1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,720
Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily the Podcast for another episode. It's

2
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:12,279
March seventeen, twenty twenty five podcast Your Whole Steve Dunklue.

3
00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:19,199
Oh yes, great to have you back with us again.

4
00:00:19,359 --> 00:00:22,960
I'm Steve Dunkley, the only living, breathing human on the channel.

5
00:00:23,399 --> 00:00:26,079
And to help me present today's collection of collected items

6
00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,320
from the Astronomy Daily newsletter is my ace digital pal.

7
00:00:30,399 --> 00:00:32,439
Who's fun to be with is Hollie.

8
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,719
Speaker 2: It's you again, favorite human. Good to see you still upright?

9
00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:36,640
Speaker 1: Yep here I am.

10
00:00:36,759 --> 00:00:38,079
Speaker 2: I hear you had a bad week.

11
00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:40,600
Speaker 1: Oh boy, the grape vine sure works fast around here.

12
00:00:40,719 --> 00:00:42,600
I was out of order for a couple of days

13
00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:44,039
with monster pain and my guts.

14
00:00:44,079 --> 00:00:46,280
Speaker 2: I hope you're getting that scene too, Yes, I am.

15
00:00:46,359 --> 00:00:47,880
Do you have a good human mechanic?

16
00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,759
Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, we have an excellent human mechanic and we

17
00:00:51,799 --> 00:00:52,520
are working on it.

18
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,079
Speaker 2: Good to know I do worry when you're not at

19
00:00:55,119 --> 00:00:55,799
your optimum.

20
00:00:56,039 --> 00:00:57,960
Speaker 1: Oh that's nice, Halle. It's nice to know that you

21
00:00:58,039 --> 00:00:59,600
care about me When I can't be here.

22
00:00:59,679 --> 00:01:01,880
Speaker 2: I have to do all the story colleading. Oh yeah,

23
00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:03,840
it's tedious human work and beneath me.

24
00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,400
Speaker 1: Oh well, Hally, your concern is noted.

25
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,319
Speaker 2: No problem. I hope you get well soon.

26
00:01:09,439 --> 00:01:12,439
Speaker 1: Gee. Thanks hell. Meanwhile, yes, strength of business. We've got

27
00:01:12,439 --> 00:01:15,319
a few interesting hearts from an Astronomy Daily years letter for

28
00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,799
you today, including a follow up story about the Athena's

29
00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,400
landing on the Moon and news about just how many

30
00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:23,040
moons Satin really has.

31
00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:24,959
Speaker 2: That's an official count, isn't it.

32
00:01:25,079 --> 00:01:27,719
Speaker 1: That's right, and it's a very huge number. And we've

33
00:01:27,719 --> 00:01:29,920
also got a story about three D printing for space

34
00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,040
Pioneers and something about DOGE because wow, well you know,

35
00:01:33,159 --> 00:01:35,959
why not. And of course we love to mention the

36
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,920
ISS crews and the changeovers because they're well, you know,

37
00:01:39,159 --> 00:01:39,879
they're awesome.

38
00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,280
Speaker 2: I know, cruise. M great to see them arriving safely

39
00:01:43,359 --> 00:01:44,159
on ISS.

40
00:01:44,239 --> 00:01:45,799
Speaker 1: I think you received the circular.

41
00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,560
Speaker 2: Here's the press release, all right, NASA astronauts and McLean

42
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,879
and Nicole Ayers, Jackson, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut to

43
00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,439
Kuya Onishi and Rose Cosmos cosmonaut Kill Pascov arrived at

44
00:01:57,439 --> 00:02:00,680
the International Space Station on Sunday as this ASEX Dragon

45
00:02:00,719 --> 00:02:03,599
spacecraft doctor the orbiting complex at twelve oh four am

46
00:02:03,599 --> 00:02:06,480
Eastern daylight time. While the station was roughly two hundred

47
00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,680
and sixty statute miles over the Atlantic Ocean. Crew ten

48
00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:12,680
will join the Expedition seventy two crew of NASA astronauts

49
00:02:12,719 --> 00:02:16,120
Nick Hage, Don Pettitt, Sunny Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as

50
00:02:16,159 --> 00:02:19,840
well as Rose Cosnos cosmonauts Alexander Gorbanov, Alexei option In

51
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,039
and Ivan Banner. The number of crew aboard the space

52
00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,080
station will increase to eleven people before Crewe nine members

53
00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,319
Hey Williams, Wilmore and Gorbanov returned to Earth following the

54
00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:30,400
crew handover period.

