- ISPACE's Lunar Landers Challenges: In this episode, we delve into the challenges faced by ISPACE as their second lunar lander mission, Resilience, reportedly crashed due to a malfunctioning laser rangefinder. We discuss the implications of this hardware failure during descent and the steps the company is taking to prevent future issues, including enhanced testing and potential upgrades to their navigation systems.
- European Mission Possible Test Vehicle: We explore the partial success and failure of a European company's Mission Possible Test vehicle, which achieved orbit and re-entry but lost contact before touchdown. The company’s transparent communication about the parachute deployment issue highlights a refreshing approach in the space industry.
- Mapping the Milky Way: Astronomers have developed a new method for mapping the outer gas disk of the Milky Way, revealing its complex structure. Using data from the Gaia satellite, the team has created accurate maps that enhance our understanding of the galaxy’s hydrogen disk and its interactions with nearby dwarf galaxies and dark matter.
- Venus Co-Orbital Asteroids Discovery: We discuss the intriguing potential of Venus co-orbital asteroids, with new research suggesting that hundreds more may exist than previously thought. These elusive space rocks could provide valuable insights into near-Earth space and the dynamics of our solar system.
- Double Hot Jupiters Explained: Scientists may have cracked the mystery of double hot Jupiters in binary star systems, proposing a new migration process that leads to the formation of these rare exoplanets. We examine the implications for our understanding of planet formation models and the future of exoplanet research.
- Upcoming Space Launches: The week ahead promises a busy schedule of space launches, including Axiom Space's fourth private mission to the International Space Station, multiple SpaceX Falcon 9 missions, and the final flight of the Japanese H2A rocket. We highlight the significance of these launches and their contributions to ongoing space exploration efforts.
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 Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:10 - ISPACE's lunar lander challenges
10:00 - European Mission Possible Test vehicle
20:00 - Mapping the Milky Way
30:00 - Venus co-orbital asteroids discovery
40:00 - Double hot Jupiters explained
50:00 - Upcoming space launches
✍️ Episode References
ISPACE Lunar Mission Update
[ISPACE](https://ispace-inc.com/)
European Mission Possible Test Vehicle
[Exploration Company](https://www.explorationcompany.com/)
Milky Way Mapping Research
[Gaia Mission](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia)
Venus Co-Orbital Asteroids Study
[Valerio Carruba Research](https://www.unesp.br/)
Double Hot Jupiters Research
[Yale University](https://www.yale.edu/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Anna, and I'm thrilled you're joining us for
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 another exciting dive into the cosmos.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 Today we'll be exploring the recent
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 challenges faced by some ambitious
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 spacecraft, uncovering surprising new
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 discoveries about our very own Milky Way
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 galaxy, and discussing a potential hidden
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 family of asteroids that might be sharing
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 Venus's orbit. Plus, we'll take a look
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 ahead at what promises to be a very busy week
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 for space launches around the globe. Stay
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 with us. First up,
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 let's talk about the challenges of lunar
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 exploration.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 Japanese company ISPACE has announced that it
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 believes its second lunar lander mission,
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 named Resilience, crashed due to problems
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 with its laser rangefinder. This crucial
00:00:43 --> 00:00:44 piece of equipment is designed to determine
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 altitude during descent, but it reportedly
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 suffered a hardware issue. During a press
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 briefing, company executives explained that
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 the laser rangefinder, meant to provide the
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 first altitude data at 3 km above the
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 surface, didn't give its initial measurement
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 until the lander was less than 900 meters
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 high. By then, the spacecraft was
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 traveling much faster than planned, reaching
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 66 meters per second compared to the
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 intended 44 meters per second. The last
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 telemetry from the lander at an altitude of
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 192 meters, still showed it descending
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 rapidly at 42 meters per second.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 Images later released by NASA's Lunar
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 Reconnaissance Orbiter show a 16 meter wide
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 crater marking the probable crash site.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 ISpace's executive vice president
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 Yoshitsugu Hitachi clarified that this
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 incident was different from their first
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 mission in 2023, which failed due to
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 a software error. While the software on
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 Resilience worked as intended, the laser
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 rangefinder was a different model but sourced
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 from a new unnamed supplier.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:50 Investigations ruled out improper
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 installation, leading the company to conclude
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 the unit's performance simply degraded.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 Several factors could have caused this,
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 including lunar surface conditions, reduced
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 laser power, or even effects from the space
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 environment like vacuum and radiation.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 Looking ahead, ISPACE is taking significant
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 steps to prevent future issues. Chief
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 Technology Officer Ryo Ujiya stated they will
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 enhance testing for the laser rangefinder and
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 and related sensors to better simulate high
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 speed and low reflectivity conditions.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 They're also considering using a different
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 flight proven laser rangefinder and
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 augmenting it with other sensors like LIDAR
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 or cameras for more robust navigation.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 These efforts will be supported by a new
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 external review board, including former
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 engineers from NASA and the Japanese space
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 agency jaxa. Despite the setbacks,
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 ISPACE remains committed to, with CEO
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 Takeshi Hakamada emphasizing their resolve
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 to keep improving and moving forward with
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 their next missions, both still scheduled for
00:02:51 --> 00:02:51 2027.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 Moving on let's turn our attention to Europe,
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 where the exploration company recently faced
