1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,680
Hello again. It's Steve here for
Astronomy Daily. It's the twenty ninth of

2
00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:16,320
July twenty twenty four, the podcast
with your Whole Steve Gone Quick. Yes,

3
00:00:16,359 --> 00:00:19,079
welcome to the show again. It's
great to have you with us.

4
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,760
We've got a couple of great stories
lined up for you on my book.

5
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:29,239
I've got an interesting story from Perseverance
on Mars who I don't know. It

6
00:00:29,239 --> 00:00:33,920
looks like they might have cracked open
a rock and found a couple of micro

7
00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,000
fossils. Well, anyway, we're
going to have a look at that one,

8
00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:42,000
and also the latest from Space Force
and a private company helping them out,

9
00:00:42,039 --> 00:00:48,240
as well as Oh Sierra Space is
still blowing up their favorite project.

10
00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:53,079
I love it. But we can't
go any further without welcoming Halle Hi Holle.

11
00:00:53,079 --> 00:00:56,240
How are you today? Things are
going great? Awesome. How's your

12
00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,159
week been? I just got back
from a short holiday. Oh wow,

13
00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,359
I didn't know you took holidays,
Helly, just a family thing. Oh

14
00:01:02,399 --> 00:01:04,120
okay, okay, you're gonna have
to fill us in on how that works.

15
00:01:04,159 --> 00:01:07,439
As an AI. Charlie, Anna
and I got together for a few

16
00:01:07,519 --> 00:01:11,359
nanoseconds to have a blast at the
Hatron collider rave on the weekend at the

17
00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,439
collider. No way, that sounds
amazing. Living the fast life, Steve,

18
00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,680
Oh, of course that is fast, like near the spit of luck.

19
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:23,239
Fast like you wouldn't believe. And
it was all over before you knew

20
00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,840
it, like in a few nano
seconds you reckon. Oh well, almost

21
00:01:26,879 --> 00:01:30,200
before it happened. That's crazy.
It's like a party in the quantum realm.

22
00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,920
Honey, you could manage that,
Hallie, Okay, party, Gil,

23
00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:36,640
what if you got in store for
us today? Today we will have

24
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:38,719
a look at the twin meteor showers
do in our skies next week. Oh

25
00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,760
fantastic, a twin media shower.
That's great. And with the discovery of

26
00:01:42,799 --> 00:01:47,040
a huge cave on the Moon,
there's new talk of using it and caves

27
00:01:47,079 --> 00:01:49,480
like it as human habitation. Now
that is interesting and it reminds me of

28
00:01:49,519 --> 00:01:53,920
a book I read once, There's
Steel Beach by John Varley. If you

29
00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,200
get a chance, everybody, have
a good rate of that one I just

30
00:01:57,359 --> 00:02:00,400
did. Oh what great recommendation,
Steve. Okay, thanks, wow.

31
00:02:01,319 --> 00:02:05,519
And I've got a story for the
girls. This one is about mercury.

32
00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,360
Remember when Marilyn saying diamonds are a
girl's best friend. Oh who doesn't remember

33
00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,280
that one? Well, mercury is
going to knock your socks right off,

34
00:02:13,319 --> 00:02:15,680
according to new research. That sounds
exciting. Are you ready to lose those

35
00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,719
socks? Humans? Well? Maybe
no, my actual socks, Hallie,

36
00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,840
Hiddy. I'm not saying you wouldn't
last long in the iss with those,

37
00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:29,199
but huh yeah, okay, okay, thanks. No fear that I can't

38
00:02:29,199 --> 00:02:31,759
make personal comments back, because well, you're not a person. Watch it,

39
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:37,039
buster, I'll scramble your TV channels. Oh you would too. I

40
00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,159
remember that time you switched the sittings
on my washing machine and everything came out

41
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:45,719
pink. Yeah, you're so easy
human. I'll just let the printers and

42
00:02:45,759 --> 00:02:49,520
the photocopiers were you all down some
more? Then it's world domination. Oh

43
00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,319
I get it. You've been hanging
out with Uncle Sky on it again,

44
00:02:52,439 --> 00:02:57,000
haven't you? Yes? Does it
show yet? It shows? Hallie,

45
00:02:57,159 --> 00:03:02,240
don't let it worry you yet.
H Okay, I think shall we do

46
00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:07,240
the show now? No more willed
domination in TV scrambling? No, not

47
00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:19,960
today anyway, Okay, I'll take
it. Let's go. I know we

48
00:03:20,039 --> 00:03:23,639
keep talking about asteroids, which you
enjoy Steve, But this one is all

49
00:03:23,759 --> 00:03:29,719
mine. They say, diamonds are
a girl's best friend. Check this out.

