Join Anna in this episode of Astronomy Daily as she delves into the latest captivating developments from the cosmos. Get ready for an exciting exploration of stories that highlight the intersection of history and cutting-edge science in space exploration.
Highlights:
- The Return of Cosmos 482: Discover the fascinating history of the Soviet Cosmos 482 probe, which has been orbiting Earth for over 50 years. As it prepares to re-enter our atmosphere, learn about its remarkable journey and the legacy of the Venera program that aimed to explore Venus.
- China's Ambitious Venus Mission: Explore China's bold plans to sample Venus's toxic atmosphere between 2028 and 2035. This mission aims to investigate the extreme conditions on the planet and the potential for microbial life, challenging our understanding of planetary environments.
- The Search for Richie Planets: Get excited about the upcoming Nancy Chris Roman Space Telescope, set to revolutionize our understanding of rogue planets—those wandering worlds that don’t orbit stars. Learn how this mission will help uncover the mysteries of these elusive cosmic nomads.
- Ingenious Satellite Rescue: Hear about China's successful rescue mission of two lunar satellites using a gravity slingshot technique. This innovative approach showcases the creativity and problem-solving skills of space engineers in the face of challenges.
- Dark Energy Discoveries: Delve into groundbreaking findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, suggesting that dark energy may not be constant. This revelation could challenge Einstein's theories and reshape our understanding of the universe's expansion.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io (http://www.astronomydaily.io/) . Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:10 - Update on the Cosmos 482 probe
10:00 - China's plans for Venus atmospheric sampling
15:30 - Richie planets and the Roman Space Telescope
20:00 - Satellite rescue mission using gravity slingshot
25:00 - Dark energy findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
✍️ Episode References
Cosmos 482 Probe
[NASA]( https://www.nasa.gov/ (https://www.nasa.gov/) )
China's Venus Mission
[China National Space Administration]( http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/ (http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/) )
Nancy Chris Roman Space Telescope
[NASA Roman]( https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/ (https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/) )
Satellite Rescue Mission
[China Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization]( http://www.csu.edu.cn/ (http://www.csu.edu.cn/) )
Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
[Argonne National Laboratory]( https://www.anl.gov/ (https://www.anl.gov/) )
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily]( http://www.astronomydaily.io/ (http://www.astronomydaily.io/) )
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/27039297?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Welcome to a new episode of Astronomy
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Daily. I'm Anna and today we're diving
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 into some truly fascinating developments
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 from across the cosmos. We have a packed
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 show exploring everything from relics of
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 the space race to cutting edge
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 astronomical research. Coming up, we'll
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 update you on a story I brought you last
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 week as we track a Soviet Venus probe
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 making its return to Earth after more
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 than 50 years in orbit. Then, we'll
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 examine China's bold plan to sample
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 Venus's toxic atmosphere. We'll also
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 explore how the upcoming Roman Space
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 Telescope will hunt for mysterious rogue
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 planets wandering through our galaxy
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 without a star to call home. Plus, we'll
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 hear about an ingenious satellite rescue
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 mission using gravity as a slingshot.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 And finally, look at new data that might
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 challenge Einstein's theories about dark
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 energy. It's an exciting day in space
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 science. So, let's get
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 started. To kick things off, let's get
00:00:52 --> 00:00:56 an update. In the early 1970s, as the
00:00:56 --> 00:00:57 space race between the United States and
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 Soviet Union was in full swing, the
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 Soviets launched an ambitious mission to
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 explore our nearest planetary neighbor.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 The Cosmos 482 probe was designed to
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 land on the inhospitable surface of
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 Venus, protected by a 3.3 ft wide
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 titanium shell lined with thermal
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 insulation. Launched in 1972, the
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 mission unfortunately never reached its
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 Venian destination. A rocket anomaly
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 during launch left the spacecraft
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 stranded in an elliptical orbit around
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 Earth where it has remained for over
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 five decades, silently circling our
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 planet as a relic of early space
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 exploration. That lengthy orbital
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 journey appears to be coming to an end.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:39 The
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 1lb spacecraft is expected to
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 re-enter Earth's atmosphere shortly with
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 new predictions suggesting it would
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 return around 1:54 a.m. Eastern time on
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 May 10th, though with a substantial
00:01:50 --> 00:01:54 margin of error of plus or - 9 hours.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 Due to its orbital path, scientists
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 calculated that the craft could re-enter
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 anywhere between 52° north and 52° south
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 latitude, a zone covering most of
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 Earth's surface. This created some
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 uncertainty about exactly when and where
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 the probe might return. However, experts
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 stressed there was little cause for
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 concern. Unlike other space debris that
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 often breaks into multiple pieces,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 Cosmos 482 was expected to remain
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 largely intact during re-entry,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 presenting a lower risk profile. As the
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 Aerospace Corporation noted, while the
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 risk is non zero, any one individual on
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 Earth is far likelier to be struck by
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 lightning than to be injured by Cosmos
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 482. Astronomers and satellite trackers
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 have been monitoring the probe for
