FRB Enigma, Supersonic Exoplanet Winds, and China’s Space Tech Breakthroughs: S04E19
Space News TodayJanuary 22, 202500:15:4414.41 MB

FRB Enigma, Supersonic Exoplanet Winds, and China’s Space Tech Breakthroughs: S04E19

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: S04E19

Welcome to another thrilling episode of Astronomy Daily, your go-to source for the latest in space science and exploration. I'm your host, Anna, and today we're venturing into some of the most captivating stories from across the cosmos.

Highlights:

- Mysterious Fast Radio Burst : Discover the enigmatic FRB 20240209A, found in an unexpected region of an ancient elliptical galaxy, challenging our understanding of these cosmic phenomena.

- Supersonic Winds on Exoplanet: Astronomers have detected record-breaking winds on the exoplanet WASP127b, reaching an astonishing 33,000 kilometers per hour, offering new insights into alien weather systems.

- Oxygen Production in Space: China's Tiangong Space Station achieves a breakthrough in artificial photosynthesis, paving the way for sustainable long-term space missions.

- European Space Launch Milestone : German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg secures a historic license for vertical launches from mainland Europe, marking a new era in European space capability.

- Spinning Black Holes : New research reveals supermassive black holes are spinning faster than previously thought, reshaping our understanding of their growth and evolution.

- Lunar Power Innovations : Chinese researchers propose using laser wireless power transmission to sustain lunar missions during the long, dark lunar nights.

For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io (https://chime-experiment.ca/

Northwestern University

https://www.northwestern.edu/

European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/

Tiangong Space Station

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiangong_space_station

Rocket Factory Augsburg

https://www.rfa.space/

SaxaVord Spaceport

https://www.saxavord.com/

Sloan Digital Sky Survey

https://www.sdss.org/

James Webb Space Telescope

https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/

Astronomy Daily

https://www.astronomydaily.io/



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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/25201925?utm_source=youtube

Kind: captions Language: en
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 welcome to astronomy daily your daily

00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 dose of the most exciting developments

00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 in space science and exploration I'm

00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 your host Anna and today we've got an

00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 absolutely packed show with stories from

00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 across the cosmos we'll be diving into a

00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 mysterious fast radio burst that's

00:00:15 --> 00:00:16 challenging everything we thought we

00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 knew about these enigmatic signals and

00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 we'll explore record-breaking supersonic

00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 winds on a distant exoplanet that would

00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 make earth strongest hurricanes look

00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 like a gentle breeze we'll also look at

00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 some groundbreaking achievements in

00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 space technolog ology including a

00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 remarkable breakthrough in oxygen

00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 production aboard China space station

00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 and a historic first for European space

00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 launches plus we've got fascinating new

00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 discoveries about rapidly spinning black

00:00:43 --> 00:00:44 holes and Innovative plans for powering

00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 future lunar missions so strap in as we

00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 embark on this Cosmic Journey Through

00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 the latest and most captivating space

00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 news of the day scientists have made a

00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 fascinating Discovery that's challenging

00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 our understanding of one of space's most

00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 mysterious phenomena fast radio burst

00:01:00 --> 00:01:04 or FBS a newly detected burst designated

00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 fb22

00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 4209a has been found in a place we

00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 wouldn't expect on the outskirts of an

00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 ancient dead elliptical galaxy these FBS

00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 are incredibly energetic pulses of radio

00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 light that flash Across the Universe for

00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 just milliseconds since their first

00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 discovery in 2007 we've detected over

00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 1 of them but this one is special

00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 until now we've only found FBS in young

00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 active galaxies where stars are still

00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 being born what makes this discovery

00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 particularly intriguing is that this F

00:01:36 --> 00:01:40 frb was detected in a galaxy that's 11.3

00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 billion years old practically a cosmic

00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 senior citizen not only that but it's

00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 located in an unusual spot about 130

00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 light years from the Galaxy Center in a

00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 region where very few Stars exist the

00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 leading theory has been that FBS come

00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 from magnetars highly magnetized neutron

00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 stars formed when massive stars die in

00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 spectacular Supernova explosions but

00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 this new discovery doesn't fit that

00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 explanation the Galaxy where this FB was

