WEBVTT

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, where we bring

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you the latest news and developments from the

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world of space and astronomy. I'm your host

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Anna, and we have quite a packed episode for

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you today. We'll start with a bittersweet

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farewell to Europe's Gaia Space Telescope,

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which has mapped nearly 2 billion stars in

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our galaxy over the past decade before being

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officially retired this week. Then we'll look

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at NASA's decision to reassign several

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astronauts from Boeing's troubled Starliner

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program to SpaceX's Crew 11 mission

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as AH Starliner's return to flight gets

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pushed forward further into the future. We'll

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also cover a canceled cargo mission to the

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International Space Station due to spacecraft

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damage and dive into China's ambitious new

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planetary exploration roadmap that stretches

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all the way to Neptune. And finally, we'll

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explore a fascinating discovery from the

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James Webb Space Telescope, the first ever

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observation of auroras on the ice giant

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Neptune, revealing unexpected details about

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the distant planet's atmosphere and magnetic

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field. So buckle up for a journey across our

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solar system and beyond as we expl the latest

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frontiers in space science and exploration.

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Europe's Star Mapping Gaia Space Observatory

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has officially ended its mission after more

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than a decade of groundbreaking observations.

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On March 27, the European Space

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Agency's control team in Paris shut down

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Gaia's subsystems and maneuvered the

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spacecraft into a safe retirement orbit

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around the sun. The move came after ESA

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had already shut down Gaia's science

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operations in January, when the spacecraft's

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fuel reserves were nearly depleted. The final

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retirement orbit was carefully calculated to

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ensure Gaia remains at least 6.2 million

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miles away from Earth for the next century.

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Despite its active mission coming to an end,

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Gaia's scientific impact will continue to

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unfold for generations. As Gaia mission

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manager Uwe Lammers eloquently put it, we

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will never forget Gaia and Gaia will never

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forget us. Since its launch in

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2013, Gaia has charted the positions of

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nearly 2 billion stars, creating the most

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precise three dimensional map of our Milky

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Way galaxy ever made. Its contributions

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to astronomy have been immense, from

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discovering evidence of galactic mergers to

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identifying new star clusters, tracking

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hundreds of thousands of asteroids and

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comets, and even helping scientists discover

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exoplanets and black holes. The team

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releases large batches of mission data every

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couple of years, with the next major release

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data, release four planned for 2026.

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Even more exciting, the final Gaia Legacy

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catalogs are scheduled for release around

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2030, ensuring that Gaia's contributions will

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continue shaping our understanding of the

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cosmos for decades to come.

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Decommissioning such a sophisticated

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spacecraft wasn't a simple task. Spacecraft

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operations engineer Giulia Fortuno described

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the mixed emotions involved. I have mixed

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feelings between the excitement for these

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important end of life operations and the

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sadness of saying goodbye to a spacecraft I

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have worked on for more than five years. The

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Gaia team had to systematically dismantle the

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spacecraft's built in redundancies

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features designed to help it survive extreme

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conditions like radiation storms and

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micrometeorite impacts. This meticulous

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process ensures that Gaia won't accidentally

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reactivate if its solar panels catch sunlight

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in the future. As this remarkable mission

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comes to a close, the astronomical community

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celebrates Gaia's legacy as what project

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scientist Johannes Salman called a unique

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treasure trove for astrophysical research

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that will influence almost all disciplines in

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astronomy for generations to come.

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Next up in today's news, NASA has made

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significant changes to its astronaut

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assignments, announcing Thursday evening that

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several astronauts previously slated for

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Boeing's Starliner missions will now fly on

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SpaceX's Crew 11 mission to the International

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Space Station. Leading the Crew 11 flight,

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now scheduled for no earlier than July 2025,

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will be NASA astronaut Zena Cardman. She'll

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be joined by NASA astronaut Mike Finke as

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pilot, along with JAXA astronaut Kimi Ayui

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and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov as

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mission specialists. These four astronauts

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will have the honor of being aboard the space

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station during the 25th anniversary of

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continuous human presence on the orbiting

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laboratory, which began when Expedition 1

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docked on November 2, 2000. This

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reassignment represents yet another setback

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for Boeing's troubled Starliner program.

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Cardman was previously assigned as Commander

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of the Crew 9 mission before being removed

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from the Starliner crew flight test mission

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last August, when NASA decided the spacecraft

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would return to Earth without crew. Mike

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Finke's journey has been particularly

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complicated. Originally named to the

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Starliner crew flight test back in

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2018, he was later designated as part of the

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cadre of Starliner astronauts and then moved

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to the Starliner 1 mission as pilot in

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2022. Now he finds himself

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reassigned to SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft.

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JAXA UH astronaut Kimi Ayui, who had been

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training with the Starliner team and was

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likely intended for a Starliner mission, has

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also been shifted to the Crew 11 roster.

