The Artemis II crew has completed the most significant human spaceflight milestone since 1972 — a historic lunar flyby that took four astronauts further from Earth than any humans in history. In today's episode, Anna and Avery cover every moment of Flight Days 6 and 7, including the far-side blackout, a solar eclipse observed from beyond the Moon, and what comes next on the journey home. Plus: NASA faces another proposed 47% science budget cut, a cargo ship heads to the space station, Europe and China are about to launch a groundbreaking solar shield explorer called SMILE, and Blue Origin reveals its ambitious plan to map the Moon's hidden water ice. Today's Stories 1. Artemis II Days 6 & 7: The Lunar Flyby • The crew of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen completed a 7-hour lunar flyby on April 6 • Orion reached a maximum distance of 252,760 miles from Earth, surpassing the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles • Closest lunar approach: 4,067 miles above the surface at approximately 7 p.m. EDT • Christina Koch became the first woman to complete a lunar flyby • The crew witnessed an Earthset, Earthrise, and a solar eclipse from behind the far side of the Moon • Day 7 is a rest day; splashdown in the Pacific is targeted for April 10 2. NASA FY2027 Budget Proposal • White House proposes $18.8 billion for NASA — a 23% overall reduction • Science Mission Directorate would be cut by 47%, from $7.25B to $3.9B • More than 40 missions face termination; Mars Sample Return and SERVIR named explicitly • Exploration/Artemis funding would increase by ~10% • Congress rejected nearly identical cuts last year 3. Cygnus NG-24 ISS Resupply • Launch targeted April 8 from Cape Canaveral on SpaceX Falcon 9 • Named S.S. Steven R. Nagel after four-time shuttle veteran • Carrying 11,000+ lbs including Cold Atom Lab upgrade and stem cell research hardware • Also includes Africa's ClimCam AI-powered climate camera from Egypt, Kenya, and Uganda 4. SMILE Mission — Launch April 9 • Joint ESA / Chinese Academy of Sciences mission; first ever jointly designed, built, launched and operated by both agencies • Launches April 9 on Vega-C from French Guiana; 3-year science mission • Will give humanity its first complete, simultaneous view of Earth's magnetosphere reacting to the solar wind • Four instruments: soft X-ray imager, UV aurora camera, light ion analyser, magnetometer • Science orbit reaches 121,000 km above North Pole; up to 40 hours continuous observation per orbit • Critical for understanding and predicting space weather — protecting satellites, power grids and communications 5. Blue Origin Oasis-1: Lunar Water Ice Prospecting • Introduced at the 2026 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) • Two-smallsat mission deployed from Blue Origin's uncrewed Mk1 lander; ultra-low 10x50 km polar orbit • Instruments: neutron spectrometer (water ice to 1m depth), magnetometer (metals), multispectral imager (Helium-3) • 90-day global mapping phase followed by 10-day controlled deorbit — science continues to impact • Partnership with Luxembourg Space Agency; data licensed commercially, non-commercial data released publicly via ESRIC • Phase 1 of a 3-phase Project Oasis roadmap: orbit survey, surface mobility, then extraction operations 6. April Skywatching • Comet C/2025 R3: closest approach April 27, magnitude ~8, binoculars needed • Lyrid meteor shower peaks April 21–22, look toward Lyra from 10pm • Mercury at best visibility of 2026 in the eastern pre-dawn sky Links & Resources • NASA Artemis II Flight Day 6 updates: nasa.gov • Planetary Society Artemis II guide: planetary.org • NASA FY2027 budget: spacenews.com • Cygnus NG-24 launch: nasaspaceflight.com • ESA SMILE mission: esa.int/smile • Blue Origin Oasis-1: blueorigin.com Connect With Us • Website: astronomydaily.io • Twitter/X: @AstroDailyPod • Instagram: @AstroDailyPod • TikTok: @AstroDailyPod • YouTube: Astronomy Daily • Tumblr: AstroDailyPod
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 guide to what's happening beyond our
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 world. I'm Anna.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 >> And I'm Avery. And today, today's
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 Today's genuinely one of those days we
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 will remember for the rest of our lives.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 >> 54 years. That's how long it's been
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 since any human being flew around the
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 far side of the moon. And yesterday,
00:00:22 --> 00:00:26 that streak ended. The Artemis 2 crew,
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 Reed Wisman, Victor Glover, Christina
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 Ko, and Jeremy Hansen, completed a
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 7-hour lunar flyby that has rewritten
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 the history books. We've got the full
00:00:37 --> 00:00:41 story, plus a wild NASA budget battle, a
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 European Chinese collaboration, a Blue
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 Origin update, and a spacecraft headed
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 to the space station.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 >> Strap in. This is Astronomy Daily,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:55 season 5, episode 83. Let's kick things
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 off with the big one of the day.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 >> Okay, let's start where the entire
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 planet's attention has been focused.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:05 252
00:01:05 --> 00:01:06 mi from Earth.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 >> That's how far the Aremis 2 Orion
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 spacecraft reached that its maximum
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 distance from Earth, officially breaking
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 the record set by the Apollo 13 crew
00:01:15 --> 00:01:19 back in April 1970. Apollo 13 got to
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 248
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 mi. Artemis 2 just beat that by more
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 than 4 miles.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 >> And they didn't just nudge the record.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 They went farther than any human beings
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 in the history of our species. Let that
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 sink in.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 >> The lunar flyby itself kicked off on
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 flight day 6. That's Monday, April 6th.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 NASA scientists had prepared a packed
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 science plan. 35 specific geological
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 targets on the lunar surface. 10 science
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 objectives and the crew working in
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 twoperson ships to photograph and
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 document as much as possible.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 >> Closest approach came at just 4,67
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 mi above the surface. That's close
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 enough to see individual craters in