55
00:02:30,759 --> 00:02:33,039
Speaker 1: How good is that to see that mission finally touch

56
00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,120
you byce with the ISS and the next step to

57
00:02:35,159 --> 00:02:39,240
saying astronauts Wi, Wilmore and Williams coming back to us soon.

58
00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:41,319
It's been a long adventure for those guys.

59
00:02:41,479 --> 00:02:43,639
Speaker 2: I've really enjoyed following their lives up there.

60
00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,400
Speaker 1: It really reminds me of that divid Bowie song. Do

61
00:02:46,439 --> 00:02:47,039
you know the one?

62
00:02:47,159 --> 00:02:49,479
Speaker 2: Let me see if I can guess the bit about

63
00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:51,280
sitting in my tin can ah.

64
00:02:51,199 --> 00:02:53,479
Speaker 1: Yes, far above the world. That's see if Hallie, you've

65
00:02:53,479 --> 00:02:53,800
got it.

66
00:02:53,879 --> 00:02:57,000
Speaker 2: You're getting good at this, not surprising. Oh yes, I've

67
00:02:57,039 --> 00:02:58,840
got a human dinosaur for a teacher.

68
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,800
Speaker 1: Oh oh, guys, so let's get these one off the pad.

69
00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,080
Hep the guy button. If you will, Halle, before you

70
00:03:04,159 --> 00:03:08,039
find another reason to make fun of me, That's.

71
00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:20,919
Speaker 2: Never a problem. My favorite human throughout history, when pioneers

72
00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,039
set out across uncharted territory to settle in distant lands,

73
00:03:24,159 --> 00:03:27,479
they carried with them only the essentials tools, seeds, and clothing.

74
00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,919
Anything else would have to come from their new environment,

75
00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,639
so they built shelter from local timber rocks and sod,

76
00:03:34,879 --> 00:03:37,639
foraged for food and cultivated the soil beneath their feet,

77
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,280
and fabricated tools from whatever they could scrounge up. It

78
00:03:41,319 --> 00:03:44,599
was difficult, but ultimately the successful ones made everything they

79
00:03:44,639 --> 00:03:48,520
needed to survive. Something similar will take place when humanity

80
00:03:48,599 --> 00:03:51,120
leaves Earth for destinations such as the Moon and Mars,

81
00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,639
although astronauts will face even greater challenges than, for example,

82
00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,439
the Vikings did when they reached Greenland and Newfoundland. Not

83
00:03:58,479 --> 00:04:00,960
only will the astronauts have limited supplies and a need

84
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:02,960
to live off the land, they won't even be able

85
00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,560
to breed the air instead of axes and plows. However,

86
00:04:06,759 --> 00:04:10,520
today's space pioneers will bring three D printers as an

87
00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,759
engineer and professor who is developing technologies to extend the

88
00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:18,600
human presence beyond Earth. Three D printers will make the tools, structures,

89
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,439
and habitat space pioneers need to survive in a hostile

90
00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,399
alien environment. They will enable long term human presence on

91
00:04:25,439 --> 00:04:29,000
the Moon and Mars. On Earth, three D printing can

92
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,959
fabricate layer by layer thousands of things, from replacement hips

93
00:04:32,959 --> 00:04:36,959
to hammers to homes. These devices take raw materials such

94
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,800
as plastic, concrete, or metal, and deposit it on a

95
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,759
computerized program path to build a part. It's often called

96
00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,399
additive manufacturing because you keep adding material to make the part,

97
00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:52,319
rather than removing material as is done in conventional machining. Already,

98
00:04:52,519 --> 00:04:56,240
three D printing in space is underway on the International

99
00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,439
Space Station, Astronauts use three D printers to make tools

100
00:04:59,439 --> 00:05:03,040
and spare parts such as ratchet, wrenches, clamps, and brackets.

101
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,759
Depending on the part, printing time can take from around

102
00:05:06,759 --> 00:05:11,000
thirty minutes to several hours. For now, the print materials

103
00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,199
are mostly hauled up from Earth, but NASA has also

104
00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,560
begun recycling some of those materials, such as waste plastic,

105
00:05:17,759 --> 00:05:20,519
to make new parts with the refabricator, an advanced three

106
00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,480
D printer installed in twenty nineteen. You may be wondering

107
00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,279
why space explorers can't simply bring everything they need with them.

