00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 This is Spacetime Series 29, episode 24
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 for broadcast on the 25th of February
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 2026.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 Coming up on Spaceime, the clearest view
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 yet of the birth of a black hole, a new
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 Martian navigation system for use on the
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 red planet, and NASA's SpaceX Crew 12
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 arrives aboard the International Space
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 Station as the agency approves a sixth
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 private mission to the orbiting outpost.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:44 All that and more coming up on Spaceime.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 Astronomers have discovered a star
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 collapsing down to form a black hole
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 without the expected blinding blast of a
00:00:51 --> 00:00:55 supernova explosion. Back in 2014, a
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 NASA telescope observed infrared
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 emissions coming from a massive star in
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 the Andromeda galaxy M31, which
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 gradually grew brighter. The star glowed
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 more intensely with infrared light for
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 around 3 years before finally fading
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 dramatically and disappearing, leaving
00:01:10 --> 00:01:14 behind a shell of dust. Now, astronomers
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 have determined what they witnessed was
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 a star collapsing and giving birth to a
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 stellar mass black hole. The study's
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 lead author Kishali D from Columbia
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 University says this is an event
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 astronomers had anticipated for decades
00:01:28 --> 00:01:29 but have had limited convincing
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 observational evidence for until now.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 The findings reported in the journal
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 Science show a star undergoing direct
00:01:37 --> 00:01:38 collapse turning into a black hole
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 without first exploding and becoming a
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 supernova. Long believed to be a common
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 method for highmass stars to become
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 black holes. The progenitor star was a
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 huge hydrogen- depleted super giant
00:01:50 --> 00:01:54 named M31 2014 DS1 located some 2 and a
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 half million lighty years away. When
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 newly formed, this star was around 13
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 times the mass of our sun. But at the
00:02:02 --> 00:02:03 time of its death, it would have been
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 closer to five solar masses, having shed
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 most of its mass through powerful
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 stellar winds during its life. D says
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 the dramatic and sustained fading of the
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 star was very unusual and suggests a
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 supernova failed to occur leading to the
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 collapse of the stars c directly into a
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 black hole. Now stars with this sort of
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 mass have long been assumed to always
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 explode a supernova. The fact that it
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 didn't suggests that stars with this
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 sort of mass range may or may not
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 successfully explode. possibly due to
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 how gravity, gas pressure, and powerful
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 shock waves interact in chaotic ways
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 with each other inside the dying star.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 The manner in which the star turned into
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 a black hole suggest that at the end of
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 its life, its inner core wasn't pushed
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 out in a normal supernova explosion,
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 instead undergoing a complete inward
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 collapse.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 Now, this process of direct collapse to
00:02:56 --> 00:02:57 form a black hole may have been seen at
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 least once before. It was back in 2010
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 in the galaxy NGC6946,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 which is about 10 times further away
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 than this star. But the exact nature of
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 that event was unclear and hotly debated
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 in astronomical circles because it was
00:03:13 --> 00:03:14 100 times fainter and there wasn't
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 enough highquality data available about
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 it. Now, astronomers have long known
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 that stellar mass black holes are caused
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 by the death of massive stars. Black
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 holes were first theorized more than 50
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 years ago, and today we know of dozens
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 in our own galaxy and hundreds of others
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 detected from gravitational wave
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 observations across the distant
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 universe. However, scientists still have
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 no clear consensus on which stars turned
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 into black holes and how that process
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 plays out. This discovery provides the
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 clearest insights yet into this and
00:03:46 --> 00:03:47 indicates that this kind of stellar
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 collapse may happen more often than
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 scientists had previously thought. The
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 authors discovered the star by analyzing
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 archival data from NASA's Neoise
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 mission. They used a prediction from the
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 1970s that theorized that when a star
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 underwent direct collapse, it would
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 leave behind a faint infrared glow
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 caused by the dying gasp of the star
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 shedding its outer layers and becoming
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 enshrouded in dust. So they conducted
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 the largest study of variable infrared
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 sources ever carried out, tracking every
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 star in the Milky Way and other local
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 galaxies to try and search out for these
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 events and eventually they came across
00:04:24 --> 00:04:28 M31 2014 DS1. Further analysis showed
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 that this star fitted their predictions
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 perfectly. D says, "Unlike finding a
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 supernova, which is easy because
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 supernova outshine the galaxies they're
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 in for weeks at a time, finding