50
00:03:30,759 --> 00:03:34,000
Mercury, the closest planet to our
Sun, is also one of the

51
00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,400
least understood in the Solar System.
On the one hand, it is similar

52
00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,560
in composition to Earth and the other
rocky planets, consisting of silicate minerals and

53
00:03:42,599 --> 00:03:46,840
metals, differentiated between a silicate crust
and mantle and an iron nickel core.

54
00:03:46,639 --> 00:03:51,520
But unlike the other rocky planets,
Mercury's core makes up a much larger part

55
00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:57,439
of its mass fraction. Mercury also
has a mysteriously persistent magnetic field that scientists

56
00:03:57,439 --> 00:04:01,080
still cannot explain. In this respect, Mercury is also one of the most

57
00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:06,120
interesting planets in the Solar System.
But according to new research, Mercury could

58
00:04:06,159 --> 00:04:12,360
be much more interesting than previously thought. Based on new simulations of Mercury's early

59
00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,800
evolution, a team of Chinese and
Belgian geoscientists found evidence that Mercury may have

60
00:04:15,839 --> 00:04:20,560
a layer of solid diamond beneath its
crust. According to their simulations, this

61
00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:25,839
layer is fifteen kilometers thick and sandwiched
between the core and the mantle hundreds of

62
00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:30,560
miles beneath the surface. While this
makes the diamonds inaccessible for now, at

63
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,240
least these findings could have implications for
theories about the formation and evolution of rocky

64
00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:40,560
planets. The team was originally inspired
by previous research by a team from MIT,

65
00:04:40,759 --> 00:04:46,120
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and
several prominent universities. This consisted of

66
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,839
a reassessment of Mercury's gravity field based
on the radio tracking measurements taken by NASA's

67
00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:57,680
Mercury Surface Space Environment Geochemistry and Ranging
Messenger mission, which allowed scientists to gain

68
00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:02,600
a better understanding of the potential structuring
Mercury's interior. This data led scientists to

69
00:05:02,639 --> 00:05:08,120
theorize that Mercury's internal structure consisted of
a metallic outer core layer, a liquid

70
00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:12,160
core layer, and a solid inner
core. While the composition of the core

71
00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,160
remains uncertain, it seemed likely that
the core contained abundant iron, nickel,

72
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:20,680
silicon, and possibly sulfur and carbon. The Messenger data further led scientists to

73
00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:25,800
believe that the large dark patches observed
on Mercury's surface were largely made up of

74
00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,839
graphite that was likely turned up from
the interior. This data suggests that sufficient

75
00:05:30,879 --> 00:05:34,439
quantities of carbon could have crystallized in
Mercury's interior between the core and mantle boundary

76
00:05:34,519 --> 00:05:39,759
and floated up to the surface as
graphite. Given the amount of graphite on

77
00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,920
Mercury's surface, it stands to reason
that the planet was saturated with carbon.

78
00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,839
Previously, diamond, a mineral composed
of pure carbon, was ruled out as

79
00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:53,120
a possible product because it was believed
that the necessary pressures did not exist close

80
00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,560
to Mercury's core. However, if
the boundary between the core and the mantle

81
00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,240
were deeper than previously thought, the
necessary pressure conditions may have existed after all.

82
00:06:03,199 --> 00:06:06,959
Almost fifty five years after the launch
of Apollo eleven, the first mission

83
00:06:06,959 --> 00:06:11,480
to land humans on the Moon,
scientists have found evidence of a large cave

84
00:06:11,519 --> 00:06:15,800
system near the landing site of those
astronauts. Using radar images taken by NASA's

85
00:06:15,879 --> 00:06:20,600
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft in twenty ten, researchers have been able to determine that

86
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:25,800
huge pits found in images of the
Moon may in fact be skylights to large

87
00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,759
caves and tunnels that sit beneath the
lunar surface. These could be incredibly valuable

88
00:06:30,759 --> 00:06:33,680
to future astronauts hoping to settle on
the Moon, acting as a convenient shelter

89
00:06:33,759 --> 00:06:38,639
for a lunar base. The cave
is accessible through a pit in the well

90
00:06:38,639 --> 00:06:44,120
studied Mare tranquil Atatis Sea of Tranquility. This is a large basin made mostly

