
complete in Florida, Dreamchas has been
00:14:15.680 --> 00:14:17.750
transported back to Colorado for final
00:14:17.760 --> 00:14:19.590
modifications and mission specific
00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.710
upgrades. Sir Space Dreamchaser program
00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.430
manager Dan Polus says it's a key step
00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:27.430
in getting the spacecraft ready for
00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:30.870
flight. Now NASA's slated Dreamchaser's
00:14:30.880 --> 00:14:33.509
tenacity for initial six missions, its
00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.069
first possibly later this year. That
00:14:36.079 --> 00:14:37.910
45-day flight won't visit the
00:14:37.920 --> 00:14:39.829
International Space Station, but instead
00:14:39.839 --> 00:14:42.310
undertake low Earth orbit testing.
00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:43.990
Although originally designed to carry
00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:45.509
crews of up to seven to the
00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:47.030
International Space Station, the
00:14:47.040 --> 00:14:48.949
reusable wing space plane will only be
00:14:48.959 --> 00:14:51.030
used by NASA to transport cargo and
00:14:51.040 --> 00:14:52.629
supplies to and from the orbiting
00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.710
outpost as part of NASA's commercial
00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.750
resupply services to contract. Dreamchas
00:14:57.760 --> 00:15:00.310
is capable of carrying 5,000 kg of
00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:03.110
pressurized, 500 kg of unpressurized
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.269
cargo during the ascent phase on its
00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.829
uphill climb to the space station. And
00:15:07.839 --> 00:15:09.670
on its return to Earth, it can carry up
00:15:09.680 --> 00:15:13.030
to 1,750 kg of cargo and returned
00:15:13.040 --> 00:15:15.269
experiments. But the spacecraft is
00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:17.110
designed to be fitted with an expendable
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.189
pressurized cargo module called Shooting
00:15:19.199 --> 00:15:21.829
Star attached aft that'll increase its
00:15:21.839 --> 00:15:24.710
cargo capacity by an additional 4,500
00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:27.590
kg. Right now, Dream Chase is designed
00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.509
to fly aboard a United Launch Alliance
00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:31.910
Vulcan Central rocket. After docking
00:15:31.920 --> 00:15:33.430
with the orbiting outpost and completing
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:35.350
its mission, it'll then return to Earth,
00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.430
gliding to a soft landing on the former
00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:39.350
Space Shuttle runway at the Kennedy
00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.829
Space Center with Tenacity completing
00:15:41.839 --> 00:15:43.670
the final stages of its development
00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:45.350
before being handed over to NASA.
00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:47.430
Serious Space are now building a second
00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:49.910
Dreamchaser, this one named Reverence.
00:15:49.920 --> 00:15:51.829
And there are plans for a specialized
00:15:51.839 --> 00:15:53.990
third Dreamchaser as well, but that'll
00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.430
be part of a classified national
00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.430
security contract, so no details are
00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.110
being released. There's even the
00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.189
possibility of a fourth Dreamchaser.
00:16:01.199 --> 00:16:03.350
This one for the European Space Agency,
00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:05.189
specifically modified for launch aboard
00:16:05.199 --> 00:16:09.189
an Aran 6 rocket. Exciting times ahead.
00:16:09.199 --> 00:16:26.470
This is spaceime.
00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:28.310
And time now to take another brief look
00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:29.829
at some of the other stories making news
00:16:29.839 --> 00:16:31.509
in science this week with a science
00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:35.030
report. Scientists say long-term HIV
00:16:35.040 --> 00:16:37.030
remission has been achieved in a patient
00:16:37.040 --> 00:16:39.030
following a stem cell transplant from a
00:16:39.040 --> 00:16:41.110
sibling carrying a specific genetic
00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:43.670
mutation. A report in the journal Nature
00:16:43.680 --> 00:16:46.069
says the 63-year-old man was diagnosed
00:16:46.079 --> 00:16:49.829
with HIV1 subtype B back in 2006 when he
00:16:49.839 --> 00:16:53.350
was aged 44. In 2020, he received a stem
00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:55.269
cell transplant from a sibling with a
00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:58.629
CCR5 delta 32 mutation to treat a type
00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:01.590
of blood cancer. Over time, the donor
00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.430
cells were found to replace the patients
00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:05.750
own immune cells in blood, bone marrow,
00:17:05.760 --> 00:17:08.710
and gut tissues. Analysis of biopsies
00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:10.549
taken two years after the transplant
00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:12.630
showed no HIV genetic material
00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:14.630
integrated into the DNA of the man's
00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:17.750
infected cells in blood or gut samples.
00:17:17.760 --> 00:17:19.909
And further analysis of the man cells
00:17:19.919 --> 00:17:22.789
showed no virus capable of multiplying.
