Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for
the latest news from across the cosmos. I'm
Avery.
Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you
today. We start with a more comprehensive
look ahead at The Cosmic Wonders 2026
has in store for us. From Moon missions to
major eclipses.
Avery: That's right. We'll also dive into a mind
bending discovery from the Voyager probes at
the edge of our solar system and discuss
Russia's new Earth observation satellite.
Anna: Plus, scientists may have found interstellar
tunnels in our galactic neighborhood. And
finally, we'll rapidly evolving commercial
space race with updates on China's reusable
rockets and the transformation of Florida's
historic space coast.
Avery: It's a lot to cover, so let's get started.
Anna, ah, why don't you kick us off with the
astronomical forecast update for 2026.
Anna: Absolutely, Avery. 2026 is shaping
up to be a monumental year, especially for
lunar exploration. NASA's Artemis program
is sending the first astronauts to fly by the
moon in over 50 years.
Avery: And this is the mission that will pave the
way for the actual MO landing, right?
Anna: Exactly. This crew, three Americans and one
Canadian will do a flyby of the far side,
which could give us our first good look at
areas the Apollo missions never saw. But
they're not alone. We're also expecting a
caravan of robotic.
Avery: Landers from commercial companies, including
Jeff Bezos's Blue Moon lander. I read that
thing is going to be huge. Taller than the
Apollo landers.
Anna: That's right. And companies like Astrobotic
and Intuitive Machines are also heading back.
While Firefly Aerospace is aiming for the
Moon's far side, even China is targeting the
South Pole to search for ice.
Avery: The Moon is certainly getting busy.
What about other celestial events? I heard
there's a big eclipse coming.
Anna: There is. On August 12th, a, ah, total
solar eclipse will cross over the Arctic.
Greenland, Iceland and Spain.
Totality will last just over two minutes.
And for those at the other end of the world,
there's a ring of fire eclipse in Antarctica
in February.
Avery: Sounds like a year for the eclipse chasers.
And we also have those planet parades to look
forward to.
Anna: We do. At the end of February, six
planets, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptunewill line
up in the sky just after sunset.
Mars will be the only one missing, but it
joins a different six planet parade in
August.
Avery: Incredible. It seems there's something for
everyone in 2026. From lunar missions to
planetary alignments.
Anna: It really does. And that's just the
beginning. Let's move on to our next Story
which takes us far beyond the Moon to the
very edge of our solar system.
Avery, what have the Voyager probes been up?
Avery: This is a Fascinating 1. Voyager 1 and 2,
NASA's longest running missions, have
detected a searingly hot region of space
where the Sun's influence ends. Some are
calling it a wall of fire.
Anna: A wall of fire. That sounds intense.
What exactly is it?
Avery: It's a boundary zone at the edge of the
heliosphere. That's the bubble created by the
solar wind where temperatures spike to
between 30,000 and 50,000
kelvin. This region, called the heliosheath,
acts as a sort of thermal barrier.
Anna: That's incred. How did the probe
survive passing through it?
Avery: That's the key part. While the plasma
particles are moving at extremely high
velocities, creating that high temperature,
the particle density is incredibly low.
It's basically a near vacuum. So there aren't
enough particles hitting the spacecraft to
transfer significant heat.
Anna: Ah, that makes sense. High energy, but
low heat transfer. So what does this
discovery tell us?
Avery: It's revising our understanding of how our
solar system interacts with the wider galaxy.
But the temperature spike wasn't the only
surprise. The magnetic field data was also
unexpected.
Anna: Really? How so?
Avery: Scientists found that the magnetic field
lines just inside the heliosphere aligned
with those in interstellar space just outside
of it. They also discovered a leakage of
particles through this boundary, suggesting
the heliosphere isn't a perfect shield
against galactic cosmic rays.
Anna: So our solar system's protective bubble is
more permeable than we thought. The Voyager
probes just keep delivering incredible
science decades after their launch.
Avery: They certainly do now.
Let's bring our focus a little closer to
home. There's been a significant launch from
Russia recently.
Anna: Yes. Russia launched a Soyuz rocket
carrying a new radar Earth observation
satellite called Abzor R1.
The launch took place at the Plesetsk
Cosmodrome, a site often used for military
missions.
Avery: And what makes this satellite so important is
its radar capability. Unlike, um, optical
satellites that need clear skies and
daylight, radar can see through clouds, smoke
and.
Anna: Right. That gives it a huge strategic
advantage for surveillance, environmental
mapping and disaster response. This mission
really underscores Moscow's push to expand
its own space based intelligence
capabilities, independent of any foreign
partners.
