July 25, 2026

Barnard's Star and Beyond : Exploring Hellish Worlds and Australia's Space Partnerships

Show Notes
Transcript

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 88 The hellish planets orbiting a nearby star Astronomers have painted the most detailed portrait yet of the planetary system orbiting Barnard’s Star – the Sun’s closest stellar neighbour after Alpha Centauri, just under six light-years away. Australia’s role in India’s manned space program India’s manned space program is moving ahead with the commissioning of a new space tracking station on Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The latest mission to the International Space Station The Russian Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft has successfully docked with the International Space Station three hours and two orbits after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. The Science Report A new study has found a link between health risks and electromagnetic fields. Wild koala given a chlamydia vaccine implant to help them survive the ever spreading disease. A quadriplegic now able to feed himself using his own hand, thanks to microchip brain implants. Study shows the last five decades of pop music has slowly shifted towards being more self-focused. Skeptics guide to the Pentagon’s latest UFO file release. Our Guests This Week: Mars Perseverance Rover Deputy Project Scientist Katy Stack Morgan NASA JPL Mars Perseverance Rover project Scientist Ken Farley NASA JPL Mars Perseverance Rover Deputy Project Manager Matt Wallace NASA JPL Mars Perseverance Rover Chief Engineer Adam Steltzner NASA JPL Mars Perseverance Rover Mobility Team Member Farah Alibay NASA JPL And our regular guests: Alex Zaharov-Reutt from techadvice.life Tim Mendham from Australian Skeptics 🌏 Get Our Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ www.bitesz.com/nordvpn . The discounts and bonuses are incredible! And it’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌ If you’d like to support the podcast and gain access to bonus content by becoming a SpaceTime crew member, you can do just that through The Big Bang editions on Patreon, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Details on the Support page on our website https://www.bitesz.com/show/spacetime/support/

The Astronomy, Space, Technology & Science News Podcast.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.240
This is Spacetime Series twenty nine, Episode eighty eight, for

2
00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:07.120
broadcast on the twenty fourth July twenty twenty six. Coming

3
00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:11.080
up on space Time, the Hellish world's orbiting a nearby star,

4
00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:16.079
Australia's role in India's manned space program, and the latest

5
00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:19.800
mission to the International Space Station. All that and more

6
00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.559
coming up on Spacetime.

7
00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:36.359
Welcome to space Time with Stuart Gary.

8
00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:45.359
Astronomers have paid to the most detailed portrait yet of

9
00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:49.159
the planetary system orbiting Barnard Star, the Sun's closest still

10
00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:52.920
in neighbor after the Alpha Centaury star system. Barnard Star

11
00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:56.320
is located just under six light years away. In twenty

12
00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:00.799
twenty five, astronomers discovered four planets orbiting the star. All

13
00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:03.640
are smaller than the Earth but larger than Mars, and

14
00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:06.680
therefore represent a type of planet not fat in our

15
00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:09.799
Solar System. Are report in the Journal of the Monthly

16
00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:13.359
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society says that by analyzing

17
00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:15.840
the chemical makeup of the star, the authors who are

18
00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:18.239
able to determine that these planets are rich in a

19
00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:21.760
rare mineral called pericles, which on Earth is only found

20
00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:26.439
handreds of kilome is below its surface. The Steadiesly author

21
00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:30.079
sand To Burn from Cambridge University, says Barnard Star as

22
00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:33.560
an enormous amount of the element magnesium compared to other stars,

23
00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:36.680
so its planets are also likely to be rich in magnesium.

24
00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:40.120
Burn says that here on Earth, magnesium goes into making

25
00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.439
minerals called olivines, which are really important for storing water

26
00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:47.200
within the planet. On the planets orbiting Barnard Star, however,

27
00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:50.319
the authors found that the abundance of magnesium creates huge

28
00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:54.560
quantities of pericles, which doesn't readily store water. The other

29
00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.640
point is that these planets all orbit really close in

30
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:01.239
to their star, a red dwarf, so they're constantly being

31
00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.079
blasted by stellar winds and the occasional stellar flare, making

32
00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:09.280
them highly unlikely to retain any atmosphere. Burns says that

33
00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:12.039
even the outer most of these planets orbits ten times

