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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to

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podcast for the latest and greatest in space

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and astronomy news. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm, um, Avery. We're so glad you could

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join us today as we dive into some truly

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fascinating developments from across the

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cosmos and right here on Earth.

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Anna: That's right, Avery. Today we're going to be

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talking about NASA's ambitious plans for a

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nuclear reactor on the moon, a surprising new

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study that redates Earth's oldest impact

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crater, and a breakthrough discovery of a

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potentially habitable super Earth.

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Avery: We'll also cover the crucial sunshield

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installation on the Nancy Grace Roman Space

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Telescope, preparing it to give us an

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unprecedented look into the infrared

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universe. So buckle up because we've got a

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lot of exciting news to discuss. Let's get

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started.

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Anna: First up, let's talk about NASA's

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incredibly ambitious plans to power our

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future lunar outposts. Its it seems the

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agency is really kicking things into high

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gear when it comes to getting a nuclear

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reactor on the Moon.

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Avery: That's right, Anna. For a few years now, NASA

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has been working on a 40 kilowatt fission

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system, aiming for a launch by the early

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2000-30s. But now interim NASA chief

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Sean Duffy is pushing for an even more

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aggressive timeline and a more powerful

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system.

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Anna: That's a significant jump. Politico

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reported that Duffy's new directive, which

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was set to be released recently, orders the

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agency to solicit industry proposals for a

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massive 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor

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to launch by 2030. This is seen as a

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critical step for the Artemis program, which

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aims to return astronauts to the lunar

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surface and establish permanent bases there

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around the same time.

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Avery: And nuclear power is truly essential for that

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vision. Solar energy simply isn't a great

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option for a crewed outpost because the moon

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rotates so slowly. Slowly, a lunar night can

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last about two Earth weeks, which means no

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sunlight for an extended period. Nuclear

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power provides consistent, reliable energy,

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regardless of day or night.

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Anna: It's not just about practicality, though.

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There's a strong strategic element at play

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here. China also has plans to set up a moon

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base, partnering with Russia and other

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nations. Duffy's directive is very much

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geared towards beating China to the punch.

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Avery: The directive even highlights the

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geopolitical implications, stating that the

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first nation with a moon reactor could

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declare a keep out zone, which would

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significantly inhibit other nations,

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including the United States. It's clear that

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the race for lunar resources and presence is

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heating up.

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Anna: Absolutely. This really underscores the

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importance of reliable long term power

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sources for establishing a sustainable human

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presence beyond Earth and the strategic

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advantages that Come with it. It's a

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fascinating blend of science, engineering and

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international relations.

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Avery: Moving from the Moon to our own planet.

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There's a fascinating new development about

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Earth's oldest known impact crater. It turns

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out our geological clocks sometimes need a

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recalibration. And that's exactly what

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happened with the Moraga impact structure in

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Western Australia.

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Anna: That's right. This site in the remote Pilbara

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region made headlines previously with a

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different group claiming it was Earth's

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oldest impact crater, formed about 3.5

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billion years ago and incredibly over 100

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kilometers in diameter. If true, that

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would have been a game changer for

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understanding early Earth.

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Avery: But as it turns out, new research published

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in Science Advances tells a different story.

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While they agree it was an ancient meteorite

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impact, this new study concludes the impact

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actually happened much later, sometime after

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2.7 billion years ago and possibly

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even more recently. That's at least 800

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million years younger than the earlier

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estimate.

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Anna: And the size estimate is drastically

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different, too. The new study determined the

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crater was much smaller, only about 16

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kilometers in diameter, a, uh, far cry from

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the original 100 plus kilometers. This

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means it was too young and too small to have

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influenced continent formation or early life,

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as was previously speculated.

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Avery: So how could two studies investigating the

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same site come to such different

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conclusions? Both groups found telltale

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signs of meteorite impact shatter cones.

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These are unique conical imprints of shock

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waves that pass through rocks, and their

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presence confirms it's an impact site.

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The disagreement came down to dating.

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Anna: They both used a, uh, geological principle

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called the law of superposition,

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which states that younger rock layers are

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deposited on top of older ones.

