- Earth's Magnetic Field Mystery Solved: Discover groundbreaking research from ETH Zurich and the Southern University of Science and Technology in China that sheds light on how Earth's protective magnetic field formed billions of years ago. This study challenges previous theories and reveals that a completely liquid core could generate a stable magnetic field, crucial for the development of life on our planet.
- - Farewell to NASA’s Barry Butch Wilmore: Join us as we honor NASA astronaut Barry Butch Wilmore, who is retiring after an impressive 25-year career. We reflect on his remarkable achievements, including time spent aboard the ISS and his contributions to space exploration, as well as his inspiring outlook on the wonders of the cosmos.
- - NASA's Commercial Space Station Strategy Shift: Explore NASA's bold new plans for commercial space stations as they prepare for a post-ISS era. Acting Administrator Sean Duffy announces significant changes to the approach for low Earth orbit platforms, aiming to ensure a continuous human presence in space despite budget constraints.
- - Europa's Hydrogen Peroxide Mystery Unraveled: Delve into the latest findings from scientists at the Southwest Research Institute regarding the unexpected presence of hydrogen peroxide on Jupiter's moon Europa. This research may have profound implications for the moon's habitability and offers insights into its subsurface ocean's chemistry.
- For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music Music, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Thank you for tuning in. This is Avery and Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Earth's Magnetic Field Research
[ETH Zurich](https://ethz.ch/en.html)
Barry Butch Wilmore's Career Highlights
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
NASA's Commercial Space Station Strategy
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Europa's Hydrogen Peroxide Research
[Southwest Research Institute](https://www.swri.org/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.
Sponsor Details:
Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!
Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click Here
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.