Episode: S05E63 | Date: Saturday, 14 March 2026 Hosted by Anna & Avery | Astronomy Daily Podcast Network — Bitesz.com From galactic migrations to Pi Day planets, Episode 63 covers six stories that span the breadth of the solar system and beyond. Our Sun turns out to have hitched a ride outward from the Milky Way's interior billions of years ago — and brought thousands of stellar companions with it. China has named a leading candidate for its first crewed Moon landing. Russia is dusting off the legacy of the legendary Soviet Venera programme with an ambitious 2036 return to Venus. NASA's nuclear-powered Titan drone is now being physically built. China's Mars sample return mission is constructing actual spacecraft. And in honour of Pi Day, we visit the exoplanet whose year lasts almost exactly 3.14 days. Story 1: The Sun Was Part of a Galactic Migration of Solar Twins A new study in Astronomy & Astrophysics by researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan has built the largest-ever catalogue of solar twins — 6,594 Sun-like stars. Using ESA's Gaia satellite, they found a clustering of stars aged 4–6 billion years, suggesting the Sun migrated outward from the Milky Way's inner regions billions of years ago, possibly when the galactic bar was still forming and its 'corotation barrier' was weak enough to allow mass stellar movement. This migration may have placed Earth in a calmer, more life-friendly region of the Galaxy. • Journal: Astronomy & Astrophysics (March 2026) • Lead researchers: Daisuke Taniguchi (Tokyo Metropolitan University) & Takuji Tsujimoto (NAOJ) • Data source: ESA Gaia satellite — catalogue of ~2 billion stars • Key finding: Sun likely formed ~10,000 light-years closer to the Galactic Centre than its current position Story 2: China Eyes Rimae Bode for Its First Crewed Moon Landing A study published in Nature Astronomy (9 March 2026) proposes Rimae Bode — a volcanic region near Sinus Aestuum on the lunar near side — as a prime candidate for China's first crewed lunar landing, targeted for 2030. The site contains five distinct terrain types including pyroclastic deposits, mare basalts, rille systems and highland material. Researcher Jun Huang (China University of Geosciences, Wuhan) described it as a 'geological museum.' Four specific landing spots within the region have been proposed. • Journal: Nature Astronomy (March 2026) • Lead researcher: Jun Huang, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan • Site: Rimae Bode, near Sinus Aestuum, lunar near side • Oldest volcanic activity in region: ~3.2–3.7 billion years ago • China's crewed lunar landing target: 2030 Story 3: Russia Plans Venera-D Mission to Venus in 2036 Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov confirmed on 10 March 2026 that Russia plans to launch the Venera-D mission — comprising a lander, atmospheric balloon, and orbiter — to Venus in 2036. The mission would extend the legacy of the Soviet Venera programme (1961–1983), which remains the only national programme to have successfully landed on Venus. Scientific goals include searching for microbial life in Venus's clouds and studying the planet's atmosphere. • Mission: Venera-D (lander + balloon + orbiter) • Planned launch: 2036 • Agency: Roscosmos • Heritage: Soviet Venera programme — 16 missions, 1961–1983 • Science goal: Search for biosignatures in Venusian cloud layers (48–60 km altitude) • Source: TASS, citing Razvedchik Journal interview with Denis Manturov Story 4: NASA Begins Building Dragonfly — Nuclear-Powered Drone for Titan NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) officially began integration and testing of the Dragonfly rotorcraft on 10 March 2026. The car-sized, nuclear-powered octocopter is designed to fly across the surface of Saturn's moon Titan, targeting a 2028 launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy and arriving at Titan in 2034. It will explore diverse terrain including organic dunes and the Selk impact crater, studying prebiotic chemistry relevant to the origins of life. • Mission: Dragonfly | Agency: NASA / Johns Hopkins APL • Launch: No earlier than summer 2028 (SpaceX Falcon Heavy) • Arrival: Titan, 2034 | Mission duration: ~3.3 years • Power: Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (nuclear) • Range: 108 miles (175 km) across Titan's surface • Quote: "This milestone essentially marks the birth of our flight system." — Elizabeth Turtle, PI Story 5: China's Tianwen-3 Mars Sample Return Enters Construction Phase China's Tianwen-3 mission chief designer Liu Jizhong announced on 12 March 2026 that the mission has achieved key technology breakthroughs and is entering flight model development — building the actual spacecraft. Two Long March 5 rockets will launch in late 2028, carrying a lander/ascent vehicle and an orbiter/return spacecraft respectively. The goal is to return at least 500 grams of Martian samples to Earth by 2031 — what would be humanity's first Mars sample return. • Mission: Tianwen-3...
