00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 source for the latest news from our solar
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 system and beyond. I'm your host,
00:00:08 --> 00:00:08 Anna.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 Avery: And I'm Avery. It's great to have you with
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 us. We've got plenty of news for you today,
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 Anna. We're going from science fiction made m
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 real to some fascinating problem solving on
00:00:19 --> 00:00:20 the red planet.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 Anna: That's right on the docket today. The
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 discovery of a real life Tatooine like
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 system with not one, but three Earth
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 sized planets orbiting two suns.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 Avery: an incredible find. Then we'll tell you how
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 you can explore 25 years of international
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 space station history in real time. We'll
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 also cover this week's launch roundup and
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 then head to Mars, where a long standing
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 mystery about its sand dunes has finally been
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 solved by a surprising culprit.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 Anna: And to top it all off, we'll discuss a
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 Japanese startup's rather unique
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 plan to bring a taste of home to future
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 lunar colonists by brewing sake
00:01:00 --> 00:01:01 on the moon.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Avery: You heard that right, Sake on the moon. Let's
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 get started.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 Anna: Our first story takes us 190 light
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 years away to a binary star system
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 named TOI2267.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 For anyone who grew up watching Star wars and
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 dreaming of seeing a double sunset, this
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 news is for you. Scientists have just
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 discovered 3 earth sized
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 exoplanets in this system.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 Avery: And this isn't just a fantasy anymore. The
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 truly remarkable thing here is how these
00:01:32 --> 00:01:33 planets are arranged.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 Anna: Exactly. This is the very first time that
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 transiting planets have been found orbiting
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 both stars in such a compact binary
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 system. Usually we find
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 circumbinary planets which orbit far
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 away from both stars at once.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 Avery: Right? Or we find a planet orbiting just one
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 of the stars with the second star much
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 further away. But this is different. This is
00:01:58 --> 00:01:59 close and complex.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 Anna: It is, and that's why it's challenging our
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 existing models of planet formation. The
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 gravitational environment around a, close
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 binary star system is thought to be
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 incredibly chaotic. The intense,
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 shifting gravitational forces should make it
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 very difficult for stable rocky
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 planets like these to form and maintain their
00:02:21 --> 00:02:22 orbits.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 Avery: So finding three of them, all roughly the
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 size of Earth, suggests that planet formation
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 might be more resilient and happen in more
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 diverse environments than we previously
00:02:33 --> 00:02:33 imagined.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 Anna: It really does. It forces theorists
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 back to the drawing board to figure out the
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 mechanics. And while we don't know if these
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 planets are habitable, just imagining
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 standing on one of their surfaces and
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 watching two suns move across the sky
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 is absolutely mind boggling.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 Avery: Alright, let's bring it back closer to home
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 to our own outpost in low Earth orbit. The
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 International Space station. For over 25
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 years, humanity has had a continuous
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 presence. And now there's a new way to
00:03:04 --> 00:03:05 experience that history.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 Anna: Yes, this is a truly amazing
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 project. It's a new website called ISS
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 in Real Time, and it's essentially a
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 living archive of life aboard the station.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 Avery: It was created by NASA software engineer Ben
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 Feast and designer Chris Charney. They've
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 painstakingly compiled publicly available
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 data from the entire history of the station.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 We're talking mission data, audio
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 communications between the crew and mission
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 control, every photo ever taken by the
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 astronauts, and countless hours of video.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 Anna: That's an astonishing amount of data to
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 wrangle. So how does it work?