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 years. Astrophotographer Ralph
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 Vanderberg of the Netherlands has
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 captured images of the craft for over a
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 decade, recently photographing what some
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 speculated might be a deployed
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 parachute, though other experts
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 attributed this to optical distortion.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 Cosmos 482 represents an important
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 chapter in Venus exploration history. It
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 was part of the Soviet Union's
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 groundbreaking Vanera program, which
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 achieved remarkable firsts, including
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 landing the first probe on Venus's
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 surface in 1970 with Vanera 7 and later
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 capturing the first color images from
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 the planet's surface with Vanera 13 in
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 1982.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 As this cold war artifact makes its
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 final journey, it serves as a testament
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 to the ambitious early days of planetary
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 exploration and the technological
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 challenges involved in venturing to our
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 most extreme neighboring
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 world. While on the subject of Venus,
00:03:38 --> 00:03:39 China has set its sights on one of the
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 most hostile environments in our solar
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 system with an ambitious new plan to
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 collect samples from Venus's toxic
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 atmosphere and return them to Earth.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 This joint initiative involves several
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 major Chinese space organizations,
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53 including the Chinese Academy of
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 Sciences, the China National Space
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 Administration, and the China Man Space
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 Engineering Office. The mission is
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 tenatively scheduled for launch
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 somewhere between 2028 and
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 2035. Though specific details about the
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 methodology remain limited, what we do
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 know is that the mission faces
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 extraordinary challenges due to Venus's
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 extreme environment. a planet where
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 surface temperatures reach nearly 900
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 degrees Fahrenheit. Atmospheric pressure
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 is 90 times that of Earth and the air
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 consists primarily of carbon dioxide
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 with clouds of sulfuric acid. Despite
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 these hostile conditions, Venus
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 continues to intrigue scientists,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 particularly after recent research
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 suggested that microbial life could
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 potentially exist there in some form.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 This Chinese mission aims to help settle
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 that debate by bringing actual
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 atmospheric samples back to Earth for
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 detailed analysis.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 The mission will also investigate one of
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 Venus's most puzzling features. How its
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 clouds apparently absorb ultraviolet
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 radiation when according to our
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 understanding of physics, they shouldn't
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 be able to. This mysterious phenomenon
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 has generated several scientific
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 hypotheses that this mission could help
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 confirm or rule out. Based on
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 preliminary information, the ambitious
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 undertaking will likely require at least
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 two spacecraft working in tandem. One
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 vessel would remain in orbit around
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 Venus, while another would brave the
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 planet's intensely stormy conditions,
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 descending into the atmosphere to
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 collect gases and particles before
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 returning the samples to the orbiter. A
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 similar concept was previously proposed
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 by researchers at the Massachusetts
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 Institute of Technology in 2022, though
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 NASA ultimately didn't select it for
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 development. That design featured a
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 tefloncoated corrosion resistant balloon
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 that would carry a collection canister
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 through Venus's clouds before sending
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 the samples back to orbit and eventually
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 Earth. The value of returning physical
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 samples to Earth cannot be overstated.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:55 Laboratory facilities here would allow
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 for far more sophisticated and
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 comprehensive analysis than any
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 spacecraft could perform on its own at
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 Venus.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 However, the technical challenges of
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 accomplishing this across tens of
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 millions of kilome presents
00:06:08 --> 00:06:12 extraordinary engineering hurdles. While
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 several Russian probes did successfully
00:06:14 --> 00:06:15 land on Venus's surface in previous
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 decades, they only survived for a couple
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 of hours before succumbing to the
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 extreme conditions, and none attempted a
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 return journey. If China's mission
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 succeeds, even with just a small sample
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 of Venus's atmosphere, it would
