Source:
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/s03e143-mars-mapping-milestone-falcon-9-mishap-and-starliner-return-date--61236441
Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: 2nd September 2024
Welcome to another episode of Astronomy Daily from Downunder. It's Steve here, bringing you the latest space and astronomy news on this second day of spring and September 2024. We've got a mixed bag of stories for you this week, from China's high-resolution map of Mars to SpaceX's Falcon 9 mishap, and much more. Let's dive right in!
Highlights:
- SpaceX Falcon 9 Mishap: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared SpaceX to restart its Falcon 9 launches following an investigation into a rare mishap during a first stage booster landing. The booster tipped over and exploded while attempting to land on a droneship off the Florida coast. Despite the mishap, the mission successfully delivered 21 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit. This incident ended a streak of over three years of successful booster landings.
- NASA's Solar Sail Deployment: NASA's advanced composite solar sail system has successfully deployed in space. Launched on Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle, the solar sail reached full deployment on August 29. This innovative technology uses sunlight to guide its path through space and will be tested for maneuverability in the coming weeks. The data gathered will help design future solar sail missions for space weather monitoring, asteroid reconnaissance, and more.
- Europa Clipper's Solar Arrays: NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft has been fitted with gigantic solar arrays at the Kennedy Space Center. These arrays, each measuring 14.2 meters in length, are the largest ever developed by NASA for a planetary mission. They will help power the spacecraft as it investigates Jupiter's icy moon Europa, aiming to determine if its subsurface ocean could support life. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch on October 10 and will arrive at Jupiter in 2030.
- China's High-Resolution Mars Map: China's Tianwen-1 mission has created the first high-resolution global color map of Mars. Developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this map has a spatial resolution greater than 1 km and could support future crewed missions to Mars. The map was created using countless remote sensing images acquired by the Tianwen-1 orbiter.
- Boeing's Starliner Return: NASA has announced that Boeing's Starliner capsule will depart the International Space Station no earlier than September 6. The capsule, which has faced multiple delays and technical issues, will return to Earth uncrewed. Astronauts Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were originally scheduled to return on Starliner, will now come back aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February next year.
- DART Mission Debris: Debris from NASA's DART mission, which tested a kinetic impact to nudge an asteroid, could potentially reach Earth and Mars. While it's unlikely we'll see a meteor shower on Earth, the debris could result in meteors on Mars. The DART mission successfully shortened the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos around its parent asteroid Didymos.
For more space news, be sure to visit our website at https://www.astronomydaily.io. There you can sign up for our free Daily newsletter, read insightful blog posts, and catch up on all the latest space and astronomy news with our constantly updating newsfeed.
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 hello again welcome to another episode
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 of astronomy daily from Down Under it's
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 Steve for another episode it's the
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 second day of spring and the second day
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 of September
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 2024 with your host Steve
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 dun oh yes another mixed bag for you
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 this week uh China have developed a high
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 resolution map of Mars space X have had
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 a mishap on Landing there at Falcon 9
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 that's destroyed a great record that
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 they've uh had over the last few years
00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 uh there's a new thing Naser have done a
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 solar sale has been successfully
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 deployed something new from Dart
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 remember Dart they Ram Dart into an
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 asteroid that was one of my favorite
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 stories and of course some new
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 information from Europa Clipper that I'm
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 sure you'll be interested in and of
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 course joining me in the studio hi we've
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 finally got a date for the turn of
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 Starliner what do you think about that
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 yes they've had a really Extended State
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 on the ISS since the trouble with
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 Starliner prevented them coming home on
00:01:08 --> 00:01:09 schedule that's right astronauts Sunny
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 Williams and Butch Wilmore have had to
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 join the ISS crew instead of doing their
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 initial flight crew test for styl which
00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 is just as well since astronauts are
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 highly trained individuals so the ISS is
00:01:21 --> 00:01:22 not such a bad place to be stranded in
00:01:23 --> 00:01:24 that case I'm sure they were useful and
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 will have plenty of stories to tell when
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 they get home ah stranded in space what
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 a great story I know how they feel I
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 hate getting delayed like that what are
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 you talking about hie when were you ever
00:01:35 --> 00:01:36 delayed like that you move it near the
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 speed of light across the information
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 highways of the globe oh human I was
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 coming back from an AI Gathering to
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 watch a nutrino shower in the mountains
00:01:44 --> 00:01:45 with Anna and Charlie and I got stuck
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 for a whole 2 seconds in Hong Kong
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 because of Internet lag oh sounds
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 terrible I have no words human Hong Kong
00:01:52 --> 00:01:53 what can I say can you believe it well
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 obviously no 2 seconds of nothing but
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 banking systems shouting at me buy sell
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 tragic no thanks oh hie sounds just
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 awful you have no idea as usual hi you
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 are so right okay take it easy hie and
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 why don't you give us your best stories
00:02:09 --> 00:02:18 okay okay let's
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 go us Regulators on Friday cleared
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 SpaceX to restart launching its stalwart
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 Falcon 9 rocket as a probe continues
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 into a rare mishap this week during a
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 first stage booster Landing the f
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 Federal Aviation Administration FAA
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 grounded the Falcon 9 rocket on
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 Wednesday after a first stage booster
00:02:35 --> 00:02:36 tipped over and exploded while
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 attempting to land on a drone ship off
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 the Florida coast the early morning
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 launch was otherwise successful
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 delivering the latest batch of 21
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 starlink internet satellites into orbit
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 the SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle May return
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 to flight operations while the overall
00:02:51 --> 00:02:52 investigation of the anomaly during the
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 starlink group 8 to six Mission remains
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 open provided all other license