34
00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:15.080
closer to Barnard's Star than Mercury orbits to the Sun

35
00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:18.120
pieces at merst the planets could have held onto their

36
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:21.360
atmospheres for maybe two billion years, much shorter than the

37
00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:25.560
system's ten billion year age, and being so close to

38
00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.280
their host star has another consequence the planets are all

39
00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:31.319
tidly locked. Just like the same side of the Moon

40
00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.719
always faces the Earth. The planet's opening Barnard's Star always

41
00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:37.560
only ever showed the one face to their star, and

42
00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:40.159
as a result, each planet has one hemisphere locked in

43
00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:45.039
eternal daylight while the other is in everlasting night. Planetary

44
00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:47.680
systems as compact as the one around Barnard's Star are

45
00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:52.479
often unstable, with gravitational interactions between planets sometimes leading to

46
00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.960
them colliding, falling onto the star, or being ejected from

47
00:02:55.960 --> 00:02:59.759
the system completely. However, the authors found that the phenomenon

48
00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:02.960
known as orbital resonans might be helping to stabilize the

49
00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.360
planets in the Bernard Star system. It seems the length

50
00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:08.319
of the years for the inner three planets in the

51
00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:11.680
system are in a nine to twelve to sixteen ratio,

52
00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:14.919
and these are the same orbital harmonies that are responsible

53
00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.360
for stabilizing the orbits of the moons of Jupiter, and

54
00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:19.919
so it may also be protecting the Bernard Star system

55
00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:25.080
from gravitational disarray. This is space time still to come,

56
00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:29.039
Australia's role in India's manned space program and a new

57
00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:32.599
mission to the International Space Station. All that and more

58
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:52.479
still to come on space time. India's manned space program

59
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:54.800
is moving ahead with the commissioning of a new space

60
00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:59.639
tracking station on Australia's cocus Keeling Islands. Coordinated by the

61
00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:03.479
Australian Space Agency ASA for the Indian Space Research Organization,

62
00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:07.639
the facility will support the nation's Gaganyon human spaceflight program.

63
00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:10.719
The commissioning was a key feature of Indian Prime Minister

64
00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:14.479
Murdy's visit to Melbourne for the third Australia India Annual Summit.

65
00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:18.000
The new DSH will provide mission critical tracking support for

66
00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:21.839
four plant Gganyon missions. The flights will all launch aboard

67
00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:25.079
a human rated version of the GSLV Mark III rocket

68
00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:28.000
and carry a crew capsule fitted with its service module.

69
00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:30.920
The first of the unmanned test flights is expected to

70
00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:34.040
launch soon from india shatish Doant Space Center on the

71
00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:37.800
Bay of Bengal Coast. Eventually, a man mission will launch

72
00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:40.279
a crew of three astronauts into a four hundred kilometer

73
00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.040
high orbit what will initially be a three day mission,

74
00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.839
splashing down in the Indian Ocean. ASA worked with other

75
00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.120
government agencies as well as Australian Defense and Space company

76
00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.560
Nervous systems to establish telemetary terminals in the remote islands

77
00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.800
in order to track the four missions. The Kirkus Killing

78
00:04:56.839 --> 00:05:00.519
Islands are a remote Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean,

79
00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:04.360
comprising twenty seven coral islands across two adols. Located roughly

80
00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:08.439
three thousand kilometers northwest of Perth. The territory is a

81
00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:12.040
population of around six hundred and is a heaven for wildlife.

82
00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:16.160
This is space time still to come the latest mission

83
00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:19.160
to the International Space Station, and later in the science report,

84
00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:21.959
a new study is shown that five decades of pop

85
00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:26.480
music has slowly shifted towards becoming more self focused. All

86
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:45.160
that and more still to come on space time. A

87
00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:48.560
Russian Sawyer's MS twenty nine spacecraft are successfully docked with

88
00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.839
the International Space Station three hours and two orbits after

89
00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.560
launching from the bike in all Cosmodrome in the Central

90
00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:56.199
Asian Republic of Kazakhstan.