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 transform our understanding of Earth's
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 nearest planetary neighbor, and
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 potentially provide insights into the
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 evolution of our own world's climate and
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 atmosphere. Next up, have you ever
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 wondered about planets that don't orbit
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 stars? Astronomers call these wandering
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 worlds rogue planets, and they might be
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 more common in our galaxy than we ever
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 imagined. The upcoming Nancy Grace Roman
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 Space Telescope is poised to
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 revolutionize our understanding of these
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 mysterious cosmic
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 nomads. Over the past decade, scientists
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 have speculated extensively about rogue
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 planets in the Milky Way. These free
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 floating worlds don't have a home star
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 providing them warmth and light.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 Instead, they roam through the vastness
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 of interstellar space, ejected from
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 their original star systems. With
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 current technology, they're incredibly
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 difficult to detect precisely because
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 they don't shine or reflect light like
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 planets orbiting stars. Astronomers
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 estimate the Milky Way could contain
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 millions or possibly billions of these
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 planetary wanderers. If those numbers
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 prove accurate, there could be more
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 rogue planets in our galaxy than there
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 are planets orbiting stars. A truly
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 mind-boggling possibility. Without the
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 warming influence of a star, these
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 worlds are likely frozen, icy, and
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 seemingly
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 inhospitable. The Roman Space Telescope
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 will employ a specialized search called
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey to
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 detect these elusive objects. Scientists
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 expect this survey will help them find
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 anywhere from several hundred to several
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 thousand free floating planets,
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 providing an unprecedented census of
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 these mysterious worlds. Roman will use
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 both the transit method and microlensing
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 to spot these rogues. The transit method
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 detects the dimming of light when one
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 object passes in front of another.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 Microl lensing, meanwhile, observes how
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 gravity from a foreground object warps
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 the light from a background star,
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 creating a distinctive pattern that can
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 reveal even non- luminous objects like
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 rogue planets. What's particularly
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 exciting is that Roman might help answer
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 fundamental questions about how these
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 planets form and get ejected from their
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 original
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 systems. The dynamics of early planetary
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 systems are chaotic with gravitational
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 forces sometimes flinging newly formed
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 planets out into interstellar space. By
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 analyzing the mass distribution of rogue
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 planets, scientists can better
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 understand these formative processes.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 The telescope will be especially
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 valuable for detecting smaller rogue
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 planets, worlds less massive than Earth
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 that have previously escaped our notice.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 These smaller planets would
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 theoretically require less energy to
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 eject from their star systems than their
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 larger counterparts, potentially making
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 them the most common type of rogue
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 planet. Though the Roman telescope is
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 still a couple of years from launch,
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 astronomers are already anticipating the
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 transformative impact its observations
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 will have. Beyond rogue planets, it
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 might even detect other non- luminous
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 objects wandering through our galaxy,
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 potentially including primordial black
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 holes. When it comes to understanding
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 the full population and characteristics
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 of objects in our galaxy, the Nancy
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 Grace Roman Space Telescope promises to
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 fill in crucial gaps in our knowledge,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 helping complete the cosmic census of
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 our galactic neighborhood like never
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 before. Next, today, more Chinese space
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 news. In what can only be described as
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 an impressive display of cosmic problem
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 solving, China's Technology and
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 Engineering Center for Space Utilization
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 recently pulled off a remarkable rescue
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 mission in space, saving a pair of
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 weward lunar satellites through an
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 ingenious gravity slingshot technique.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 Back in March 2024, China launched two
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 satellites named DRO A and DRO B aboard
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 a long March 2C rocket. These satellites