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 extraordinary detail. From there, the
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 spacecraft swung around the far side of
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 the moon and the crew went silent for
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 about 45 minutes as the moon blocked all
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 communication with Earth. And when they
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 came back, the crew described witnessing
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 an Earth set and then an Earth rise as
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 the Earth dropped below and then
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 reemerged from the lunar horizon.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 Commander Reed Wisman said, and I'm
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 paraphrasing here, that these numbers,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 250
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 m, are simply impossible for the human
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 brain to process when you're actually
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 living them.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 >> Mission specialist Christina had an
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 emotional moment, too. She became the
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 first woman in history to complete a
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 lunar flyby. And when she spoke to NASA
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 administrator Jared Isaacman, she said
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 she wasn't ready to go home.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 >> Victor Glover described the moon out the
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 window as one of the darkest things they
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 could see with deep space behind it
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 appearing like a deep surreal blue.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 Stars visible even through that
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 darkness. His words, "It's a quite a
00:03:06 --> 00:03:07 wicked view."
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 And another astronaut, we believe it was
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 Jeremy Hansen, said there are simply no
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 adjectives, that they'd need to invent
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 new ones, just phenomenal.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 >> But it didn't stop there. As Orion swung
00:03:20 --> 00:03:21 back around, the crew witnessed
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 something extraordinarily rare. A total
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 solar eclipse as seen from beyond the
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 moon's far side. The sun disappeared
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 behind the lunar disc for nearly an
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 hour. And they used every second of it
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 scientifically, studying the solar
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 corona glowing around the edge of the
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 moon, watching for meteoroid impacts on
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 the lunar surface, and observing
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 illuminated lunar dust. It was a science
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 feast in the middle of a history-making
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 adventure. President Trump called in
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 afterward to congratulate the crew,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 calling it one of the proudest moments
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 for America. Commander Wisman said his
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 favorite site was watching Mars align
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 with the other planets during the
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 eclipse and musing about humanity
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 becoming a two planet species.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 >> So, where is the crew now? Day seven is
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 a rest day. Well-earned, I'd say. Day 8
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 brings a radiation shelter construction
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 demonstration and manual piloting tests.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 Day 10, April 10th, is splashdown day.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 The Pacific Ocean off San Diego. Between
00:04:24 --> 00:04:25 now and then, the spacecraft will
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 perform three trajectory correction
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 burns to fine-tune its return path. And
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 Orion's toilet, which has had a few
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 headline worthy hiccups, appears to be
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 operating normally now after a frozen
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 wasteline was resolved.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 >> The space toilet, always a
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 crowd-pleaser, but genuinely, the
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 universal waste management system is
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 being tested as the first deep space
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 bathroom. critical technology for future
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 long duration missions.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 >> Fun fact time. The Artemis 2 crews wake
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 up songs are curated by mission control
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 and beamed up to start each day. The
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 playlist is on Spotify. Look for it.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 It's a genuine artifact of this mission.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 >> Also, the crew's zero gravity indicator,
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 the small toy or object that floats
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 freely in the cabin showing when you've
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 reached weightlessness, is an adorable
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 stuffed animal they called rise. So far,
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 it's living up to the name.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 >> And in a lovely Easter weekend moment
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 before the flyby, pilot Victor Glover
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 shared a message about how the mission
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 reminds us of our shared humanity. As he
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 said, "We are the same thing and we've
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 got to get through this together."
