Interstellar Comet 3I ATLAS: Unveiling Its Alien Origins, NASA’s Roman Telescope Launch, and...

[00:00:00] This is Space Time Series 29 Episode 52, for broadcast on the 1st of May 2026. Coming up on Space Time, Interstellar Comet 3I ATLAS far more alien than previously thought, NASA now looking at September to launch its new Roman Space Telescope, and the European Space Agency's new Australian DISH finally commissioned. All that and more coming up on Space Time.

[00:00:26] Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Gary. A new study has found that Interstellar Comet 3I ATLAS must have originated in a much colder star system, one with lower levels of radiation than our own solar system.

[00:00:55] The new findings reported in the journal Nature Astronomy are based on the observation that 3I ATLAS is remarkably rich in a specific type of water called heavy water which contains deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen that contains a neutron in its nucleus. Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom, hence its H2O formula. In a typical water molecule, those hydrogen atoms have just one proton in their nucleus, orbited by an electron. Heavy water also exists on Earth, but in much lower quantities than what

[00:01:25] was observed in 3I ATLAS. The study's lead author, Luis Salazar Manzano from the University of Michigan, says, Less than a year ago, astronomers discovered a strange comet soaring through our skies that was not from our solar system. Although we still don't know where this object 3I ATLAS came from, the new work will reveal some fresh insights about its birthplace. It's only the third interstellar object ever identified in our solar system. Manzano says, The new observations showed that

[00:01:54] the conditions which led to the formation of our solar system are very different from how planetary systems evolved in other parts of our galaxy. The amount of deuterium in 3I ATLAS was some 30 times higher than that found in any comet in our solar system, and 40 times the value of water found in Earth's oceans. These ratios tell astronomers about the conditions that were present when these celestial objects formed, and it allows them to compare the birthplace of 3I ATLAS with our own

[00:02:20] solar system when planets and comets were forming. It's proof that the conditions that led to the creation of our solar system are not ubiquitous throughout space. Manzano and colleagues use the DMD observatory in Arizona and ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array Radio Telescope in Chile, to study some of the earliest gases emitted by the comet. And this marked the first time astronomers have been able to perform this type of analysis on an interstellar object. Apart from 3I ATLAS,

[00:02:49] the only confirmed interstellar objects ever detected passing through our solar system were 1I Maumaua and 2I Borisev. And both have now left. This is space time. Still to come, NASA now looking at September to launch its new Roman Space Telescope, and the European Space Agency's new Australian dish finally commissioned.

[00:03:11] All that and more still to come on Space Time. NASA are now targeting September as the likely launch date for the new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. That's much earlier than the May 2027 launch date

[00:03:39] originally slated. Roman is similar to NASA's famous Hubble Space Telescope, but is designed to survey far greater fields of the sky at once. Instead of focusing on detailed images of individual galaxies like Hubble, Roman will look at wide swathes of the cosmos, trying to answer questions about how dark energy and dark matter, two of the most mysterious subjects in science today have affected the universe and its

[00:04:03] evolution. The Roman Space Telescope is very similar to Hubble. Hubble is based on the design of a CIA Keyhole KH9 or more likely KH11 spy satellite, but modified to look out into the universe rather than down onto the Earth's surface. Both Hubble and the Keyhole KH11 spy satellites were built by Lockheed. And that's where the Roman Space Telescope comes in. Back in 2011, the CIA found they had two spare

[00:04:30] KH11 keyhole spy satellites which were now surplus to the requirements, having been superseded by more advanced versions. They were stored at a special facility at Rochester in upstate New York and were costing the National Reconnaissance Office money to keep them in their special clean room environment. And so they were offered to NASA for free. NASA sent a bunch of astronomers to check them out and the scientists were amazed at their capabilities, which far exceeded anything a bare-bones science budget

[00:04:59] could afford. The two Keyhole satellites share the same 2.4-metre primary mirror as Hubble, but the mirrors are lighter and more high-tech than Hubble's, with a broader field of view 100 times that of Hubble. They have a shorter focal length than Hubble, making them about a metre and a half shorter than the famous space telescope. A sort of stubby Hubble, I guess. But it's that short of focal length, which means the KH11s can image at higher resolution, an area 100 times bigger than

[00:05:26] Hubble's wide-field Camera 3, a visible infrared instrument that's become Hubble's most advanced and heavily used sensor. And by imaging areas 100 times larger in a single shot, more galaxies and objects can be studded with a single image. Unlike Hubble, the secondary mirror on the KH11 telescopes can be moved either by ground control or automatically using onboard instruments. These can be used to bring an image into extremely fine focus. The secondary mirror is supported by

[00:05:53] six struts with servo motors on each. These servos can manoeuvre the struts to fine-tune the secondary mirror in order to achieve the finest focus possible. Originally to be named Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFIRST, ROMAN will also survey exoplanets. By the end of its five-year mission, telescopes expect it to amass more than 20,000 terabytes of data. Scientists will be able to draw on it, to identify and study 100,000 exoplanets, hundreds of millions of galaxies, billions of stars,

