WEBVTT

0
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.200
Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your

1
00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:03.960
source for the latest news and discoveries

2
00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:06.800
from the cosmos. I'm Anna and I'm thrilled to

3
00:00:06.800 --> 00:00:08.840
have you join me today as we explore some

4
00:00:08.840 --> 00:00:11.520
fascinating developments in space exploration

5
00:00:11.520 --> 00:00:14.240
and astronomy. Coming up on today's episode,

6
00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.199
we'll be tracking a historic moon landing

7
00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:18.720
attempt as Japanese company Ispace prepares

8
00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:20.720
its Resilience lander for touchdown on the

9
00:00:20.720 --> 00:00:23.720
lunar surface. Then we'll look at Russia's

10
00:00:23.720 --> 00:00:25.960
plans to integrate their homegrown AI system

11
00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:28.500
into the International Space Station. We've

12
00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:30.220
also got an incredible discovery from the

13
00:00:30.220 --> 00:00:33.180
James Webb Space Telescope. And finally,

14
00:00:33.180 --> 00:00:35.540
we'll get an update on SpaceX's upcoming AXE

15
00:00:35.620 --> 00:00:36.500
4 mission.

16
00:00:36.660 --> 00:00:38.620
So much to cover today, so let's get started

17
00:00:38.620 --> 00:00:39.940
with our cosmic journey.

18
00:00:41.220 --> 00:00:43.340
Tomorrow could mark a significant milestone

19
00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:45.620
in the history of private space exploration

20
00:00:45.860 --> 00:00:48.380
as Japanese company Ispace attempts to land

21
00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:50.660
their resilient spacecraft on the moon.

22
00:00:51.220 --> 00:00:53.700
This mission, scheduled for Thursday, June

23
00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:56.100
5th at AH 3:24pm Eastern Time,

24
00:00:56.580 --> 00:00:58.380
represents a second chance for Ispace

25
00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:00.180
following their first attempt that

26
00:01:00.180 --> 00:01:02.580
unfortunately ended in failure last April.

27
00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:06.020
The Resilience lander, also known as Hakuto R

28
00:01:06.020 --> 00:01:08.380
Mission 2, has been on quite a journey since

29
00:01:08.380 --> 00:01:11.260
its January 15 launch aboard a SpaceX

30
00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:14.060
Falcon 9 rocket. Unlike some lunar

31
00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:16.380
missions that take a direct path, Resilience

32
00:01:16.380 --> 00:01:18.780
followed what's called a low energy transfer

33
00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:21.380
route to reach the moon, which is more fuel

34
00:01:21.380 --> 00:01:23.300
efficient but adds months to the journey.

35
00:01:24.320 --> 00:01:26.600
After this lengthy voyage, the spacecraft

36
00:01:26.600 --> 00:01:29.480
finally entered lunar orbit on May 6 and

37
00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:31.360
is now ready for its landing attempt.

38
00:01:32.240 --> 00:01:34.880
The target landing site is in Mare Frigoris,

39
00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:37.920
or the Sea of Cold, located in the northern

40
00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.480
hemisphere of the moon's near side. It's

41
00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.560
worth noting that this is the same general

42
00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.560
region where Ispace tried to land during

43
00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:48.000
their previous mission in 2023.

44
00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.600
However, the company has backup plans in

45
00:01:50.600 --> 00:01:52.930
place with three alternative landing sites

46
00:01:53.240 --> 00:01:55.360
should conditions change, each with different

47
00:01:55.360 --> 00:01:57.680
landing dates and times. For those of you

48
00:01:57.680 --> 00:01:59.720
interested in watching this historic event

49
00:01:59.720 --> 00:02:02.440
live, ISPACE will be broadcasting the

50
00:02:02.440 --> 00:02:05.160
landing attempt on their YouTube channel. The

51
00:02:05.160 --> 00:02:08.120
livestream begins at 2:10pm Eastern time,

52
00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:10.520
about an hour before the scheduled touchdown.

