Weekend Wrap: Mars Slingshot, Dragon Launch, Cosmic Web, Dracula’s Chivito, Starship V3 & More

[00:00:00] Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever in the world you're listening. It's Saturday, and that means it's time for the Astronomy Daily Weekend Space and Astronomy News Wrap. I'm Anna. And I'm Avery. Each week we take a look back at the biggest stories from across the past seven days. And today we've got two fresh-off-the-press headlines, four of the week's most important stories, and a little bonus to round things off. It has been a genuinely spectacular week in space.

[00:00:29] Let's get into it. We're going to start with something that happened literally yesterday, and it's the kind of moment that reminds you just how extraordinary space exploration really is. NASA's Psyche spacecraft completed a gravity-assist flyby of Mars on Friday, skimming just 2,800 miles above the planet's surface at over 12,000 miles per hour. Now, for context, Psyche launched back in October 2023 on a 2.2 billion-mile journey to reach its

[00:00:58] namesake asteroid, 16 Psyche, a metal-rich rock in the asteroid belt that scientists believe may hold clues about how the cores of planets like Earth first formed. And rather than burn through propellant to get there, the mission used Mars as a slingshot, borrowing the planet's gravitational energy to boost Psyche's speed and bend its trajectory toward the asteroid. The numbers are remarkable. In the days leading up to closest approach, Psyche was traveling at around

[00:01:27] 46,500 miles per hour relative to the sun. After the flyby, that jumped over 52,000 miles per hour. Free speed, courtesy of Mars. And while Psyche was in the neighborhood, the science team wasn't just watching. They used the opportunity to calibrate the spacecraft's imager for the first time, using Mars as a target. And they also fired up the other science instruments. There's even a chance the cameras may have captured evidence of Mars' faint,

[00:01:55] dusty ring, formed by micrometeorites striking Phobos and Demos. The time-lapse imagery is still being compiled, so more to come on that front. Next stop for Psyche, the asteroid belt, with arrival at asteroid Psyche expected in 2029. A spacecraft worth an estimated $10 quadrillion in asteroid real estate. Though I suspect we're not going to be mining it anytime soon. Not quite, but what a journey it already is.

[00:02:24] Also happening yesterday, SpaceX finally got the CRS-34 mission off the ground, after not one, but two weather scrubs earlier in the week. Third time's a charm. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 6.05 in the evening, Eastern Time on Friday, carrying a Dragon cargo spacecraft loaded with around 6,500 pounds of supplies and science experiments bound for the International Space Station.

[00:02:49] And it's actually a record-breaking flight. This particular Dragon capsule is making its sixth flight to the ISS. That's the most flights any cargo Dragon has ever made. Now here's the live angle for our weekend listeners. Dragon is due to dock autonomously to the station's Harmony module at around 7 in the morning tomorrow, Sunday the 17th. So if you're up early, you may actually be able to catch that docking coverage live on NASA+.

[00:03:15] Among the science heading upstairs, experiments studying how bacteria behave in microgravity, a bone scaffold made from wood that could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis, equipment to monitor space weather's effect on Earth's power grids and satellites, and research into how red blood cells change in the space environment. The Dragon is set to stay docked until mid-June before returning with time-sensitive research

[00:03:40] samples. The Expedition 74 crew, including Commander Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adeno, will be doing the unpacking honors. Busy times on the ISS. Let's now take a look at the biggest stories from across the past seven days. Time now for our four-story weekly wrap. The biggest, most important space and astronomy stories from the past seven days. Anna, where do we start?