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The first group found shatter cones within

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and below a sedimentary layer known to be

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3.47 billion years old, but

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not in younger rocks above it, suggesting

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the impact happened during that

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3.47 billion year period.

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Avery: However, the newer investigation found

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shattering cones not only in those same

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3.47 billion year old rocks, but

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also in younger overlying rocks,

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including lavas that erupted

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2.77 billion years ago.

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This crucial detail meant the impact had to

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occur after the formation of the youngest

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rocks containing shatter cones, placing it

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sometime after 2.77 billion years

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ago. The precise younger age is still

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being worked on with isotopic methods.

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Anna: It's a, uh, fantastic example of how science

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is a self policing sport. Initial

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claims are based on available data, but new

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observations can modify or even over.

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While Maralga isn't Earth's oldest crater

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anymore, it's still scientifically unique

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because craters formed in basalt are quite

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rare. The basalts there Are the oldest

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shocked target rocks known.

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Avery: And here's where it gets even more

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interesting. Prior to the impact, these

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ancient basalts Were chemically altered by

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seawater. And nearby sedimentary rocks

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Contain some of Earth's earliest well

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established fossils. These kinds of rocks

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likely covered much of early Earth and, um,

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even early Mars.

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Anna: This makes the Moralga impact structure A

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fantastic outdoor laboratory for planetary

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scientists. It's an easily accessible proving

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ground for instruments and imagery Intended

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for Mars exploration, Helping us understand

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the cratered surface and perhaps even early

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life on the red planet, all without leaving

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Earth.

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Avery: From ancient Earth, let's turn our gaze

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outwards To a truly exciting breakthrough in

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the search for life beyond our planet. A new

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detection method has just revealed A

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potentially habitable super Earth.

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Anna: This is huge. The enduring question of

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are we alone? Has driven astronomy for

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generations. And discoveries like this bring

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us closer to an answer. Since the first

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exoplanet Orbiting a sun like star was found

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in 1995, the hunt for Earth like

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conditions in habitable zones has been a

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primary focus.

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Avery: And this latest discovery is significant.

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An international team led by the Yunnan

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Observatories of the Chinese Academy of

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Sciences has made a major breakthrough Using

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a method called transit timing variation,

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or TTV.

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Anna: For the very first time, TTV enabled

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the detection of a super Earth named

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Kepler 725C.

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It's truly a monumental find because

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this planet is about 10 times the mass of

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Earth and orbits within the habitable zone of

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its size. Sun like star Kepler's

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725. Their findings were just

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published in Nature Astronomy.

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Avery: Additionally, astronomers have relied on the

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transit method or radial velocity

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measurements to detect low mass planets,

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those 10 Earth masses or less,

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Especially in habitable zones. But these

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smaller planets usually have long orbits and

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produce very weak radial velocity

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signals, Making them incredibly difficult

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to spot.

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Anna: The transit method also has its challenges.

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It only works if the planet's orbit uh,

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aligns perfectly with our line of sight,

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which is uncommon for planets with long

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orbital periods. Even if they do align,

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the light changes can be too dim and brief to

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be confidently identified, Meaning many

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potential discoveries are missed.

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Avery: This is where TTV comes in as a game

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changer. Kepler725C is

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a non transiting planet, Meaning it doesn't

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pass directly in front of its star. From our

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perspective, the team successfully inferred

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its mass and orbital parameters by analyzing

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the TTV signals of Kepler

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725B, a gas giant in the

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same system that does transit.

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Anna: Kepler's 725C orbits a AH

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G9V host star with a period of

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207.5 days. It

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receives roughly 1.4 times the

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solar radiation that Earth does, Placing it

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within the host star's habitable zone for

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part of its orbit, which definitely makes it

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a strong candidate for habitability.

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Avery: What's so revolutionary about the TTV

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technique Is that it doesn't require a dead

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on orbit or rely on those super high

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precision radial velocity measurements. This

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makes it uniquely suited for detecting those

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small, long period, non transiting

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habitable planets that are otherwise

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extremely difficult to discover.