91
00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:59.199
We are in the final moments of the launch countdown

92
00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:02.639
for the SIMS twenty nine spacecraft, which is encapsulated on

93
00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:04.879
top of these Soys two dot one a booster this

94
00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.480
rocket and is preparing to launch NASA Astra and Neil

95
00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:11.199
Minnen and Ross Cosmos cosmonauts Pyotor Do brav And on

96
00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:14.279
a Kikina on a two orbit, three hour journey to

97
00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:17.680
the International Space Station, where they will remain for an

98
00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:20.879
eight month mission. The booster's fuel tanks are now being

99
00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:23.600
pressurized for flight, which helps to optimize the flow of

100
00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:27.480
fuel and adgstructural support to the rocket. That liftoff schedule

101
00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:30.279
to take place at nine forty seven and forty three

102
00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.680
seconds AM Central Time ten forty seven and forty three

103
00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:37.560
seconds AM Eastern Time, which is seven forty three and

104
00:06:37.639 --> 00:06:41.199
forty three seconds in Bikanorm, just under T minus one

105
00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:44.519
and a half minutes away from today's liftoff. It is

106
00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.519
a ten second window, so now that we are inside

107
00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:50.560
that mark, the ground propellant feed has now been terminated

108
00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:53.959
to the soy's booster. In about fifteen seconds, the soys

109
00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:57.040
will officially be on internal power, and then once we

110
00:06:57.079 --> 00:06:59.240
get to the T minus thirty five second mark, the

111
00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:02.000
first umbilo tower will separate from the booster and we

112
00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:04.639
will have auto sequence start, which will be followed by

113
00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.000
the ground umbilical to the third stage disconnecting, and then

114
00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:11.560
around tea is fifteen seconds, the second umbilical tower will separate,

115
00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.240
which will initiate engine sequence start. We are less than

116
00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:16.839
a minute away from today's lift off of the soy

117
00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:19.879
Us MS twenty nine spacecraft, which means the Soyus is

118
00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:21.560
now on internal power, so.

119
00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:24.199
We go to internal power separation from the first umbilical

120
00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:25.000
towers on booster.

121
00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:29.839
The separation of the first umbilical tower has now separated

122
00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:32.680
from the booster, so we have auto sequence start and

123
00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:37.000
the second umbilical tower will separate momentarily which will initiate

124
00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:41.519
engine sequence start. We are under twenty seconds away from today's.

125
00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:44.560
Launch launch comm on issues for cognition.

126
00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:46.519
The launch command has been issued.

127
00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:52.600
Second both in tower separates, engine town, flight speed.

128
00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:58.160
Booster ignition now at full throttle and lift off. Men

129
00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:00.959
in do Brob and Keikana on their way to the

130
00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:04.759
International Space Station as part of a two orbit journey.

131
00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:07.360
We have a good roll, pitch and yaw as we

132
00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:09.319
head downrange engines of.

133
00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.759
The first and second stage a function of the lay.

134
00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:18.079
We have confirmation that the first and second stage engines

135
00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:19.519
have good performance.

136
00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:20.519
We have good.

137
00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:24.439
Structural parameter performance and the Soyuz is delivering to nine

138
00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.240
hundred and thirty thousand pounds of thrust from its four

139
00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:30.480
boosters and single engine. The first stage of the Soyuse

140
00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.240
measures sixty eight feet in length and twenty four feet

141
00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.000
in diameter, burning liquid fuel for the first two minutes

142
00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.120
and six seconds of flight.

143
00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:38.000
We're now a.

144
00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:42.600
Minute into today's flight. Everything continuing to proceed as planned,

145
00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:45.759
and the velocity is currently one thy one hundred miles

146
00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:46.200
per hour.

147
00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:47.840
The flight is not We're.

148
00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:50.440
Now a minute and twenty seconds into today's flight of

149
00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:53.840
the soyus MS twenty nine spacecraft on top that Souys

150
00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:56.120
two dot one A booster. We still have good first

151
00:08:56.120 --> 00:09:00.320
stage performance. The escape tower has been jettison in momently.

152
00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:02.879
The four there we say there, the four strap on

153
00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:06.080
boosters have been jettison and these have completed their job

154
00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:08.399
and have dropped away in an altitude of twenty eight

155
00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:12.440
statute miles. The Soyuz is now traveling at about three thousand,

156
00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:15.799
three hundred and fifty miles an hour, and that launch

157
00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:19.159
shroud has now been jettison and the rocket's altitude is

158
00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:22.759
now about forty eight miles high. Everything continuing to proceed

159
00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.279
as planned and receiving good reports from the blockhouse in Bikenore.