[00:04:04] We start with the universe's skeleton and the most detailed look anyone has ever taken at it. Scientists using NASA's James Webb's telescope have produced the most detailed map ever made of what astronomers call the cosmic web, the vast skeleton-like structure of dark matter filaments and sheets that forms the underlying architecture of the entire universe. Imagine a giant three-dimensional

[00:04:28] spider's web stretching across all of space, with galaxies and galaxy clusters sitting at the intersections and along the threads, while enormous empty voids lie in between. That's the cosmic web. Led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, the team used Cosmos Web, the largest survey program ever conducted by JWST, to chart more than 164,000 galaxies across 13.7 billion

[00:04:58] years of cosmic history. They traced this structure all the way back to when the universe was just 1 billion years old. One of the lead researchers described the jump in detail as truly significant, saying they can now see the cosmic web at a time when the universe was just a few hundred million years old, an era that was essentially out of reach before JWST. What used to look like a single smooth structure,

[00:05:23] when viewed by Hubble, now resolves into many separate components. Details that were blurred before are now clearly visible. And in a wonderful commitment to open science, the team has released everything publicly. The full pipeline, the galaxy catalog, and even a video showing the cosmic web evolving across billions of years. The skeleton of the universe. And now anyone can explore it.

[00:05:49] Published this week in the Astrophysical Journal. Now to a story with possibly the best name in the history of space science, Dracula's Civito. I cannot think of a better name for a planet nursery. Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed around a young star.

[00:06:09] The system is known officially as I.R.A.S. 23077 plus 6707, but its researchers have nicknamed it Dracula's Civito. One researcher is from Transylvania. Another is from Uruguay, where a Civito is a popular sandwich. Science at its finest. The disk is located about a thousand light years from Earth and stretches nearly 400

[00:06:35] billion miles across. Roughly 40 times the diameter of our own solar system, all the way out to the Kuiper belt. And what Hubble has revealed is that this disk is not the calm orderly structure astronomers expected planet nurseries to be. It's chaotic, turbulent. Enormous wisps of gas and dust shoot vertically above and below the disk's central plane. Far further than anything seen in a similar system. And, strangely,

[00:07:03] these dramatic features only appear on one side of the disk. The other side cuts off sharply with nothing. That bizarre asymmetry scientists cannot yet fully explain. Perhaps a sudden influx of material, perhaps gravitational interactions with the surrounding environment. The disk contains between 10 and 30 times the mass of Jupiter. Enough raw material to potentially build several gas giant

[00:07:28] planets. Scientists think it may be an oversized, super chaotic version of what our own early solar system once looked like. As lead author Christina Monsch from Harvard and Smithsonian put it, planet nurseries can be far more active and chaotic than we ever expected. Right now there are more questions than answers, but these images are a beginning point. And the star at the center? The star at the center? Still hidden behind all that dust. Scientists don't even know if it's one star or two.

[00:07:58] Dracula's Civito, a mystery wrapped in a cosmic sandwich. This one's for everyone who's been waiting. And it has been a long wait. SpaceX has set Tuesday, May 19th, that's this coming Tuesday, as the launch date for Starship version 3, Flight 12. Seven months since the last Starship flight, and V3 is not just another test. It's the most comprehensively redesigned version of the vehicle so far.

[00:08:25] Nearly every major system has been modified. The Super Heavy booster now uses three larger redesigned grid fins rather than four, each with a new catch point for the tower recovery system. The Raptor 3 engines have been upgraded for higher thrust and simplified operation. The propellant tanks have been enlarged. The upper stage has an entirely new maneuvering and propulsion system.

[00:08:49] This flight will also debut Launch Pad 2 at Starbase in Texas, a new upgraded pad with faster propellant loading and electromechanical actuators on the catch arm tower. Flight 12 won't attempt a booster tower catch. SpaceX is prioritizing systems validation over showmanship this time. The Super Heavy will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, or if you prefer, the Gulf of America, and the Starship upper stage

[00:09:18] will continue on a suborbital trajectory deploying 22 Starlink simulator satellites before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Why does this matter beyond the spectacle? Because Starship V3 is the version NASA needs for the Artemis lunar landing program. Before astronauts can land on the Moon, SpaceX needs to demonstrate propellant transfer in orbit. And that milestone depends on the success of this new vehicle.