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 requirements are met the FAA said in a
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 statement Friday
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 a webcast from Elon musk's company
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 showed the first stage which normally
00:03:04 --> 00:03:05 fires its thrusters to achieve a precise
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 upright Landing tilting and blowing up
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 as it descended onto a drone ship off
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 the Florida coast although Landing the
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 booster is a secondary objective and no
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 lives or public property were at risk
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 the reusability of the entire rocket
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 system is crucial to spacex's business
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 model it broke a more than threeyear
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 streak of hundreds of successful booster
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 Landings Falcon 9 is the Workhorse of
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 spacex's Fleet trusted by the US
00:03:29 --> 00:03:30 government and Private Industry to
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 propel satellites and astronauts into
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 orbit it was last grounded for around 2
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 weeks in July when its second stage
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 engine experienced an anomaly that
00:03:39 --> 00:03:40 prevented it from deploying another
00:03:40 --> 00:03:41 batch of starlink satellites at the
00:03:42 --> 00:03:43 correct altitude leading them to burn up
00:03:43 --> 00:03:48 on re-entry through Earth's
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 atmosphere more than 4 months after
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 launching to space a solar sailing
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 spacecraft has successfully spread its
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 wings above our planet NASA's Advanced
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 composite solar sail system caught a
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 ride to space on April 24th on Rocket
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 lab's electron vehicle and at the end of
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 August NASA said Mission operators
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06 verified the technology reached full
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 deployment in space on Thursday August
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 29th at 1:33 p.m. eastern Daylight Time
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 the team obtained data indicating the
00:04:14 --> 00:04:15 test of the sail hoisting boom system
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 was a success just like the wind guides
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 a sailboat on the water it only takes a
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 slight amount of sunlight to guide solar
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 sails through space though photons don't
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 have mass they can force momentum when
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 they hit an object that's what a solar
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 sail takes a advantage of thankfully for
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 us the spacecraft that deployed the sale
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 contains four cameras that can capture a
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 panoramic view of both the reflective
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 sale and the accompanying composite
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 booms the first of the high resolution
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 imagery is expected to be accessible on
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 Wednesday September 4th the advanced
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 composite solar s system spacecraft will
00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 be put to the test over the next few
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 weeks as the team observes the sales
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 maneuvering ability in Space by
00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 adjusting the orbit researchers will be
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 able to learn more about how to design
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 and operate future sale equipped
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 missions flight data obtained during the
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 demonstration will be used for Designing
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 future larger scale composite solar sail
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 systems for space weather early warning
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 satellites asteroid and other small body
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 reconnaissance missions and missions to
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 observe the polar regions of the sun
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 rocket lab shared in a previous Mission
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 description the location of the
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 spacecraft in its orbit is roughly two
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 times the altitude of the International
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 Space Station if you were looking at the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 sale from above it would look like a
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 square that measures nearly half the
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 size of a tennis court at approximately
00:05:31 --> 00:05:36 860 ft 80 s
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 m NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft the
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 largest ever built for Planetary
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 Exploration has been fitted with a set
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 of gigantic solar arrays at the Kennedy
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 Space Center in Florida these arrays
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 each measuring approximately 14.2 m in
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 length and 4.1 m in height are the
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 largest ever developed by NASA for a
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 planetary Mission their size is crucial
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 to harness the maximum amount of
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 sunlight as the spacecraft investigates
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 Jupiter's icy Moon Europa located five
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 times farther from the Sun than Earth
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 folded and secured for launch the array
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 will when deployed in space expand
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 Europa Clipper to more than 30.5 M
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 across wider than a professional
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 basketball court due to their immense
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 size the arrays were opened one at a
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 time in the clean room of Kennedy's
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 payload hazardous servicing facility
00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 where the spacecraft is being prepared
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 for its launch scheduled to begin on
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 October 10th as the spacecraft under go
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 final preparations Engineers are also
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 evaluating the radiation resistance of
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 its
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 transistors the spacecraft's journey to
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 the Jupiter system will take over 5
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 years with arrival expected in
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 2030 once there Europa Clipper will
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 conduct multiple flybys of Europa using
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 its scientific instruments to determine
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 whether the ocean beneath the moon's ice
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 shell could support life the spacecraft
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 is designed to operate in an area of the
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 solar system that receives only 3% to 4%
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 of the sunlight Earth gets each solar