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 a setback with its Mission Possible Test
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 vehicle. This European company, which
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 aims to develop orbital spacecraft for cargo
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 and eventually human transport, achieved a
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 partial success and a partial failure in
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 its latest test flight. The vehicle
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 powered up and flew successfully in orbit
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 before making a controlled RE entry into
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 Earth's atmosphere. Crucially, it
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 managed to re establish communication after
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 the blackout period, suggesting it navigated
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 the most thermally challenging part of
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 reentry effectively. However, the company
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 lost contact with the spacecraft just a few
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 minutes before its planned touchdown in the
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 ocean. In a candid update, the
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 exploration company indicated that the most
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 likely culprit was an issue with the
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 deployment of its parachutes, which were
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 designed to deploy at specific velocities
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 during descent. This demonstration
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 vehicle, measuring two and a half meters in
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 diameter, aimed to test four key
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 structural performance in orbit, surviving RE
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 entry, autonomous navigation, and recovery in
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 real world conditions. It only clearly failed
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 in this final critical task of recovering the
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 vehicle M. Despite this challenge, the
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 company's transparent and rapid communication
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 acknowledging the partial failure within
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 hours of the launch is quite refreshing in
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 the space industry. The Mission Possible
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 vehicle was developed at a relatively low
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 cost of about $20 million in just
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 2.5 years, demonstrating
00:04:24 --> 00:04:25 the company's aggressive timeline and
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 commitment. While it's possible the
00:04:28 --> 00:04:29 exploration company might conduct another
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 subscale demonstration, this mission
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 represents a significant step forward for
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 Europe's commercial space sector, which has
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 historically lagged behind the US And China.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 The ability to launch a fairly large vehicle
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 and bring it back through Earth's atmosphere
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 less than four years after the company's
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 founding is a credible and promising start.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 They are now focused on developing their full
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 size Nix cargo spacecraft with a potential
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 flight as early as 2028.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 Now let's shift our gaze closer to home
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 within our own cosmic neighborhood.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 Astronomers have recently developed a
00:05:06 --> 00:05:07 groundbreaking new method for accurately
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 mapping the outer gas disk of the Milky Way,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 and what they've found is quite surprising.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 It turns out our galaxy's structure is far
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 more complex than previously thought,
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 complete with what they describe as
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 flocculant or tufty looking gas clouds.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 This innovative approach, pioneered by
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 Sukanya Chakrabarti of the University of
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 Alabama and Peter Craig from msu,
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 relies on determining the precise distances
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 to very young stars within the outer disk.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 They leverage data from the European Space
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 Agency's Gaia satellite, which has
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 meticulously measured the brightness,
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 positions, motions, and, crucially, the
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 distances to nearly 2 billion Milky Way
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 stars. As Chakrabarti emphasized,
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 distance is one of the most Fundamental
00:05:51 --> 00:05:52 things you can measure in the universe.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 Unless you know distances, you can't map
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 anything. This is a significant departure
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 from traditional mapping methods that use
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 kinematic distances which assume a model for
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 the galaxy's velocity fields. These
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 older methods can be imprecise, especially
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 for gas clouds which appear much fleecier and
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 more disturbed than the smoother patterns
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 seen in stars. To overcome these
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 inaccuracies, the team used a clever pattern
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 matching technique. They observed that the
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 spiral structure in the gas clouds of nearby
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 galaxies closely mirrors the structure of
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 young stars less than 400 million years old,
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 which are born from these gas clouds. By
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 pairing young stars with known locations to
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 nearby clumps of gas, they created a new map
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 that isn't dependent on the problematic
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 kinematic assumptions. For highly accurate
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 distance markers, they relied on Cepheid
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 variable stars which pulsate with a, uh,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 regular rhythm, allowing astronomers to
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 calculate incredibly precise distances.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 The results are transforming our
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 understanding. Craig noted that their new
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 maps nicely demonstrate that the spiral
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 structure in the gas disk of the Milky Way is
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 highly flocculant and that the overall
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 structure of the disk is complex. This
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 technique combining pattern matching with