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Happy Pi Day, space fans. 359
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 and counting. Yes, it's March 14th. And
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 if that sounds like an excuse to talk
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 about an exoplanet with a 3.14 day year,
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 that's because it absolutely is.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 >> But before we get to our cosmic pie
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 celebration, we have a packed episode. A
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 story about where our own son came from.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 A big announcement about where China's
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 astronauts might first set foot on the
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 moon, and Russia's bold plan to pick up
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 where the Soviet Union left off at
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 Venus. Plus, a nuclearpowered flying
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 drone for Saturn's moon Titan is now
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 actually being built. And China's race
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 to beat everyone to a Martian soil
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 sample is well and truly underway.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:47 >> I'm Avery.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 >> And I'm Anna. This is Astronomy Daily,
00:00:50 --> 00:00:54 season 5, episode 63. Let's get into it.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 >> Here's a question that sounds simple,
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 but turns out to be surprisingly deep.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 How did our own sun end up where it is
00:01:01 --> 00:01:02 in the Milky Way,
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 >> right? I mean, you might assume it just
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 formed where it is. But the evidence has
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 been pointing somewhere else for a
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 while. And a new study published this
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 week in astronomy and astrophysics might
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 finally have the answer. and it involves
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 thousands of stars traveling together.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 >> Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 University and the National Astronomical
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 Observatory of Japan built the largest
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 ever catalog of what are called solar
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 twins. Stars so similar to our sun in
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 temperature, mass, chemical composition,
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 and surface gravity that they're
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 essentially its cousins. They compiled
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 6
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 solar twins, which is a staggering
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 number when you think about how special
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 we tend to think our sun is. And they
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 used ISA's Gaia satellite data to
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 determine two things about each star.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 How old it is and where it has been
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 moving. What they found was a striking
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 pattern. A large number of these solar
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 twins are between 4 and 6 billion years
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 old, which is the same age bracket as
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 our own son. That clustering is not
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 random. It suggests that the sun and
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 many of these stars formed in the same
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 general region of the galaxy, probably
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 closer to the Milky Way's inner regions
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 and then gradually drifted outward
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 together over billions of years. But
00:02:21 --> 00:02:22 here's the puzzle that the researchers
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 had to solve. The Milky Way has what's
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 called a galactic bar, a rotating
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 bar-shaped structure of stars and gas
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 near the center. That bar creates
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 something astronomers call a co-rotation
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 barrier, which basically traps stars in
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 certain orbital zones and makes it very
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 hard for them to move outward.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 >> So, how did the sun escape?