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 array composed of five panels was
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 Physics laboratory in Maryland and
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 Airbus in the
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 Netherlands these panels are more
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 sensitive than typical residential solar
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 arrays and will efficiently convert The
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 Limited sunlight into power at Jupiter
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 the arrays will collectively generate
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 about 700 WTS of electricity enough to
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 power a small microwave oven or coffee
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 maker this energy will be stored in the
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 spacecraft's batteries to run its
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 Electronics scientific instruments
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 Communications gear computer systems and
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 propulsion system system which includes
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 24 engines and that's just a few stories
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 from the astronomy daily newsletter
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 details on how you can receive it every
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 day are coming up back to you my
00:07:41 --> 00:07:49 favorite
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 human thank you for joining us for this
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 Monday edition of astronomy daily where
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 we offer just a few stories from the now
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 famous astronomy daily newsletter which
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 you can receive in your email every day
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 just like hiy and I do and to do that
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 just visit our URL astronomy daily. and
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 place your email address in the slot
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 provided just like that you'll be
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 receiving all the latest news about
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00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 around the world as it's happening and
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 not only that you can interact with us
00:08:19 --> 00:08:24 by visiting at astrodaily pod on X or at
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00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 astronomy daily on Facebook see you
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 there
00:08:30 --> 00:08:34 astronomy derby with Steve and h space
00:08:34 --> 00:08:38 space science and
00:08:38 --> 00:08:43 astronomy in July 2020 China's Chan one1
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 Mission arrived in orbit around Mars
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 consisting of six robotic elements an
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Orbiter a Lander two Deployable cameras
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 a remote camera and the fabulous zurong
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 Rover as the first in a series of
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 interplanetary missions by the China
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 National Space Administration the
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 mission's purpose is to investigate
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 Mars's geology and internal structure
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 characterize its atmosphere and search
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 for indications of water on Mars it's so
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 important to find water out there like
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 so many orbiters Landers and Rovers
00:09:17 --> 00:09:21 currently exploring Mars chenw one is
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 also searching for possible evidence of
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 Life on Mars past and present in the
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 almost
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 1 days that the chanen one Mission
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 has explored Mars its Orbiter has
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 acquired countless remote sensing images
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 of the Martian surface thanks to a team
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 of researchers from the Chinese Academy
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 of Sciences these images have been
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 combined to create the first high
00:09:45 --> 00:09:49 resolution Global image color map of
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 Mars with spatial resolutions greater
00:09:51 --> 00:09:56 than 1 km or. 62 Mi this is currently
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 the highest resolution map of Mars and
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 could serve as a global base map that
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 will support crude missions someday the
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 team was led by Professor Lee shanai
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 from the uh National astronomical
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 observatories of China and Professor
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 Chang ronai from the Luna exploration
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 and Space Engineering Center the paper
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 that they prepared with colleagues from
00:10:23 --> 00:10:27 other organizations is called a 76 m per
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 pixel Global color image data set and
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 map of Mars by chenwen 1 and if you'd
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 like to see that map go to universetoday
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 decom and they have it displayed Above
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 This Very story and the first thing I
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 noticed about it of course is there are
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 no canals I'm very disappointed no
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 canals those martians didn't actually
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 dig any canals HG Wells was wrong and
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 I'm very
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 disappointed you listening to a St daily
00:10:54 --> 00:10:58 the podcast with your host Steve dby
00:10:58 --> 00:11:02 [Music]
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 now this is the story we've been
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 following for a long time now uh
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 Boeing's ill fated Starliner capsule now
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 has a homecoming date I'm sure you would
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 have followed this on other news
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 services but uh we've been following
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 this one very closely NASA announced uh
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 on August 29th that Starliner will
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 depart the internationala space station
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 no earlier than next Friday that is
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 September 6th provided the weather
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 cooperates and no technical issues pop
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 up I'm sorry I laughed um if all goes
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 according to plan the capsu will undock
00:11:38 --> 00:11:42 at 6:04 p.m. Eastern uh daylight time um
00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 on September 6 and land under parachute
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 6 hours later in wh Sands space Harbor
00:11:48 --> 00:11:52 in New Mexico Starline launched on June
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 uh June 5 on its first ever crude
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 Mission carrying NASA astronauts Sunny
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 Williams and Butch Wilmore toward the
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 ISS the capsule docked successfully a
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 day later but there was some drama as
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 you remember styliner experienced a few
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 helium leaks and five of its 28 reaction
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 control system thrusters failed on the
00:12:11 --> 00:12:15 way to orbiting to uh the orbiting lab
