WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:04.440 Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host Anna. On today's 2 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:08.160 cosmic Journey, we're exploring some truly mind bending developments in 3 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:11.240 the world of space and astronomy. The universe has thrown 4 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:15.320 scientists a major curveball, with new findings suggesting our understanding 5 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:18.800 of dark energy might be completely wrong. We'll also look 6 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:22.519 at the ongoing saga of Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft and 7 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.519 China's ambitious plans to enter the crude spaceflight arena. Plus, 8 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:30.120 we've got fascinating discoveries to share, from an exoplanet so 9 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:32.840 strangely light that scientists can't figure out what it's made of, 10 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:37.200 to dramatic evidence of a white dwarf star actually devouring 11 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:40.560 one of its planets. And we'll explore new research suggesting 12 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.719 that the beautiful feathery structures seen in spiral galaxies might 13 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:47.560 form through surprisingly simple physics. So buckle up for a 14 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:50.960 tour of the latest breakthroughs and mysteries from the cosmos 15 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.280 as we journey together through the wonders of our universe. 16 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:58.399 And this first story is a real mind bender. The 17 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:01.479 universe just might be weirder than we can thought. Astronomers 18 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:04.519 studying the largest ever map of the cosmos have uncovered 19 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.799 evidence that could dramatically shake our fundamental understanding of how 20 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:12.599 the universe works. Using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument known 21 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:16.840 as DS, scientists have analyzed nearly fifteen million galaxies and 22 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:20.879 quasers spanning an incredible eleven billion years of cosmic time, 23 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:23.519 and what they found suggests we might have gotten dark 24 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:27.480 energy completely wrong. Dark energy, that mysterious force believed to 25 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:30.920 be driving the accelerating expansion of our universe has long 26 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:34.319 been thought to be constant, but this new analysis hints 27 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.719 at something far more complex. Dark energy may actually be 28 00:01:37.799 --> 00:01:41.359 evolving over time. This isn't just a minor adjustment to 29 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:45.040 our models. It's potentially a complete rewrite of the prevailing 30 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:49.079 lambda CDM model of cosmology that scientists have relied on 31 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:53.599 for decades. The findings came from combining Dessi's observations with 32 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:58.159 other critical data, including information from star explosions, the cosmic 33 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:04.159 microwave background, and weak gravitational lensing. Together, these diverse observations 34 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:07.959 point to the same surprising conclusion. The fundamental force we 35 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.599 thought was constant throughout cosmic history appears to be changing. 36 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:16.520 David Schlegel, a DESI project scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley 37 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:20.639 National Laboratory, put it plainly. It's true that the dc 38 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:24.280 results alone are consistent with the simplest explanation for dark energy, 39 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.960 which would be an unchanging cosmological constant. But we can't 40 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.240 ignore other data that extend to both the earlier and 41 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:34.439 later universe. Combining Dessi's results with those other data is 42 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:36.840 when it gets truly weird, and it appears that this 43 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:40.759 dark energy must be dynamic, meaning that it changes with time. 44 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:46.319 This realization puts science at a remarkable crossroads. Dark energy 45 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.639 and dark matter together make up approximately ninety five percent 46 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:53.439 of our universe, yet they remain largely mysterious as they 47 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:57.199 don't interact with light and can't be detected directly. If 48 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.400 dark energy is indeed changing over time, it would force 49 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:03.639 us to completely rethink the Lambda CDM model that maps 50 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:06.759 the growth of the cosmos and predicts its ultimate fate. 51 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:11.159 As astrophysicist Katherine Hayman's from the University of Edinburgh noted, 52 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:13.919 it's kind of exciting that the universe has thrown us 53 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:17.719 a curveball here. The existing theories simply don't align with 54 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.159 what we're now observing the numbers don't add up, and 55 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:24.719 scientists are facing the thrilling and terrifying prospect of having 56 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.719 to develop new physics to explain what's happening. What makes 57 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:32.199 this finding particularly compelling is that it pushes the observation's 58 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:36.000 