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 were destined for what's called a
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 distant retrograde orbit around the
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 moon. That's what the DRRO in their name
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 stands for. Their mission was to provide
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 navigation and tracking for spacecraft
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 operating in Earth moon space,
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 essentially serving as celestial
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 lighouses. While the rocket's first and
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 second stages performed flawlessly, a
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 technical issue with the Yuan Jang 1's
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 upper stage prevented the satellites
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 from reaching their intended orbit. To
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 make matters worse, mission control
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 temporarily lost contact with the duo
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 entirely. When the team finally located
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 the satellites, they discovered the pair
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 were spinning in an orbit much closer to
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 Earth than planned. This could have
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 spelled disaster for the mission with
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 years of work and significant investment
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 potentially wasted. As Jangha, a member
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 of the rescue team, explained, it would
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 also be a mental blow to the team. The
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 challenge was particularly complex
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 because the satellites had sustained
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 partial damage during the launch,
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 limiting their ability to capture enough
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 sunlight to power the necessary course
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 correction. This is where the team's
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 creativity truly shined. Rather than
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 attempting to force the satellites into
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 position using their limited power
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 resources, engineers devised a plan to
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 use the natural gravitational forces of
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 the Earth, Moon, and Sun to gradually
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 slingshot the satellites toward their
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 destination.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 This gravity assist technique
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 essentially borrowed energy from these
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 celestial bodies rather than relying on
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 the satellite's own limited fuel
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 reserves. As CSU researcher Mao Shinuan
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 put it, "If you don't want to consume
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 much energy, you must replace it with
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 something else. We chose to consume more
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 time in order to save energy." The
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 patience paid off, though the rescue
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 operation took a substantial 123 days to
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 complete. By mid July 2024, both
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 satellites had successfully reached
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 their intended orbits around the moon.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:13 And about 6 weeks later, DRO A and Dro B
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 separated from each other as planned.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 They're now working alongside a third
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 satellite, DAR, which had previously
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 launched to low Earth orbit. Together,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 these satellites form a navigation
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 network that can dramatically reduce the
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 time needed to locate spacecraft in
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 Earth Moon space. According to Mao, they
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 can now pinpoint a spacecraft's position
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 in just 3 hours, compared to the two
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 days or more required by traditional
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 land-based positioning systems. This
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 remarkable save demonstrates not only
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 China's growing expertise in space
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 operations, but also the ingenuity that
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 makes space exploration possible even
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 when things don't go according to
00:12:50 --> 00:12:54 plan. And wrapping things up today, some
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 of the most fundamental aspects of our
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 universe may be up for
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 reconsideration as recent findings from
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 the dark energy spectroscopic instrument
00:13:03 --> 00:13:07 or desi suggest that dark energy, the
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 mysterious force thought to be driving
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 the accelerated expansion of our cosmos,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 might not be constant after all. This
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 potential discovery challenges one of
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 modern physics cornerstone ideas,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 Einstein's cosmological constant. For
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 those unfamiliar with the history,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 Einstein originally introduced this
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 concept in 1917 as an addition to his
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 equations of general relativity. At the
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 time, he was trying to create a model
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 for a static universe, one that neither
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 expanded nor contracted. When
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 astronomers later discovered the
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 universe was indeed expanding, Einstein
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 reportedly called the cosmological
00:13:42 --> 00:13:46 constant his greatest blunder. Fast
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 forward to the 1990s when astronomers
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 made the shocking discovery that the
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 universe wasn't just expanding, it was
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 doing so at an accelerating rate. This
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 unexpected cosmic acceleration led
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 scientists to revive the idea of a
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 cosmological constant. but now as an
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 explanation for the mysterious dark
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 energy driving this acceleration. For