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 accurate stellar distances promises to
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 significantly improve our understanding of
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 the prevalence and shapes of the clouds in
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 the hydrogen disk. Beyond that,
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 these more accurate maps can enhance three
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 dimensional dust maps of the entire galaxy
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 and help astronomers identify disturbances
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 within the disk, such as interactions with
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 nearby dwarf galaxies or even the presence
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 of dark matter. It's a truly exciting
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 development that paints an even more
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 intricate picture of our home galaxy
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 moving from the intricate patterns within our
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 own Milky Way.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 Let's turn our attention to an exciting
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 discovery much closer to home, right in our
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 solar system. Astronomers are currently
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 delving into a little known and largely
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 unseen group of asteroids that quietly share
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 Venus's orbit around the Sun. These
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 fascinating space rocks, dubbed Venus Co
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 orbital asteroids, might be far more numerous
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 than we ever imagined. To date, only
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 about 20 of these unique asteroids have been
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 confirmed. However, a new study led by
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 Valerio Carruba from Sao Paulo State
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 University in Brazil the suggest that
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 hundreds more could be lurking just out of
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 sight. Karuba excitingly compared this
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 potential discovery to discovering a
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 continent you didn't know existed. The reason
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 so few have been found until now is their
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 elusiveness. They appear close to the sun in
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 our sky, making them difficult for ground
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 based telescopes to spot. And their rapid
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 movement adds to the tracking challenge.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 To investigate this hidden population,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 Karuba's team ran extensive computer
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 simulations modeling the orbits of hundreds
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 of hypothetical Venus Co orbital asteroids
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 over a staggering 36 years into
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 the future, they found that many of these
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 objects could remain gravitationally bound to
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 Venus's orbit for an average of about 12
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 years. Interestingly, their orbits appeared
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 chaotic, meaning small shifts over long
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 periods could eventually push them onto
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 different paths, including some that might
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 bring them closer to Earth. However, there's
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 no need for alarm. Experts, including
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 astronomer Scott Shepard from the Carnegie
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 Institution for Science, emphasize that none
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 of the known asteroids pose an immediate
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 threat, and the timescales involved span many
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 thousands of years. The likelihood of one
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 colliding with Earth anytime soon is
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 extremely low. Despite the low risk,
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 understanding these objects is crucial for
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 building a more complete picture of near
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 Earth space. Because they're so hard to spot
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 from Earth, the team also explored new
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 detection methods. Their simulations suggest
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 that a spacecraft orbiting closer to Venus
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 would have a much better chance. And the
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 newly commissioned Vera C Rubin Observatory,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 though not specifically designed for the
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 inner solar system, could potentially catch
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 some of these hidden asteroids during its
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 special twilight observing campaigns. Further
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 into the future, a proposed mission concept
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 called Crown and envisions a fleet of small
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 spacecraft near Venus specifically designed
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 for this search. These efforts promise to
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 unveil many more of these dynamically
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 intriguing objects, adding another layer to
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 our understanding of the solar system's
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 diverse inhabitants.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 From hidden asteroids to perplexing planets,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 astronomers have been busy unraveling cosmic
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 mysteries. And speaking of mysteries,
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 scientists may have finally cracked the
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 curious case of what are known as double hot
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 Jupiters. These are rare exoplanet pairs
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 found in binary star systems, with one
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 scorching gas giant orbiting each of the twin
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 stars. This arrangement has long puzzled
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 scientists, seeming to defy our understanding
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 of how planets form. But now a team
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 of astronomers believes they have the key to
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 this celestial puzzle, a process known as von
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 Zypolidov Kozai or zlk. Migration
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 team leader and Yale University astronomer
00:10:59 --> 00:11:02 Melena Rice describes it as a dance of sorts
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 of essentially in a binary star system,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 the gravitational influence of the second
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 star can significantly shape and warp the
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 orbits of planets, causing them to migrate
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 inward towards their parent stars. The
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 researchers propose that this mechanism leads
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 to a mirrored migration process, resulting in
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 both stars in the binary system ending up