00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 found is simply too old and inactive to

00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 support the formation of new magnetars

00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 through this process the burst was first

00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 picked up in February 2024 by the

00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 Canadian hydrogen intensity mapping

00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 experiment and it wasn't just a one-time

00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 event between February and July it

00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 pulsed 21 more times giving scientists

00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 plenty of opportunities to study Its

00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 Behavior this discovery suggests we

00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 might need to rethink our theories about

00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 frbs as Northwestern universities wfi

00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 Fong puts it just when we think we

00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 understand an astrophysical phenomenon

00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 the universe throws us a curveball it's

00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 possible there could be a whole subclass

00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 of FBS associated with older systems

00:02:51 --> 00:02:52 that we're only now beginning to

00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 understand at just two billion light

00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 years from Earth this FB is giving us a

00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 front row seat to what might be an

00:02:59 --> 00:03:00 entirely new category of cosmic

00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 phenomena reminding us once again that

00:03:03 --> 00:03:04 the Universe still has plenty of

00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 surprises in store for

00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 us and here's another surprising

00:03:09 --> 00:03:10 discovery for you hold on to your

00:03:11 --> 00:03:12 telescopes because astronomers have just

00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 discovered something extraordinary on

00:03:14 --> 00:03:18 the distant exoplanet wasp

00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 127b using the European Southern

00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 observatory's very large telescope in

00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 Chile they've detected the fastest

00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 planetary winds ever measured and we're

00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 talking about speeds that make earth 's

00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 most violent storms look like gentle

00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 breezes these incredible winds are

00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 whipping around wasp 127 B's equator at

00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 a mindboggling 33 km hour to put

00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 that in perspective that's nearly six

00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 times faster than the planet's rotation

00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 speed even Neptune which held the

00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 previous Record for fastest winds in our

00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 solar system only manages speeds of

00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 about 1

00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 kmph wasp 127b itself is quite the

00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 fascinating world

00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 located about 500 light years away it's

00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 slightly larger than Jupiter but much

00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 less dense earning it the nickname puffy

00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 Planet what makes these observations

00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 even more remarkable is that scientists

00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 have detected a clear pattern in these

00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 supersonic winds one side of the

00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 atmosphere is racing toward us while the

00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 other side is moving away at the same

00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 incredible speed the research team's

00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 observations have revealed more than

00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 just wind speeds they've confirmed the

00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 presence of water vapor and carbon

00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 monoxide in the planet's atmosphere and

00:04:32 --> 00:04:33 discovered that its poles are cooler

00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 than the rest of the planet there's even

00:04:36 --> 00:04:37 a slight temperature difference between

00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 its morning and evening sides showing

00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 that this distant world has complex

00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 weather patterns similar to what we see

00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 in our own solar system this discovery

00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 is particularly significant because

00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 until recently astronomers could only

00:04:51 --> 00:04:52 measure basic characteristics of

00:04:52 --> 00:04:56 exoplanets like their mass and radius

00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 now thanks to Advanced instruments like

00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 those on the very large telescope we can

00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 actually map the weather on these

00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 Distant Worlds and analyze their

00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 atmospheres in detail this is helping us

00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 better understand not just how these

00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 planets formed but potentially giving us

00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 insights into the origins of our own

00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 solar system what's particularly

00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 interesting is that this kind of

00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 detailed observation can currently only

00:05:18 --> 00:05:19 be done from ground-based

00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 observatories even our most advanced

00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 space telescopes don't yet have the

00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 Velocity Precision needed for these

00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 measurements but with new facilities

00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 like the extremely large tele scope

00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 under construction we're looking forward

00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 to exploring even finer details of these

00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 alien weather patterns and maybe even

00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 studying the atmospheres of smaller

00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 rocky

00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 planets meanwhile a bit closer to Earth

00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 the science goes on in a groundbreaking

00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 development aboard China's tiangong

00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 space station the shenzo 19 crew has

00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 successfully demonstrated the world's

00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 first inorbit artificial photosynthesis

00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 technology this remarkable achievement

00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 isn't just about growing plants in space

00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 it's about creating oxygen and Rocket

00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 Fuel components right there in orbit

00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 marking a significant Leap Forward in

00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 our ability to sustain long-term space

