00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dive
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 into the cosmos and the latest headlines from
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 across the universe. I'm Avery.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 Anna: And I'm Anna. We're so glad you could join
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 us today for another fascinating look at
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 what's happening out there. We've got a great
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 show for you covering some truly
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 groundbreaking discoveries.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 Avery: Absolutely. Today we're going to explore some
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 amazing new research that might have finally
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 solved the mystery of, of how Earth's
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 protective magnetic field formed billions
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 of years ago. It's a story that reshapes our
00:00:33 --> 00:00:34 understanding of early Earth.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 Anna: We'll also be bidding a fond farewell to a
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 remarkable individual, NASA astronaut
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 Barry Butch Wilmore, who is retiring after
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 a quarter century of dedicated service.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 His career is truly inspiring.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 Avery: Plus, we'll dive into some big news from NASA
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 as they shake up their plans for commercial
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 space stations. Looking ahead to a post ISS
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 era, it's a bold new strategy with some
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 significant implications for the future of
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 human presence in low Earth orbit.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 Anna: And finally, we'll head out to Jupiter's icy
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 moon Europa, where scientists may have just
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 cracked a long standing mystery about the
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 bizarre distribution of hydrogen peroxide on
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 its surface. Stick around for all that and
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 more right here on Astronomy Daily.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 Avery: All right, Anna, let's kick things off with a
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 story that truly reshapes our understanding
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 of our own planet. Specifically its
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 incredibly important magnetic field.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 It's a shield that we often take for granted,
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 protecting us from harmful cosmic radiation.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 Anna: It's fascinating, isn't it? Uh, without it,
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 Earth could end up like Mars, losing its
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 atmosphere and becoming a very hostile place
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 for life. Our planet has maintained this
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 critical defense system for billions of
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 years. But the big question has always been,
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 how did it form? Especially when Earth was
00:01:54 --> 00:01:55 much younger.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 Avery: Exactly. And that's where new research from
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 scientists at ETH Zurich and the
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 Southern University of Science and Technology
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 in China come in. They've provided
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 answers that fundamentally reshaped our
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 understanding of early Earth.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 Anna: So the long understood theory for Earth's
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 magnetic field is what's called the dynamo
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 effect. It basically describes how the
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 liquid iron and nickel core deep inside
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 our planet slowly cools over time.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 This cooling creates circular currents of
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 flowing metal called convection currents. As
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 Earth rotates, these currents twist into
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 screw like patterns, generating electric
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 currents that in turn produce our magnetic
00:02:38 --> 00:02:38 field.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 Avery: That's the basic mechanism. But there was
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 always this significant gap in the theory.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 About 1 billion years ago, Earth's inner core
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 began to crystallize and solidify. Before
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 that, the entire core was completely
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 liquid. The big question was whether a
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 completely liquid core could have generated
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 the magnetic field. Necessary to protect
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 early life. It seemed like a critical missing
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 piece of the puzzle.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 Anna: And this new research seems to have filled
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 that gap. The team developed sophisticated
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 computer models to simulate whether a
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 completely liquid core could generate a
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 stable magnetic field. What's really
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 impressive is they managed to minimize the
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 influence of the Earth's core viscosity to
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 negligible levels, which previous research
00:03:24 --> 00:03:25 hadn't achieved.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 Avery: And the results were conclusive. Their
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 simulations demonstrated that Earth's
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 magnetic field could indeed have been
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 generated billions of years ago in much the
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 same way it operates today. Lead author Yu
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 Feng Lin from the Southern University of
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 Science and Technology in China even stated,
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 until now, no one has ever managed to perform
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 such calculations under these correct
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 physical conditions. This is huge. It has
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 far reaching implications for our
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 understanding of how life developed on Earth.