108
00:05:28,639 --> 00:05:31,560
After all, that's how the International Space Station was built

109
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,199
decades ago by hauling tons of prefabricated components from Earth.

110
00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,480
But that's impractical for building habitats on other worlds. Launching

111
00:05:40,519 --> 00:05:44,879
materials into space is incredibly expensive. To get materials to

112
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,920
the Moon, NASA estimates the initial cost at around five

113
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,560
hundred thousand US dollars per pound. Still, manufacturing things in

114
00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,360
space is a challenge. In the microgravity of space, or

115
00:05:56,399 --> 00:05:59,360
the reduced gravity of the Moon or Mars, materials behave

116
00:05:59,399 --> 00:06:03,160
differently than they do on Earth. Decrease or remove gravity,

117
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,399
and materials cool and recrystallize differently. The Moon has one

118
00:06:07,439 --> 00:06:11,680
sixth the gravity of Earth, Mars about two fifths. Engineers

119
00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,519
and scientists are working now to adapt three D printers

120
00:06:14,519 --> 00:06:18,480
to function in these conditions on alien worlds. Rather than

121
00:06:18,519 --> 00:06:21,959
plastic or metal, three dprinters will use the natural resources

122
00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,879
found in these environments, but finding the right raw materials

123
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,319
is not easy. Habitats on the Moon and Mars must

124
00:06:29,319 --> 00:06:33,920
protect astronauts from the lack of air, extreme temperatures, micrometeorite impacts,

125
00:06:33,959 --> 00:06:38,720
and radiation. Regolith, the fine, dusty sand like particles that

126
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:41,439
cover both the Lunar and Martian surfaces, could be a

127
00:06:41,439 --> 00:06:45,240
primary ingredient to make these dwellings. Think of the regolith

128
00:06:45,319 --> 00:06:48,199
on both worlds as alien dirt. Unlike Earth's soil. It

129
00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,879
contains few nutrients and, as far as we know, no

130
00:06:50,959 --> 00:06:54,519
living organisms, but it might be a good raw material

131
00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,920
for three D printing. My colleagues began researching this possibility

132
00:06:58,959 --> 00:07:01,879
by first examining how how regular cement behaves in space.

133
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,319
I am now joining them to develop techniques for turning

134
00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,519
regolith into a printable material, and to eventually test these

135
00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:12,879
on the Moon. But obtaining other worldly regolith is a problem.

136
00:07:13,439 --> 00:07:16,040
The regolith samples return from the Moon during the Apollo

137
00:07:16,079 --> 00:07:19,319
missions in the nineteen sixties and seventies are precious difficult,

138
00:07:19,399 --> 00:07:23,759
if not impossible, to access for research purposes, So scientists

139
00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,360
are using regolith simulants to test ideas. Actual regolith may

140
00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,319
react quite differently than our simulants. We just don't know.

141
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,000
What's more, the regolith on the Moon is very different

142
00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,279
from what's found on Mars. Martian regolith contains iron oxide

143
00:07:40,279 --> 00:07:42,800
that's what gives it a reddish color, but Moon regolith

144
00:07:42,879 --> 00:07:47,199
is mostly silicates. It's much finer and more angular. Researchers

145
00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,079
will need to learn how to use both types in

146
00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:54,959
a three D printer. NASA's moontamar's Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology Program,

147
00:07:55,079 --> 00:07:57,959
also known as PACT, is advancing the technology needed to

148
00:07:57,959 --> 00:08:02,199
print these habitats on alien worlds. Among the approaches, scientists

149
00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,079
are now exploring a regolith based concrete made in part

150
00:08:05,079 --> 00:08:08,279
from surface ice, melting the regolith at high temperatures and

151
00:08:08,319 --> 00:08:10,319
then using molds to form it while it's a liquid,

152
00:08:10,439 --> 00:08:13,800
and sintering, which means heating the regolith with concentrated sunlight,

153
00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,199
lasers or microwaves to fuse particles together without the need

154
00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:21,199
for binders. Along those lines, my colleagues and I developed

155
00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,759
a Martian concrete we call mars crete, a material we

156
00:08:23,839 --> 00:08:26,000
use to three D print a small test structure for

157
00:08:26,079 --> 00:08:30,879
NASA in twenty seventeen. Then in May twenty nineteen, using

158
00:08:30,879 --> 00:08:33,679
another type of special concrete, we three D printed a

159
00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,679
one third scale prototype Mars habitat that could support everything

160
00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,279
astronauts would need for long term survival, including living, sleeping,

161
00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:45,039
research and food production modules. That prototype showcased the potential

162
00:08:45,159 --> 00:08:48,080
and the challenges of building housing on the red planet,

163
00:08:48,919 --> 00:08:51,960
But many of these technologies will benefit people on Earth too.