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 individual stars that disappear without
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 producing an explosion is incredibly
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 difficult. So, it comes as a shock that
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 a massive star basically disappeared
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 without an explosion and nobody noticed
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 it for more than 5 years. It impacts
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 science's entire understanding of the
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 inventory of massive stellar deaths in
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 the universe. And it says there are
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 things that may be quietly happening out
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 there that are easily going unnoticed.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 This is spaceime.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 Still to come, NASA trails a new Martian
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 navigation system on the red planet. And
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 a new crew arrives aboard the
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 International Space Station as NASA
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 approves a sixth private mission to the
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 orbiting outpost. All that and more
00:05:21 --> 00:05:29 still to come on Spaceime.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 This podcast is brought to you by
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00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 And remember, you'll find the links in
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 our show notes,
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 squarespace.com/spacetime,
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 and the promo code spaceime. NASA has
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 developed a new Martian navigation
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 system, allowing its Mars Perseverance
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 rover to pinpoint its location to within
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 25 cm.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 Imagine you're all alone, driving along
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 a rocky, unforgiving desert with no
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 roads, no map, no GPS, and nothing more
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 than a single phone call once a day for
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 someone far away telling you where you
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 are. Well, that's what the car size six
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 wheel Perseverance rover has been
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 experiencing ever since landing on the
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 red planet almost exactly 5 years ago
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 this month. Although it carries time-t
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 tested tools for determining its general
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 location, the rover has always needed
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 mission managers back on Earth to tell
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 it precisely where it is until now. A
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 new technology developed by NASA's Jet
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 California will now allow Perseverance
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 to figure out its whereabouts without
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 needing to phone home for help. called
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 Mars Global Localization. The technology
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 features an algorithm that rapidly
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 compares panoramic images from the
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 rover's navigation cameras with onboard
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 orbital terrain maps. Running on a
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 powerful processor that Perseverance
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 originally used to communicate with the
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 Ingenuity Mars helicopter. The algorithm
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 takes about 2 minutes to pinpoint the
00:07:51 --> 00:07:55 rover's location within 25 cm.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 Mission managers first used the Mars
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 Global Localization Technology in
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 successful mission operations on
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 February the 2nd, then again on February
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 the 16th. JPL's chief engineer of
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 robotics operations, Vandy Vuma, says
00:08:08 --> 00:08:12 it's kind of like giving the rover GPS.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 It means Perseverance will be able to
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 drive for much longer distances
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 autonomously, thereby allowing more of
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 the planet to be explored and more
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 science to be gathered. The upgrades
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 especially valuable given how well
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 Perseverance's auto navigation
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 self-driving systems been working.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 AutoNav enables the rover to replan its
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 path around obstacles along its way in
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 order to reach its pre-established
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 destination. It's already proven so
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 capable that the distance Perseverance
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 can drive without instructions from
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 Earth is largely now only limited by the
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 rover's uncertainty about its exact
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 location. The implementation of Mars
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 global localization comes on the heels
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 of another innovation from Perseverance
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 mission managers. That is the first use
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 of generative artificial intelligence to
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 help plan a drive route by selecting way
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 points for the rover which are normally
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 chosen by human rover operators. Unlike
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 on Earth, there are no GPS satellites in
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 deep space to locate spacecraft on
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 planetary surfaces. So missions whether
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 robotic or manned need to come up with
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 other ways to determine their location.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 Now, as with NASA's previous Mars
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 rovers, Perseverance tracks its position
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 using what's called visual odometry,
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 analyzing geological features in camera
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 images taken every few meters while
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 accounting for wheel slippage. But as
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 tiny errors in this process add up over
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 the course of each drive, the rover
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 becomes increasingly unsure about its
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 exact location. Now, on long drives,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 that means the rover's sense of its
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 position could be up by as much as 35 m.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 believing it may be too close to
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 hazardous terrain, Perseverance then
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 prematurely may end its drive and wait
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 for fresh instructions from Earth. Verma
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 says under those circumstances, people
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 have to tell it, "You're not lost.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 You're safe. Keep going." Scientists