160
00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:28.720
The Soyuz is now traveling at a speed of about

161
00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:32.360
four thousand, seven hundred miles per hour. The Soy's core

162
00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:35.840
stage is performing as expected, and the core stage of

163
00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:38.559
the Soyuse is fifty six feet in length thirteen and

164
00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:41.120
a half feet in diameter, with this single engine with

165
00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.000
four fuel chambers providing between one hundred and seventy eight

166
00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:46.759
thousand and two hundred and twenty thousand pounds of thrust

167
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.039
for its three minute and twenty eight seconds of operation.

168
00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:52.639
Control system parameters no.

169
00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:56.600
What the Soyuse as it continues its flight uphill it

170
00:09:56.679 --> 00:09:59.360
is about an eight minute and fifty second total ride

171
00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:01.840
to orbit of where we have that third stage separation,

172
00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.759
and the Soyu spacecraft will be on its way to

173
00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:08.120
chase the International Space Station. The core stage, once it

174
00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:10.799
was ignited, continues to burn until the four minute forty

175
00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:13.279
three second mark, which is coming up in about thirty

176
00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:16.200
seconds from now, and the Soyuz uses what's called a

177
00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.159
hot stage technique, and the third stage well thenic night

178
00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.600
while the second is still burning. And this is why

179
00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:24.480
the Soyuz has an open area in between the second

180
00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:27.399
and third stages. So the third stage did began igniting

181
00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:30.000
at that four minute forty five second mark, which means

182
00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:32.519
the second stage is now shutting down, and we do

183
00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:35.879
have confirmation of second stage separation.

184
00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:39.039
Clot based separation of second stage, the gloss in.

185
00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:41.759
That separation taking place at an altitude of one hundred

186
00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:44.799
and five miles. So the Soyuz is now being propelled

187
00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.679
by the single engine of the Soyuz third stage, and

188
00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.879
this engine is providing sixty seven thousand pounds of thrust

189
00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:52.960
and will burn for a total of four minutes and

190
00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:56.320
two seconds. That third stage shut down taking place about

191
00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.320
eight minutes and forty six seconds into today's launch about

192
00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:03.480
three minutes from now, shortly followed by that third stage separation.

193
00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:11.320
Three hundred and sixty seconds. Pay are all phenomenal, got

194
00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:13.080
they on board? Everything is fine.

195
00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:16.159
We are continuing to receive good reports of good pitch

196
00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:22.039
yaw of the space craft as it continues its journey uphill.

197
00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:25.240
In about a minute from now, the velocity of the

198
00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:29.559
spacecraft will reach about thirteen five hundred miles an hour. Again,

199
00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:31.840
all of those performance call outs that you're hearing, those

200
00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:34.720
are being reported by the engineers at the Blockhouse and

201
00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:39.480
bikenor after orbital insertion, the command will officially be transitioned

202
00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:42.399
to the Russian Michigan Control Center. Inquiry off right found

203
00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:43.559
outside of Moscow.

204
00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:49.039
Com has gotten is fine, on board got feeling great.

205
00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:53.320
Still com is not ideal, I don't hear you.

206
00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:56.120
Once the third stage delivers these sways to orbit and

207
00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:59.320
the module is separated, a series of pre programmed commands

208
00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:03.039
will be executed to prepare these soys for orbital operations.

209
00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:03.960
I think it's fun.

210
00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:07.360
These stored commands, called time tagged commands, allow many of

211
00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:11.279
the soyz's systems to be automatically activated by onboard computers

212
00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:15.519
at precise times stored in those computers. We are about

213
00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:19.440
fifteen seconds away from that third stage cutoff in separation,

214
00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:22.600
get it ready for separation, and we have confirmation of

215
00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.519
preliminary separation of that third stage. So again, that third

216
00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:29.559
stage cut off in separation taking place about eight minutes

217
00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:33.559
and fifty seconds into today's flight, and we have confirmation

218
00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:37.120
that the SOYS MS twenty nine spacecraft has been officially

219
00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:41.279
inserted into orbit. So the Soyuz capsule and its crew

220
00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:44.759
are now safely in orbit, and the spacecraft is automatically

221
00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:49.639
executing its pre programmed commands which then deployed those solar arrays.