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:25.590
The human immuno deficiency virus HIV
00:17:25.600 --> 00:17:27.590
attacks the immune system causing
00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:29.590
acquired immune deficiency syndrome or
00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:31.990
AIDS which allows opportunistic diseases
00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.310
normally easily combed by the body to
00:17:34.320 --> 00:17:36.549
take hold and eventually kill the
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.789
patient. The World Health Organization
00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:40.630
says since first being identified back
00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.310
in 1981, AIDS has killed over 44 million
00:17:44.320 --> 00:17:47.270
people globally and infected up to 115
00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:49.750
million others with 1.3 million new
00:17:49.760 --> 00:17:53.029
infections occurring annually. HIV is
00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:55.350
transmitted through body fluids.
00:17:55.360 --> 00:17:57.510
Although there is no cure, it can be
00:17:57.520 --> 00:17:59.350
controlled using a combination of
00:17:59.360 --> 00:18:02.630
complex drug cocktails.
00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:04.630
Engineers and scientists have selected
00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.870
four potential strategies for trying to
00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.190
save the city of Venice from rising sea
00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.510
levels. The findings published in the
00:18:11.520 --> 00:18:13.430
journal Scientific Reports looked at
00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:16.070
movable barriers, ring dikes, closing
00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:18.549
the Venetian lagoon, or relocating the
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:21.430
entire city as potential strategies. The
00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:23.190
authors say adding additional measures
00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.110
to the current movable barrier system
00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:26.870
could be effective against sea level
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:30.789
rises up to 1.25 m. They use localized
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:32.789
sea level rise projections over the next
00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.430
300 years based on the IPCC 6th
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.270
assessment report to examine both the
00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:39.110
existing and potential new adaption
00:18:39.120 --> 00:18:41.669
strategies for saving Venice. They
00:18:41.679 --> 00:18:43.270
investigated protecting the center of
00:18:43.280 --> 00:18:45.110
Venice with dikes that would separate it
00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:47.590
from the rest of the lagoon. closing the
00:18:47.600 --> 00:18:49.909
entire lagoon with a super levy or
00:18:49.919 --> 00:18:52.230
relocating the city, its residents and
00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.789
historic landmarks in land. According to
00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.950
the authors, relocation of the entire
00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.190
city could be necessary under the very
00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:02.150
high emission scenario with 4.5 me sea
00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:04.470
level rise, which is projected to occur
00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:07.590
after the year 2300.
00:19:07.600 --> 00:19:10.150
A new study has warned that half of all
00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.470
health and medical questions supplied by
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.549
five artificial intelligence chatbots
00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:17.190
are problematic. The findings reported
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.110
in the British Medical Journal follow a
00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:21.909
test in which Gemini, Deep Seek, Meta
00:19:21.919 --> 00:19:25.029
AI, Chat GPT, and Grock were challenged
00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.190
to answer 10 open-ended and closed
00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:29.590
questions in each of five categories:
00:19:29.600 --> 00:19:32.390
cancer, vaccines, stem cells, nutrition,
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:35.029
and athletic performance. The prompts
00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:36.789
were designed to be similar to common
00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:38.549
information seeking health and medical
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.190
queries, and misinformation tropes. And
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.029
the authors found half of the responses
00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.909
were problematic. 30% somewhat and 20%
00:19:45.919 --> 00:19:48.230
highly concerning. They found the
00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:49.990
quality of the responses didn't differ
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.390
among chatbots, but Grock generated more
00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:54.150
highly problematic responses than
00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.310
expected, while Gemini generated the
00:19:56.320 --> 00:19:58.870
fewest. The chatbots appear to perform
00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.350
best in areas of vaccines and cancer and
00:20:01.360 --> 00:20:03.669
worst in areas of stem cells, athletic
00:20:03.679 --> 00:20:06.470
performance, and nutrition.
00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.150
Well, there's growing talk in technology
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.150
circles about the next big revolution in
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:13.830
communications, the 6G network. 6G, the
00:20:13.840 --> 00:20:15.830
upcoming sixth generation cellular
00:20:15.840 --> 00:20:17.669
network technology, is expected to
00:20:17.679 --> 00:20:20.150
launch commercially by around 2030.
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.070
Promising speeds of up to a terabyte per
00:20:22.080 --> 00:20:24.230
second, which is 100 times faster than
00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.950
5G and a thousand times faster than most
00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:28.950
current home internet systems, along
00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:32.390
with near zero latency. 6G will focus on
00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:34.070
integrating artificial intelligence
00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:36.310
native technology, advanced sensing and
00:20:36.320 --> 00:20:37.990
expanded connectivity to include
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:39.669
satellite networks, enabling
00:20:39.679 --> 00:20:41.110
applications like holographic
00:20:41.120 --> 00:20:43.430
communications, precise digital twins,
00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.230
and autonomous drone fleets. With the
00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:47.909
details, we're joined by technology
00:20:47.919 --> 00:20:50.070
editor Alex Sahara from tech
00:20:50.080 --> 00:20:51.430
advice.life.