53
00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:12.960
They'll actually be offering broadcasts in

54
00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:15.280
both English and Japanese, so you can choose

55
00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.200
your preferred language. What makes this

56
00:02:18.200 --> 00:02:20.870
mission particularly significant is is that

57
00:02:21.030 --> 00:02:23.950
if successful, Resilience would become only

58
00:02:23.950 --> 00:02:26.630
the second private spacecraft to accomplish a

59
00:02:26.630 --> 00:02:29.630
soft landing on the lunar surface. The first

60
00:02:29.630 --> 00:02:32.350
was achieved by Intuitive Machine's Odysseus

61
00:02:32.350 --> 00:02:35.150
lander back in February, though that landing

62
00:02:35.150 --> 00:02:37.350
was somewhat precarious when one of its legs

63
00:02:37.350 --> 00:02:40.350
failed to deploy properly. The timing of the

64
00:02:40.350 --> 00:02:42.390
landing is especially challenging because of

65
00:02:42.390 --> 00:02:45.110
the 1.3 second communication delay

66
00:02:45.110 --> 00:02:47.730
between Earth and the Moon. This means the

67
00:02:47.730 --> 00:02:50.010
spacecraft must handle the m most critical

68
00:02:50.010 --> 00:02:52.850
landing manoeuvres autonomously, adjusting to

69
00:02:52.850 --> 00:02:54.810
the lunar terrain in real time, without

70
00:02:54.810 --> 00:02:57.770
direct human control. Once Resilience

71
00:02:57.850 --> 00:02:59.890
successfully touches down on the lunar

72
00:02:59.890 --> 00:03:02.569
surface, it'll begin a relatively short but

73
00:03:02.569 --> 00:03:05.170
intense mission. The lander is designed to

74
00:03:05.170 --> 00:03:07.970
operate for about two weeks, essentially one

75
00:03:07.970 --> 00:03:10.650
lunar day before the harsh lunar night brings

76
00:03:10.650 --> 00:03:13.060
operations to an end. But don't let that

77
00:03:13.060 --> 00:03:15.380
short time frame fool you. There's a lot

78
00:03:15.380 --> 00:03:18.020
packed into this mission. Perhaps the most

79
00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:20.660
exciting payload is the tenacious microrover,

80
00:03:20.820 --> 00:03:23.220
built by Ispace's European subsidiary.

81
00:03:23.540 --> 00:03:25.980
If all goes according to plan, this small

82
00:03:25.980 --> 00:03:28.139
rover will deploy from the lander and begin

83
00:03:28.139 --> 00:03:30.540
exploring the immediate surroundings. It's

84
00:03:30.540 --> 00:03:32.340
equipped with a camera and a sample

85
00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:34.460
collection shovel that will test capabilities

86
00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:37.140
for future sample return missions. The rover

87
00:03:37.140 --> 00:03:39.180
is also carrying something rather unusual for

88
00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:41.510
a lunar mission, a work of art called Moon

89
00:03:41.510 --> 00:03:44.030
House, which is a small red house designed by

90
00:03:44.030 --> 00:03:46.910
Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. And in a

91
00:03:46.910 --> 00:03:49.590
nod to pop culture, Resilience is also

92
00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:52.110
bringing along a commemorative plate with an

93
00:03:52.110 --> 00:03:54.190
inscription based on the charter of the

94
00:03:54.190 --> 00:03:56.910
universal century from the popular Japanese

95
00:03:56.910 --> 00:03:57.750
Gundam series.

96
00:03:59.350 --> 00:04:01.270
In some rather interesting news today from

97
00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:03.550
Russia, the country plans to integrate its

98
00:04:03.550 --> 00:04:05.470
homegrown artificial intelligence model

99
00:04:05.470 --> 00:04:07.500
called Gigachot in into the International

100
00:04:07.660 --> 00:04:09.740
Space Station's IT systems.

101
00:04:10.140 --> 00:04:12.940
Roscosmos chief Dmitri Bakanov announced

102
00:04:12.940 --> 00:04:15.180
that the next mission to the ISS this

103
00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:17.340
northern autumn will deliver everything

104
00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:19.580
needed for the AI to function in space.

105
00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:22.180
This isn't just about having a space based

106
00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:24.900
chatbot, though. The Gigachat model will have

107
00:04:24.900 --> 00:04:27.500
practical applications, specifically helping

108
00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:29.580
cosmonauts process satellite imagery.

109
00:04:30.140 --> 00:04:32.660
According to Bakanov, it'll increase the

110
00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:35.380
maximum resolution from 1 metre per pixel to

111
00:04:35.530 --> 00:04:38.050
to half a metre per pixel, which he described

112
00:04:38.050 --> 00:04:40.730
as direct assistance for the cosmonauts.