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 knew that if they could address this
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 problem, the rover could travel much
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 further every day. After each drive
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 comes to a halt, the rover sends a 360°
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 panorama to Earth, where mapping experts
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 match the imagery with shots of the
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 Martian surface taken by NASA's Mars
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 Mission managers then send the rover its
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 location and instructions what to do
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 next. Now, that process can take a day
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 or more, but with the new Mars global
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 localization technology, the rover is
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 now able to compare images itself,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 determine its exact location, and roll
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 ahead on its pre-planned route.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 Key to Mars global localization is the
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 rover's helicopter base station, which
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 Perseverance used to communicate with
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 the now retired Ingenuity Mars
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 helicopter. Equipped with an
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 off-the-shelf commercial processor of
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 the type fitted to mid2010 era
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 smartphones, the technology can run over
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 100 times faster than the robot's two
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 main computers, which was specially
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 developed to survive the radiationheavy
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 Martian environment and are based on
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 hardware introduced back in 1997.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 As a technology demonstration designed
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 to test capabilities, the Ingenuity
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 mission was able to risk employing more
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 powerful commercial chips in the
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 helicopter base station and on the
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 rotocopter itself, even though they
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 hadn't been proven in the space
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 environment. It was a gamble, but it
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 paid off with Ingenuity undertaking 72
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 flights compared to the five test
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 flights it was originally planned to
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 undertake. Now, apart from the Mars
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 Perseverance rover, this new technology
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 could also find its way onto the moon,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 where lighting conditions and long, cold
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 lunar nights make knowing exactly where
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 a spacecraft's located all the more
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 crucial. This report from NASA TV.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 >> Using a new technology called Mars
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 Global Localization, the rover can now
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 pinpoint its location without asking
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 humans for help. Here's how it works.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 Perseverance takes panoramic images and
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 turns it into a bird's eye view. Then an
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 onboard algorithm rapidly compares those
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 images to terrain maps from an orbiting
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 spacecraft and determines the rover's
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 precise location. The key to this quick
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 computing is a processor Perseverance
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 originally used to communicate with the
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 Ingenuity Mars helicopter. Now it's
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 helping Perseverance keep moving
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 confidently. And global localization
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 isn't the only recent innovation. The
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 team has started to use generative AI to
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 help plan the rover's driving path by
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 creating way points for Mars. By
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 leveraging decades of Mars knowledge and
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 the latest advancements in technology,
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 the rover will be able to drive for much
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 longer distances autonomously. So, we'll
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 explore more of the planet and get more
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 science.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 >> This is space time. Still to come,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 NASA's SpaceX Crew 12 arrives aboard the
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 International Space Station as the
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 agency approves a new private mission,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 the sixth, to the orbiting outpost. And
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 later in the science report, a new study
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 warns that over fishing may be one of
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 the key reasons for reef munching crown
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 of thorn starfish outbreaks on the Great
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 Barrier Reef. All that and more still to
00:12:53 --> 00:13:11 come on Spaceime.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 NASA's SpaceX Crew 12 Dragon capsule is
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 successfully docked with the
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 International Space Station, returning
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 the orbiting outpost compliment back up
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 to its usual seven crew members. The
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 crew of two Americans, a Russian and a
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 Frenchman, blasted off a day earlier
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 Space Force Base in Florida. The Dragon
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 spacecraft freedom, docked autonomously
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 with the space-facing zenith port of the
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 station's Harmony module. Crew 12 will
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 now form part of the expedition 7475
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 crew undertaking some 250 scientific
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 experiments in orbit. These will include
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 studying pneumonia causing bacteria to
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 improve cardiovascular treatments, on
00:13:51 --> 00:13:54 demand intravenous fluid generation for
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 future space missions, and research into
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 how physical characteristics may affect
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 blood flow during long duration space
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 flight. Other experiments include
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 automated plant health monitoring and
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 investigating plant and nitrogen fixing
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 microbe interactions to enhance food
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 production in space. The International
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 Space Station's been under man for about
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 a month following the early return to