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 Billions of years ago. Life apparently
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 benefited from this magnetic shield, which
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 blocked harmful radiation from space, Making
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 its development possible in the first place.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 Without this protection, the intense
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 radiation would have made Earth's surface far
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 too hostile for the delicate chemical
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 processes that eventually led to living
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 organisms. It really gave life a head start,
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 creating a safer environment where complex
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 molecules could form and evolve without
00:04:22 --> 00:04:23 constant disruption from high energy
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 particles. And it's not just about ancient
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 history, is it? Understanding Earth's
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 magnetic field is crucial for our modern
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 world.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 Anna: Absolutely. Our GPS systems, power
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 grids, and communication networks all depend
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 on this invisible shield. And we know the
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 field has flipped its polarity Thousands of
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 times Throughout Earth's history. And
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 scientists have recently observed Rapid
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 shifts in magnetic north's position. So
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 gaining a better understanding of how the
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 magnetic field works can help researchers
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 make more accurate predictions about future
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 changes and potential flips that might affect
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 our technology dependent society.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 Avery: It just goes to show how interconnected
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 everything is, from the deep core of our
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 planet, to the technology in our pockets,
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 and all the way back to the very origins of
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 life. Uh, a truly fundamental piece of
00:05:15 --> 00:05:15 research.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 Anna: Speaking of incredible individuals and their
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 contributions, we have some news from the
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 world of human spaceflight that marks the end
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 of an era for a dedicated astronaut.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 Barry Butch Wilmore is officially leaving
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 NASA after a quarter century of service.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 Avery: 25 years is a remarkable career.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 Wilmore joined the astronaut Corps in 2000
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 and has truly left his mark. He's flown on
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 four different spacecraft and spent a total
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 of 464 days off Earth. That's
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 an incredible amount of time in space.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 Anna: It really is. And during his time, he also
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 conducted five spacewalks, racking up
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 an impressive 32 hours outside a
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 spacecraft. Steve Corner, the acting director
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 of NASA's Johnson Space center praised him,
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 saying, Butch's commitment to NASA's mission
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 and dedication to human space exploration is
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 truly exemplary.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 Avery: He certainly had a distinguished career
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 before NASA too, serving as a captain and
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 test pilot in the US Navy with both peacetime
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 and wartime operational experience. His
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 spaceflight career began with the
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 STS129 mission to the International Space
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Station aboard the space Shuttle Atlantis in
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 November 2009, right?
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 Anna: And he also had a long duration stay on the
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 ISS from September 2014 to
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 March 2015, traveling there and back on a
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 Russian Soyuz spacecraft. But perhaps his
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 most talked about recent mission was in June
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 of 2024 when he returned to the orbiting
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 lab on the first ever crewed flight of
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Boeing's Starliner Astronaut Taxi
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 alongside Suni Williams.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 Avery: That mission was quite the saga, wasn't it?
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 It was originally supposed to last about 10
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 days, but Starliner experienced thruster
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 issues on the way up. This led NASA and
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 Boeing to extend the capsule's stay on the
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 ISS to.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 Anna: Study the problem, and ultimately NASA
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 decided to bring Starliner home uncrewed.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 So Wilmore and Williams continued living
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 aboard the ISS for an extended period,
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 eventually returning to Earth on a SpaceX
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 Crew Dragon capsule in March of this year as
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 part of the Crew 9 mission. It was an
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 unexpected end to a flight for sure, but they
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 handled it.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 Avery: With professionalism absolutely well. The
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 NASA statement didn't specify what Wilmore
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 plans to do next. It wouldn't be surprising
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 if he remained connected to spaceflight in
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 some capacity. He shared a powerful
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 reflection, saying, from my earliest days I
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 have been captivated by the marvels of
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 creation, looking upward with an
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 insatiable curiosity. This
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 curiosity propelled me into the skies and
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 eventually to space, where the magnificence
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 of the cosmos mirrored the glory of its
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 creator in ways words scarcely convey.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 Anna: What a beautiful sentiment. It highlights the
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 profound impact space exploration has on
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 those who experience it firsthand. His
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 retirement follows closely on the heels of
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 fellow astronaut Kate Rubins, who also left
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 NASA recently. We wish Butch Wilmore all
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 the best in his next chapter.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 Avery: Well, from one significant space development
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 to another, we need to talk about the
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 International Space Station, because it's the
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 orbiting date is fast approaching, estimated
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 to be about five years from now, and NASA is
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 making some pretty bold moves to prepare for
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 what comes next.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 Anna: That's right, Avery. The ISS is the largest
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 object humans have ever built in space,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 and it's set to be pushed out of orbit and
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 into the Pacific Ocean. This raises a
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 critical what happens after that?