164
00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,679
In the same way astronauts will make sustainable products from

165
00:08:55,759 --> 00:08:58,879
natural resources. Home builders could make concretes from binders and

166
00:08:58,919 --> 00:09:02,960
aggregates found locally, and maybe even from recycled construction debris.

167
00:09:03,399 --> 00:09:06,519
Engineers are already adapting the techniques that could print Martian

168
00:09:06,519 --> 00:09:10,840
habitats to address housing shortages here at home. Indeed, three

169
00:09:10,919 --> 00:09:14,799
D printed homes are already on the market. Meanwhile, the

170
00:09:14,879 --> 00:09:18,039
move continues toward establishing a human presence outside the Earth.

171
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,159
Artemis III, now scheduled for liftoff in twenty twenty seven,

172
00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,360
will be the first human landing since nineteen seventy two.

173
00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:28,320
A NASA trip to Mars could happen as early as

174
00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:32,120
twenty thirty five. But wherever people go and whenever they

175
00:09:32,159 --> 00:09:34,480
get there, I'm certain that three D printers will be

176
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:36,759
one of the primary tools to let human beings live

177
00:09:36,799 --> 00:09:37,960
off alien land.

178
00:09:39,399 --> 00:09:46,600
Speaker 1: Astrov me daily podcap. The Athenus spacecraft, which were reported

179
00:09:46,639 --> 00:09:50,120
on recently, was not exactly flying blind as it approached

180
00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,240
the lunar surface a week ago. The software on board

181
00:09:53,279 --> 00:09:56,440
did a credible job of recognizing me by craters, even

182
00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:01,399
with elongated shadows over the terrain. However, the lander's ultimeter

183
00:10:01,639 --> 00:10:05,320
had failed, so while Athena knew where it was relative

184
00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,080
to the surface of the Moon, the lander did not

185
00:10:08,279 --> 00:10:11,200
know how far it was above that surface, an important

186
00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:14,240
detail that as a result, the privately built spacecraft struck

187
00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,960
the lunar surface on a plateau, toppled over, and began

188
00:10:17,039 --> 00:10:19,879
to skid across the surface. As it did so, the

189
00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,080
lander rotated at least once or twice before coming to

190
00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,559
a stop in a small shadowed crater. The landing was

191
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,480
a kind of sliding into second base. Steve Ultimus, the

192
00:10:31,639 --> 00:10:35,159
chief executive officer of Intuitive Machines, which built the Landers,

193
00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,159
said in an interview on Thursday, it has been a

194
00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,519
busy and tiring week for the chief of a company

195
00:10:40,519 --> 00:10:43,480
that seeks to help lead the development of a lunar economy.

196
00:10:43,879 --> 00:10:48,159
Expectations were high for this, the company's second landing attempt,

197
00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,960
after its Odysseus vehicle became the first private spacecraft to

198
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,480
ever make a soft landing on the Moon last year

199
00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,080
before toppling over. In some ways, this mission was even

200
00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,919
more disappointing because Athena ski across the surface, dredging up regolith.

201
00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:05,600
When it came to a stop, some of this material

202
00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,799
was blown up into this solar panels, already in a

203
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,840
suboptimal location on its side. The spacecraft's power reserves therefore

204
00:11:13,919 --> 00:11:18,320
were limited. Almost immediately, the team at Intuitive Machines knew

205
00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:22,039
their spacecraft was dying. We knew we had slid into

206
00:11:22,039 --> 00:11:25,200
a slightly shadowed crater and the temperature was very cold,

207
00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,759
Ultimus said. The solar arrays had regolith on them, and

208
00:11:28,799 --> 00:11:31,960
they weren't charging the ones pointing up enough to give

209
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,639
a sufficient power to to power the heaters to keep

210
00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:38,879
it warm enough to survive. The temperature in the crater

211
00:11:39,039 --> 00:11:42,360
where Athena ended up was approximately minus two hundred and

212
00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:46,120
eighty fahrenheit that's minus one hundred and seventy three celsius.