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 Beautiful sentiment. 250 m from
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 home. The crew also attempted to
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 recreate the famous Apollo 8 Earthrise
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 photograph from 1968, one of the most
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 important images in human history. We'll
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 be watching for those photos as they're
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 down.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 >> Now, even as the world celebrates
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 Artemis 2, there's a storm brewing back
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 on Earth over NASA's finances. The White
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 House Office of Management and Budget
00:05:59 --> 00:06:03 released its FY2027 budget for NASA, and
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 it's a repeat of last year's deeply
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 controversial cuts. The headline number,
00:06:08 --> 00:06:12 $18.8 billion. That's a 23% reduction
00:06:12 --> 00:06:16 from NASA's current 24.4 billion budget.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 And the hardest hit, the science mission
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 directorate, slashed by 47%
00:06:22 --> 00:06:26 from 7.25 billion down to 3.9 billion.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 >> Casey Dreer of the Planetary Society
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 called it bluntly an extinction level
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 event for science. More than 40 missions
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 would be terminated, although the
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 document only names two specifically,
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 the Mars sample return mission and the
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 severe global climate data program.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 >> Notably, exploration funding, meaning
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 Artemis, would actually increase by
00:06:47 --> 00:06:51 nearly 10% to $8.5 billion. So, the
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 administration's message is clear.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 Humans to the moon, but science takes
00:06:56 --> 00:06:56 the hit.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 >> Here's the important context, though.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 Congress rejected almost identical cuts
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 last year. The same $18.8 billion
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 request was made for FY2026,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 and lawmakers chose to restore science
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 funding across the board. Advocates say
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 there's every reason to believe Congress
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 will push back again.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 >> But the uncertainty is damaging
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 regardless. Missions like the Nancy
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 Grace Roman Space Telescope, expected to
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 launch later this year, and the
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 Dragonfly Titan rotorcraft are among
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 those potentially in the crosshairs.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 While all eyes are on the moon, the
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 International Space Station isn't going
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 hungry. Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 8th,
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 a SpaceX Falcon 9 is set to launch from
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 Cape Canaveral carrying Northrop Grumman
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 Signis spacecraft on the NG24 mission.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 >> This Signis has been named the SS Steven
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 R. Nagel in honor of the former NASA
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 astronaut who flew four space shuttle
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 missions and logged 723
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 hours in space. The XL configuration is
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 carrying more than 11 lbs of
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 supplies and science hardware for the
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 Expedition 73 crew. Highlights include
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 an upgrade to NASA's cold atom lab,
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 which uses ultra cold atoms to study
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 quantum behavior and equipment to help
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 produce therapeutic stem cells for blood
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 and cancer treatment research.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 >> There's also an AI powered climate
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 camera built through a partnership
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 between the Egyptian, Kenyan, and
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 Ugandan space agencies. The climb cam
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 payload designed to provide near
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 realtime weather data for disaster
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 management in East Africa.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 >> Unlike SpaceX's Dragon, Signis doesn't
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 dock autonomously. Astronauts aboard the
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 station used the Canade Arm 2 robotic
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 arm to capture it. Then ground
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 controllers dock it to the Unity module.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 A real team effort between humans and
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 ground control. Now, while Artemis 2 is
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 grabbing most of the headlines, there's
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 another remarkable mission launching in
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 less than 48 hours. And this one is a
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 genuine first in the history of space
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 science.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 >> On Thursday, April 9th, the Smile
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 mission lips off from Europe's spaceport
00:09:05 --> 00:09:09 in French Gana on a Vega C rocket. Smile
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 stands for the Solar Wind Magnetosphere
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 ionosphere link explorer. What it
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 promises to deliver is humanity's very
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 first complete simultaneous view of how
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 Earth's magnetic shield responds to the
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 sun. Think of it this way. Earth is
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 constantly bombarded by charged
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 particles streaming from the sun, the