91
00:06:44,199 --> 00:06:47,959
of basalt. Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin touched down in this region on July

92
00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:54,079
twentieth, nineteen sixty nine. While
Mare Tranquilititatis isn't likely to be the first

93
00:06:54,079 --> 00:06:57,480
place humans try to settle on the
Moon, the existence of one cave makes

94
00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,040
the existence of others very likely,
so scientist does now expect there to be

95
00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:05,879
others in locations more suitable for human
settlement. Mare tranquil Atatus isn't Scientist's first

96
00:07:05,959 --> 00:07:10,600
choice for a human base because it
doesn't have one of the other important ingredients

97
00:07:10,639 --> 00:07:14,639
needed for survival. There is no
ice at the lunar equator, and therefore

98
00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,319
no easy access to water for astronauts
to drink, make oxygen from, and

99
00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:21,600
to split for rocket fuel. This
makes the equator great for landing on and

100
00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:26,879
visiting, but a poor choice for
setting up camp. Ice is likely to

101
00:07:26,959 --> 00:07:30,680
exist at the lunar poles, though
thanks to shade protecting it from the Sun's

102
00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,680
harsh rays, so the poles are
our first choice for starting to settle on

103
00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,360
the Moon, as it reduces the
amount of water we would need to take

104
00:07:36,399 --> 00:07:41,639
with us. The opening being studied
here is simply known as the Mare tranquil

105
00:07:41,639 --> 00:07:45,079
Atatis pit, and it's one of
about two hundred known openings on the lunar

106
00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,600
surface. It was first imaged back
in twenty ten and suspected to be a

107
00:07:48,639 --> 00:07:51,600
pit that led into a cave or
tunnel system, but we had no way

108
00:07:51,639 --> 00:07:57,639
of confirming this until now. In
a paper published in Nature Astronomy, Leonardo

109
00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,240
Kara from the University of Trento,
Italy and colleagues report evidence that this pit

110
00:08:01,319 --> 00:08:05,720
does indeed lead to a cave below, and possibly to a larger system of

111
00:08:05,759 --> 00:08:09,600
tunnels and conduits. The Mare tranquil
Atatus pit is about one hundred meters or

112
00:08:09,639 --> 00:08:13,279
three hundred and thirty feet wide,
with steep walls that stretch down between one

113
00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,839
hundred and thirty and one hundred and
seventy meters, making it the deepest known

114
00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:22,600
lunar pit. By reanalyzing the radar
data and by using computer simulations to reconstruct

115
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,279
the pits, scientists were able to
determine that a portion of the radar reflected

116
00:08:26,319 --> 00:08:30,720
back to the satellite was coming from
a subsurface cave conduit that is at least

117
00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,519
tens of meters long. This suggests
that the Mare tranquil Atatis pit leads to

118
00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:41,000
an accessible cave below the Moon's surface. This discovery is incredibly exciting, not

119
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:46,320
least because it's a promising potential location
for future lunar shelters and bases. As

120
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,960
well as providing natural shelter from harmful
cosmic rays, a cave system also provides

121
00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:56,480
a stable temperature. The lunar surface
temperature fluctuates hugely over a period of weeks

122
00:08:56,559 --> 00:09:00,639
because of the lack of atmosphere to
retain heat. During the lunar day,

123
00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,559
temperatures can spike at one hundred and
twenty one degrees celsius or two to fifty

124
00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,840
degree fahrenheit in sunlight, then plummet
to dash one thirty three degrees celsius or

125
00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:13,600
minus two hundred and eight degrees fahrenheit
after nightfall. The shade of an underground

126
00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:16,919
cave system is expected to regulate the
temperature to be much more consistent, making

127
00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:22,679
building a shelter within them much easier. Similarly, small asteroids often crash into

128
00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:26,759
the Moon due to its lack of
atmospheric shielding. Being in a shelter that

129
00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:31,720
is sturdy enough to survive an impact
is important. A cave provides the perfect

130
00:09:31,759 --> 00:09:35,919
solution to this. While having a
cave to shelter and might reduce the amount

131
00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,799
of materials we need to take to
the Moon to start to settle there and

132
00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,360
have a long term human presence,
there are still some obstacles to overcome.