[00:06:23] and rare objects and phenomena, including some that astronomers have never witnessed before. The Roman Space Telescope will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This report on the technology of this converted spy satellite from NASA TV. NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is designed to answer big questions about the universe. What is dark energy, which seems to be speeding up the expansion

[00:06:50] of the universe? How many planets exist among the stars, and what are they like? The Roman Space Telescope is similar to Hubble, but benefits from 30 years of technological development. It will view the sky on a scale never before accomplished from space. This is where Roman is closest to Hubble. It has the same size and type of main mirror, a 2.4-meter precisely shaped piece of silver-coated glass. The size of this mirror

[00:07:18] is partly how Roman matches Hubble's resolution. Roman's main camera is the Wide-Field Instrument, which will take infrared pictures of the sky to study dark energy, observe galaxies and stars, and find exoplanets. Instead of Hubble's single first-generation image sensor, the WFI incorporates 18 third-generation chips that allow it to take pictures capturing 100 times greater sky area than Hubble's. Each 300-megapixel

[00:07:44] image will enable scientists to study a large portion of the sky. At Roman's back is its primary means of communication with Earth, the high-gain antenna. This antenna will be responsible for sending nearly 1.4 terabytes of data to ground stations every day. That's the equivalent of 460 hours of streaming video. Roman's critical systems, such as power and data handling, are located in six modules at the

[00:08:12] spacecraft's rear. These include six rotating reaction wheels that control where the spacecraft points, nearly one ton of propellant for larger movements, and a 10-terabyte data recorder. Roman's other instrument is its coronagraph technology demonstration. A coronagraph blocks a star's light to capture the faint light from orbiting planets. It will be the first time a space telescope has used deformable mirrors to precisely control the

[00:08:41] incoming light, and special masks to block only the starlight. This method will enable Roman to capture direct images of distant planets, and even analyze the light that is reflected off their surfaces, allowing scientists to learn about their composition and atmospheres. The spacecraft's solar panels provide its power by converting sunlight into electricity. They also

[00:09:05] shade the spacecraft, helping to keep its instruments at their design temperatures. The solar panels will be able to provide 4,100 watts of power, enough to run two commercial microwave ovens. With all these systems working together, and in partnership with powerful future telescopes, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to usher in a new era of studying our universe.

[00:09:30] This is space time. Still to come, the European Space Agency's new Australian dish, and later in the science report, how climate change is affecting the health of people across Europe. All that and more still to come, on Space Time.

[00:09:46] The European Space Agency has commissioned its second Australian deep space communications dish at its new New Norcia complex near Perth. The 35-meter DSA-4 antenna will provide essential telemetry, tracking and command

[00:10:14] services to keep each of the spacecraft safely connected with mission managers back on Earth. The new dish features X-, K- and Ka-band downlink capabilities, as well as X-band uplink, with provision for K-band planned for the near future. The antenna uses cryogenically cooled receivers, operating at minus 263 degrees Kelvin. By cooling the link between the physical antenna and the receiver to near absolute zero, background interference and noise can be drastically reduced, thereby improving the antenna's ability to

[00:10:44] detect signals weaker than a whisper from billions of kilometers away. DSA-4 is also equipped with a 20-kilowatt radio transmitter. You see, radio waves weaken the further they travel, much like ripples spreading out on a pond, so signals sent to distant spacecraft often become extremely faint. Thanks to its powerful transmitter, DSA-4 can send commands that remain strong and easy for spacecraft to detect even

[00:11:08] across the vast distances of the solar system. DSA-4 is the newest member of ESA's S-Track network, a global system of ground stations that links satellites in orbit and beyond with the European Space Agency's Operations Centre. They receive telemetry, the continuous stream of health status and scientific data sent down by spacecraft, perform tracking by precisely measuring a spacecraft's distance, velocity and position using radio signals, and transmit commands that control spacecraft's onboard systems.

[00:11:38] adjusting trajectories and updating mission configurations. With DSA-4 now commissioned, the network includes four 35-metre deep space antennas and three near-Earth stations as part of its core infrastructure. DSA-4 complements S-Track's existing 35-metre dishes, DSA-1 which is also at New Norcia, DSA-2 which is in Spain, and DSA-3 in Argentina. The other three ground stations in S-Track's core network are used for tracking

[00:12:07] satellites or launchers near Earth, and use either 4.5 or 15-metre dishes in Caru, French Guiana, Santa Maria, Portugal and in Caruna, Sweden. After its inauguration back in October 2025, DSA-4 embarked on an intensive commissioning phase. This meant months of fine-tuning everything, from the dish's surface to its ultra-precise timing systems. Combined end-to-end testing was the first

[00:12:32] step to confirm the signals could pass through every component of the station. During this phase, engineers checked the performance of the antenna's mechanics, radio frequency stages, frequency and timing equipment, power systems and back-end modems. Once the technical checks were complete, engineering teams prepared the station for real-life operations. They refined their control software and configured the ground system to work with the new antenna and integrated DSA-4 into

[00:12:59] ESA's scheduling and network control workflows. In the final phase, teams tracked multiple ESA spacecraft to ensure they could all communicate with the new antenna. And Euclid was the first ESA spacecraft to be tracked once DSA-4 entered normal operations, marking the moment the antenna came alive as a working part of ESA's deep space network. Bringing a second deep space antenna online at the Australian site boosts ESA's global coverage,

[00:13:25] providing greater availability and flexibility as well as built-in redundancy. DSA-4 also brings the next-generation X-band transmission features, which will expand the link configurations possible from New Norsia, providing capabilities and operational flexibility that are unique within the S-Track network. This is Space Time.