222
00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:53.159
Those pre programmed controls also deploy the antennas. So now

223
00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:56.240
that the Soye spacecraft and its crew are safely in orbit,

224
00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:59.519
control of the spacecraft from here on out will be

225
00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:03.159
oversea from the Russian Michigan Control Center outside of Moscow

226
00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:04.519
and Koreyoff.

227
00:13:04.440 --> 00:13:07.080
So it is docked onto the DAA port of Russia's

228
00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:09.960
precal module. As A two spacecraft were flying at some

229
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.000
four hundred and eighteen kilomet is above the Mediterranean Sea.

230
00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:17.480
Target is in the center of the periscope. Target crosses

231
00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:20.440
are aligned with eight meters.

232
00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:25.679
It's just eight meters now separating Soyuz and Prashaal Center

233
00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:30.600
copied perfect alignment reported by the flight controllers in Koreyoff.

234
00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.039
As we stand by for contact and capture of the

235
00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:34.279
International Space Station.

236
00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:42.639
Other than casanium waiting for contact. Targets is in the center.

237
00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:48.720
Contact confirmed, We have contact dogs. Capture confirm.

238
00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.519
At twelve fifty two pm Central time one fifty two

239
00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:56.559
pm Eastern time, Soyuz has reached the International Space Station

240
00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.600
after a flight of three hours and four minutes in duration.

241
00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:05.679
Let's switch to SS the docking occurring over the Mediterranean.

242
00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:08.120
That's docking at an altitude of two hundred and sixty

243
00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:08.960
statute miles.

244
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:11.879
The new arrivals will form part of the Expedition seventy

245
00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:15.000
four to seventy five crew, spending the next eight months

246
00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.000
in orbit and replacing the current MS twenty eight crew,

247
00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:20.759
who have been on station since last November and will

248
00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:23.840
leave on Sunday for retend to Earth parachuting down under

249
00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:27.759
the Kazakhstan Step. While in orbit, the new crew will

250
00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:30.360
undertake a wide range of experiments along with the four

251
00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:33.240
NASA SpaceX Crew twelve members who are currently there and

252
00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:36.039
who launched the board a Falcon Dragon spacecraft from Cape

253
00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:39.200
Knaveralk back in February. Among the more than two hundred

254
00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.679
and fifty research experiments currently underway aboard the orbiting outpost

255
00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.519
are projects to refine in space production of semiconductor crystals,

256
00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:50.360
enabling large scale manufacture of components needed for high performance computers,

257
00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:55.399
artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices. They'll also perform ultrasound

258
00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:59.399
studies measuring how blood flows impacted by spaceflight, and they'll

259
00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:03.399
use augment reality in artificial intelligence programs that could eliminate

260
00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:06.600
the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions.

261
00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:09.600
Issues that will become more and more important as humans

262
00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:13.159
travel further into space on eventual missions to Mars and beyond.

263
00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:16.799
The team will also test BIA printing vascular constructs in

264
00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:20.440
microgravity to improve our understanding of the aging process in

265
00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:24.919
order to help advance new therapeutic treatments. The crew's arrival

266
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:28.039
follows the departure of the SpaceX Dragon thirty four cargo

267
00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:30.000
ship mission, which was loaded with six and a half

268
00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:33.200
tons of completed experiments and equipment for return to Earth,

269
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.919
Splashing down in the North Pacific Ocean off the coast

270
00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:40.120
of California. It was carrying bioprinted organ and cartilage tissue

271
00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:43.679
data on improving cryogenic fuel storage for future space missions,

272
00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:47.200
and DNA inspired materials to help with new cancer treatments.

273
00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:50.759
Also on board was an ocular imaging device which was

274
00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:53.840
used to monitor crew member's IE health, an absorbent bed

275
00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:57.000
that fillters trace contabinets from cabin air, and a separate

276
00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:00.000
a pump from the waist and hygiene compartment NASA Space

277
00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:04.080
for the cosmic commode or orbital outhouse. This is Space

278
00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:21.480
Time and Time Out of Tech another brief look at

279
00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.799
some of the other stories making news in science this week.