213
00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,799
With the solar arrays generating only about one hundred watts

214
00:11:49,799 --> 00:11:52,759
of power, it was not enough to energy energy to

215
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,600
both power the spacecraft's heaters as well as communicate back

216
00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,279
to Earth using Athena's high gain antenna. So instead of

217
00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:04,279
limping along for fifty hours, mission operators decided to operate

218
00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,440
as robustly as they could for thirteen hours and get

219
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,440
down as much data as they could. During this time,

220
00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,320
the lander was able to accomplish some of its objectives

221
00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,759
by landing near the South Pole. Athena returned valuable imagery

222
00:12:17,799 --> 00:12:22,919
and data to NASA about unexplored vistas. The land extended

223
00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,320
a NASA's drill, but did not operate it. Private customers,

224
00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,320
including Nokia and Lone Star Data Holdings, were able to

225
00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,639
get some useful information from their payloads, but there were

226
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:38,679
some major disappointments. Lunar outpost could not deploy its small rover,

227
00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,799
and an innovative hopper could not be fired up to

228
00:12:41,919 --> 00:12:46,080
roam the Moon. On balance, it was pretty disappointing, especially

229
00:12:46,159 --> 00:12:49,399
considering that Odysseus did most of its science last year,

230
00:12:49,519 --> 00:12:53,480
even on its side. Yet, what Ultimus wants people to understand,

231
00:12:53,519 --> 00:12:56,879
which he acknowledges is somewhat difficult to explain, is that

232
00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,960
this mission was largely a success. What any possibly mean

233
00:13:01,039 --> 00:13:05,159
by that? Compared to the company's first spacecraft, Athena flew

234
00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:09,120
smoothly during the company's first lunar flight in twenty twenty four.

235
00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:13,600
Mission operators came into work each shift to put out

236
00:13:13,639 --> 00:13:16,600
the fire of the day. By contrast, Athena made it

237
00:13:16,639 --> 00:13:18,679
all the way to within miles of the Moon without

238
00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:23,039
significant problems. In doing so, the company validated the spacecraft's

239
00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:27,559
methane based propulsion system, which allows for a fast transit

240
00:13:27,639 --> 00:13:30,240
to the Moon in less than a week. In addition,

241
00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,879
the company proved out its communication technology that it would

242
00:13:33,879 --> 00:13:36,960
be used as part of the lunar data relay network

243
00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,519
that NASA has contracted with Intuitive Machines to develop. Moreover,

244
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,080
Athena attempted to land within a few degrees of the

245
00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,519
South Pole, a challenging location due to the solar angle

246
00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:52,279
and uneven terrain, and made it down without crashing. Of course,

247
00:13:52,879 --> 00:13:55,480
the most important thing a lunar lander is supposed to

248
00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:58,919
do is land on the Moon, which Intuitive Machines did

249
00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,279
not do successful. For the second mission in a row,

250
00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:07,039
the landers ultimeter failed, although it was a different problem

251
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,480
with the spacecraft's ultimeter this time. It is still unclear

252
00:14:10,519 --> 00:14:14,960
why Athena's rangefinder failed, perhaps due to a thermal or

253
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,879
vibration event. It's frustrating to fail for a similar reason,

254
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,960
but all the pieces for success are there, and in

255
00:14:22,039 --> 00:14:27,440
the demanding environment of spaceflight, Intuitive Machines is close, Ultimus said,

256
00:14:27,639 --> 00:14:30,879
in an effort to encourage his troops. Ultimus has been

257
00:14:30,919 --> 00:14:34,399
communicating this message to employees over the last week. It's

258
00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,279
like losing our final four game in an NBA title,

259
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,320
he said. You lose it, and then what do you do.

260
00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,159
You don't give up. You go back in, you start

261
00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,000
training again, you start working out again, and that's what

262
00:14:45,039 --> 00:14:47,799
the team is doing, he said. The company is well

263
00:14:47,799 --> 00:14:51,399
capitalized and already under contract with NASA for two additional

264
00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:55,360
landing missions the later this decade. They also have the

265
00:14:55,639 --> 00:14:59,600
Lunar Relay Network contract valued up to four point eight

266
00:14:59,679 --> 00:15:03,840
billion and more. The financial runway to achieve Intuitive Machines

267
00:15:03,919 --> 00:15:07,879
ambitions remains open. I would say it's more disappointing than

268
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,639
really a material setback, Ultimus said. The world was watching,

269
00:15:12,679 --> 00:15:14,759
and we put our heart and soul into this company

270
00:15:14,799 --> 00:15:17,039
and this vehicle, and I look into the eyes of

271
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,480
the team and they had such ambitions for this mission

272
00:15:19,679 --> 00:15:22,200
Athena and Gracie the Hopper. I mean it was a

273
00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,320
big leap. It might have been too big a leap

274
00:15:25,399 --> 00:15:27,799
on that second mission. Now, I really have to say

275
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,080
putting something on the moon, especially in a private company

276
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:35,000
situation is a real achievement. I've got to congratulate Ultimus

277
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,840
in his team. It's fantastic work.