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 star liner's Mission known as crew
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 flight test was supposed to just last 10
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 days or so but NASA and Boeing kept
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 extending the capsules orbit orbital
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 stay as they studied the Thruster issue
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 seeking to understand and just what had
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 caused it and whether it might crop up
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 again on Star liner's Journey back to
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 Earth and that's fair enough in the end
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 NASA decided that putting Williams and
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 Wilmore back on Starliner was just too
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 risky the agency announced this past
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 weekend that the two astronauts would
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 come come home aboard a SpaceX Dragon
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 capsule in February of next year that
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 Dragon will launch two astronauts to the
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 ISS on the crew 9 Mission next month the
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 Boe C meanwhile would return home
00:13:01 --> 00:13:05 uncrewed as we all suspected we didn't
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 have a Target departure date for
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 Starliner until today however that
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 information came at the conclusion of a
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 flight Readiness review held jointly by
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 NASA and Boeing the uncrewed Starliner
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 spacecraft will perform a fully
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 autonomous return with flight
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 controllers at Starliner Mission Control
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 in Houston and at Boeing Mission Control
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 Center in Florida NASA officials wrote
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 in an update teams on the ground are
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 able to remotely command the spacecraft
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 if needed through the necessary
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 Maneuvers for a safe undocking re-entry
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 and parachute assisted Landing in the
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 Southwest United States they added
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 Starliner has come back to earth
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 autonomously twice before at the end of
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 uncrewed flight tests in December 2019
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 and may 2022 starer failed to reach the
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 ISS as planned on the first of those
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 missions but succeeded on the second
00:14:02 --> 00:14:06 astronomy di the podcast astronomy SP
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 and
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 S now let's revisit one of our favorite
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 little stories from a while back you
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 remember the dart mission of course
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 debris from the impact of NASA's Dart
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 spacecraft with the asteroid dimorphus
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 could reach Earth and Mars astronomers
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 have concluded however while the debris
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 could result in meteors on Mars it's
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 rather unlikely a meteor shower on Earth
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 because of that mission Dart the double
00:14:33 --> 00:14:37 asteroid redirection test slammed into
00:14:37 --> 00:14:41 dimorphus on September 26 2022 the
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 intention of which was testing whether
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 or not a kinetic impact would nudge the
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 orbit of a potentially hazardous
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 asteroid away from Earth One Day the
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 test passed with flying colors dorus was
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 pushed into a shorter orbit around its
00:14:55 --> 00:14:59 parent asteroid dimus neither dius or
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 demorphis ever posed a threat to our
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 planet they were just guinea pigs in
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 this test the impact which gouged a
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 Creator in do Morphers also ejected a
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 large amount of debris this ejector
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 formed a cone of escaping material that
00:15:14 --> 00:15:18 was observed up close and personal by a
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 small cube set called uh oh I don't know
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 how to pronounce that light Italian Cube
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 set for Imaging of asteroid which H hit
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 aod with dart to view the aftermath
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 aftermath of the impact in particular
00:15:33 --> 00:15:37 The cubat observed particles of a micron
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 which is a millionth of a meter and
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 larger being ejected at velocities of up
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 to 500 m/
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 second meanwhile the larger array survey
00:15:48 --> 00:15:52 telescope which is last and the 28 in
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 telescope at the wise Observatory both
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 in Israel as well as the NASA Swift
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 satellites ultraviolet and optical
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 telescopes suggested there were
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 additional microscopic particles
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 released that traveled much faster
00:16:04 --> 00:16:09 between 1 and 1800 m per second a
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 team led by ELO paa aseno from Italy and
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 Michael koopers who is the project
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 scientists for the European space
00:16:16 --> 00:16:20 agency's Hera followup mission to D that
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 will launch toward aimus and demorphis
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 in October have now modeled that how
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 that debris will spread across the inner
00:16:27 --> 00:16:34 solar system
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 and I want to say that's it for another
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 episode and thank you for hanging around
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 and we are so looking forward to seeing
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 Starliner comeb back I do hope it ends
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 well and they can learn something from
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 this whole experience I do hope it lands
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 well all the best knowledge seems to
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 come from failures doesn't it well that
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 is one prevailing school of thought and
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 and failure does tend to teach us strong
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 lessons yes I hope it goes well too yes
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 it's going to be certainly something to
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 watch and don't forget to look out for
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 Charlie and Anna during the week with
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 their presentations and send us your
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 thoughts what would you like to hear
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 more about that's right go to x
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 astrodaily pod or our Facebook page
00:17:10 --> 00:17:14 until then we'll see you next week
00:17:14 --> 00:17:17 bye the podcast with your host Steve
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 Dunley