280
00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:27.200
With a science report. For years, people have been told

281
00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:30.039
not to worry about the health risks of electromagnetic radiation

282
00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:33.399
fields used for communications for things like cell towers or

283
00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:37.039
radio or television broadcasting. But now a new report in

284
00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:40.240
the New Zealand Medical Journal has examined evidence from thirteen

285
00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:44.320
major studies and it has found links with some animal studies,

286
00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:47.360
but the authors say the findings may not be relevant

287
00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:50.159
to humans, which is yet another good reason for not

288
00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:54.480
using sentient animals and scientific experiments. The study, sponsored by

289
00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:58.039
the World Health Organization, also included experiments on volunteers and

290
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:01.039
on brain cancer. The author claimed the links that were

291
00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:04.240
identified in human studies at a very low level of confidence,

292
00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:07.400
and they claimed the information was too limited on some

293
00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:10.400
topics to allow for firm conclusions, pointing out that no

294
00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:15.000
science can prove the absence of any risk. In a

295
00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:18.039
first of its kind trial, a world koala has been

296
00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:20.839
given a chmmittee vaccine implant to help it survive the

297
00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:25.359
ever spreading disease. The eighty month old female koala named Bermese,

298
00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:27.839
which is Norwegi and for teddy bear, was captured in

299
00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:31.400
Burley and taken to the Crumb And Wildlife Hospital. There,

300
00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:34.440
she was given an initial vaccination injection and had a

301
00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:38.519
biodegradable implant inserted, which will gradually break down and supply

302
00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:41.720
it the second dose in about a month's time. Bames

303
00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:43.839
was also fitted with a GPS color and will be

304
00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:46.200
monitored for at least the next six months to assess

305
00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.880
the implant's effectiveness. Five other koalas from Burley have now

306
00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.359
also received the implant. The Worldwide Fund for Nature in

307
00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:56.880
Australia is backing the research with funding support from furniture

308
00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:02.680
brand Koala to help recover Koala populations. A quadriplegic patient

309
00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:04.680
has been able to feed himself and drink from a

310
00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:08.039
cap using his own hand thanks to microchips implanted in

311
00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:11.359
his brain. A report in the journal Nature Medicine claims

312
00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:14.240
the implants helped relink his brain to his body in

313
00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:18.839
spinal cord. The system, caught a double neurobypass, combines implants

314
00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:21.839
with non invasive, wearable stimulation patches on the skin that

315
00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.799
electrically stimulate the spinal cord and muscles, forming an electronic

316
00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:29.400
bridge between the man's paralyzed body and his brain. The

317
00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:31.519
system has been able to help the man move and

318
00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:35.000
feel his previously paralyzed hand, and it seems some of

319
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.960
those effects have remained even when the implant was turned off,

320
00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:41.440
suggesting the system may help longer term recovery as well

321
00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:46.039
as helping movement in real time. Well, they say today's

322
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:47.920
music isn't as good as what it was back in

323
00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:50.799
the day and now. A new study has found that

324
00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:53.480
over the last five decades, heart music, at least in

325
00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:56.880
the United States and Germany, has slowly shifted towards becoming

326
00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:00.480
more self focused, but this same trend wasn't found in

327
00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:03.400
music coming from Japan or Hong Kong. To work all

328
00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.039
this out, scientists analyze the top ten popular music songs

329
00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.359
in the United States, Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong for

330
00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:13.079
each year between nineteen seventy and twenty nineteen, looking for

331
00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:17.839
usage pronouns such as I, me, and mine. The findings

332
00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.720
reported in the journal plus one claims this upward trend

333
00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:22.880
was only seen in the US in Germany, which is

334
00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:27.640
likely because both countries are considered more individualistic, prioritizing autonomy,

335
00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:31.400
personal goals, self reliance, and independent decision making over the

336
00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:36.119
collective group cohesion compared to the other two. The United

337
00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:39.599
States War Department has released its fourth batch of UFO files.