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 years, the simplest explanation has been
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 that dark energy maintains a constant
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 value throughout space and time. But
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 DC's firstear observations hint at
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 something potentially revolutionary.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 Dark energy that changes over time.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 Andrew Herin, a physicist at Argon
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 National Laboratory and Desi member puts
00:14:24 --> 00:14:27 it in perspective. If the desi result
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 holds up, it means that a cosmological
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 constant is not the origin of cosmic
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 acceleration. It's much more exciting.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 It would mean that space is pervaded by
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 a dynamically evolving fluid with
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 negative gravity, which has never been
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 observed in any tabletop experiment on
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 Earth. To help investigate these
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 potentially groundbreaking observations,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 researchers at Argon have turned to
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 Aurora, one of the world's most powerful
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 exoscale supercomputers.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 They're running enormous simulations
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 that model how the universe evolves
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 under different dark energy scenarios.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 The team created two massive
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 simulations. One assuming constant dark
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 energy as Einstein's theory suggests and
00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 another where it changes over time.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 Starting with identical initial
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 conditions, they can track even the
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 smallest differences that emerge as
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 these virtual universes evolve.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 These simulations would have taken weeks
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 of compute time on our earlier
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 supercomputers, but each simulation took
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 just 2 days on Aurora, explained
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 computational scientist Adrien Pope.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 This dramatic speed up allows
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 researchers to respond much faster to
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 new cosmological
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 observations. Jillian Belts Mormon, a
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 post-doal research fellow at Argon
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 emphasized the value of these
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 simulations. Since we can't create a
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 mini universe to conduct experiments, we
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 can test theories by using really big
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 computers like Aurora to simulate the
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 growth of structure in the universe over
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 time. While these simulations can't
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 directly confirm Desi's findings, they
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 provide a crucial testing ground for
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 examining different measurement
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 techniques and determining whether the
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 patterns observed by Desi represent
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 genuine new physics or are artifacts of
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 how we collect and analyze data. To
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 maximize the impact of this work, the
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 Argon team has made all their simulation
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 data publicly available, allowing the
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 broader scientific community to explore
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 different analysis methods and help
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 determine whether Einstein's
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 cosmological constant truly needs to be
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 replaced with a more dynamic model of
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 dark energy. If confirmed, this finding
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 would represent one of the most
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 significant shifts in our understanding
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 of the universe in decades, potentially
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 opening doorways to entirely new physics
00:16:37 --> 00:16:40 beyond our current standard model of
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 cosmology. That wraps up today's episode
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 of Astronomy Daily. What an incredible
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 journey through our cosmic neighborhood
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 we've had. From a Soviet probe
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 completing its 50-year orbit of Earth,
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 to China's ambitious plans to sample
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 Venus's toxic atmosphere, the hunt for
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59 rogue planets wandering our galaxy, an
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 ingenious satellite rescue mission and
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 potentially revolutionary discoveries
00:17:02 --> 00:17:05 about the very nature of dark energy.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 I'm your host, Anna, and I want to thank
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 you for joining me as we explore these
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 fascinating developments in space
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 science and astronomy. The universe
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 continues to surprise us, challenging
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 our understanding and pushing the
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 boundaries of what we know. And before I
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 go, a quick reminder to visit our
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 website at
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 astronomydaily.io, where you can sign up
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 for our free daily newsletter and listen
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 to all our back
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 episodes. We're constantly updating with
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 the latest astronomical discoveries and
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 space exploration news that you won't
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 want to miss. Don't forget to subscribe
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 to the podcast on Apple Podcasts,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:42 Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 your podcast to stay connected to the
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 cosmic frontier. Until next time, keep
00:17:47 --> 00:17:59 looking up.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 Stories told.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:08 [Music]