🛰️ **NOAA Solar Observatory Reaches L1**
NOAA's Space Weather Follow-On satellite successfully arrived at Lagrange point 1 on January 21st, establishing the first component of a future constellation designed to provide early warning of solar storms and coronal mass ejections. The satellite offers 15-60 minutes advance notice of space weather events that could impact Earth's infrastructure.
🚀 **Challenger Disaster: 40 Years Later**
Marking four decades since the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy, we examine how unseasonably cold weather and O-ring failures led to the loss of seven crew members. The disaster fundamentally changed NASA's safety culture and decision-making processes, lessons that continue to influence spaceflight today.
🤖 **AI Uncovers Cosmic Treasures in Hubble Archive**
Advanced artificial intelligence algorithms have identified hundreds of previously undetected gravitational lenses in Hubble Space Telescope data. These discoveries include rare Einstein rings and exotic lensing configurations that provide windows into the early universe and dark matter distribution.
☄️ **Venus's Potential Meteor Shower**
Astronomers predict Venus may experience a significant meteor shower in July 2026 from debris of asteroid 2002 VT37. The event offers a rare opportunity to study how meteor showers interact with Venus's dense carbon dioxide atmosphere.
🌌 **Stellar Fireworks at the Galactic Center**
New observations reveal intense stellar activity near Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's supermassive black hole, including star formation, supernovae, and tidal disruption events in one of the most extreme environments in the Milky Way.
📡 **Watch Artemis 2 Rocket Live**
NASA has launched a 24-hour livestream of the Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket on Launch Pad 39B as crews prepare for the first crewed lunar mission since 1972, currently targeting April 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrVnsO_rdew
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 the latest space and astronomy news. I'm
00:00:06 --> 00:00:06 Anna.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 Avery: And I'm Avery. Today is Wednesday, January
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 28, 2026, and we've got a
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 fantastic lineup of storeys for you.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Anna: We certainly do. We'll be covering
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 NOAA's new solar observatory reaching its
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 destination, looking back at how weather
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 played a tragic role in the Talinger disaster
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 40 years ago, and discovering how
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 AI is uncovering hidden cosmic
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 treasures in Hubble's AR Plus,
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 Venus might be.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 Avery: In for a spectacular meteor shower this July.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 We'll explore stellar fireworks at the heart
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 of our galaxy. And NASA is giving us a live
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 view of the Artemis 2 moon rocket on the
00:00:43 --> 00:00:44 launch pad.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:45 Anna: Let's dive right in.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 Avery: Our top storey today takes us about a million
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 miles from Earth, where NOAA's Space Weather
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 Follow on Lagrange 1 Observatory has just
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 arrived at its permanent home. Anna, uh, this
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 is a pretty significant milestone for space
00:00:58 --> 00:00:59 weather monitoring, isn't it?
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 Anna: Absolutely, Avery. This observatory reached
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 Lagrange Point 1, or L1, on
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 January 21, after launching back in
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 June 2024. Now, uh, for our listeners
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 who might not be familiar, L1 is this
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 special gravitational sweet spot between
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 Earth and the sun, about 1.5
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 million kilometres from our planet.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 Avery: And what makes this location so ideal for
00:01:24 --> 00:01:25 watching the Sun?
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 Anna: Well, at L1, the observatory maintains a
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 constant view of the sun while orbiting in
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 sync with Earth. It's like having a cosmic
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 early warning system. The satellite can
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 detect solar storms and coronal mass
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 ejections headed our way, giving us that
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 crucial advance notice, typically about
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 15 to 60 minutes before these events
00:01:47 --> 00:01:48 impact Earth.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 Avery: That advance warning time is critical, isn't
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 it? I mean, we're talking about protecting
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 everything from power grids to satellites.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 Anna: Exactly right. And here's what's really
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 exciting. It's not just one observatory,
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 it's a constellation. NOAA is planning
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 four more satellites for L1, plus
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 additional ones at, uh, Lagrange point five.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 Together, they'll create this comprehensive
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 solar monitoring network. The second
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 satellite is already scheduled to launch in
00:02:15 --> 00:02:16 2027.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 Avery: So we're looking at a much more robust space
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 weather forecasting capability in the near
00:02:21 --> 00:02:22 future.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 Anna: Precisely. And given how dependent our, uh,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 modern infrastructure is on satellites and
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 power grids, this kind of monitoring becomes
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 more important every year. The observatory
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 is now beginning what NOAA calls an extended
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 checkout period before it becomes fully
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 operational.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 Avery: Moving to a More sombre note, January
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 28th marks 40 years since the space Shuttle
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 Challenger disaster. Anna, uh, there's been
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 renewed focus on how weather and engineering
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 decisions played into that tragedy.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 Anna: Yes. And it's a powerful reminder of how
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 critical environmental factors are in
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 spaceflight. You know, Avery, the night
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 before that launch, temperatures at Kennedy
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 Space Centre dropped to just 28 degrees
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 Fahrenheit. That's minus 2 Celsius
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 for Florida. That was exceptionally cold.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 Avery: And, um, those cold temperatures were at the
00:03:12 --> 00:03:13 heart of the problem, weren't they?
