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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast

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where we dive into the latest wonders of

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space and astronomy while drinking coffee.

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I'm Anna, and joining me is my co host,

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Avery. Hey Avery, it's January

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6, 2026. I trust the new year

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is still treating you well.

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Avery: Hey, Anna. And uh, hello to everyone

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listening. It's been great. Lots of clear

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skies for stargazing lately. 2026

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is already delivering some intriguing

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storeys, from satellite mishaps to upcoming,

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um, launches and about life

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in the universe. We've got six solid ones

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today, so let's not waste any time and get

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started.

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Anna: First up, a bit of bad luck for a brand new

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satellite. Spain's newest communications

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bird, Spainsat NG2, got

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hit by a space particle while heading to its

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final orbit.

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Avery: Yeah, this one's operated by Histasat for

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Spain's Ministry of Defence. Built by Airbus

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as part of a 2 billion euro pair for advanced

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government comms across Europe. It launched

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on a Falcon 9 back in October

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20and the strike happened at around

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31,000 miles up. Actually higher than

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its target geostationary spot at 22,000

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miles.

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Anna: The particle impact was reported just a few

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days ago on January 2nd. They're calling it

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a space particle, which could mean anything

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from a micrometeoroid to a bit of space

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debris. Damage extent is still unknown,

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but Histasat quickly activated a

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contingency plan to keep services running for

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the Defence Ministry and other clients

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without interruption.

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Avery: Their team's analysing data now and if

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needed, they'll replace it asap. It's a

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reminder of how risky the space environment

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is. Even in high orbits, collisions can

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happen. Glad they had backups in place.

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Anna: Absolutely. Space is harsh, but

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redundancy saves the day.

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Avery: Shifting to launches, we've got a busy week

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ahead with several missions on the docket.

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SpaceX is leading the pack with multiple.

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Anna: Falcon 9 flights starting January

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8th. Starlink Group

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696 with 29

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V2 mini satellites from Cape Canaveral.

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Then on the 10th, Group 6

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97, another 29 for the same

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shell. These are boosting the constellation

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that's already serving millions globally.

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Avery: And on the 11th, a cool rideshare called

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Twilight, or Pandora, and others from

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Vandenkirk into sun synchronous orbit.

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Highlights include NASA's Pandora mission to

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observe exoplanet transits invisible in IR

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for atmospheric clues. Plus Kepler's

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first operational SATs for a laser linked

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mesh network. Spire's hyperspect

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microwave sounder for better weather Data,

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and some Lemmer 2 birds.

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Anna: Then ISRO kicks off their 2026

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on January 12th with a

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PSLV carrying EOS

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N1, an Earth observation sat,

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possibly hyperspectral for defence, and

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18 rideshares including an experimental re

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entry capsule.

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Avery: It's a packed lineup Starlink expansion,

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exoplanet science, weather tech and more

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exciting to see rideshares making space

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accessible.

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Anna: Next, some fascinating lab work bolstering

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one of the leading ideas on how life began on

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Earth the RNA World hypothesis.

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Avery: The hypothesis says rna, that versatile

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molecule that can store info like DNA and

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catalyse reactions like proteins, might have

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been the first self replicating life

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precursor. A team led by Yuta Hidekawa

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from Toho University mixed RNA building

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blocks, ribose, sugar free phosphates,

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nucleobases and borates from seawater and

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basalt rock.

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Anna: They heated and dried the mix, mimicking

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underground aquifers on early Earth.

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Surprisingly, borates didn't block formation,

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they stabilised ribose and helped phosphates,

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allowing RNA to form naturally through the

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discontinuous synthesis model steps.

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Avery: This is big because all those ingredients

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have been found in space. Ribose on asteroid

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Bennu via Osiris REX A massive

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impact 4.3 billion years could have

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delivered them Kickstarting RNA in borate

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Rick spots just before life's earliest

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signs.

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Anna: Implications Life might have emerged faster

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than thought and similar chemistry could

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happen on Mars where borates are detected.

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It's not proof, but strong lab support

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for RNA as the bridge to life.

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Avery: Love how this ties astrobiology to origins

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right here on Earth.

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Anna: Speaking of the moon, 2026

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is shaping up um for a private lunar landing

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rush with several companies aiming to t touch

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down.

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Avery: We're seeing multiple commercial missions

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targeting the surface this year, part of the

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broader push with NASA's CLPS

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programme and private ventures. Though

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details vary, expect attempts from players

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like Intuitive Machines, ispace

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and others. Building on recent efforts,

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these soft landers.

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Anna: And rovers are scouting resources,

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testing tech and paving the way for sustained

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presence. Successes could accelerate the

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moon economy.

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Avery: Definitely 2026 could be a pivotal year

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for private lunar exploration.

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Anna: Now an ambitious proposal to hunt for

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habitable moons around distant giant

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exoplanets.

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Avery: A team um including Thomas Winterhallder from

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ESO suggests building a kilometric baseline

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interferometer mirrors kilometres apart for

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ultra high resolution down to 1

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microarc second. Paired with the upcoming

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Extremely Large Telescope's 39 metre

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mirror, it could spot Earth sized exomoons

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out 652 light years via

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astrometric wobbles.

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Anna: Current methods like transits are tricky for

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moons around far out gas giants where

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habitable zones might rely on tidal heating

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like Europa or Enceladus. This

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setup could directly image planets and detect

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moon signals.

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Avery: Challenges are huge, costs in billions

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tech development post 2028elt

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but if it works, we might find the first

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truly habitable exo worlds powered by

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internal heat, not.

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Anna: Just starlight Mind blowing potential for

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life beyond Earth like planets

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Finally, China's Chang'.

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Avery: E 7 mission is gearing up to probe the moon's

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South Pole secrets, especially water ice.

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Anna: The stack includes an orbiter lander

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rover, a hopping probe for tough terrain

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and a relay sat target

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permanently shadowed craters near the pole

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where ancient ice could reveal the solar

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system's volatile history.

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Avery: Ridgelines there get near constant sunlight

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for power while craters trap ice.

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Objectives Precision landing Resource

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prospecting in situ analysis key for

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future bases it's phase.

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Anna: Four of China's lunar programme, precursor to

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Chang' E8 for utilisation tech like

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3D printing supporting the International

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Lunar Research Station Hopping probe is

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clever for accessing shadowed.

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Avery: Spots rovers can't this could unlock

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sustainable lunar habitation Water for

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fuel, air drinking.

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Anna: And that's it for today's space and astronomy

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news. What a diverse episode. Satellite

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hits, launch previews, origins of life,

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lunar ambitions private and national

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and exomoon.

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Avery: Hunts the universe keeps surprising us.

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Thanks for tuning in to Astronomy Daily. We

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appreciate you joining the conversation.

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Anna: If you enjoyed this, subscribe and share with

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a fellow space fan, we'll be back tomorrow

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with more.

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Avery: Until then, keep looking up.

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Anna: Clear skies.