00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 missions the experiments took place in a

00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 relatively simple drawer shaped device

00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 where semiconductor catalysts work their

00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 magic by converting carbon dioxide and

00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 water into oxygen and ethylene a

00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 hydrocarbon that can be used to create

00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 spacecraft propellants what makes this

00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 particularly impressive is that unlike

00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 conventional methods that require high

00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 temperatures and pressure this process

00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 works efficiently at room temperature

00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 and standard atmospheric pressure this

00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 Innovation could be a GameChanger for

00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 space exploration currently the

00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 International Space Station relies on

00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 electrolysis for its oxygen needs a

00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 process that consumes about onethird of

00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 the station's total life support energy

00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 while effective this method simply

00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 wouldn't be practical for long duration

00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 missions to the moon or Mars the new

00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 Chinese technology offers a more energy

00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 efficient alternative that could help

00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 solve one of the big challenges in space

00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 exploration how to keep astronauts

00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 breathing without constantly resupplying

00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 from Earth the implications go beyond

00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 just producing oxygen the system is

00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 cleverly designed to be upgraded while

00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 in orbit allowing scientists to test

00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 different catalysts and reactions by

00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 adjusting the Catalyst they can produce

00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 various useful products including

00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 methane for propulsion or formic acid

00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 that could be used to synthesized sugars

00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 this flexibility could prove invaluable

00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 for future space missions where

00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 resources need to be carefully managed

00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 and recycled this development positions

00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 China at the Forefront of sustainable

00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 space Technologies demonstrating a

00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 crucial capability that will be

00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 essential for Humanity's long-term

00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 presence in space as we look toward

00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 establishing permanent bases on the moon

00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 and eventual missions to Mars the

00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 ability to generate essential resources

00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 Like Oxygen and fuel in situ could be

00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 the key to making these ambitious goals

00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 achievable and some news for our

00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 European listeners Europe has just

00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 marked a historic milestone in its space

00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 exploration Journey with German startup

00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 rocket Factory Augsburg securing the

00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 first ever license for vertical rocket

00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 launches from Mainland Europe This

00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 groundbreaking authorization from the UK

00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 civil aviation Authority allows them to

00:08:16 --> 00:08:17 conduct launches from the sax oford

00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 Spaceport located on the remote Shetland

00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 Islands off Scotland's Coast the license

00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 permits up to 10 launches per calendar

00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 year with a maximum of two launches

00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 within any given month this careful

00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 regulation emphasizes both Public Safety

00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 and environmental impact considerations

00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 for RFA this isn't just a regulatory win

00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 it's a powerful endorsement of their

00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 technical capabilities and represents a

00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 significant shift in European space

00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 Innovation the company has already made

00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 significant progress in their launch

00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 preparations though they faced a setback

00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 last August when a static fire test of

00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 their RFA 1 Rockets first stage ended in

00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 an explosion however they're now back on

00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 on track focusing on building a new

00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 first stage equipped with nine Helix

00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 staged combustion engines the good news

00:09:06 --> 00:09:07 is that other crucial components

00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 including the second stage third stage

00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 orbital transfer vehicle and the fairing

00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 are already flight

00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 qualified this development is part of a

00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 broader emergence of European launch

00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 startups with companies from Germany

00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 Spain and the United Kingdom all working

00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 to develop their own orbital Rockets the

00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 sax oford Spaceport isn't alone either

00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 similar facilities in Norway and Sweden

00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 are also preparing to host launches

00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 signaling a new era of European space

00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 capability what we're witnessing is

00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 nothing less than the dawn of a new

00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 commercial space age in Europe after

00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 Decades of relying on launches from

00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 French Guana Europe is finally

00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 developing the infrastructure and

00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 capability to send Rockets into orbit

00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 from its own soil marking a significant

00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 step toward independent access to

00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 space now our obligatory black hole

00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 story for the day and its a beauty in a

00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 fascinating Discovery that's reshaping

00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 our understanding of the cosmos

00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 astronomers have found that super

00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 massive black holes are spinning much

00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 faster than we previously believed this

00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 Revelation comes from an extensive

00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 survey conducted by the Sloan digital

00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 Sky survey's reverberation mapping