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Meanwhile, Boeing and NASA continue working

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through technical challenges with the

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Starliner spacecraft. According to NASA, more

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than 70% of the flight observations and in

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flight anomalies from last summer's test

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mission have been addressed. But the

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major in flight propulsion system anomalies

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remain outstanding issues that likely won't

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be resolved until further into

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2025. A new testing campaign is

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planned for this spring and summer at the

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White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico,

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focusing on the propulsion issues that

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prompted NASA's decision to return the

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Starliner without astronauts.

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Engineers will conduct integrated firing of

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key Starliner thrusters within a UH service

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module doghouse to validate thermal

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models and develop potential upgrades for the

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propulsion and thermal protection systems.

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NASA is weighing its options for Starliner's

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next flight while still planning for a crew

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capable post certification mission. The

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agency is also considering a cargo only

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option depending on its needs. Steve Stitch,

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manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program,

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indicated the next Starliner flight would

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likely occur in late 2025 or early

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2026. These developments represent

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a uh continued shift in NASA's commercial

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crew strategy, with SpaceX's Dragon

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spacecraft taking on additional missions

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while Boeing works to resolve Starliner's

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technical challenges.

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And in more NASA news, In a disappointing

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turn of events for NASA's cargo resupply

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schedule, the space agency has called off a

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planned mission to the International Space

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Station due to damage discovered on the

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Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft.

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The mission, designated NG22,

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was scheduled to launch this June from

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Florida's Space coast, carrying several tons

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of critical supplies, including food,

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fuel and scientific equipment to the orbiting

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laboratory. The problems began on March

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5th when NASA announced that the spacecraft's

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shipping container had sustained damage

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during transportation to the launch site. At

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that time, mission teams were hopeful that

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the Cygnus spacecraft itself might have

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remained intact despite the damage to its

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container. However, after completing

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a thorough inspection, NASA confirmed on

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Wednesday that the cargo module itself had

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also been damaged following initial

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evaluation. There also is damage to the cargo

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module, NASA officials stated in an emailed

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announcement, leading to the difficult

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decision to cancel the June flight entirely.

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The good news is that this cancellation isn't

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expected to significantly impact the

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astronauts aboard the space station. NASA had

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already taken precautionary measures by

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planning to send additional food and other

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consumables on SpaceX's next cargo flight,

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which is scheduled to launch next month.

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Northrop Grumman and NASA aren't giving up on

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this particular Cygnus spacecraft just yet.

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According to NASA's statement, the

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international Space Station program will

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continue working with Northrop Grumman to

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assess whether the Cygnus cargo module is

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able to safely fly to the space station on a

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future flight. In the meantime, Northrop

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Grumman is already shifting focus to its next

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mission with NG23 now scheduled to

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launch no earlier than this fall. The current

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Cygnus spacecraft, NG21, remains

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berthed at the ISS but is scheduled to depart

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tomorrow. Unlike SpaceX's Dragon

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capsules, which are designed to survive

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reentry and be recovered after splashing down

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in the ocean, Cygnus spacecraft are

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expendable. At the end of their missions,

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they're loaded with trash and other unneeded

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items from the station before being released

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to burn up during reentry into Earth's

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atmosphere. China has unveiled

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an ambitious new roadmap for deep space

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exploration that places a strong emphasis on

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the search for extraterrestrial life and

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studying planetary habitability. This

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strategy, recently shared by the country's

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Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, outlines

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a series of missions spanning from 2028

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to 2039 that will take Chinese

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spacecraft across our solar system. The

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journey begins with the Tianwen 3 Mars Sample

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Return Mission, scheduled for launch around

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late 2028. This already approved

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mission aims to collect samples from the

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Martian surface and return them to Earth,

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with one of its primary objectives being to

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investigate potential traces of past or

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present life on the Red planet. Hot on its

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heels will be Tianwen 4, planned for

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2029, which will venture to the Jupiter

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system and eventually enter orbit around

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Callisto, one of Jupiter's largest moons.

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This mission could yield valuable insights

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about potential ocean worlds and habitability

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conditions in the outer Solar system. Around

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2030, China plans to build a UH ground

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simulation device for planetary habitable

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environments, allowing scientists to

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recreate and study conditions that might

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support life elsewhere in our solar system.

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Perhaps one of the most intriguing missions

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on the roadmap is scheduled for 2033.