disagreement with the standard model to the very edge of 59 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:41.159 what physicists consider a significant discovery. With more data collection underway, 60 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.360 we may soon cross that threshold and enter a new 61 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:49.199 era of cosmological understanding. If dark energy is indeed evolving, 62 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.280 we're looking at a fundamental shift in our understanding of 63 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:56.280 the universe. This isn't just an academic concern. It has 64 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:59.439 profound implications for the ultimate fate of everything we know. 65 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.639 For decades, cosmologists have built their models on the assumption 66 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:08.000 that dark energy remains constant throughout cosmic time, exerting a 67 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:13.400 steady outward pressure that counteracts gravity's inward pull. What's particularly 68 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:17.600 striking about DS's findings is how they transform when combined 69 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:22.360 with other cosmic observations. While desi's data alone shows only 70 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:26.319 a weak tension with the standard lambda CDM model, adding 71 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:31.319 information from the cosmic microwave background, supernovas and gravitational lensing 72 00:04:31.399 --> 00:04:36.040 pushes this discrepancy to near discovery levels. The statistical significance 73 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:39.800 approaches what physicists call a five sigma result, the gold 74 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:44.079 standard for declaring a new discovery in physics. According to Schlegel, 75 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:48.680 these combined observations suggest that either dark energy is becoming 76 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:51.639 less important today or it was more important early in 77 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:56.199 the universe. Either scenario would dramatically alter our understanding of 78 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:00.759 cosmic evolution. If dark energy weakens over time, the universe's 79 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:06.720 expansion might eventually slow, potentially even reversing into a Big crunch. Conversely, 80 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:09.639 if dark energy strengthened in the past and maintains its 81 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.720 current level, we could be headed for an accelerated expansion 82 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:17.000 that tears apart galaxies, stars, and eventually atoms themselves, the 83 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:22.800 so called Big Rip scenario. This discovery challenges Einstein's cosmological constant, 84 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:27.560 represented by Lambda in the Lambda CDM model. Einstein originally 85 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:31.000 introduced this constant as a mathematical fudge factor to create 86 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:34.680 a static universe, later calling it his greatest blunder when 87 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:39.639 the expanding universe was discovered. Ironically, dark energy later revived 88 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:43.600 this concept, but now even this updated version appears insufficient. 89 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.160 Adam Reese, who won the twenty eleven Nobel Prize in 90 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:52.160 Physics for discovering dark energy's accelerating effect, considers this potentially 91 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:54.720 the biggest hint we have about the nature of dark 92 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:57.240 energy in the twenty five years since we discovered it. 93 00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:01.519 As he explains, if confirmed and it literally says, dark 94 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:04.720 energy is not what most everyone thought a static source 95 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:09.040 of energy, but perhaps something even more exotic. Fortunately, a 96 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:12.639 fleet of new experiments is joining the investigation. The EUCLID 97 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:17.800 Space Telescope, NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and desaih itself, 98 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:21.959 which will eventually measure fifty million galaxies and quasars, will 99 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:26.079 provide unprecedented data to confirm or refute these findings. These 100 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.519 observations will help determine whether we're truly witnessing the beginning 101 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:33.279 of a cosmological revolution. What makes this scientific moment so 102 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:37.680 exciting is its profound uncertainty. We stand at the threshold 103 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:42.319 of potentially rewriting our understanding of the universe's basic operating principles. 104 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:45.879 Dark energy may be losing strength as the universe ages, 105 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:48.360 or it might have played a more significant role in 106 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:52.519 the early universe than previously thought. Either way, the implications 107 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:55.439 ripple through every aspect of cosmology, from the birth of 108 00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:59.279 the first stars to the ultimate destiny of all cosmic structures. 