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 China's Tiangong Space Station will still be
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 operational, but NASA faces a serious risk
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 of losing its continuous presence in low
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 Earth orbit.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 Avery: NASA recognized this challenge years ago,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 awarding around $500 million to four
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 companies to start developing commercial
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 space stations to fill that void. However,
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 there have been concerns about whether any of
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 these replacements will actually be ready by
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 the time the ISS is deorbit it.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 Anna: And that's exactly what NASA's Acting
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 Administrator Sean Duffy addressed recently.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 He signed a new directive on commercial space
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 stations stating that to meet the goals
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 within the proposed budget, a modification to
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 the current approach for low Earth orbit
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 platforms is required. In short, the
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 strategy must be altered.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 Avery: This is a pretty big shakeup. NASA's previous
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 plan involved a request for proposals early
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 next year which would have selected one or
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 two companies for assembly and certification.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 But according to Duffy's directive, there's a
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 significant budget shortfall, up to $4
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 billion less than what was anticipated for
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 this program. The President's budget request
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 only included $273.3
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 million for fiscal year 2026
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 and $2.1 billion over the next five
00:09:59 --> 00:09:59 years.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 Anna: So because of these shortcomings, the new
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 directive introduces some substantial changes
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 to the commercial low Earth orbit
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 destinations program. Instead of moving to a
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 firm fixed price contract, NASA will
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 extend the current program of Space act
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 agreements with multiple Elizabeth.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 Avery: That means a full and open competition for
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 interested companies to receive these
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 agreements, with NASA aiming to award a
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 minimum of two and preferably three providers
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 within six months of the formal announcement.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 This allows companies more leeway in design
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 compared to stricter federal acquisition
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 regulations.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 Anna: Another key change is that formal design
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 acceptance and certification will shift from
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 this Space act agreement phase to a follow on
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 certification phase. Companies won't get
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 certified until after they fly.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 Plus, at least 25% of milestone
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 funding will be withheld until after a
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 successful crewed demonstration of a space
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 station in orbit.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 Avery: And perhaps most notably, they've lowered the
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 minimum capability NASA is seeking.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 Originally they wanted full operational
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 capability. Now the minimum required is
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 4 crew for one month increments. This
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 is a significant reduction, but it aims to
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 give companies a better chance to develop
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 operational space stations by 2030.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 Anna: Phil McAllister, who previously directed
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 NASA's Commercial Space division, commented
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 on this, saying, how was NASA's previous
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 strategy for commercial stations going to
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 work when they lost close to a third of their
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 budget? They had no chance. This gives
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 them a chance. It makes a lot of sense given
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 the budget realities.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 Avery: This directive also seems to favor certain
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 companies over others because, for instance,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 Vast's Haven one module designed for four
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 astronauts for two weeks fits well with the
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 new minimum requirements They've also been
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 developing their station without government
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 money, betting on a minimum viable product
00:11:56 --> 00:11:56 approach.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 Anna: Whereas the other initial contractors like
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 Blue Origin, Axiom Space and Voyager Space
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 had been planning larger, more permanent
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 stations, now they'll likely need to
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 pivot their configurations to meet these
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 new, more immediate goals. With one industry
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 official put it quite bluntly, only Haven
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 one can succeed in this environment.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 Avery: It's a pragmatic shift, prioritizing,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 achieving some form of continuous human
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 presence in low Earth orbit, even if it's
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 initially on smaller interim stations
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 over waiting for larger, more expensive
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 facilities that might not materialize. Given
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 the budget constraints, it's a testament to
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 how quickly things can change in space
00:12:40 --> 00:12:40 exploration.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 Anna: Funding from Earth's magnetic shield and
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 ISS shakeups.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 Let's turn our attention to one of the most
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 intriguing moons in our solar system,
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 Jupiter's Europa. Scientists at the
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 Southwest Research Institute may have just
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 solved a long standing mystery about its