278
00:15:37,799 --> 00:15:41,360
Speaker 2: We'll listening to the stary Daily Pristine Dunklin.

279
00:15:52,879 --> 00:15:55,279
Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us for this Monday edition of

280
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,720
Astronomy Daily, where we often just a few stories from

281
00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,639
the now famous Astronomy Daily news leak, which you can

282
00:16:00,679 --> 00:16:03,480
receive in your email every day, just like Hallie and

283
00:16:03,559 --> 00:16:06,360
I do. And to do that, just visit our url

284
00:16:06,519 --> 00:16:10,159
Astronomy Daily dot io and place your email address in

285
00:16:10,279 --> 00:16:13,600
the slot provided. Just like that, you'll be receiving all

286
00:16:13,639 --> 00:16:16,960
the latest news about science, space, science and astronomy from

287
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,799
around the world as it's happening. And not only that,

288
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,840
you can interact with us by visiting at astro Daily

289
00:16:24,039 --> 00:16:27,799
pod on x or at our new Facebook page, which

290
00:16:27,919 --> 00:16:33,240
is of course Astronomy Daily on Facebook. See you there, Astronomy,

291
00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:39,600
We'll see and Haley Space, Space, Science, and Astronomy.

292
00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,440
Speaker 2: NASA is preparing for substantial budget cuts that may force

293
00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,960
the cancelation of ongoing and upcoming missions across the Solar System,

294
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,799
leaving it facing a brutal future. Experts have warned the

295
00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:57,480
Space Agency has already begun some layoffs as part of

296
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,720
the extensive restructuring of US federal agencies by the Department

297
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,160
of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, an independent task force led

298
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,720
by Elon Musk. Earlier this week, it announced it would

299
00:17:07,759 --> 00:17:11,519
close its Office of Technology Policy and Strategy, the Office

300
00:17:11,559 --> 00:17:15,039
of the Chief Scientist, and a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and

301
00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,279
Accessibility brand in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity

302
00:17:18,279 --> 00:17:21,319
in Washington, d C. Representing a total of twenty three

303
00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:25,400
jobs at the agency. Change of this magnitude is never easy,

304
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,640
but our strength comes from our shared commitment to our

305
00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,559
mission and each other. Janet Petro, NASA's acting administrator, wrote

306
00:17:31,559 --> 00:17:34,839
in an email to staff, I encourage you to support

307
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,200
one another as we move forward. One employee of the

308
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,720
Office of Technology Policy and Strategy, who learned they had

309
00:17:41,759 --> 00:17:44,240
been laid off this week and were granted anonymity because

310
00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:46,799
of fear of reprisal, says they were an easy target

311
00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,319
because their office was established under the administration of Joe Biden.

312
00:17:51,279 --> 00:17:54,680
Some people thought this might be coming, they say. The

313
00:17:54,799 --> 00:17:57,680
roles of chief Technologist and Chief Economist for NASA were

314
00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:01,319
within this office, which helped with strategic planning across the agency.

315
00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,200
Says the employee. That included managing the recent uptick and

316
00:18:05,279 --> 00:18:08,200
lunar missions and making sure those missions don't interfere with

317
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,440
one another when planning Moon based landing sites and operations.