Avery: So this is a big step for their sovereign
space program?
Anna: It is. The Abzor R series
represents a new generation of homegrown
Russian radar systems. It's, uh, a dual use
technology serving both military and
civilian needs. And it's a clear geopolitical
standard in a world where Remote sensing is
more critical than ever.
Avery: A powerful tool indeed.
Well, from geopolitical moves in orbit, let's
turn to a discovery that feels like it's
straight out of science fiction. Anna, uh,
you mentioned something about interstellar
tunnels.
Anna: I did, and it's just as cool as it sounds.
Using the Erocita Space Telescope,
scientists have detected narrow structures of
hot plasma that seem to extend from the
bubble of space surrounding our sun out into
the wider galaxy.
Avery: Wow, so these are like corridors through the
interstellar medium. What could have formed
them?
Anna: The leading theory is that they were carved
out by ancient supernova explosions. Our
solar system sits inside something called the
local hot bubble, a 300 light year wide
cavity that was itself formed by supernovae
about 10 to 20 million years ago.
Avery: Right, I've heard of that.
Anna: Well, scientists have long theorized that
these bubbles could be interconnected,
forming, uh, a kind of network. These new X
ray observations from erosion are providing
the first real evidence that these tunnels or
chimneys might actually exist, connecting
our local bubble to other regions.
Avery: That's incredible. It paints a picture of our
galaxy's structure that's much more complex
and dynamic than just empty space between
stars.
Anna: It really does. The data also showed a
temperature difference between the northern
and southern halves of our bubble, suggesting
it's not a uniform sphere, but has been
shaped by asymmetrical forces. It could be
that these tunnels act as pathways for cosmic
rays and gas gas to flow through the galaxy.
Avery: A galactic subway system of sorts.
Amazing.
This brings us to the commercial side of
space, which is also creating new pathways,
albeit to orbit. The reusable rocket
race is heating up, and it's not just SpaceX
anymore.
Anna: That's right. The Chinese rocket startup
Landspace has made it clear they're inspired
by SpaceX. They recently conducted the first
reusable rocket test by a Chinese entity with
their Zhuki 3 rocket.
Avery: And they've been very open about modeling it
after the Falcon 9. The Deputy Chief
designer even called it a high compliment to
be referred to as the Chinese Falcon 9.
Anna: It's a major paradigm shift. China's state
led space program has historically been very
risk averse, whereas Landspace is embracing
the test fail iterate philosophy that SpaceX
is famous for. Their first test actually
ended in a crash, but state media covered it
openly.
Avery: Elon Musk himself even commented on it,
noting that they've adopted aspects of both
Falcon 9 and Starship. He acknowledged
their design could potentially beat Falcon 9,
though he added that Starship is in another
league.
Anna: It shows how quickly the global landscape is
changing. With Beijing support and plans
for massive satellite constellations, low
cost, reusable launch is a top priority.
It's also worth remembering that SpaceX had
two failed booster landing attempts before
their first success in 20.
Avery: A very good point.
And speaking of launch infrastructure, our
final story looks at how two other ambitious
companies are transforming the iconic, uh,
Space coast in Florida.
Anna: This is really exciting. Stokespace
and Relativity Space are rapidly building out
launch sites at Cape Canaveral. Stokes
base is at Launch Complex 14, which is a
site rich with history.
Avery: That's the pad where John Glenn became the
first American to orbit the earth back in
1962. It's been inactive for over
50 years, and now it's being prepped for
Stoke's fully reusable Nova rocket.
Anna: Exactly. Aerial views show the launch pad
is nearly complete. And right next door at
Launch Complex 16, relativity space
is making massive upgrades for its much
larger Terran R rocket.
Avery: The Progress there is really visible. They've
installed a towering water tower for the
Deluge system, added huge new propellant
tanks, and are pouring concrete for the
launch mount.
Anna: It's a perfect example of how the Space coast
is evolving, reviving historic sites to
become hubs for the next generation of
spaceflight. Stoke is targeting a, uh, first
launch in early 2026, with
Relativity aiming for late 2026.
Avery: It truly shows the accelerating pace of the
commercial space industry.
And that brings us to the end of our show for
today.
Anna: We've journeyed from the celestial events of
2026 to the edge of the solar system
and seen how new technologies on Earth are
po shape our access to space.
Avery: Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Avery.
Anna: And I'm Anna. We'll see you next time on
Astronomy Daily.