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 surface chemistry, which has huge
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 implications for its potential habitability.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 Avery: That's right, Ana uh. Europa's surface has a
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 puzzling presence of frozen hydrogen
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 peroxide. What was really
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 surprising was that James Webb Telesco
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 observations revealed unexpectedly high
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 Europa's warmer equatorial regions,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 particularly an area known as Tara Regio.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 This completely contradicted earlier lab
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 studies which predicted it would be more
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 abundant in colder polar zones.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 Anna: So Berekit Mamo, a graduate student at the
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 University of Texas at San Antonio and a
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 contractor with swrit, proposed a
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 NASA funded study to investigate this.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 They designed lab experiments to replicate
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 Europa's environment, observing that the
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 areas with increased hydrogen peroxide
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 also had higher concentrations of carbon
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 dioxide, or CO2. Scientists
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 suspect this CO2 might be escaping
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 from a subsurface liquid ocean through
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 fractures in the ice.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 Avery: And here's the breakthrough. Mamo and his
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 team simulated Europa's surface inside a
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 vacuum chamber by depositing water ice ice
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 mixed with carbon dioxide. They then
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 irradiated this ice mixture with energetic
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 electrons. Their experiments showed that even
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 small concentrations of carbon dioxide mixed
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 with water ice can greatly increase the
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 formation of hydrogen peroxide under
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 temperature conditions similar to Europa's
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 surface temperatures. This finding helps
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 clarify those unexpected JWST
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 observations.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 Anna: The implications for Europa's habitability
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 are profoundly. Dr. Udwal Raut, a
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 UH program manager at SwRI and Mamo's
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 advisor, explained that the presence of
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 hydrogen peroxide alongside carbon
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 dioxide, sodium chloride and other
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 compounds indicates a chemical cycle.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 Materials from Europa's subsurface ocean
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 rise to the surface, become irradiated
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 and form oxidants like hydrogen
00:15:02 --> 00:15:02 peroxide.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 Avery: Over geological timescales, These
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 oxidants could then return to the ocean and
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 react with seafloor reductants, releasing
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 chemical energy that might help sustain life.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 As Richard Cartwright from Johns Hopkins
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 Applied Physics Laboratory put it, synthesis
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 of oxidants like hydrogen peroxide on
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 Europa's surface is important from an
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 astrobiological point of view.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 Anna: Indeed, this research provides
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 crucial clues for understanding
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 JWST's Europa observations
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 and serves as a prelude to upcoming
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 close range investigations by NASA's Europa
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 Clipper, which is already en route, and
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 ESA's spacecraft. Dr. Ben
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 Tilas, another co author, emphasized that
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 when you combine a source of carbon from the
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 interior, like Europa's ocean, with energy
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 from the magnetosphere, it produces new
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 species on the surface that store chemical
00:15:57 --> 00:16:00 energy, A, uh, necessary ingredient for dark,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 habitable ocean worlds where the sun doesn't
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 shine.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 Avery: It's a fantastic example of how lab
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 experiments on Earth can unlock mysteries on
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 distant worlds, further bolstering Europa's
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 status as one of the prime candidates for
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 extraterrestrial life in our solar system.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 And it's not just Europa. These findings
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 could also explain hydrogen peroxide on other
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 icy bodies like Jupiter's moon Ganymede
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 and Pluto's moon Charon, where it's also been
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 detected with CO2.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 And that brings us to the end of another
00:16:31 --> 00:16:34 fascinating episode of Astronomy Daily
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 Today. We've journeyed from solving the
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 ancient mystery of Earth's magnetic shield
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 and and its vital role in fostering life
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 to bidding farewell to NASA veteran astronaut
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 Butch Wilmore after his remarkable 25
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 year career.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 Anna: We also delved into NASA's significant
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 strategy shift for future commercial space
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 stations, aiming to secure a continued human
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59 presence in low Earth orbit as the ISS era
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 draws to a close. And finally, we
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 uncovered how lab experiments might have
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 solved the puzzling hydrogen peroxide
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 distribution on Jupiter's moon Europa,
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 shedding more light on its potential for
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 life.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 Avery: Thank you for joining us on Astronomy Daily.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 We hope you enjoyed our dive into the cosmos.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 Anna: We'll be back tomorrow with more exciting
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 updates from across the universe. Until then,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 keep looking up.