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 with their own hot Jupiter. To reach this
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 conclusion, Rice and her colleagues performed
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 numerous simulations of binary stars with two
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 planets using powerful computing clusters and
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 data from sources like NASA's Exoplanet
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 Archive and the European Space Agency's Gaia
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 mission. The unintended yet
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 exciting consequence of this research is that
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 it makes our planet formation models a whole
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 lot more interesting. We typically expect
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 giant planets to form much further away from
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 their host stars. Which is precisely why Hot
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 Jupiters, especially pairs of them, have been
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 such a captivating subject of studying. For
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 future discoveries, the team suggests
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 revisiting binary systems where just one Hot
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 Jupiter has already been found. The crucial
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 factor, however, is that these parent stars
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 need to have a moderate separation, not too
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 close and not too far apart, just the right
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 distance for this gravitational dance to
00:12:15 --> 00:12:15 unfold.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 Next up, the global launch manifest continues
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 to be as busy as ever. As we approach the
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 halfway point of 2025 this week,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 we're looking at a packed schedule
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 highlighted by multiple SpaceX Falcon 9
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 missions, including a significant private
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 crewed flight to the International Space
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 Station. First up, Axiom Space aims to return
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 crew to the iss with its fourth private
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 mission, AX4, launching today if all goes
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 according to plan. From Florida Commanding
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 this flight is Peggy Whitson, a former NASA
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 astronaut, making this her second commercial
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 mission and further extending her record for
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 the longest cumulative time in space by an
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 American. Joining her are Shubanshu
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 Shukla from India and mission specialists
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 Slawash Usnanski, Wisniewski of Poland and
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 Tibor Kapu of Hungary, all making their first
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 space flights and marking significant
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 milestones for their nations. This mission
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09 also debuts crew Dragon
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 C213, the final capsule ever
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 manufactured completing SpaceX's fleet. The
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 Falcon 9 booster will attempt a, uh, return
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 to launch site landing. Beyond the
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 crewed mission, SpaceX is maintaining its
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 impressive pace with three Starlink satellite
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 deployments also on the docket. This week,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 two Falcon 9 flights will launch from Cape
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 Canaveral carrying Starlink V2 mini
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 satellites into low Earth orbit, while the
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 third lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 Base in California. These launches underscore
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 SpaceX's aggressive goal of completing 170
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 orbital flights this year. Elsewhere on the
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 launch pad, Rocket Lab aims to continue its
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 record cadence with the 67th electron
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 mission, symphony in the Stars from New
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 Zealand. Slightly delayed for checkouts,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 this confidential commercial payload is set
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 for a 650 kilometer orbit.
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 Blue Origin also has its fifth New Shepard
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 suborbital flight of 2025
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 NS33, expected to carry a crew of
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 six passengers, just above the Carmen line
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 for a brief period of microgravity after
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 being scrubbed last weekend. And
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 finally, a momentous launch marks the end of
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 an era, the 50th and final mission for
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 the Japanese H2A rocket. This
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 swan song flight, delayed due to an
00:14:24 --> 00:14:27 electrical issue, will carry the GOSAT GEO
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 Water Earth Observation payload from the
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 Tanegashima Space Center. This satellite is
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 designed to monitor greenhouse gases and
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 measure water on Earth's surface and in the
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 atmosphere. The H2A, with an
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 impressive track record, is being phased out
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 in favor of its successor, the H3 family.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 And with that news, we wrap up today's
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 episode of Astronomy Daily, where we explored
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 everything from lunar lander challenges and a
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 European spacecraft's re entry setback to the
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 clumpy nature of our Milky Way and the hidden
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 asteroids of Venus. Plus the fascinating
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 dance of double hot Jupiters and a look at
00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 the busy week ahead for space launches. Thank
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 you for joining us. I'm Anna your your host
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 and I hope you enjoyed this dive into the
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 cosmos. Remember, you can visit
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 Astronomy Daily IO to catch up on all the
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 latest space and astronomy news with our
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 constantly updating newsfeed and listen to
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 all our back episodes. Subscribe to Astronomy
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
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00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 podcasts. We'll see you again tomorrow. In
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 the meantime, keep looking up
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 stories be told
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 stories.