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 Earth of NASA's SpaceX Crew 11 mission
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 due to a medical emergency involving one
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 of the astronauts.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 Meanwhile, NASA's just approved a new
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 private astronaut mission to the
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 International Space Station slated for
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 later next year. The 14-day mission for
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 the company Vast will undertake research
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 designed to gain new insights into the
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 infrastructure and processes that'll be
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 needed to support Vast's own human
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 spaceflight missions, which include
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 building their own space station in low
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 Earth orbit called Haven in 2027.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 Plans suggest Haven will be about the
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 size of a truck with additional modules
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 added in future years with the outpost
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 becoming permanently manned by 2030.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 Vest's looking at research proposals on
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 biology, biotechnology, physical
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 sciences, human research, and technology
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 demonstrations. Vast used SpaceX to
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 launch the small haven demo spacecraft
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 into orbit last year. The other big
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 private company that's been flying
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 people into space and to the
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 International Space Station is Axiom,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 which has undertaken four missions to
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 the orbiting outpost. As well as
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 developing NASA's Arteimus space suits,
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 Axiom Space is also developing their own
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 commercial space station. Its initial
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 modules will be attached to the existing
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 international space station before
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 becoming an independent free-flying
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 platform when the international space
00:15:30 --> 00:15:34 stations retire in 2030. Axiom plan to
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 use their space station to undertake
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 microgravity research, various
00:15:37 --> 00:15:41 commercial endeavors, and space tourism.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:58 This is spaceime.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 And time out to take another brief look
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 at some of the other stories making news
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 in science this week with a science
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 report. A new study warns that people
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 are exposed to more air pollution are
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 also far more likely to face a higher
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 The findings reported in the journal
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 Plus Medicine looked at how much air
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 pollution some 27.8 million people aged
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 65 and over were exposed to over an
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 18-year period. They found that people
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 who had a greater exposure to air
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 pollution were also far more likely to
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 develop Alzheimer's than those who
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 avoided air pollution. And the authors
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 found the link was also stronger for
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 people who had experienced a stroke.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 However, they found no additional effect
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 in people with high blood pressure or
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 with depression.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 Marine biologists are warning that over
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 fishing may be the primary cause of reef
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 munching crownthorn starfish outbreaks.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 The findings reported in the journal
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 current biology found a reduction in the
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 number of predatory fish due to over
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 fishing is causing a population
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 explosion in the carnivorous starfish.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 The authors compared various areas of
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 the great barrier reef that have either
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 banned fishing, have limited it, or have
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 no restrictions on it. They found in
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 areas that banned fishing, there was a
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 2.8 8 to 3.6 times higher chance of
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 crown of thorns being eaten by predatory
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 fish. The authors say the elevated risk
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 of the spiny critters in no fishing
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 reserves is directly attributable to a
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 single species of snapper known as the
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 Spangot Emperor, which has some 6.3
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 times greater biomass in no fishing
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 areas versus those areas where fishing
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 is allowed.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 Scientists say glass could be the future
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 of long-term data storage for human
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 knowledge and recordkeeping. Current
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 data preservation techniques such as
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 tapes and hard drives tend to degrade
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 within a few years or decades and are
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 therefore unreliable for long-term
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 storage. However, by using lasers to
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 encode data onto glass, data could
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 withstand moisture, temperature changes,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 and electromagnetic interference for
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 centuries. A report in the journal
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 Nature claims the system can store 4.8 8
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 terabt of data in a 12x 12 cm glass
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 sheet with a shelf life of up to 10
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 years even if stored at high
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 temperatures.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 Google have finally launched the new
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 Pixel 10a smartphone which one must
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 admit is strikingly similar to the
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 earlier Pixel 9a. With the details,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 we're joined by technology editor Alex
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 Royo from Techadvice St.Life.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 >> Yeah, this is the Pixel 10A. So, this is
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 the lower cost version of Google's Pixel
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31 phones. They normally have the the
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 regular Pixel 10 and the the 10 Pro and
