Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast that
brings you the universe one story at a time.
I'm your host, Anna.
Avery: And I'm Avery. Today we'll be looking at a
huge success for Blue Origin's new Glenn
rocket. A dramatic planned return to Earth
for three Chinese astronauts and a comet that
decided to put on a show by breaking apart
right in front of our telescopes.
Anna: And to top it all off, we're coming back down
to Earth to explore a, um, massive
10,000 year old crater discovered in
China.
So let's get started. Avery, why don't you
kick us off with Blue Origin?
Avery: Absolutely. This is big news in the
commercial space race. Blue Origin just had a
landmark success with the second launch of
its new Glenn rocket. It wasn't just a
launch. It was a complete mission profile
success. They deployed a, uh, NASA science
mission that's now on its way to Mars.
Anna: Which is a major achievement in itself.
But that wasn't the main event everyone was
watching, was it?
Avery: Not at all. The real nail biter and the part
that had everyone glued to their screens was
the landing. For the first time, they
successfully landed the massive new Glenn
first stage booster on one of their
autonomous drone ships out in the ocean. And
we have to emphasize how difficult that is.
You're essentially trying to land a
skyscraper on a moving target in the middle
of the sea.
Anna: That's the holy grail of modern rocketry.
Proving reusability is the key to bringing
down the cost of access to SpaceX
has been the dominant player there. But this
proves Blue Origin is officially in the game.
And, um, then some. It's an incredible feat
of engineering. The guidance systems have to
account for wind, ocean currents, the
rocket's own fuel sloshing around. The
margins for error are razor thin. So this
isn't just a win. It's a demonstration of
some serious precision technology.
Avery: Exactly. And New Glenn is a beast of a
rocket designed for heavy lift missions. With
this successful landing, they've demonstrated
a capability that's crucial for future
contracts, especially high value government
payloads and the big lunar missions planned
for the Artemis program. The competition is
definitely heating up. Mhm.
Anna: It's an exciting development that benefits
the entire industry.
Avery: It's not just about competition though.
Having multiple reliable heavy lift rockets
is a game changer for science and
exploration. It opens up the possibility for
more ambitious missions, larger space
telescopes, and even the construction of
orbital infrastructure.
Anna: Now, speaking of missions in orbit, our next
story involves a situation that was a little
less smooth. It concerns three
astronauts aboard the Tiangong Space
Station.
Avery: Right. This has Been a tense situation. They
were scheduled to return to Earth, but there
was a problem with their right home. The
Chenzu 20 spacecraft.
Anna: That's right. During routine checks,
tiny cracks were discovered in one of the
porthole windows. The suspected culprit
is a micrometeoroid or a small
piece of space debris. It's a stark reminder
of the constant hazards of living and working
in low Earth orbit.
Avery: Even a sand sized piece of debris can cause
catastrophic damage at orbital velocities. So
they couldn't risk re entry in a compromised
vehicle. What was the solution?
Anna: Fortunately, the replacement crew was already
on its way. The new Shenzhou 21
spacecraft had just arrived at the station.
So the stranded crew will be able to return
to Earth aboard that new undamaged
ship. And, and the plan is to bring them back
to Earth sometime today. The China Manned
Space Agency, or CMSA M said
in a statement. We wish them well in the
return journey.
Avery: That's a relief. And what happens to the
damaged Shenzhou 20?
Anna: Well, there's a fascinating silver lining.
The damaged ship will remain docked to the
station for now. It presents a unique
opportunity for researchers to study the long
term effects of space debris impacts on
spacecraft materials without having to bring
it back to Earth.
Avery: Turning a near disaster into a valuable
scientific experiment. I love it.
From human drama to cosmic drama, our
next story is about a comet that has been
putting on quite a show. We're talking about
Comet C 2025 K1,
also known as Atlas.
Anna: Right. This Comet had a very close encounter
with the sun back in October and it seems the
experience was a bit too much for it.
Avery: A bit too much is an understatement. The
intense heat and gravitational forces caused
it to fragment. Astronomers, uh, at the
Asiago Observatory in Italy and the
Virtual Telescope Project have captured
incredible footage showing the comet has
broken into at least three distinct pieces.
Anna: It sounds destructive, but for scientists
this is actually a fantastic event. Why is
that?
Avery: It's because Comet C 2025
Atlas is a pristine object. A
visitor from the Oort Cloud in the outermost
reaches of our solar system.
Anna: Mhm. A cosmic time capsule.
Avery: Exactly. It's made of the same ancient
ice and dust that formed the planets
billions of years ago. When it breaks apart,
it's like cracking open a, uh, geological
treasure chest.
Anna: So by studying the light from these
fresh fragments before they have a chance
to change, scientists can get a uh, much
clearer picture of the raw ingredients and
that built our solar system. It's an
incredible unexpected opportunity.
Avery: It's certainly a positive way to look.
Anna: At it and for our final story, we are
coming home to planet Earth for a discovery
that looks back thousands of years.
Geologists in southern China have confirmed
the discovery of a massive impact crater
named the Jinlin Crater.
Avery: And when you say massive, what are we talking
about?
Anna: It's nearly a kilometer wide.
Analysis shows it was formed by a meteorite
impact within the last. Last
11,700 years during
the Holocene epoch, which is our current
geological period. The energy released
was equivalent to about 40 atomic
bombs. Wow.
Avery: That's incredible. And it's the largest
crater ever found from this recent of a time
period. Right.
Anna: That's what makes it so significant. Finding
relatively young craters is extremely rare
on Earth. Processes like erosion,
vegetation growth, and human activity
quickly erase the evidence.
Avery: Right. Especially in a wet, subtropical
climate like southern China, you'd expect the
crater to be filled in and overgrown very
quickly. It's amazing it was identifiable
at all.
Anna: Exactly. Discoveries like the Jinlin
Crater are crucial for planetary defense
scientists. They help us build a more
accurate model of how frequently medium
sized asteroids hit our planet. Each new
crater we find refines our understanding of
the potential risks and helps us better
prepare for the future.
Avery: And, um, that's a wrap on our news Roundup
for today. From Blue Origin's reusable
rocket success and a dramatic astronaut
rescue to a fragmenting comet and a
massive ancient crater here.
Anna: On Earth, it just goes to show that there is
always something new and exciting happening
both out in the cosmos and right here at
home. Thank you for joining us on Astronomy
Daily.
Avery: Um, until next time, keep looking up.
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