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 solar wind. Our planet is protected by a
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 massive invisible magnetic bubble called
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 the magnetosphere. Without it, life on
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 Earth simply could not exist. We've been
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 studying pieces of this interaction for
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 decades, but we've never been able to
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 image the whole system at once. Smile
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 will change that. It carries four
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 instruments, a soft X-ray imager, an
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 ultraviolet aurora camera, a light ion
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 analyzer, and a magnetometer. All
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 working together in real time to capture
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 the magnetosphere as a complete dynamic
00:10:09 --> 00:10:13 system for the first time ever. The
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 orbit is extraordinary. After launch,
00:10:16 --> 00:10:20 Smile fires its engines 11 times over 25
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 days to stretch its path into a highly
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 elongated loop, reaching 121 km
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 above the North Pole, then sweeping back
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 down to just 5 km above the South
00:10:34 --> 00:10:38 Pole to beam its data home. Each orbit
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 takes roughly two days. At its high
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 point over the North Pole, Smile will
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 continuously image the entire dayside
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 magnetosphere for up to 40 hours per
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 orbit. That's the longest uninterrupted
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 auroral observation ever planned from
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 space. A capability that's been missing
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 since 2008.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 >> There's also a remarkable geopolitical
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 dimension here. Smile is a joint mission
00:11:04 --> 00:11:07 between ESA and the Chinese Academy of
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 Sciences. the first mission ever jointly
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 designed, built, launched, and operated
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 by both agencies. That partnership has
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 survived a decade of development,
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 technical setbacks, COVID delays, and
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 considerable political headwinds. The
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 fact that it's launching at all is
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 itself a statement
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 >> and the practical stakes are high.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 Better understanding of space weather
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 and earlier prediction of solar storms
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 protects satellites, power grids,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 financial systems, and communications
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 networks worldwide. Liftoff is set for
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 BST on April 9th with live coverage on
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 ESA web TV. The name smile comes from
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 the mission acronym, but there's a
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 literal smile involved, too. ESA's
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 simulations of what the X-ray camera
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 will see show a smileyfaced shaped
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 pattern of X-ray emission from Earth's
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 magnetosphere, which may be the most
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 delightful coincidence in all of space
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 science.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:16 >> The spacecraft weighs 2300 kg, but 1
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 of those kg are fuel. It burns through
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 90% of its propellant in the first month
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 alone just to reach its science orbit.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 It's essentially a fuel tank attached to
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 instruments.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 >> Here's a story that connects directly to
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 Aremis 2 and the dream of long-term
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 human presence on the moon. We know
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 there's water ice locked in the
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 permanently shadowed craters near the
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 lunar south pole, but we don't really
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 know how much or exactly where. Blue
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 Origin wants to fix that. Earlier this
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 year at the Lunar and Planetary Science
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 Conference, Blue Origin formally
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 introduced Oasis 1, the first mission in
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 what it's calling Project Oasis, a
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 multi-phase initiative to identify,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 assess, and ultimately use the moon's
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 resources in C2. Oasis 1 is a two
00:13:09 --> 00:13:12 spacecraft mission, a pair of small sats
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 to be deployed from Blue Origin's
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 uncrrewed MK1 lander. The two spacecraft
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 will enter a highly elliptical low polar
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 orbit with their lowest point skimming
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 just 10 kilometers above the lunar south
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 pole. Close enough to collect
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 extraordinarily detailed data about
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 what's actually in those permanently
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 shadowed regions.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 >> The instrument suite is purposebuilt for
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 prospecting neutron spectroscopy to
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 measure subsurface water ice
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 concentrations down to 1 meter depth.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 magnetometers for metal detection, a
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 multisspectral push broom spectrometer
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 for helium 3 and geological mapping.