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A UH spacecraft designed to collect particles

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from Venus's atmosphere and return them to

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Earth. This mission could help scientists

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better understand the microenvironment of

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Venus, a planet that might once have been

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much more habitable than it is today. By

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2038, China aims to establish a Mars

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Research Station focused on in situ

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resource utilization and conducting long term

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environmental and biological research. While

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there's no indication this facility will host

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human crew initially, it represents a

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significant step in China's long term Mars

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exploration strategy. The most distant

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target in the roadmap is Neptune, with a

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potential nuclear powered mission launching

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around 2039. This ambitious mission

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would study the ice giant's ring system

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atmosphere and its fascinating moon

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Triton, exploring the habitability of the

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Neptunian system and searching for other

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potential ocean worlds. While some of these

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missions are already approved and in

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development, others face significant

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technological and economic hurdles. For

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example, a UH mission to Neptune would

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require China to make considerable advances

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in nuclear power for deep space applications,

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ultra long distance communications and

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spacecraft designed for extended mission

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lifetimes. This roadmap demonstrates

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China's growing ambitions in space

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exploration and particularly in

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astrobiology. Combined with China's Earth

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2.0 inches Exoplanet Observatory

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scheduled for launch in 2028, which aims

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to detect Earth like planets around other

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stars, it's clear that the search for

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potentially habitable worlds and signs of

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life beyond Earth has become a central focus

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of China's space program.

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Lets pay the JWST a UH visit now.

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In a remarkable astronomical breakthrough,

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the James Webb Space Telescope has captured

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the first ever clear images of auroras on

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Neptune. This significant discovery has

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eluded scientists for decades as previous

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instruments aboard NASA's Voyager 2 probe and

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even the Hubble Space Telescope weren't able

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to definitively observe this elusive

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phenomenon. On our solar system's most

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distant planet, the auroras appear as

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lighter blue or cayenne areas against

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Neptune's deep blue atmosphere. Unlike

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Earth's auroras, which are concentrated

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around our magnetic poles, Neptune's auroral

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activity occurs at mid latitudes, roughly

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equivalent to where South America would be

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positioned on our planet. This unique

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distribution is due to Neptune's unusual

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magnetic field, which is tilted by a

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remarkable 47 degrees from the planet's

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rotation axis. What makes this

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discovery particularly exciting is that it

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required Webb's exceptional infrared

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sensitivity to detect. Henrik

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Mellon of Northumbria University, who led the

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research while at the University of

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Leicester, expressed his astonishment at the

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clarity of the images, noting that the detail

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and definition of the auroral signature was

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truly shocking. The basic mechanism behind

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Neptune's auroras is similar to Earth's

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northern and southern lights solar particles

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interacting with the planet's atmosphere. But

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the configuration and conditions are

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distinctly different. The location of

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Neptune's auroral glow directly correlates

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to where the planet's magnetic fields

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converge into its atmosphere, explaining why

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they appear far from its rotational poles.

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Perhaps equally surprising was what Webb's

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data revealed about Neptune's atmospheric

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temperature. For the first time since

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Voyager 2's 1989 flyby,

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scientists were able to measure the

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temperature at the top of Neptune's

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atmosphere, discovering it has cooled

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dramatically by several hundred degrees.

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In fact, the temperature recorded in 2023

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was just over half of what it was in 1989,

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which may explain why these auroras have gone

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undetected until now. This discovery opens an

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entirely new field of study regarding ice

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giant planets and how solar particles

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interact with their atmospheres, providing

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astronomers with fresh insights into these

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mysterious distant worlds.

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Well, that brings us to the end of another

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fascinating journey through the cosmos. From

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the final retirement of Europe's Gaia

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telescope after its remarkable decade mapping

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our galaxy, to the ongoing challenges with

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Boeing's Starliner prompting NASA to reassign

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astronauts to SpaceX missions, we've covered

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quite the astronomical landscape today. We've

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seen how even the best laid plans can change

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when hardware gets damaged, as with Northrop

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Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft. We've explored

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China's ambitious roadmap for planetary

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exploration, with its focus on finding

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habitable environments and possibly life

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beyond Earth. And we've marveled at the James

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Webb Space Telescope's groundbreaking

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discovery of Neptune's auroras. Hiding in

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plain sight for decades until now, the

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universe continues to surprise and inspire us

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with each new discovery and mission. Whether

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it's mapping billions of stars or detecting

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the faint glow of auroras on distant ice

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giants, our quest to understand the cosmos

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keeps pushing forward despite setbacks and

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challenges. I'm Anna, and it's been my

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pleasure to guide you through today's space

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news. If you'd like to stay updated on all

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things astronomy, please visit our

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website@astronomydaily.IO where you can

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find our constantly updating news feed and

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listen to all our episodes anytime. For more

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astronomical content and updates, you can

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00:15:21.806 --> 00:15:24.326
also find us across social media. Just search

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00:15:24.358 --> 00:15:26.918
for Astro Daily Pod on X, Facebook,

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00:15:27.054 --> 00:15:29.494
YouTubeMusic, YouTubeMusic Music and TikTok.

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Until next time, keep looking up and

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wondering about the mysteries that await us

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among the stars. See you tomorrow.

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The world.