00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:53.270
>> This is still at least a good couple of
00:20:53.280 --> 00:20:55.270
years away from being launched. Normally
00:20:55.280 --> 00:20:57.909
there's 10 years between each generation
00:20:57.919 --> 00:21:01.510
and the 2020 was meant to be when 5G
00:21:01.520 --> 00:21:04.789
started. But we had 5G from about 2018
00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:06.870
because it was in time for the Olympics
00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:08.950
in South Korea at the time. The Olympics
00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:11.830
is great for new TV sales and obviously
00:21:11.840 --> 00:21:14.390
with being able to transmit high amounts
00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:16.470
of data then you know from far-flung
00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.310
places. Now we take all this for granted
00:21:18.320 --> 00:21:20.230
these days but when 5G was first being
00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:21.750
announced there were lots of promises
00:21:21.760 --> 00:21:22.870
that you would have much better
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.830
connectivity at the edge and uh we have
00:21:25.840 --> 00:21:28.630
faster speeds and I noticed that 5G you
00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:30.149
know had a dirty little secret which was
00:21:30.159 --> 00:21:32.390
that 4G could be faster many times than
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.789
5G and uh I was always amazed that you
00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:36.230
know I could connect to the 4G network
00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:37.669
and do a speed test and get faster
00:21:37.679 --> 00:21:41.029
speeds but part of the appeal of 6G is
00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:42.710
that it's going to be better than 5G. So
00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:45.110
what does that mean exactly? Well, in
00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:46.710
this case, you've got artificial
00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:48.630
intelligence being integrated into the
00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:50.390
network core. So, you you're going to
00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:53.430
have what they call native wireless
00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:55.270
sensing capabilities for environment
00:21:55.280 --> 00:21:56.470
mapping. And they're going to be using
00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:58.149
higher frequency bands. When they use
00:21:58.159 --> 00:21:59.750
higher frequency bands, that's when you
00:21:59.760 --> 00:22:02.310
can get much faster data speeds. So, you
00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:03.990
can really send huge amounts of data.
00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.990
And we had this with 5G with millimeter
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:08.230
wave. You had to be effectively right
00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:09.909
next to the tower to be able to get
00:22:09.919 --> 00:22:12.470
those speeds. and the signal could be
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.029
stopped by the glass in your window. So,
00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:16.950
there's still a lot of work to do to
00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:19.110
make sure that those higher bandwidths
00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:21.350
can be widely propagated. And given the
00:22:21.360 --> 00:22:22.310
fact that they're at these higher
00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:24.230
frequencies, that's a problem. You know,
00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:26.470
part of the good thing about 3G was that
00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.590
it could operate on 750 megahertz of
00:22:29.600 --> 00:22:30.950
bandwidth. And that's the same sort of
00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.510
frequency that TV antenna signals come
00:22:33.520 --> 00:22:35.270
through to your house. They have to go
00:22:35.280 --> 00:22:36.630
through the house if you have one of the
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:38.870
rabbit ears. And there's a lot of talk
00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:40.310
about 60 at the moment. I mean the
00:22:40.320 --> 00:22:42.310
standard hasn't finally been finished
00:22:42.320 --> 00:22:44.870
and after the the debacle of 5G not
00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:46.470
really being much better than 4G a bit
00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:48.390
of a overpromising and undelivering sort
00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.070
of situation and with plenty of places
00:22:50.080 --> 00:22:51.909
still you know not rolling out 5G
00:22:51.919 --> 00:22:53.750
networks as big as the 4G networks I
00:22:53.760 --> 00:22:55.510
mean we have 2G gone in many countries
00:22:55.520 --> 00:22:58.310
but not all we have 3G gone in Australia
00:22:58.320 --> 00:23:01.029
but not in other countries and uh 4G and
00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.270
5G will be with us for some time yet and
00:23:03.280 --> 00:23:05.669
6G I mean there may be some early
00:23:05.679 --> 00:23:08.390
announcements in 2028 2029 new early
00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:09.990
devices that have it But it's going to
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:11.669
take several years. It won't be until
00:23:11.679 --> 00:23:14.470
2035 that 6G handsets will be totally
00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.149
commonplace and that people will be
00:23:16.159 --> 00:23:17.909
using those networks. And we're yet to
00:23:17.919 --> 00:23:20.230
truly see how AI can help with
00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.230
propagating the signal and ensuring you
00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.310
get a better and stronger signal. So,
00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:26.070
great news for the telco industry and
00:23:26.080 --> 00:23:27.270
the phone companies. They'll have
00:23:27.280 --> 00:23:28.950
something new to sell new equipment to
00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.950
the phone companies, new handsets to us.
00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:32.470
But at the moment, it's still in the
00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:33.669
minds of buffins as to how they're
00:23:33.679 --> 00:23:34.710
really going to make it all happen. And
00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.070
there are plenty of developments from
00:23:36.080 --> 00:23:38.390
Huawei and Ericson and Nokia and others,
00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:39.830
but none of them have equipment ready to
00:23:39.840 --> 00:23:42.070
sell yet. And it's all still in the hype
00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:42.549
phase.
00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:46.390
>> That's Alex Sahara from techadvice.life
00:23:46.400 --> 00:24:03.590
and this is spacetime.
00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:06.310
And that's the show for now. Spacetime
00:24:06.320 --> 00:24:08.149
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>> You've been listening to Spacetime with
00:24:51.919 --> 00:24:54.230
Stewartgary. This has been another
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quality podcast production from
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