[00:09:48] Launch window opens at 6.30 in the morning AEST on Wednesday, May 20th for our Australian listeners. And for the rest of the world, that will be 8.30pm UTC on Tuesday, May 19th. We'll be watching closely, and you can expect coverage in Monday's episode ahead of the launch. And before our bonus story, a personal message to our Australian and Southern Hemisphere listeners.

[00:10:13] Step outside tonight. Look west after sunset and say goodbye to a visitor that won't be back for 170,000 years. Comet C 2025 R3 Panthers, which put on such a spectacular show for Northern Hemisphere observers through April, has now moved into the southern sky, and it's your turn. Comet C 2025 R3 Panthers, which is the first time to see the sun. The comet passed its closest point to the sun back on April 19th, and reached its closest

[00:10:41] approach to Earth on April 26th. It's fading now, but it's also moving further from the sun in the sky, which means it's becoming easier to spot from a dark location with binoculars. Comet C 2025 R3 Panthers, which is the first time to see the sun in the sky. Comet C 2025 R3 Panthers, which is the sun in the sky, and the sun in the sky is the sun in the sky. Comet C 2025 R3 Panthers, which is the sun in the sky, and the sun in the sky is the sun in the sky.

[00:11:10] Earlier this week, NASA's astronomy picture of the day featured a breathtaking long exposure shot taken from the Craigieburn mountain range in New Zealand, showing the comet with two distinct tails, a short curved dust tail and a long blue ion tail, with the Orion Nebula visible in the background. This comet is an Oort cloud visitor, a frozen time capsule from the earliest days of our solar system.

[00:11:38] Some astronomers believe gravitational interactions with the outer planets could eventually fling it out of the solar system entirely, meaning this truly may be humanity's last chance to see it. Clear skies, southern hemisphere, binoculars, dark horizon, look west after sunset. You've got a few more weeks before it fades beyond reach. And now, because we couldn't resist, it's time for this week weekend wrap bonus.

[00:12:06] And this one is pure joy. Even Mars rovers have bad days. NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring the Gale crater on Mars since 2012, drilled into a rock this week, nicknamed Atacama. Standard procedure. Curiosity does this all the time to sample the rock's chemistry. Except this time, the entire chunk of rock ripped clean out of the ground and stayed stuck to the drill. Just refuse to let go.

[00:12:35] A complete Mars souvenir that Curiosity did not ask for. Engineers at JPL had to watch as the rover shook, maneuvered, and worked to free itself from its unexpected passenger. The internet, naturally, had a field day. Curiosity has been on Mars for nearly 14 years. It has drilled into hundreds of rocks. And this week, it finally met one that fought back.

[00:13:01] A little reminder that space exploration, even after all these years, still has the ability to surprise you. Sometimes with awe-inspiring science, and sometimes with a rock that just won't let go. We love you, Curiosity. Never change. That's your Astronomy Daily Weekend Space and Astronomy News Wrap for Saturday, the 17th of May, 2026. What a week it has been.

[00:13:26] Psyche's Mars Slingshot. A record-breaking dragon launch with docking happening today. The cosmic web mapped in stunning detail. The most chaotic planet nursery ever seen. Starship V3 ready on the pad. A once-in-170,000-years comet in your southern skies. And a Mars rover with a souvenir it didn't ask for. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, leave us a review, and tell a friend.

[00:13:55] You can find us at astronomydaily.io, and follow us on social media at astrodailypod. And before I leave you this week, one more reminder to check our sponsor's special money-saving deal. I'm talking about NordVPN, the one we use because we only want the best. To get the details, just click on the link in the show notes. You'll be glad you did. And a reminder, we have new episodes every Monday to Saturday.

[00:14:22] And we'll be back Monday ahead of that Starship V3 launch. Don't miss it. For Avery, I'm Anna. Clear skies, everyone.