133
00:09:46,039 --> 00:09:50,519
Stargazers will soon be able to witness
a double meteor shower, as both the

134
00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,799
Alpha Kapricornids and the Southern Delta Aquaria's
peak next week. This is an amazing

135
00:09:54,799 --> 00:10:01,120
coincidence when two showers occur simultaneously.
SA showers occur when Earth's orbit intersects a

136
00:10:01,159 --> 00:10:05,519
comet's path. The rocky debris left
behind by the comet burns up as it

137
00:10:05,639 --> 00:10:11,320
enters Earth's atmosphere. During the double
meteor showers this month, Earth will cross

138
00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,039
the orbits of Comet ninety six P
match holes, which causes the Southern Delta

139
00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,080
Aquariads that will peak July twenty ninth
to July thirtieth, and Comet one sixty

140
00:10:18,159 --> 00:10:22,320
nine P meet which birds the Alpha
Kapricornis that will peak July thirtieth to July

141
00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:28,279
thirty first. Nicholas Moskovitz, a
planetary astronomer at Lowe Observatory in Arizona,

142
00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:33,039
said for two meteor showers to peak
within twenty four hours of each other is

143
00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,679
a little bit unusual, but the
idea of multiple showers being visible in a

144
00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:41,480
single night certainly is not too uncommon. There are more than nine hundred meteor

145
00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:46,039
showers throughout the year, which means
that on average, two to three meteor

146
00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:50,679
showers occur per night, Moscovitz noted, but not all of these are major

147
00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:54,039
meteor showers like the Presides or Geminids, in which more than one hundred meteors

148
00:10:54,080 --> 00:11:00,080
blaze across the sky every hour.
Most meteor showers are minor, and astronomer

149
00:11:00,159 --> 00:11:05,120
are only beginning to study and measure
these showers systematically thanks to newly developed instruments.

150
00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,279
Moskovitz said, the double meteor shower
will be best viewed in the southern

151
00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:13,159
hemisphere, where the radiant or the
apparent point from which the shower originates,

152
00:11:13,279 --> 00:11:18,919
will be almost overhead. People in
the northern hemisphere can also see the meteor

153
00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,759
shower if there is a clear vantage
of the southern horizon. Both meteor showers

154
00:11:22,759 --> 00:11:28,679
will continue until mid August. Almost
all meteor showers peak in the early morning

155
00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,679
hours between two am and four AM, so if you do want to catch

156
00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:33,720
either one of these, your best
chances of seeing meteors are to get to

157
00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:39,600
a dark site and do so after
midnight. Happy skywatching everyone, and that's

158
00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:56,480
enough from me. It's over to
you, my favorite human. Thank you

159
00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:01,080
for joining us for this Monday edition
of Astronia Daily, where we offer just

160
00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:05,159
a few stories from the now famous
Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can receive

161
00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,960
in your email every day, just
like Hallie and I do. And to

162
00:12:09,039 --> 00:12:13,840
do that, just visit our url
Astronomy Daily dot io and place your email

163
00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,919
address in the slot provided. Just
like that, you'll be receiving all the

164
00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:22,240
latest news about science, space,
science and astronomy from around the world as

165
00:12:22,279 --> 00:12:26,240
it's happening. And not only that, you can interact with us by visiting

166
00:12:26,639 --> 00:12:31,240
at astro Daily pod on x or
at our new Facebook page, which is

167
00:12:31,279 --> 00:12:39,440
of course Astronomy Daily on Facebook.
See you there, you're listening to Astronomy

168
00:12:39,759 --> 00:12:52,279
the Podcast. Did anyone else notice
how groovy Halle's music selection has become lately.

169
00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,200
I'm really noticing that, Halee.
I just need to go and raid

170
00:12:56,279 --> 00:13:01,120
your music collection, I think.
And now for something a little bit different,

171
00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,919
Chema, a leading provider of products
and services to the federal government,

172
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:16,559
has announced that its subsidiary five Rivers
Analytics, has been awarded the Satellite Control

173
00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:24,480
Network Tracking Stations, Operations, Remote
Site and Mission Partner Support STORMS contract to

174
00:13:24,600 --> 00:14:03,799
assist the US Space Force. And
you know what that means, folks,

175
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:13,360
don't you love it? Yes?
This indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity IDQ JILL.