113
00:04:41.530 --> 00:04:44.010
Gigachat was developed by Spurbank,

114
00:04:44.090 --> 00:04:46.810
Russia's largest bank, and represents one of

115
00:04:46.810 --> 00:04:49.290
the country's flagship large language models.

116
00:04:49.530 --> 00:04:51.369
It's part of Russia's broader efforts to

117
00:04:51.369 --> 00:04:53.810
catch up with the United States and China in

118
00:04:53.810 --> 00:04:56.330
what many are calling the global AI race.

119
00:04:56.650 --> 00:04:58.850
The timing is interesting too, as Russia has

120
00:04:58.850 --> 00:05:00.730
confirmed it will continue participating in

121
00:05:00.730 --> 00:05:03.530
the ISS until 2028. Even as they

122
00:05:03.530 --> 00:05:05.970
develop their own new space station. They're

123
00:05:05.970 --> 00:05:07.970
planning to launch the first two modules of

124
00:05:07.970 --> 00:05:10.170
that independent station in 2027.

125
00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:12.690
The next Russian spacecraft mission to the

126
00:05:12.690 --> 00:05:15.290
ISS is scheduled for November 27,

127
00:05:15.450 --> 00:05:17.810
which is likely when this AI technology will

128
00:05:17.810 --> 00:05:18.810
make its way to orbit.

129
00:05:20.250 --> 00:05:21.930
Now, to what might be one of the most

130
00:05:21.930 --> 00:05:24.250
exciting astronomical discoveries of the

131
00:05:24.250 --> 00:05:26.890
year. Scientists have detected crystalline

132
00:05:26.890 --> 00:05:29.800
water ice around a young sun like star for

133
00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:32.440
the very first time. This groundbreaking

134
00:05:32.440 --> 00:05:34.840
observation, made possible by the James Webb

135
00:05:34.840 --> 00:05:37.640
Space Telescope, gives us direct evidence of

136
00:05:37.640 --> 00:05:39.640
something astronomers have long theorised,

137
00:05:39.640 --> 00:05:42.210
but never directly observed before. The, star

138
00:05:42.210 --> 00:05:43.170
in question is called

139
00:05:43.170 --> 00:05:46.250
HD181327,

140
00:05:46.650 --> 00:05:49.530
and it's located about 155 light years away

141
00:05:49.530 --> 00:05:52.130
from us. What makes this discovery so

142
00:05:52.130 --> 00:05:54.730
fascinating is that this star is essentially

143
00:05:54.730 --> 00:05:57.350
a baby version of our own sun, just

144
00:05:57.350 --> 00:05:59.790
23 million years old compared to our sun's

145
00:05:59.790 --> 00:06:02.670
mature 4.6 billion years. And unlike

146
00:06:02.670 --> 00:06:03.510
our solar system,

147
00:06:03.750 --> 00:06:06.710
HD181,327

148
00:06:06.950 --> 00:06:08.590
is still surrounded by what's called a

149
00:06:08.590 --> 00:06:11.550
protoplanetary debris disc, basically a

150
00:06:11.550 --> 00:06:13.470
ring of dust and ice that hasn't yet formed

151
00:06:13.470 --> 00:06:16.150
into planets. Using Webb's Near

152
00:06:16.150 --> 00:06:18.990
Infrared Spectrograph, researchers from Johns

153
00:06:18.990 --> 00:06:21.150
Hopkins University were able to identify

154
00:06:21.150 --> 00:06:23.590
crystalline water ice in this debris disc.

155
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:26.600
This is the same type of water ice found in

156
00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.400
Saturn's rings and in icy bodies within our

157
00:06:29.400 --> 00:06:31.680
own Kuiper Belt. According to the study's

158
00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.360
lead author, Chen Zi, this water ice

159
00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:37.080
plays a vital role in planetary formation and

160
00:06:37.080 --> 00:06:39.240
could eventually be delivered to terrestrial

161
00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:41.240
planets that might form in this system over

162
00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:43.800
the next couple hundred million years. What's

163
00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:45.800
particularly interesting is the distribution

164
00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:48.480
of this ice. The JWST data

165
00:06:48.640 --> 00:06:51.440
shows that over 20% of the debris ring's mass

166
00:06:51.900 --> 00:06:53.740
consists of water ice mixed with dust

167
00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:56.380
particles, what astronomers colourfully call

168
00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:59.180
dirty snowballs. This

169
00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:01.700
composition is remarkably similar to our own

170
00:07:01.700 --> 00:07:04.460
Kuiper Belt, and there's a clear pattern.