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Anna: It fills a critical gap in our current

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exoplanet detection methods. Based on this

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study, missions like the European Plato

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and Chinese ET or Earth 2.0

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missions, once operational, are expected

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to greatly enhance our ability to

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detect a second Earth. It's a huge

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leap forward in the search for another

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habitable world.

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Avery: Speaking of advanced technology Pushing the

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boundaries of discovery, let's talk about the

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Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

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Technicians at NASA Goddard Space Flight

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center have been busy installing crucial

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components like the solar array, uh,

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sunshield.

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Anna: That's right. This shield, made up of six

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panels covered in solar cells, is essential.

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It's designed to provide the observatory with

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power while simultaneously keeping its

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sensitive instruments cool throughout its

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mission. This marked a major milestone,

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Completing the telescope's outer section.

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Avery: And just recently, NASA announced they

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finished installing the two panels of the

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lower instrument sunshade on Roman's inner

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inner segment, along with the solar array sun

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shield and the deployable aperture cover,

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which is essentially its visor. These shields

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are absolutely critical for Roman's mission

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to explore the infrared universe.

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Anna: It's very similar to Webb's sunshield.

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Roman's sunshades and aperture cover will

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protect its instruments from the heat and

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light from the sun, which would otherwise

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interfere with its ability to detect those

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incredibly faint signals from deep space.

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Avery: Conrad Mason, an aerospace engineer at NASA

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Goddard, Described them as basically giant

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aluminum sandwiches. They're made with metal

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sheets as thin as a credit card on the top

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and bottom with the honeycomb structure in

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the middle. This design makes them stiff, yet

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lightweight. And specialized polymer film

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blankets Help temper heat transfer from the

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sun Facing side to the back.

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Anna: Matthew Stevens, another aerospace engineer

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at NASA Goddard, Was perfectly summed it up,

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saying this shield is like an extremely

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strong sunblock For Roman's sensitive

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instruments. He also mentioned that the

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deploying mechanisms have dampers Similar to

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soft close hinges, so the panels won't

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slam open. They take about two minutes to

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move into their final positions. And this

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will be the very first system Roman deploys

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in space.

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Avery: After launch, with the inner segment fully

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assembled, it's now undergoing a 70 day

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thermal vacuum test to ensure full

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functionality under simulated space

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conditions. After that, the inner and outer

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segments will be integrated by November, with

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a launch expected between fall 2026 and

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May 2027.

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Anna: The Roman Space Telescope, named after Nancy

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Grace Roman, NASA's first chief of astronomy,

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is often called the mother of the Hubble

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Space Telescope as its direct successor.

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Once operational, it will use its thermal

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optics to investigate exoplanets, planet

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forming disks, red dwarfs, brown dwarfs

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and other unseen objects.

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Avery: It's also going to observe distant galaxies

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to measure the universe's expansion rate, the

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Hubble constant, which we've talked about

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before. The hope is that it will shed light

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on some of the most pressing mysteries in

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astronomy and cosmology, including dark

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matter, dark energy, and the Hubble tension.

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Truly a telescope poised to redefine our

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understanding of the cosmos.

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Anna: And that brings us to the end of another

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fascinating episode of Astronomy Daily.

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What a journey through the cosmos we've had

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today.

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Avery: Absolutely, anna. Uh, from NASA's

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ambitious plans to build a nuclear reactor on

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the Moon and the strategic race with China

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to unraveling the true age of Earth's

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ancient Maralga impact crater.

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Anna: And let's not forget the exciting discovery

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of Kepler 725c, a potentially

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habitable super Earth found using that

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innovative transit timing variation method.

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Method it really boosts our search for Earth

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2.0.

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Avery: And of course, the progress on the Nancy

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Grace Roman Space Telescope with its crucial

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sun shields getting installed, preparing it

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to peer into the infrared universe and help

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solve mysteries like dark matter and dark

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energy.

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Anna: It's been an incredible day of space news and

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we hope you enjoyed joining us for all the

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updates. Thank you for tuning in to ASTRONOMY

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Daily.

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Avery: We love sharing these cosmic stories with

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you. Until tomorrow, stay curious and

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keep looking up.