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 also the 10 Pro XL which is a larger
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 version. And then around about this time
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 every year, they launch the A version
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 which is their more affordable version.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 So this one is $849 Australian,
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 obviously less in US dollars, but it
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 competes against all those phones that
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 are $500 or less, which generally are
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 not terribly great phones. I mean that
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 look, they'll do what you want them to
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 do. They'll do maps, they'll do
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 messaging, they'll do various things.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 But if you try and push them with games
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 or just try and I don't know do lots of
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 video editing or whatever it might be,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 they're clearly not going to be as
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06 performant as the uh the major devices.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 And that's where the Pixel 10a and also
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 the iPhone 16 and the forthcoming 710A,
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 which we'll talk about in a moment, come
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 in as almost flagship phones under
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 $1. Now, the one thing that is
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 interesting this year is that whilst the
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 10 and 10 Pro have the Tensor G5 chip,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 the 1080 this year does not. It has the
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 G4 which is a bit unusual because
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 normally you know you you would be
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 putting the latest chip but clearly in
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 an era where memory storage and even the
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 space to make processes or more
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 expensive processes on production lines
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 is heavily impacted by all of the GPUs
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 and uh AI in data centers most of which
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 actually hasn't been built yet. It's
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 sort of been pre-ordered to fulfill
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 demand that it's theoretically supposed
00:19:45 --> 00:19:45 to be there.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 >> There's finally a date for the Apple
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 premiere.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 >> Yeah. So this is March 4th in New York.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 They'll also be holding events within
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 Singapore and London. This is where
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 we're meant to hear about iPhones 17e
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 which in theory will have the same chip
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 that is in the iPhone 17 range but
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 normally there's one core less for some
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 reason. It's like a bind chip one of the
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 graphics cores or one of one of the
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 cores is not there. So it enables Apple
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 to use these chips which still have
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 great power but in their cheapest device
00:20:11 --> 00:20:14 $999 in Australia is what the 16 sells
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 for. I expect the price will be the
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 same. But more importantly, we are
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 expecting to also see the new MacBook.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 Supposedly 12 in screen, so small. I
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 mean, I've heard people say 13 in, but
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 effectively this will sell presumably in
00:20:26 --> 00:20:29 the US for about $599. We're yet to find
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 out. Supposedly, it only has 8 gig of
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 RAM instead of 16, which you would think
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 is not as enough as you would have on
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 the 16 gig devices that can better run
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 Apple intelligence, although we're still
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 waiting for the next generation of Siri.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 But this will be a lowc cost Mac running
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 an iPhone chip with iPhone chips very
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 powerful. I mean uh the latest chips are
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 as good as the or better than the M1
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51 from 5 years ago. And uh that's still a
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 great computer. I have an M1 with 8 gig
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 of RAM and a 512 gig SSD and it's
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 running everything that my M2 with 24
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 ter GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD can run.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:03 So, if Apple does that, it will mean
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 greater competition for the school
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 dollar where you've got Chromebooks and
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 you've got iPads and tablets and but
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 it'll also give people a cheaper Mac to
00:21:10 --> 00:21:13 to go for and then they once they start
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 using it, they can aspire to better. But
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 it will be certainly better than any
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 Windows PC that is in the $500
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 market. It'll just be a vastly better
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 device with all the advantages of the
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 Macs.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 >> Price of hard drives are going up. the
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 cost of these things are going up and
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 Western Digital has reported or it's
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 been reported online that it has sold
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 its entire 2026 allocation of discs to
00:21:32 --> 00:21:35 data centers. I mean I presume this you
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 know still obviously discs in the
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 channel uh for consumers but it sold its
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 entire 2026 contingent and apparently it
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 sold part of its 2027 and 2028
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 contingent as well. So the need for
00:21:46 --> 00:21:49 hardware and electricity to power it is
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 paramount. If uh anything's going to
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 slow down the revolution, it's going to
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 be not having enough of these drives and
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 memory and and other GPUs components.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 But I guess the companies buying them up
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 in in such volume, making sure that you
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 know the data center guys will be okay.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 But it's consumers and businesses that
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 will suffer with higher prices.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:09 >> That's Alex Haravo from techadvice.life
00:22:09 --> 00:22:26 and this is spacetime.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 and that's the show for now. Spacetime
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