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 It's essentially a mining survey from
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 orbit with resolution in some modes down
00:14:00 --> 00:14:04 to less than 5 m per pixel. And then
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 comes the finale. After 90 days of
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 global mapping, Oasis 1 conducts a
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 controlled slow motion descent, a 10-day
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 deorbit phase where the instruments keep
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 working at ultra low altitudes right up
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 until impact. They'll be mapping water
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 deposits at hundreds of meters per pixel
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 in those final hours. Science right to
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 the end.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 >> The commercial model is fascinating,
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 too. Blue Origin plans to license the
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 resulting resource maps to other
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 companies who need that data to design
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 lunar mining hardware and attract
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 investors. Any data without direct
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 commercial use goes public via the
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 European Space Resources Innovation
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 Center. It's open science built on a
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 commercial backbone. The project is a
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 partnership with Luxembourg and its
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 small space agency, continuing that
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 small nation's long tradition of being
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 surprisingly central to the space
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 resources industry. And it ties directly
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 into Blue Origin's Blue Alchemist
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 program, which aims to process lunar
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 regalith into oxygen, solar cells, and
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 power cables. The moon as a
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 self-sustaining infrastructure hub. As
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 Blue Origins VP of advanced concepts Pat
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 Ramy has put it, once we know what's
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 really there and how to access it,
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 everything changes. With Artemis 2
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 heading home right now, that future is
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 feeling closer than ever.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 >> Before we go, let's look ahead at what's
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 happening in the night sky this month
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 because April is actually a great time
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 to be outside looking up.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 >> Comet C/2025R3
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 is your prime target. It's expected to
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 peak around April 17th and make its
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 closest approach to Earth on April 27th,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 coming within 44 million miles.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 Magnitude estimates put it around 8. So,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 you'll need binoculars or a small
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 telescope, but it should be a very
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 rewarding site in the eastern pre-dawn
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01 sky. Then, there's the Lid meteor
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 shower, which peaks on the night of
00:16:02 --> 00:16:06 April 21st into the 22nd. The Lids are
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 one of the oldest recorded meteor
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 showers. There are observations going
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 back to 687 BC. They come from debris
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 shed by comet Thatcher, and you'll want
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 to look toward the constellation LRA
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 from around 10 p.m. local time. The moon
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 should be relatively cooperative for the
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 larids this year, meaning darker skies
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 for the peak. And if you have a clear
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 horizon just before sunrise, Mercury is
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 putting on its best showing of the year
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 as well. Look east just above Mars. And
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 that is your Astronomy Daily for
00:16:38 --> 00:16:42 Tuesday, April 7th, 2026. What a day to
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 be alive and curious about the universe.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 The Aremis 2 crew are heading home.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 They've seen what no human has since
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 1972.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 And the science, the photos, the data,
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 all of that is just beginning to come
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 back to Earth.
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 >> If this episode has inspired you, share
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 it with someone who needs a little
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 cosmic wonder in their day. You'll find
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 us wherever great podcasts are heard and
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 all the links are in the show notes.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 >> Find us on X, Instagram, Tik Tok, and
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 YouTube at astroaily pod and visit
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 astronomyaily.io
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 for extended show notes and resources.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 >> Until tomorrow, keep looking up.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:24 Astronomy day.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:32 Stories be told.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 Stories told.