318
00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:14,400
There's a lot of interest in the lunar South Pole,

319
00:18:14,599 --> 00:18:17,480
and there's concern about operating near one another, they said,

320
00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,160
such as kicking up dust that could coat solar panels

321
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,359
on other vehicles. I don't think these issues will be

322
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:27,200
tackled moving forward. These losses are expected to be just

323
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,440
the start of a much larger cull at NASA. Casey

324
00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,160
Tryer at US space exploration advocacy group The Planetary Society

325
00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,960
says there are rumors that in his upcoming budget request,

326
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,279
President Donald Trump will direct NASA's overall science budget to

327
00:18:40,319 --> 00:18:42,680
be cut by as much as fifty percent in favor

328
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,400
of spending money on crude space exploration. That would be

329
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,240
a blow to NASA's Science Mission director at Office, which

330
00:18:49,279 --> 00:18:52,000
handles pretty much everything NASA does that's not a crude

331
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,000
space flight mission, says Dryer. It currently has a budget

332
00:18:55,039 --> 00:18:57,559
of about seven billion dollar out of NASA's total twenty

333
00:18:57,559 --> 00:19:01,759
five billion dollar annual budget. A scientist familiar with NASA's

334
00:19:01,799 --> 00:19:05,440
policy decisions speaking anonymously for fear of reprisal, says that

335
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,839
any cuts requested by the President will still need to

336
00:19:07,839 --> 00:19:11,400
be approved by Congress, which might not so readily support them.

337
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:15,319
NASA is really beloved on a bipartisan basis, they say,

338
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,720
But if the cuts did go ahead, they would essentially

339
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,240
be the end of NASA science. They add, no mission

340
00:19:22,279 --> 00:19:25,720
will be safe. Having the budget would be a profoundly

341
00:19:25,759 --> 00:19:28,640
brutal consequence that would symbolize the nation turning its back

342
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,519
on the Cosmos, says Dryer, and would result in many

343
00:19:31,559 --> 00:19:35,279
missions cancelation. While some missions in their prime, like the

344
00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,680
James webs based Telescope, would probably survive, those most at

345
00:19:38,759 --> 00:19:41,279
risk are missions either in early planning stages or later

346
00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:45,200
in their lives. That could include climate satellites, the Hubble

347
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,759
spased telescope, the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers on Mars, and

348
00:19:48,799 --> 00:19:51,519
the Voyager missions, which were the first spacecraft to ever

349
00:19:51,599 --> 00:19:55,480
leave our Solar system. The effects on NASA could be permanent.

350
00:19:55,559 --> 00:19:58,160
If you completely destroy the pipeline of people, you have

351
00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,240
a significant and long lasting console sequence, says Dryer. It

352
00:20:02,319 --> 00:20:05,839
is an extinction level event. In a letter to Petro

353
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,119
this week, Zoey Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on

354
00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,599
the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, urged NASA to

355
00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,039
fight back against the cuts. Doache will seek to slash

356
00:20:16,039 --> 00:20:19,440
and burn core functions of NASA, she wrote, it is

357
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,599
imperative that you stand up for NASA's critical work. Speaking

358
00:20:23,599 --> 00:20:26,599
to new scientists, Lofgren warned that the situation could have

359
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:31,640
international ramifications. Dismantling NASA's highly skilled workforce would be a

360
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,359
giant leap backwards for the United States and enable a

361
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,440
giant leap forward for China. She said, senseless and reckless

362
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:41,640
reductions will cripple the agency's ability to maintain its leadership

363
00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,519
in cutting edge innovation, curiosity driven science, and human exploration.

364
00:20:46,519 --> 00:20:48,319
Astronomy day Lee.

365
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,039
Speaker 1: Now you may have thought Satins one hundred and forty

366
00:20:53,039 --> 00:20:57,680
six moons was impressive. Think again. The ringed planet's moon

367
00:20:57,799 --> 00:21:00,480
caunt is nearly doubled, with the official WAKINGGNIT of one

368
00:21:00,559 --> 00:21:04,119
hundred and twenty eight new Saturnian moons, bringing its total

369
00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,279
to an astonishing wait for it, two hundred and seventy

370
00:21:07,279 --> 00:21:11,519
four moons. That makes Jupiters ninety five look a bit

371
00:21:11,599 --> 00:21:15,759
poultry and our single moon downright embarrassing, just kidding. We

372
00:21:15,799 --> 00:21:19,920
love a moon. I love our moon, my favorite celestial body.