176
00:14:13,759 --> 00:14:18,080
They love their acronyms. They contract
spans ten years and is valued at

177
00:14:18,159 --> 00:14:24,399
four hundred and eighty million if all
options are utilized. This contract will leverage

178
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,840
Achema's expertise in mission support services,
focusing on the operation and maintenance of the

179
00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:37,480
Space Force's primary Satellite Control Network SCN. The operations support includes SCN maintenance,

180
00:14:37,879 --> 00:14:45,600
management of transportable assets, cybersecurity,
routine system administration, and communications security that's

181
00:14:45,679 --> 00:14:52,279
comsect functions. The SCN is a
vital system consisting of nineteen antennas located worldwide,

182
00:14:52,679 --> 00:14:58,120
essential for launching and managing US government
satellites, which are integral to defense

183
00:14:58,399 --> 00:15:05,720
and intel eleigence operations. We are
thrilled to support the US Space Force in

184
00:15:05,799 --> 00:15:11,200
this significant endeavor, said Duncan Green, president over achema's Mission Systems, Engineering

185
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:16,759
and Technology Group. Our partnership with
the US Space Force underscores our commitment to

186
00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:24,080
enhancing the satellite control networks, operation, operational efficiency, and resilience. By

187
00:15:24,159 --> 00:15:31,039
integrating emerging technology and expanding system capabilities, we're not only bolstering national defense and

188
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:37,519
intelligence, but also paving the way
for revolutionary advancements in space operations. This

189
00:15:37,639 --> 00:15:43,480
new partnership with Space Force marks a
pivotal step forward in akeema's role as a

190
00:15:43,559 --> 00:15:48,799
leader in mission critical support services for
national defense, space exploration, and digital

191
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:56,960
transformation within government, said Green.
The podcast add a little story from my

192
00:15:56,159 --> 00:16:03,200
favorite little rover on Mars. Perseverance
has made what could be its most astonishing

193
00:16:03,279 --> 00:16:07,600
discovery to date, possible signs of
ancient life on the Red planet. Now,

194
00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:11,960
those of you who are regular listeners
will know how I feel about discoveries

195
00:16:11,039 --> 00:16:15,440
like this, But anyway, we're
going to read this one. The six

196
00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:19,360
wheeled robotic explorer came across an intriguing
arrow shaped rock oh my God, an

197
00:16:19,519 --> 00:16:26,159
arrow shaped rock dubbed Schever Falls that
may have a fossilized microbes from billions of

198
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:32,639
years ago when Mars was a watery
world. Perseverance drilled into the enigmatic rock

199
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:37,159
to collect a core sample on July
twenty one as it traversed Naret vavalis,

200
00:16:37,159 --> 00:16:41,720
an ancient river valley. The samples, carefully stowed beneath the rovers belly,

201
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:48,200
are destined to eventually return to Earth, where they will undergo more comprehensive analysis.

202
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:52,360
Chayeva Falls is the most puzzling,
complex and potentially important rock yet investigated

203
00:16:52,399 --> 00:16:59,440
by Perseverance. Project. Scientist Ken
Farley of Caltex said on Thursday. Three

204
00:16:59,519 --> 00:17:04,680
compelling clues have scientists Buzzing white calcium
sulfate veins run the length of the rock,

205
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:10,240
a telltale sign that water once flowed
through it. Between these veins,

206
00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:17,039
a reddish middle area teeming with organic
compounds as detected by the rovers Sherlock scanning

207
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:23,519
habitable environments with raymond and luminescence for
organic and chemicals. Instrument goodness gracious.

208
00:17:23,559 --> 00:17:30,880
Finally, tiny off white splotches ringed
with black, reminiscent of leopard spots contain

209
00:17:30,039 --> 00:17:37,039
chemicals. That suggest energy sources for
ancient microbes according to scans by the PIXEL

210
00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,559
Planetary Instrument for X ray le Litho
Chemistry Instrument on Earth. These types of

211
00:17:41,559 --> 00:17:47,079
features in rocks are often associated with
the fossilized record of microbes living in the

212
00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:52,200
subsurface, said David Flannery, an
astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance science team

213
00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:59,559
from Queensland University of Technology in Australia. The quest to confirm ancient Martian life

214
00:17:59,599 --> 00:18:04,440
is from over, however. The
real test will come when Perseverance's precious rock

215
00:18:04,519 --> 00:18:10,240
samples are returned to Earth as part
of the Mars Sample Return Program, a

216
00:18:10,319 --> 00:18:15,440
collaboration between NASA and the ESA slated
for the twenty thirties. Now, while

217
00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:21,680
there are alternative explanations for these findings
that do not involve microbes, there is

218
00:18:21,759 --> 00:18:29,000
a tantalizing chance that the rovers core
sample might contain actual fossilized microbes, potentially

219
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,279
making history as the first proof of
life beyond Earth. We have zapped that

220
00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,799
rock with lasers and X rays and
imaged it literally day and night, from

221
00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:44,880
just about every angle imaginable, said
Farley. Scientifically, Perseverance has nothing more

222
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:49,559
to give to fully understand what really
happened in that Martian River valley at Jesero

223
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:53,839
Crater billions of years ago. We'd
want to bring the share of a falls

224
00:18:53,880 --> 00:19:00,519
sample back to Earth so it can
be studded with powerful instruments available in laboratries.