00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 project which looked at black holes

00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 spanning billions of years of cosmic

00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 history what makes this finding

00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 particularly intriguing is that these

00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 rapid spin rates are telling us

00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 something fundamental about how these

00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 Cosmic Giants grew over time

00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 the traditional view suggested that

00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 super massive black holes primarily got

00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 bigger through dramatic Galaxy mergers

00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 however these new measurements are

00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 painting a very different picture the

00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 research team found that black holes

00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 from about 10 billion years ago were

00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 spinning particularly fast faster than

00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 their more recent counterparts this

00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 suggests that rather than growing

00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 through violent mergers these ancient

00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 Cosmic monsters built up their Mass more

00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 gradually consuming nearby gas and dust

00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 in a smooth controlled manner it's like

00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 watching a graceful dancer rather than a

00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 chaotic Mosh Pit what's even more

00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 surprising is that when galaxies merge

00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 it actually tends to slow down the spin

00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 of their Central black

00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 holes this helps explain why we see a

00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 mix of different spin rates in more

00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 recent times rather than the more

00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 uniform rapid spins we observe in the

00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 early Universe these findings are

00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 opening up exciting new directions for

00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 Black Hole research the James web Space

00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 Telescope is continually discovering

00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 more distant super massive black holes

00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 for scientists to study and detailed

00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 follow-up observations will help us

00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 better understand how these mysterious

00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 objects grew and evolved over Cosmic

00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 time it's like doing Cosmic archaeology

00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 piecing together the history of the

00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 universe's most enigmatic objects This

00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 research challenges our previous

00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 assumptions about black hole formation

00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 and growth reminding us once again that

00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 the Universe often has surprising ways

00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 of doing things that we're only just

00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 beginning to

00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 understand in further Chinese space news

00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 today Chinese researchers have unveiled

00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 an Innovative solution to one of the

00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 biggest challenges in lunar exploration

00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 keeping spacecraft powered during the

00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 long lunar night they're exploring the

00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 possibility of using laser Wireless

00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 power transmission from satellites

00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 orbiting the moon to supply energy to

00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 surface vehicles and Equipment the

00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 moon's unique rotation means that any

00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 given location experiences about 14 days

00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 of complete darkness with temperatures

00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 plunging to a bone chilling minus 200°

00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 C this poses a significant challenge for

00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 solar powered spacecraft which need to

00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 maintain some level of power just to

00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 survive these extreme conditions this

00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 laser system could be particularly

00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 valuable for exploring permanently

00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 shadowed craters near the lunar poles

00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 these craters never touched by direct

00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 sunlight are thought to contain valuable

00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 water ice a crucial resource for future

00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 lunar operations traditional Power

00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 Solutions like radioisotope generators

00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 have limited output and are expensive

00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 while nuclear reactors though powerful

00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 bring their own set of safety and

00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 complexity concerns the concept works by

00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 using laser beams to transmit power

00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 wirelessly from orbiting satellites to

00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 receivers on the lunar surface which

00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 then convert the light into usable

00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 electricity while promising the

00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 technology still faces several hurdles

00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 including improving efficiency managing

00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 transmission ranges and solving various

00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 operational

00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 challenges This research ties into

00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 China's ambitious International lunar

00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 research station plans with missions

00:13:39 --> 00:13:43 planned for 2026 and 2028 to explore the

00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 lunar South Pole as they work toward

00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 establishing a permanent presence on the

00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 moon in the

00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 2030s solving the energy Supply

00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 challenge will be crucial for

00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 sustainable lunar exploration and

00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 development while the technology is

00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 still in development it represents a

00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 potentially game-changing approach to

00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 powering lunar missions offering

00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 flexibility and scalability in the

00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 vacuum of space it's another step

00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 forward in Humanity's ongoing efforts to

00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 establish a lasting presence on our

00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 Celestial

00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 neighbor well that brings us to the end

00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 of another fascinating episode of

00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 astronomy daily from mysterious radio

00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 burst to supersonic planetary winds and

00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 groundbreaking developments in space

00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 technology it's been quite a journey

00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 through the cosmos today if you'd like

00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 to stay up to date with all the latest

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00:15:23 --> 00:15:31 [Music]

00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 the St the

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