[00:13:45] And time now to take another brief look at some of the other stories making news in science this week with a science report. A new study has looked at how climate change is affecting the health of the

[00:14:11] people of Europe. The findings reported in the Lancet Medical Journal found key issues have seen increases since the 1990s, including an increased length in the pollen season by between one and two weeks, a rise in heat-related deaths, an increase in infectious diseases such as dengue fever, which is now spreading more easily thanks to the hotter weather, and increasing food insecurity linked to heat waves, especially among poorer Europeans. They also found deaths from breathing in polluted air from wood

[00:14:39] smoke at home rose by 4% between the year 2000 and 2022. The findings show climate change is already harming people's health in Europe, and the authors warn that these impacts will only get worse. A new study warns that agricultural soils exposed to glyphosate might become breeding grounds for hospital-grade superbugs. A report in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology examined 98 bacterial

[00:15:05] strains from a nature reserve in Buenos Aires located near agricultural areas where glyphosate is often used. They then tested these bugs against 16 common antibiotics, finding significant resistance builder. The authors warn that antibiotic resistant bacteria could be entering the soil through untreated wastewater from hospitals, but may also find their way back to hospitals from soil through other environmental pathways. They think glyphosate could be driving the evolution of antimicrobial resistance

[00:15:34] in bacteria as a side effect of developing resistance to the weed killer itself. The Pentagon has announced plans for a new battleship for the US Navy, the first since the 1940s. The new 35,000 ton Trump class is included in next year's Department of War budget submissions. The new DDGX or BBGX class, depending on the document cited, would provide the Pentagon with a vessel that avoids the trade-offs needed for smaller cruiser, destroyer and frigate-sized warships.

[00:16:04] The new 270-metre-long guided missile battleship would be armed with nuclear cruise missiles. It would follow on from the current 9,800 ton Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser and the similar displacement Ali Burke class guided missile destroyer. The US Navy has not had a battleship in commission since the retirement of the last 1940s era Iowa class battleship, the USS Missouri, in 1992.

[00:16:29] The six 48,500 ton IR class warships were equipped with nine massive 16-inch guns and were updated in the 1980s to take Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles. Meanwhile, the Australian navies just signed a new contract for the first three of an eventual fleet of 11 Japanese-designed upgraded Megumi class guided missile frigates. The 4,800 ton new FFM class warships will be equipped with 32 vertical launch cells.

[00:16:57] The first three will be built in Japan, with the remaining eight to be built in Perth. They'll replace the current ANZAC class frigates. There are reports in the Daily Mail that the number of military and intelligence personnel prepared to give public testimony about the existence of extraterrestrial spacecraft has now reached a threshold where maintaining any degree of secrecy may no longer be possible. In fact, the story claims there will be a big announcement about UFOs later this year.

[00:17:25] But as the skeptic's Tim Mendon points out, UFO buffs have been predicting the same big announcement for years now, yet nothing ever happens. I've got UFO books which talk about the same thing being claimed in the 70s and 80s and the 90s, and more recently, because in the age of TikTok and social media, it's gained momentum, it's gained some credence by certain members of US Congress who believe in UFOs and want more information. So people giving congressional hearings, giving evidence, which is not evidence,

[00:17:52] evidence of, you know, someone telling me that someone knew that their brother-in-law used to work, that sort of thing, and that UFOs are real and that there's going to be a disclosure very soon. And this has been said about 2024, 2025, now 2026, some are putting it off till 2027, whatever. It's been said every year, and it's been said every year in the same way as people saying, you know, the end of the world is going to happen any day now. This UFO disclosure is going to be announced very soon. All these things are any day now. And if you get a bit jaundiced about it,

[00:18:18] quite frankly, but the big headlines is Donald Trump is going to reveal this information. Other people have said actually that presidents are not necessarily informed. The need to know basis does not necessarily include presidents, apparently. As in Independence Day, why did I know about this? Well, you know, you didn't need to know. Or plausible deniability, if you like. If we don't tell you, you can say, I don't know. It's an excuse for you. I've watched the West Wing. I know how this thing works. I know. I know. But honestly, this is a big disclosure, supposedly going to happen,

[00:18:44] and we'll wait and see, is basically the only reaction you can have to it. It's been said before, been there, done that, let's see what happens. That's the skeptics Tim Mendham, and this is Space Time. And that's the show for now.

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