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 Avery: It's all organized into an interactive
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 timeline. You can jump to any specific day
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 or mission, from the very first module launch
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 to yesterday's science experiments. You can
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 listen to the actual audio of a spacewalk as
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 it happened, see the photos the astronauts
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 were taking at that moment, and track the
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 station's position over Earth.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 Anna: It provides such a comprehensive, unfiltered
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 look at what life is actually like in space.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 It's not just the big dramatic moments, it's
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 the day to day work. The conversations, the
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 quiet moments, looking out the cupola. It's
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 an invaluable tool for historians,
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 researchers, and frankly, anyone who's
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 inspired by space exploration. A true digital
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 monument. You can find the
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 site@issinrealtime.org if
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 you'd like to check it out. I'll leave a link
00:04:32 --> 00:04:33 in the show notes as well.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 Avery: Speaking of getting to space, let's move on
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 to our launch roundup for the week. It's a
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 very busy period for launch providers around
00:04:39 --> 00:04:39 the world.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 Anna: It certainly has. SpaceX, as
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 usual, has a packed schedule.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 Avery: That's right, they're launching three
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 separate Falcon 9 missions carrying batches
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 of their Starlink satellites, continuing to
00:04:51 --> 00:04:52 build out their global Internet
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 constellation.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 Anna: Over in China, there will be a major crewed
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 launch. The Shenzhou 21 mission
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 is sending three taikonauts to the Tiangong
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 space station for a six month stay,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 continuing the steady crew rotation and
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 scientific work aboard their orbital lab.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 Avery: SpaceX is also in the rideshare business this
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 week with their Bandwagon 4 mission scheduled
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 for Sunday. It's like a spacebound carpool
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 carrying a whole host of smaller satellites
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 for various customers into orbit on a single
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 rocket. This mission will mark the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 140th Falcon 9 mission of 2025,
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 the 558th overall Falcon 9
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 mission, and SpaceX's
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 585th mission of all time.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 Anna: And finally, the Indian Space Research
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 Organization is scheduled to launch the CMS
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 M03 mission atop its launch
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 vehicle Mark 3 or LVM3
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 rocket on Sunday at 10:30
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 UTC. The payload will be the GSAT
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 7R, a crucial naval communication
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 satellite that will enhance India's maritime
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 security and communication capabilities.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 All seven missions the LVM3 has flown
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 since 2014 have been successful.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 This mission will mark the eighth LVM UM3
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 mission, the first of 2025 and
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 ISRO's 100th mission overall.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 Furthermore, this mission will be the
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 254th orbital launch attempt
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 worldwide in 2025. A truly
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 global week in space.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 Avery: Now let's journey to our planetary neighbor,
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 Mars. For decades, scientists have been
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 intrigued by mysterious winding gullies that
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 appear on some of Mars massive sand dunes. A
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 leading theory was that they were carved by
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 flowing liquid water. But the evidence was
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 never conclusive.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 Anna: Right, and finding liquid water would be a
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 monumental discovery in the search for past
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 our present life. But a new study published
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 in Nature suggests a much colder and
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 frankly a much cooler explanat.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 It turns out the culprit is likely sliding
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 blocks of dry ice, which is solid
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 carbon dioxide. The Martian atmosphere is
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 rich in CO2 and in the winter it
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 freezes and falls as snow, forming
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 slabs of this dry ice on the dunes.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 Avery: So how does a block of ice carve a channel?
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 It sounds counterintuitive.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 Anna: Well, researchers conducted some clever
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 laboratory experiments that simulated the
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 conditions on Mars. As the seasons change
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 and the sun warms, the ice blocks, they don't
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 melt, they sublimate, turning directly from a
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 solid into a gas. This gas gets
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 trapped underneath the sliding block.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 Avery: Ah, so it creates a cushion of gas like an
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 air hockey table.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 Anna: Precisely. The pressure builds up,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 causing the block to levitate slightly and
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 slide down the dune at high speed. As it
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 moves, the escaping gas blasts away the
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 sand beneath it, carving out those
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 distinctive sinuous gullies.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 Avery: So it's not water, it's gas propelled ice
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 leads re sculpting the Martian landscape.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 That's a fantastic piece of planetary science
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 detective work. It shows us that Mars is
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 still a dynamic active planet, even if its
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 processes are very different from Earth's.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 And now for our final story, which proves
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 that the future of space exploration isn't
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 just about rockets and rovers. It's also
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 about culture. Anna, have you ever considered
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 what the first alcoholic beverage brewed off
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 world might be?
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 Anna: I can't say I have. I might have guessed
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 beer perhaps. But I have a feeling that's
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 not the right answer.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 Avery: Not according to one Japanese startup. They
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 are making serious plans to brew sake
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 on the moon.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 Anna: Sake on the moon. That's
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 certainly ambitious. Is this a
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 gimmick or is there a scientific purpose?
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 Avery: It's both. The primary scientific goal is
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 to study how the lunar environment
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 affects the delicate process of fermentation.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 The lower gravity, about 16 of Earth's,
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 and the higher radiation levels could have
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 unpredictable effects on the yeast and the
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 final product.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 Anna: That's a fascinating astrobiology
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 experiment, really. They'll need a
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 specialized miniature fermentation chamber
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 and a very robust strain of yeast
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 to pull it off.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 Avery: They're working on all of that. But beyond
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 the science, the company has a broader
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 vision. They talk about humanizing life in
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 space. The idea is that for humans to
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 truly live and thrive on other worlds, we
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 need to bring more than just technology. We
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 need to bring our culture, our traditions,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 and our comforts.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 Anna: That makes a lot of sense. It connects
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 future lunar inhabitants back to their home
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 planet. They're aiming to produce the first
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 batch by 2030, which aligns with
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 NASA's Artemis missions, returning humans to
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 the moon. It's a wonderful intersection of
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 cutting edge science and ancient tradition.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 Avery: And that's all the cosmic news we have time
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 for today. From planets with two suns to
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 a brewery on the moon, the universe never
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 fails to surprise and inspire.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 Anna: If you want to read more about any of the
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 stories we covered today, you can find links
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 and further information on our website at.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 Ah.astronomydaily.IO we'd like to
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 thank you for joining us.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 Avery: I'm Avery.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 Anna: And I'm Anna. Until next time, keep looking
00:10:24 --> 00:10:24 up.