338
00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:42.759
The material was released thanks to an executive order by

339
00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:47.759
President Donald Trump. This latest package includes forty files, fourteen documents,

340
00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:52.000
nineteen videos, four audio files, and three images. They came

341
00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:55.839
from a variety of agencies, including the Pedagogue, NASA, the CIA,

342
00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:59.480
the FBI, and the Department of Energy. One file from

343
00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:03.039
the Department of Energy describes an unidentified flying object intruding

344
00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:06.680
into the restricted airspace over the Pantex's nuclear weapons facility

345
00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:10.119
near Amarillo in Texas. That was back in September twenty fifteen,

346
00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.720
and it forced the facility to be placed in lockdown.

347
00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.079
Following the first release of files back on May the eighth,

348
00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:19.279
which included the now famous faaighten gun camera vision of

349
00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:22.319
the so called tic tac UFOs, additional releases were made

350
00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.200
on May the twenty second and June the twelfth, highlighting

351
00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:29.440
sightings near foreign submarines, objects moving at seemingly impossible speeds,

352
00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:33.200
and other reports of so called silent hovering orbs. The

353
00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:37.079
Skeptics timendum says this latest release includes a nineteen ninety

354
00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:40.799
six Columbia Space Shuttle photo of a rotating triangular object

355
00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.039
and a twenty twenty five five minute infrared military video

356
00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:47.079
tracking an erratic object over the East China Sea.

357
00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:52.279
Yeah, this is sort of part of the US administration's transparency,

358
00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:54.920
trying to prove how transparent they are. So they released

359
00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:57.759
the US Department of the themed slash War was called

360
00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:00.720
the piagone release a bunch of documents. Problems with it.

361
00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:02.519
Most of them weren't seeing. A lot of them were

362
00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:04.519
already known about, and a lot of those have been

363
00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.279
explained anyway, and there are a few others that need

364
00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:08.880
to be explained. One of the problems with the stuff

365
00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:11.440
that they've released recently the Pentagon is they're often redacted.

366
00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.799
There's often a lot of the films from aircraft that

367
00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:15.960
things have all those little do thats or whatnots around

368
00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.640
the screen showing how fast there going, direction, etc. They've

369
00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:21.319
been blacked out. The tick tak one is that one

370
00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.079
of the classes think let's look at a reason article

371
00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:26.200
that cropped up in The Conversation, which is an international

372
00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:29.920
online publication of short articles by academics and a whole

373
00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:31.680
wide range of topics. But there's one that came out

374
00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:34.599
about the UFO files recently, and quite frankly, it's very

375
00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:36.920
disappointing because it goes towards the thing. Yes, there are

376
00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.039
a lot of cases that have been explained. Yes there

377
00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:40.920
are a lot of cases that have come out before

378
00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:42.920
and not particularly new. But they said there's a lot

379
00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:45.279
of unresolved cases. And one of the ones he refers

380
00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:47.720
to is the TikTok one. Now, the tik Tak one

381
00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.440
came out a few years from the Pentagon Great Revelations.

382
00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:52.319
Part of their papers has actually come out years before,

383
00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:54.400
and everyone knew about it in the UFO communit. But

384
00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:56.680
this article says that the object in the tic tac

385
00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.599
videos but a little sit of round, overly shaped blob

386
00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.400
in the screen taken from a US fighter jet. That

387
00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:04.920
the video doesn't seem to behave how any kind of

388
00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:08.039
aircraft should showing those signs of propulsion. Where the trouble is,

389
00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:10.599
it has been investigated and all you're seeing is the

390
00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:13.599
sign of propulsion, think called thermal blooming, which comes from

391
00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:16.359
the jet engine. They've been looking from behind another plane,

392
00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:18.799
a jet plane, a fighter whatever, and all you're picking

393
00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:21.319
up is the glow from the engine. You're not seeing

394
00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:23.279
any detail of the shape of the craft, just that

395
00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.079
are blurring out because of this thermal blooming. The heat

396
00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:28.480

Barnard's Star and Beyond : Exploring Hellish Worlds and Australia's Space Partnerships

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

Support On

Barnard's Star and Beyond : Exploring Hellish Worlds and Australia's Space Partnerships

Astronomy Daily Newsletter

Thank you!

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

Support On