171
00:07:04.700 --> 00:07:07.060
The closer you get to the star, the less ice

172
00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:09.900
you find. At the disk's halfway

173
00:07:09.900 --> 00:07:12.820
point, ice makes up only about 8% of the

174
00:07:12.820 --> 00:07:15.220
material, and near the centre there's

175
00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:17.940
virtually none. This pattern likely

176
00:07:17.940 --> 00:07:20.420
exists because ultraviolet radiation from the

177
00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:22.890
star vaporises ice in the inner

178
00:07:22.890 --> 00:07:25.450
regions. It's essentially giving us a

179
00:07:25.450 --> 00:07:27.130
snapshot of how water might have been

180
00:07:27.130 --> 00:07:29.410
distributed in our own solar system during

181
00:07:29.410 --> 00:07:32.010
its formative years, potentially helping

182
00:07:32.010 --> 00:07:34.450
explain how Earth and other rocky planets

183
00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:37.490
eventually obtain their water. Looking

184
00:07:37.490 --> 00:07:39.770
at the distribution of this water ice in more

185
00:07:39.770 --> 00:07:42.450
detail, we're seeing a fascinating pattern

186
00:07:42.450 --> 00:07:44.450
that tells us a lot about how planetary

187
00:07:44.450 --> 00:07:46.740
systems develop. The

188
00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:49.420
JWST data shows this ice

189
00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:52.260
isn't evenly spread throughout the disc. It's

190
00:07:52.260 --> 00:07:54.460
heavily concentrated in the outer regions,

191
00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:57.220
similar to how our own Kuiper Belt contains

192
00:07:57.220 --> 00:07:59.580
most of the icy bodies in our solar system.

193
00:08:00.460 --> 00:08:02.380
What's really interesting about this finding

194
00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:04.140
is how it supports our understanding of

195
00:08:04.140 --> 00:08:06.820
planetary formation in the outer regions,

196
00:08:06.820 --> 00:08:08.620
where it's cold enough for ice to remain

197
00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:11.500
stable, we see these dirty snowballs forming

198
00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:13.900
mixtures of dust and ice that can eventually

199
00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:15.900
clump together into larger bodies.

200
00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:18.880
This process is likely how the ice giants

201
00:08:18.880 --> 00:08:21.160
like Uranus and Neptune formed in our own

202
00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.720
system. But the pattern also helps

203
00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:25.680
explain one of the biggest questions in

204
00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:28.520
planetary how did Earth get

205
00:08:28.520 --> 00:08:31.320
its water? Since Earth formed in a region

206
00:08:31.320 --> 00:08:33.680
that was probably too hot for water ice to

207
00:08:33.680 --> 00:08:36.000
exist initially, scientists have long

208
00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:38.120
theorised that water was delivered here later

209
00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:40.760
by comets and asteroids from the outer solar

210
00:08:40.760 --> 00:08:43.690
system. This observation of HD

211
00:08:43.690 --> 00:08:46.410
181327

212
00:08:46.810 --> 00:08:49.050
gives us a sort of snapshot of what that

213
00:08:49.050 --> 00:08:51.130
early delivery system might have looked like,

214
00:08:51.290 --> 00:08:53.530
with icy bodies from the outer regions

215
00:08:53.530 --> 00:08:55.770
potentially migrating inward and bringing

216
00:08:55.770 --> 00:08:57.690
water to the forming terrestrial planets.

217
00:08:59.290 --> 00:09:02.090
Finally today, a small update. The launch of

218
00:09:02.090 --> 00:09:04.410
the AXE 4 mission to the International Space

219
00:09:04.410 --> 00:09:07.010
Station has been pushed back again. Axiom

220
00:09:07.010 --> 00:09:08.770
Space announced just yesterday that they're

221
00:09:08.770 --> 00:09:11.400
now targeting next Tuesday, June 10th at

222
00:09:11.400 --> 00:09:14.240
8:22am Eastern Time for liftoff.