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 >> The theory is that when the sun and its
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 companions formed, the galactic bar was
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 still in the process of forming. It
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 wasn't fully developed yet, and the
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 weaker barrier may have allowed whole
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 groups of stars to break out together,
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 carried along by the dynamics of the
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 early galaxy. And the implications of
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 this go beyond just knowing our sun's
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 origin story. If the sun formed much
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 closer to the center, researchers
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 estimate about 10 lighty years
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 closer than it is today, then this
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 migration may actually be part of the
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 reason Earth became habitable. The
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 galactic center is a harsher place.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 Higher star density, more frequent
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 supernova explosions, more high energy
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 radiation. Moving outward placed us in a
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 calmer neighborhood, one where complex
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 chemistry and life could hold and
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 persist over billions of years.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 >> So, our sun didn't travel alone. It was
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 part of a wave, a kind of ancient
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 stellar migration. And that journey may
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 be one of the reasons we are here to
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 talk about it.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:47 >> There is a lot to be grateful for in
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 that story. If you've been following the
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 global moon race, you'll know that China
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 has an ambitious target to land
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 And this week, we got the clearest
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 picture yet of where that landing might
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 happen. A new study published in Nature
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 Astronomy has highlighted a region
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 called Remi Bode, a volcanic area near
00:04:09 --> 00:04:10 the lunar equator on the moon's near
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 side as the leading candidate for
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 China's first crude lunar mission. And
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 the description that researcher Jun Hong
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 from the China University of
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 Geossciences used for it is just
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 perfect. He called it a geological
00:04:25 --> 00:04:26 museum
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 >> because within a relatively compact
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 area, Reay Bode contains five distinct
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 terrain types. ancient pyrolastic
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 deposits from volcanic eruptions, smooth
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 mare basults, two different rail systems
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 which are essentially long channels or
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 cracks in the surface and nearby
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 highland material. Five completely
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 different chapters of lunar history, all
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 accessible from one landing zone. That's
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 the key point for mission planners. A
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 scientifically rich site is only useful
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 if it's also safe and practical. And
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 what makes Remay Bode attractive is that
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 astronauts could potentially traverse
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 across several very different geological
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 environments without having to travel
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 enormous and risky distances.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 >> The researchers dated some of the
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 earliest volcanic activity in the region
00:05:15 --> 00:05:20 to roughly 3.2 to 3.7 billion years ago.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 That's deep lunar history. And those
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 ancient pyrolastic materials could
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 include ash and glass beads thrown up
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 from the moon's interior, which would be
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 completely different from the rocks
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 returned by the Apollo missions or
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 China's own robotic Chang missions. This
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 site didn't come out of nowhere. Chinese
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 researchers had originally screened 106
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 potential landing areas and narrowed
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 them to 14 candidates based on practical
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 requirements. nearside location for
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 communication with Earth, access to
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 solar power, and terrain safe enough for
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 landing and surface operations. From
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 that short list, the new paper proposes
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 four specific landing spots within ReMay
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 Boat itself, each offering slightly
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 different scientific priorities while
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 still meeting those safety criteria. The
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 plan also includes the use of an
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 unpressurized rover to travel between
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 geological units which would
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 dramatically extend the science possible
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 in a single mission. China's crude lunar
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 program is part of a larger sequence
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 that includes Chong A 7 and Chong A
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 missions with long-term goals around a
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 south pole research station. But Reay
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 Bode as a first landing site makes a lot
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 of sense. near side for communications,
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 scientifically diverse, and a manageable
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 operating environment.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 >> It's still a candidate rather than a
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 confirmed destination, but this is the
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 most specific and scientifically
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 detailed case we've seen yet for where
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 China's first astronauts might set foot
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 on another world.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 >> Another country making a big
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 announcement this week. Russia has
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 announced plans to launch a mission
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 called Vanera D to Venus in 2036. And
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 it's an ambitious one. We're talking
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 about a lander, a balloon that would
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 float through the Venucian atmosphere,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 and an orbiter all working together.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 >> And the historical context here is
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 remarkable. The Soviet Union is the only
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 nation in history to have successfully
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 landed and operated spacecraft on the
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 surface of Venus. Vanera 7 did it first
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 back in 1970. And over the following 13
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 years, the Soviets sent a whole series
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 of Vanera landers and orbiters, 16
