S05E43 | February 19, 2026 π Artemis Fuels Up LIVE | Pulsar at Our Galaxy's Heart | Universe's Fate Revealed | City Killer Asteroids | Mercury Tonight! It's a big one today β and we mean that literally. As we record, NASA is fuelling its Artemis II Space Launch System rocket at Kennedy Space Center in a make-or-break second wet dress rehearsal. But that's just the start. We've also got a cosmic discovery that could let us test Einstein's theories like never before, new data suggesting the universe will end in a 'Big Crunch', a sobering warning about thousands of undetected city-killing asteroids, a perfect night to spot Mercury, and a music video filmed in orbit. Welcome to Astronomy Daily. IN THIS EPISODE: β’ π Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal: NASA loads 700,000+ gallons of cryogenic propellant in its second fuelling test β critical step toward a March 6 crewed launch around the Moon β’ π Pulsar Near Sagittarius A*: Columbia University & Breakthrough Listen detect a candidate millisecond pulsar spinning at 8.19ms next to our galaxy's supermassive black hole β a potential new test of General Relativity β’ π₯ Big Crunch Theory: Cornell physicist Henry Tye uses fresh DESI and DES dark energy data to calculate the universe has a ~33 billion year total lifespan β challenging the 'Big Freeze' consensus β’ βοΈ City Killer Asteroids: NASA's Planetary Defense Officer warns 25,000 mid-sized asteroids capable of devastating cities orbit near Earth β and we've only found 40% of them β’ π Mercury Tonight: The innermost planet reaches greatest eastern elongation β your best evening viewing chance of 2026. Look west after sunset! β’ π΅ Space Music Video: China's Shenzhou 21 crew celebrate the Year of the Horse with a music video filmed aboard Tiangong Space Station Follow NASA's Artemis II live stream at nasa.gov | Follow us @AstroDailyPod