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 Anna: They were. Engineers from Morton Thykol,
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 the company that built the solid rocket
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 boosters, were deeply concerned about the O
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 rings, these critical rubber seals in the
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 boost joints. They'd never been tested below
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 53 degrees Fahrenheit, and the engineers
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 warned that the cold could make them too
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 stiff to seal properly.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 Avery: But the launch went ahead anyway.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 Anna: It did. Despite the engineering concerns,
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 there was enormous pressure to maintain the
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 launch schedule. NASA had already postponed
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 the mission several times, and there was this
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 institutional momentum to proceed.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 73 seconds after liftoff, hot
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 gases escaped through a failed O ring
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 seal, leading to the catastrophic breakup of
00:03:56 --> 00:03:56 Challenger.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 Avery: It's heartbreaking. Seven crew members lost,
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 including Christa McAuliffe, who would have
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 been the first teacher in space.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 Anna: The tragedy fundamentally changed how
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 NASA approached decision making. The Rogers
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 Commission investigation that followed was
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 incredibly thorough, and it led to major
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 reforms in safety, culture and communication.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 One of the key findings was that engineering
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 concerns need to override schedule
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 pressures. Always.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 Avery: And those lessons still resonate today, don't
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 they? I mean, we see NASA taking extra time
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 with Artemis missions being very methodical.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 Anna: Absolutely. The Challenger disaster taught
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 us that in spaceflight, there's no such thing
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 as a routine launch. Every mission
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 requires the same level of scrutiny and
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 respect for engineering limits. It's a
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 lesson paid for with seven lives and one
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 we must never forget.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 Avery: On a brighter note, let's talk about some
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 exciting discoveries from the Hubble Space
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 Telescope. Anna? Uh, artificial
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 intelligence has just helped astronomers
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 uncover hundreds of previously
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 undetected cosmic objects in Hubble's
00:05:06 --> 00:05:07 vast archives.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 Anna: This is fascinating stuff, Avery. So
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 researchers have developed this AI algorithm
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 that can sift through decades of Hubble
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 observations. And it's finding things that
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 human astronomers missed.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 Avery: Exactly. The algorithm focuses on
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 something called gravitational lensing. When
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 a massive object like a galaxy cluster
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 bends light from more distant objects behind
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 it. Einstein predicted this effect. And it's
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 like having a natural cosmic magnifier.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 Anna: And these lensed objects can tell us a lot
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 about the early universe, right?
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 Avery: They can. The AI has identified
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 hundreds of gravitational lens candidates,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 including some exceptionally distant galaxies
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 from when the universe was very young. What's
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 really clever about this approach is that the
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 algorithm was trained on existing verified
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 gravitational lenses. So it knows what to
00:05:59 --> 00:05:59 look for.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 Anna: So it's not just finding more of the same,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 it's finding rare and unusual examples
00:06:05 --> 00:06:05 too.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 Avery: That's what makes this so exciting. The AI is
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 uncovering exotic lensing configurations that
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 would be extremely time consuming for humans
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 to find manually. We're talking about complex
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 multi image systems arc like structures,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 even Einstein rings where the background
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 object is perfectly aligned.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 Anna: And Hubble has been collecting data for over
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 30 years now. So there's this enormous
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 archive to mine.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 Avery: Right. It's like having a treasure trove that
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 we're only now learning how to properly
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 search. These discoveries will help us
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 understand dark matter distribution in galaxy
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 clusters, study extremely distant galaxies
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 that would otherwise be too faint to detect
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 and refine our models of cosmic evolution.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 Anna: It really shows how AI and human
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 astronomers can work together. The AI does
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 the heavy lifting of searching through
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 millions of images and then human experts
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 verify and study the most interesting
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 candidates.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 Avery: Exactly. It's not replacing
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 astronomers, it's amplifying what they can
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 achieve. And as these AI tools get more
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 sophisticated, who knows what other cosmic
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 secrets might be hiding in plain sight in our
00:07:15 --> 00:07:15 archives.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 Anna: Now for something you don't hear every
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 Venus might be getting a meteor shower.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 Avery, tell us about this cosmic event coming
00:07:25 --> 00:07:25 this July.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 Avery: This is a really cool storey, Anna. Uh,
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 astronomers had determined that Venus could
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 experience a significant meteor shower in
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 July 2026. And it uh, all traces
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 back to an asteroid breakup that happened
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 long ago. We're talking about debris from
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 asteroid 2002
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 VT37.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 Anna: Though an asteroid broke apart and now its
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 debris is going to hit Venus?