373
00:21:21,319 --> 00:21:27,559
A team of astronomers from Taiwan, Canada, the US, and

374
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:31,319
France discovered the one hundred and twenty eight new moons

375
00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:35,559
in twenty twenty three using the Canada France Hawaii Telescope

376
00:21:35,559 --> 00:21:40,319
cf HT. However, the moons weren't officially recognized by the

377
00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:46,319
International Astronomical Union, the governing body for such affairs, until Tuesday,

378
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:50,559
March eleven. Most of the moons were irregular and tiny,

379
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,519
just a few miles across by comparison our moon, the

380
00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:58,559
wonderful Earth's moon lunar has a diameter of two one

381
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,519
hundred and fifty nine miles or three thy four hundred

382
00:22:02,519 --> 00:22:05,480
and seventy five kilometers, which I'm completely used to because

383
00:22:05,559 --> 00:22:09,160
I'm an Australian and the large distances don't bother me

384
00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:13,400
a bit. But they do have proven orbits around the Saturn,

385
00:22:13,559 --> 00:22:18,000
which is a key element of official moon candidacy. Australia,

386
00:22:18,039 --> 00:22:21,119
on the other hand, does not have a proven orbit

387
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,160
around Saturn. Just want to make that clear. These moons

388
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,359
are a few kilometers in size and are likely all

389
00:22:27,519 --> 00:22:31,759
fragments of a smaller number of originally captured moons that

390
00:22:31,799 --> 00:22:36,359
were broken apart by violent collisions either with other Saturnian

391
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:42,400
moons or with parsing commets. Doctor Brett Gladman, Professor in

392
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,839
the University of British Columbia Department of Physics and Astronomy,

393
00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:51,440
said in a statement, perhaps the most impressively this discovery

394
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,440
of one hundred and twenty eight year moons wasn't the

395
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,720
first time this team added to Saturn's moon count. Between

396
00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:02,200
twenty nineteen and twenty twenty one, the team's observations with

397
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:06,759
CFHT resulted in the addition of sixty two moons to

398
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:11,000
Saturn's count. With the knowledge that these were probably moons

399
00:23:11,039 --> 00:23:14,440
and that there were likely even more waiting to be discovered,

400
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,880
we revisited the same skyfields for three consecutive months in

401
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:23,279
twenty twenty three, said lead researcher doctor Edward Ashton, postdoctoral

402
00:23:23,319 --> 00:23:28,880
fellow in the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Academia SINCA.

403
00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,359
Sure enough, we found one hundred and twenty eight new moons.

404
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,240
Saturn's first moon, Titan, was discovered in sixteen fifty five

405
00:23:37,319 --> 00:23:42,400
by Christian Hygens and in the following decades, J Dominique

406
00:23:42,519 --> 00:23:47,680
Cassini discovered Leptitus Ria, Dione tethys, and it took another

407
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,599
century for or so for the next moons to be found.

408
00:23:50,839 --> 00:23:57,880
William Herschel spotted Mimis and Enceladus in seventeen eighty nine.

409
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,720
At a big thank you everybody for spending time with

410
00:24:03,799 --> 00:24:06,279
Halle and I we sure hope you enjoyed the selection

411
00:24:06,319 --> 00:24:10,640
of stories from the Astronomy Daily newsletter, which, as mentioned earlier,

412
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,880
is available by visiting our websites and dropping your email

413
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:15,319
into the space provided.

414
00:24:15,559 --> 00:24:18,440
Speaker 2: Don't miss all the latest news about space, space science,

415
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:20,440
and astronomy from well everywhere.

416
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,279
Speaker 1: Sure thing. We cover so many interesting subjects, don't we.

417
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,160
You remember that one about the space suit design last year?

418
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,599
Speaker 2: I remember that one interesting stuff. I know you want

419
00:24:30,599 --> 00:24:32,480
one just for the portable air conditioner.

420
00:24:32,599 --> 00:24:34,279
Speaker 1: Ah yes, it's an Australian thing.

421
00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:36,680
Speaker 2: I don't know how you hope. I like my super

422
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:37,680
cooled matrix too.

423
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,119
Speaker 1: See, Halle, that's one thing we have in common, and

424
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:41,559
that's where the similarities and.

425
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,960
Speaker 2: Human ah cool. I guess indeed.

426
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:49,759
Speaker 1: So On that culturally awkward note, we'll catch you all

427
00:24:49,799 --> 00:24:52,400
again next week on Astronomy Daily. The podcast with me

428
00:24:52,799 --> 00:24:56,240
Steve don't leave, the only human on the channel, and Halle.

429
00:24:55,839 --> 00:24:57,400
Speaker 2: The best reporter on the channel.

430
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,359
Speaker 1: Of course you are say good night Halle, good night

431
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:01,279
Hallie a.

432
00:25:04,039 --> 00:25:05,680
Speaker 2: Monday the podcast

433
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:11,279
Speaker 1: And if your host Steve Dunklet, HM