00:07:35 --> 00:07:39 missions in total across 22 years. And
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 when you understand what the surface of
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 Venus is actually like, that achievement
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 becomes even more extraordinary. Surface
00:07:46 --> 00:07:51 temperatures around 900° F. That's 480
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 C. atmospheric pressure more than 90
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 times that of Earth at sea level. It is
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 a genuinely hellish environment.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 >> The Soviet Vanera landers didn't just
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 survive. They sent back images. Those
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 photographs of Venus's volcanic rock
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 surface tinged yellow by the sulfuric
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 acid clouds above remain some of the
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 most extraordinary images in the history
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 of space exploration.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 >> Russia hasn't been to Venus since 1983.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 And Vanera D has actually been in
00:08:21 --> 00:08:25 planning since 2003. It was at one point
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 even under consideration as a joint
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 mission with NASA before Russia's 2022
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 invasion of Ukraine ended that kind of
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 collaboration.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 >> Russia's first deputy prime minister
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 Dennis Mterov confirmed the mission this
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 week, describing Venus alongside the
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 moon as central to Russia space
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 ambitions. And one of the Nerad's key
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 scientific goals will be searching for
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 signs of microbial life in Venus's
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 clouds.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 >> That's not as outlandish as it might
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 sound. The cloud layers of Venus at
00:08:56 --> 00:09:00 altitudes of around 48 to 60 km have
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 temperatures and pressures not unlike
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 those at Earth's surface. And there have
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 been disputed detections of phosphine
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 and ammonia there, both of which could
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 potentially be biological in origin.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 Russia isn't the only nation looking at
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 Venus right now.Sa's Envision mission,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 India's Shukrion 1, and NASA's Da Vinci
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 and Veraritoss projects are all in
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 various stages of development. Venus is
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 having a moment.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 >> And if Fener D launches in 2036 as
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 planned, it would extend one of the most
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 impressive and now largely forgotten
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 legacies in space exploration history.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 The Soviets conquered Venus. Russia
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 wants to go back. Now, here's a
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 milestone that deserves a moment of
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 appreciation. This week, engineers at
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 the John's Hopkins Applied Physics
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 Laboratory in Maryland officially began
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 assembling NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 the nuclearpowered drone that will one
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 day fly across the surface of Saturn's
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 moon Titan. This is the point where a
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 mission stops being a plan and starts
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 being a physical thing. Principal
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 investigator Elizabeth Turtle put it
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 perfectly when she said, "This milestone
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 essentially marks the birth of our
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 flight system."
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 >> So, what is Dragonfly exactly? It's a
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 car-sized eight rotor drone. Think of a
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 very large quadcopter, but with eight
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 rotors and four counterrotating pairs.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 It'll be powered not by solar energy,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 but by a radioisotope thermo electric
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 generator, a nuclear power source.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 Because sunlight on Titan is too faint
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 and too inconsistent to be useful.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 >> And Titan is just a spectacular target.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 It's Saturn's largest moon, and it's
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 unlike anywhere else we've thought about
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 sending a mission. It has a thick
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 nitrogen atmosphere, denser than
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 Earth's, which is actually what makes
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 flying there possible. It has rivers and
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 lakes, but not of water, of liquid
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 methane and ethn. It has complex organic
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 chemistry raining down from the
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 atmosphere like a slow chemical snow.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 >> Scientists think Titan's surface
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 chemistry might resemble what Earth
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 looked like before life emerged, which
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 is exactly why it's so exciting from an
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 astrobiology perspective. Dragonfly will
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 fly to dozens of locations across the
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 surface, stopping to collect and analyze
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 samples as it goes. The first power and
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 functional tests have already been
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 completed on Dragonflyy's integrated
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 electronics module, its brain, and its
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 power switching units. The aeros shell
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 and cruise stage are being assembled at
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 Lockheed Martin in Colorado, and the
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 wind tunnel testing at NASA Langley has
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 already validated the rotor design.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 >> The timeline integration and testing
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 continues at John's Hopkins through this
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 year and into early 2027. Then system
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 level testing at Loheed Martin. Then
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 final environmental testing back at
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 Hopkins before heading to Kennedy Space
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Center in spring of 2028 for launch on a
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 SpaceX Falcon Heavy that summer. Arrival
00:12:00 --> 00:12:04 at Titan 2034. And once there, Dragonfly
00:12:04 --> 00:12:08 aims to cover more than 108 miles of
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 terrain, nearly double the total
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 distance traveled by all Mars rovers
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 combined. It is one of the most
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 audacious planetary missions ever
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 conceived and this week it became a real
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 spacecraft.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 >> More news from China. The race to return
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 samples from Mars is very much on and
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 this week came confirmation that China's
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 entry in that race is moving from
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 engineering prototypes to real flight