223
00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:16.680
This is actually the second delay for this

224
00:09:16.680 --> 00:09:19.320
mission in recent weeks, as it was originally

225
00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.200
scheduled for May 29th before being moved

226
00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.640
to June 8th and now it's been pushed back

227
00:09:24.640 --> 00:09:27.120
another two days. This private

228
00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:29.400
astronaut mission will fly aboard a brand new

229
00:09:29.400 --> 00:09:32.280
SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule launching on a

230
00:09:32.280 --> 00:09:34.680
Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Centre in

231
00:09:34.680 --> 00:09:37.520
Florida. And I've got to say, the

232
00:09:37.520 --> 00:09:39.720
crew lineup for this mission is particularly

233
00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:42.400
noteworthy. The four person team is led by

234
00:09:42.400 --> 00:09:44.480
Commander Peggy Whitson, who's honestly a

235
00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:46.880
space legend at this point. She's a former

236
00:09:46.880 --> 00:09:48.960
NASA astronaut who holds the American record

237
00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:51.760
for most time spent in space. Now she serves

238
00:09:51.760 --> 00:09:54.480
as Axiom's Director of Human Spaceflight and

239
00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:56.080
this will add even more spaceflight

240
00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:58.840
experience to her impressive resume. What

241
00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:01.320
makes this mission truly historic though, is

242
00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:03.810
the rest of the crew. The pilot is

243
00:10:03.810 --> 00:10:06.610
Subhanshu Shukla of India and the mission

244
00:10:06.610 --> 00:10:09.010
specialists are Slavosz Usnansky from Poland

245
00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:11.250
and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

246
00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:14.290
This marks the first time that anyone from

247
00:10:14.290 --> 00:10:17.290
any of these three countries, India, Poland

248
00:10:17.290 --> 00:10:19.650
or Hungary will live aboard the International

249
00:10:19.890 --> 00:10:22.330
Space Station. So we're looking at multiple

250
00:10:22.330 --> 00:10:25.290
space firsts happening simultaneously with

251
00:10:25.290 --> 00:10:27.770
this single mission. Once they reach the

252
00:10:27.770 --> 00:10:30.300
station, the crew won't just be sightseeing,

253
00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:32.260
they have a packed schedule with

254
00:10:32.260 --> 00:10:34.260
approximately 60 different science

255
00:10:34.260 --> 00:10:36.340
experiments planned during their two week

256
00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:38.900
stay. After completing their mission aboard

257
00:10:38.900 --> 00:10:41.660
the ISS, they'll return to Earth in the same

258
00:10:41.660 --> 00:10:44.260
Dragon capsule splashing down in the Pacific

259
00:10:44.260 --> 00:10:47.220
Ocean. Well, what

260
00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:49.140
an exciting collection of space stories we've

261
00:10:49.140 --> 00:10:52.060
covered today from ispace's second attempt at

262
00:10:52.060 --> 00:10:54.020
making history with their resilience moon

263
00:10:54.020 --> 00:10:56.850
landing to Russia's plans to bring AI

264
00:10:56.850 --> 00:10:59.610
aboard the iss, to that fascinating

265
00:10:59.610 --> 00:11:02.170
discovery of water ice around a young star

266
00:11:02.170 --> 00:11:04.210
that gives us a glimpse into how our own

267
00:11:04.210 --> 00:11:06.730
solar system may have formed. And finally,

268
00:11:06.730 --> 00:11:09.050
the upcoming AXE 4 mission that will make

269
00:11:09.050 --> 00:11:10.809
history for three different countries at

270
00:11:10.809 --> 00:11:11.090
once.

271
00:11:11.970 --> 00:11:14.650
This has been Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.

272
00:11:14.650 --> 00:11:16.730
Thanks so much for listening. For all our

273
00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:18.010
previous episodes, head over to

274
00:11:18.010 --> 00:11:20.650
astronomydaily.IO where you can catch up on

275
00:11:20.650 --> 00:11:22.880
anything you might have missed. And if you

276
00:11:22.880 --> 00:11:24.880
enjoy the show, please subscribe on Apple

277
00:11:24.880 --> 00:11:27.600
Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you

278
00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:30.200
get your podcasts. Until tomorrow, keep

279
00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:30.760
looking up.