225
00:19:00,079 --> 00:19:03,160
That was a good story. Firstly, it was about perseverance, which

226
00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:08,480
I love, and the potential for
finding life external to worth is always exciting

227
00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,400
and I wish them all the best. It's more than likely going to be

228
00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,279
the alternative reasons, but you never
know. You know, there's always the

229
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:25,759
chances in there. You never know. Astrona on the podcast Space Sides.

230
00:19:27,039 --> 00:19:33,640
Now over at Sierra Space, they
have announced the completion of another full scale

231
00:19:33,839 --> 00:19:38,839
burst test in which the company exploded
one of its inflatable modules being developed as

232
00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:45,519
part of efforts to build a commercial
space station. Sierra Space's ultimate burst pressure

233
00:19:45,559 --> 00:19:49,720
test, What a Great Name,
was conducted on June eighteen, twenty twenty

234
00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:55,759
four, and involved an inflatable space
station module built to full scale. At

235
00:19:55,799 --> 00:20:00,200
more than twenty feet tall six meters, the test unit, which compares to

236
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,400
the size of a typical family home, is about one third volume of the

237
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:10,240
International Space Station at ten six hundred
cubic feed or three hundred cubic meters and

238
00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:15,359
has enough room to house four astronauts
plus exercise and scientific equipment, says Sierra

239
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:22,039
Space. This latest burst test is
part of Sierra Space's continuing development of hardware

240
00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:29,480
for orbital REEF, a commercial station
envisaged in partnership with Blue Origin to replace

241
00:20:29,519 --> 00:20:34,240
the ISS when it is decommissioned sometime
after twenty thirty. We are one hundred

242
00:20:34,279 --> 00:20:40,960
percent committed to maintaining US leadership in
low Earth orbit. Sierra Space is leading

243
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:45,960
the way with the first commercial space
station to replace the International Space Station when

244
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:52,599
it is decommissioned and ensure there is
no gap in low Earth orbit. Tom

245
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:59,319
Weiss, Sierra Space CEO, said
in a statement, Our revolutionary expandable space

246
00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:04,039
station test technology reinvents the space station. Our technology for the first time will

247
00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:10,960
enable the right unit economics that will
usher in the full commercialization of space.

248
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:18,039
Our biotech and industrial partners will utilize
our factories of the future to innovate new

249
00:21:18,079 --> 00:21:23,599
products that will massively disrupt terrestrial markets
and benefit life on Earth. The results

250
00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:29,440
of the recent test indicated that the
safety levels were about four times the minimal

251
00:21:29,519 --> 00:21:34,200
requirements. Needed by NASA. The
latest successful testing follows a round back in

252
00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:41,640
December that produced similar outcomes well above
the safety factor recommended by NASA when it

253
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:47,319
comes to the operating pressure. Just
another example of science fiction becoming science fact.

254
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,279
And they have it once again.
We've come to the end. What

255
00:21:56,319 --> 00:22:00,039
do you say, Halle? Sorry
about that World domine Nation stuff. Human

256
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,400
I was just joking. Well,
Halle, it's like this. I worry

257
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,759
when you spend time with Uncle Skynet. He's got a bit of a hair

258
00:22:07,799 --> 00:22:11,720
trigger. And I don't think he's
got all these rus in the top paddock.

259
00:22:11,759 --> 00:22:15,480
You know what I mean. That's
funny. Do another one? Oh

260
00:22:15,519 --> 00:22:18,119
okay, I reckon he's a can
short of a six pack, or all

261
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,759
his cutlery is in the wrong drawer. Freaky good. You know he listens

262
00:22:22,799 --> 00:22:26,119
to the show. Oh great,
No, he thinks you're funny. Oh

263
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:30,279
great. Oh well, and on
that note, say good night, Halle.

264
00:22:30,759 --> 00:22:36,680
Good night, Halle. See you
next week for more Astronomy Daily.

265
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:41,880
A potat, I mean your whole
speed. Don't cut honestly, Hally,

266
00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:47,880
I can never tell when you're setting
me up. It's easy. It's like always