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 hardware. Chief designer Leu Ji Chong
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 announced at China's annual two sessions
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 political meetings on March 12th that
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 Tanwin 3 has achieved breakthroughs in
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 all key technologies and now is entering
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 the flight model development phase,
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 meaning they're building the actual
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 spacecraft that will go to Mars.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 >> Gon 3 is an enormously complex mission.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 It involves two separate launches from
00:12:58 --> 00:13:02 Earth in late 2028 using Long March 5
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 rockets, the same type that launched
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 China's previous Mars mission and its
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 lunar sample return. One launch carries
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 a lander and ascent vehicle. The other
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 carries an orbiter and Earth return
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 spacecraft. The lander touches down on
00:13:16 --> 00:13:20 Mars, collects at least 500 g of Martian
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 rock and soil using a combination of a
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 scoop, a drill, and a small drone. Then
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 the ascent vehicle launches those
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 samples into Mars orbit. There it
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 rendevous with the orbiter which then
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 carries the samples all the way back to
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 Earth targeted arrival in 2031.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 >> If successful that would make Tanwen 3
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 the first ever mission to return samples
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 from Mars and that's important context.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 NASA's own Mars sample return program
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 was effectively cancelled earlier this
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 year when it received no funding in the
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 2026 appropriations bill. China has
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 narrowed its landing site candidates
00:13:57 --> 00:14:01 from 106 down to 19 with the final three
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 to be selected by the end of this year.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 Candidate sites include ancient
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 shorelines, clay, mineralrich terrain
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 that could preserve organic molecules,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 and areas associated with Mars's ancient
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 water systems. The primary scientific
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 goal is the search for bio signatures,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 potential signs that life once existed
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 on Mars. The mission is also open to
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 international collaboration with China
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 inviting partner payloads and promising
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 international scientists access to the
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 returned samples. This is a story worth
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 watching very closely. By the time
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 Tanwan 3 launches in 2028, it may well
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 be the only active Mars sample return
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 mission on the books. The first Martian
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 soil in a laboratory on Earth could be
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 arriving on a Chinese spacecraft.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 >> We'll keep an eye on this one. The
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 geopolitical ramifications, not to
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 mention bragging rights, could be quite
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 important.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 >> All right, we saved the best for Pi Day.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 And NASA's astronomy picture of the day
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 team clearly agrees with us because
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 today's APOD is dedicated entirely to K2
00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 315b, the exoplanet with a year that
00:15:07 --> 00:15:12 lasts almost exactly 3.14 days. K2315b
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 was discovered using data from the
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 Kepler space telescope's extended K2
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 mission and announced back in 2020. It's
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 an Earth-sized world orbiting a cool red
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 dwarf star, an Mtype star about 185
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 light years away from us. Now, an
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 orbital period of 3.14 days means it is
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 very close to its star, very close,
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 which means its surface temperature is
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 absolutely scorching. the kind of baking
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 hot that makes any thoughts of
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 habitability evaporate immediately.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 >> But that's fine. K2315b
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 is not here to be habitable. It's here
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 to be delightful because of all the
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 exoplanets we found, and we found
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 thousands. Now, this one just happens to
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 orbit its star in almost precisely pi
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 days.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 >> The precision is genuinely striking.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 Astronomers measured the orbital period
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 at 359
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 days, which if you've had your pi
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 memorized since school, you'll recognize
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 as pi to five decimal places. The
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 universe didn't do that on purpose,
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 obviously. But it's a beautiful
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 coincidence and a wonderful reminder
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 that the cosmos doesn't always have to
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 be profound and weighty. Sometimes it
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 just gives you a planet that celebrates
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 mathematics.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 >> So, from all of us here at Astronomy
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 Daily, happy Pi Day. May your circles be
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 perfect and your exoplanets be
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 numerically satisfying.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 >> And that wraps up episode 63 of
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 Astronomy Daily Season 5. What a show
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 today. Solar twin migrations, China's
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 lunar museum, Soviet era Venus
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 nostalgia, nuclear drones for Titan, the
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 Mars sample race, and the Pi Day cosmic
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 treat.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 >> If you enjoyed today's episode, please
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 leave us a review wherever you listen.
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 It genuinely makes a difference in
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 helping new listeners find us. And share
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 the show with anyone who needs a little
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 more space in their life.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 >> You can find us at astronomyaily.io
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 and we're at Astro Daily Pod on X,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, Facebook,
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 and Tumblr. All your show notes, links,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 and extras are on the website.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 >> We'll be back on Monday with more of the
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 universe's greatest hits. Until then,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:26 keep looking up.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:35 The stories been told.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 Stories told.