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 Avery: Essentially, yes. When asteroids
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 collide or break apart, they create streams
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 of debris that continue orbiting the Sun.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 Earth regularly passes through these debris
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 streams. That's what causes our meteor
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 showers like the Perseids or the Geminites.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 Anna: But we don't usually think about other
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 planets having meteor showers.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 Avery: We don't, and that's partly because we can't
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 observe them as easily. But
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 mathematical modelling shows that Venus's
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 orbit will take it through this particular
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 debris stream in July. The timing and
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 geometry appear to line up for a genuine
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 meteor shower event.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 Anna: What would that look like? I mean, Venus has
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 that incredibly thick atmosphere, right?
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 Avery: It does. Venus's atmosphere is about 90
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 times denser than Earth's and is mostly
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 carbon dioxide. Any meteors entering that
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 atmosphere would experience tremendous
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 heating and friction. They'd likely burn up
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 at, uh, much higher altitudes than meteors do
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 on Earth, creating bright streaks across the
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 Venusian sky.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 Anna: Though I suppose nobody's going to be on the
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 surface watching this Light show?
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 Avery: No. Surface conditions on Venus are pretty
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 inhospitable. We're talking temperatures hot
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 enough to melt lead and crushing
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 atmospheric pressure. But spacecraft in orbit
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 around Venus, or even Earth based
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 observations with certain wavelength might be
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 able to detect evidence of the meteor shower.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 Anna: Could this tell us anything scientifically
00:09:17 --> 00:09:17 valuable?
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 Avery: Absolutely. Studying how meteor
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 showers interact with Venus's unique
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 atmosphere could give us insights into
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 atmosphere chemistry and dynamics.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 Plus it helps us understand the distribution
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 of debris throughout the inner solar system.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 And it's just a reminder that these dramatic
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 cosmic events aren't exclusive to Earth.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 Anna: Speaking of dramatic cosmic events, let's
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 head to the centre of our own galaxy. Avery.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 Astronomers have been observing what they're
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 calling stellar fireworks at the heart of the
00:09:48 --> 00:09:48 Milky Way.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 Avery: The galactic centre is such a wild place,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 isn't it? I mean, we've got that supermassive
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 black hole, Sagittarius A, and
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 all sorts of extreme phys going on there.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 Anna: It really is cosmic chaos in the best way
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 possible. The region around Sagittarius A
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 is incredibly dense with stars, gas and
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 dust. And what astronomers are seeing is a
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 spectacular display of stellar activity.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 Massive stars being born, living out their
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 brief but brilliant lives and dying in
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 supernova explosions.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 Avery: And all of this is happening in a, uh,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 relatively small region of space, right?
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 Anna: Exactly. The galactic centre is an incredibly
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 compact environment. You've got stellar
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 densities that are millions of times higher
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 than what we see in our solar neighbourhood.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 Stars are packed so tightly that
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 gravitational interactions are common and the
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 radiation environment is intense.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 Avery: What kind of observations are revealing these
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 fireworks?
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 Anna: Astronomers are using multiple wavelengths,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 infrared x ray and radio observations
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 to peer through the thick dust that obscures,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 um, the galactic centre in visible light.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 What they're seeing are energetic outbursts,
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 shock waves from supernova remnants, and
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 evidence of stars being torn apart by intense
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 tidal forces near the black hole.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 Avery: That sounds pretty dramatic, stars
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 being torn apart.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 Anna: Yes. There's this phenomenon called tidal
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 disruption, where a star that ventures too
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 close to Sagittarius A gets stretched by
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 gravitational forces, sort of like cosmic
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 spaghettification. The star literally gets
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 pulled apart and some of that material falls
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 into the black hole while the rest is ejected
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 at tremendous speeds.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:33 Avery: And, um, we're also seeing new stars forming
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 in this extreme environment.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 Anna: You're. Despite the harsh conditions, or
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 perhaps because of them, there are regions of
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 intense star formation. The gravitational
00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 compression from all that mass can trigger
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 the collapse of gas clouds, leading to new
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 stellar births. These tend to be very
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 massive, hot stars that burn bright and
00:11:53 --> 00:11:53 die young.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Avery: It's almost like the galactic centre is this
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 constant cycle of creation and destruction.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 Anna: That's a perfect way to describe it. And
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 study in this region helps us understand how
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 galaxies evolve, how supermassive black holes
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 influence their surroundings, and what
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 conditions were like in the early universe
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 when star formation was much more vigorous
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 everywhere.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 Avery: For our final storey, let's come back closer
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 to home. NASA has launched a 24
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 hour livestream showing the Artemis II moon
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 rocket on the launch pad at Kennedy Space
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 Centre.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 Anna: This is pretty exciting for space
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 enthusiasts. Avery. The Space Launch System
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 rocket with the Orion spacecraft is now
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 stacked and standing on launch pad, um, 39B.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 And anyone can watch it live whenever they
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 want.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 Avery: This is the mission that will send astronauts
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 around the moon, right? The first crewed
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 lunar mission since Apollo 17.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 Anna: That's right. Artemis II will carry four
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 astronauts, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman,
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a journey around
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 the moon. They won't land, but they'll
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 perform a lunar flyby before returning to
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 Earth.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 Avery: And having the rocket on the pad now. That
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 means we're getting close to launch.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 Anna: Well, the current target is no earlier than
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 April 2026. Though space missions
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 often face schedule adjustments, right now
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 the rocket is on the pad for integrated
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 testing, making sure all the systems work
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 together properly before committing to a
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 launch attempt.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 Avery: What kind of testing are they doing?
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 Anna: They're running through what's called a wet
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 dress rehearsal, which involves loading the
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 rocket with propellants and going through the
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 countdown sequence, stopping just short of
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 ignition. It's essentially a, ah, full launch
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 simulation to verify that all systems,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 ground, equipment and procedures work as
00:13:42 --> 00:13:42 planned.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 Avery: And the livestream lets us watch all this
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 happening in real time?
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 Anna: Exactly. It's a continuous feed, so you can
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 cheque in at any time, day or night, and
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 see the rockets standing there on the pad.
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 Sometimes you'll catch technicians working,
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 other times you might see weather rolling
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 through. It's a unique behind the scenes look
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 at the preparation for this historic mission.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 Avery: I have to say there's something awe inspiring
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 about seeing that massive rocket just
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 standing there, ready to take humans beyond
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 Earth orbit for the first time in over 50
00:14:16 --> 00:14:16 years.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 Anna: There really is, and it represents years
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 of work by thousands of people. After
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 Artemis 2's lunar flyby, Artemis 3 will
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 attempt the first crewed lunar landing since
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 1972, including landing the
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 first woman and first person of colour on the
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 moon.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 Avery: It's a new chapter in lunar exploration and
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 we're watching it unfold in real time,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 literally. We'll put a link in the show notes
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 if you'd like to cheque it out.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 Anna: And that wraps up today's episode of
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 Astronomy Daily.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 From solar observatories reaching their
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 cosmic outposts to remembering hard learned
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 lessons from AI discoveries in telescope
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 archives to potential meteor showers on
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 Venus, stellar fireworks at our galactic
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 centre, and moon rockets on the launch pad,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 it's been quite a journey through the cosmos
00:15:04 --> 00:15:04 today.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 Avery: It certainly has. If you want to stay up to
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 date with all the latest space and astronomy
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 news, make sure you're subscribed to
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 Astronomy Daily. You can find us on your
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 favourite podcast platform.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 Anna: And don't forget to visit our website at
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 astronomydaily IO for additional
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 content, show notes and links to all the
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 storeys we covered today.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 Avery: You can also connect with us on social media
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 astrodaily Pod across all major
00:15:29 --> 00:15:29 platforms.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 Anna: Until next time, keep looking up Clear
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 skies, everyone.