109 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:04.680 Next up in today's news, Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft is 110 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:08.480 facing yet another setback, with NASA officials now considering whether 111 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.319 a third uncrewed test flight will be necessary before the 112 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:15.240 vehicle can carry astronauts again. This comes after what was 113 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:18.360 supposed to be an eight day test mission turned into 114 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:21.920 a nine month ordeal for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, 115 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.519 the two NASA astronauts, finally returned to Earth this week, 116 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:28.160 but not on the Boeing spacecraft that took them to 117 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:31.839 the International Space Station. Instead, they splashed down in a 118 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:36.240 SpaceX Dragon capsule, a vivid illustration of how Boeing's technical 119 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:40.120 problems have forced NASA to rely on its competitor. We're 120 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.959 looking at some options for Starliner should we need to 121 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:47.120 a flying at uncrewed, Steve Stitch, chief of NASA's Commercial 122 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:51.040 Crew Program, told reporters the space agency wants to validate 123 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:54.800 that Starliner's thrusters can perform as designed in the unforgiving 124 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:59.319 environment of space, something impossible to fully simulate in ground tests. 125 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:03.879 The issues with Starliner's first crude mission emerged shortly after launch, 126 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:07.920 when the spacecraft suffered five thruster failures and experienced concerning 127 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:11.600 leaks of helium, which is used to pressurize the propulsion system. 128 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:15.160 These problems were serious enough that NASA determined it would 129 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:17.639 be too risky for Wilmore and Williams to return on 130 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.600 the spacecraft, leaving it to fly back to Earth empty 131 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:24.199 while the astronauts remained on the station. For Boeing, this 132 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:28.319 represents not just a technical challenge, but a competitive disadvantage. 133 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:32.759 While Starliner has struggled through its development process, SpaceX's Crew 134 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:37.279 Dragon has already flown eleven astronaut missions for NASA, establishing 135 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:41.000 itself as the reliable workhourse of America's human spaceflight program. 136 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:45.600 The financial implications for Boeing are significant as well. The 137 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:48.799 aerospace giant has already absorbed more than two billion dollars 138 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:52.759 in charges related to Starliner development. Since twenty sixteen, the 139 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:55.759 sealing of Boeing's fixed price four point two billion dollars 140 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:59.279 NASA contract has grown by three hundred twenty six million 141 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:02.240 dollars since BA being awarded in twenty fourteen, with the 142 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:05.840 company having received roughly half that amount during development. This 143 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:08.960 stands in start contrast to SpaceX, which has not only 144 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:12.600 successfully delivered on its initial contract but has secured additional 145 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:16.799 missions Due to Starliner's delays. The value of SpaceX's initial 146 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:19.799 three billion dollars NASA contract has grown to nearly five 147 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:23.399 billion dollars, largely because NASA has had to book extra 148 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:28.120 dragonflights while waiting for Starliner to become operational. Boeing plans 149 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.320 a ground test this summer, focusing on propulsion system components 150 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.879 aimed at validating potential fixes, but the timeline for Starliner's 151 00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:40.440 next flight, crude or uncrewed, remains uncertain as NASA and 152 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:44.399 Boeing engineers work through the complex technical challenges that have 153 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:49.840 plagued the spacecraft's development. The technical issues plaguing Starliner represent 154 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:53.120 yet another costly setback for Boeing in what has become 155 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:57.639 an increasingly challenging development program. The aerospace giant has already 156 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:00.000 invested more than two billion dollars of its own money 157 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:03.320 into the spacecraft, trying to create a viable competitor to 158 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:08.600 SpaceX's crew Dragon. NASA officials are now carefully weighing their options, 159 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:12.080 with Steve Stitch emphasizing that a key purpose of an 160 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:16.200 additional uncrewded test would be to verify that Starliner's thrusters 161 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.120 can perform properly in the vacuum of space. This propulsion 162 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:24.240 system has proven particularly troublesome, with the thruster failures and 163 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:28.039 helium leaks during the first crude mission, highlighting problems that 164 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:33.320 couldn't be adequately identified during ground testing. Boeing's financial commitment 165 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:37.480 to Starliner keeps growing beyond initial projections. The ceiling of 166 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:40.799 their fixed price NASA contract has expanded by three hundred 167 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.759 twenty six million dollars since being awarded a decade ago, 168 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:48.600 reaching four point two billion dollars total, Yet the company 169 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.159 has only received about half that amount so far during 170 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:56.799 the development phase, with certification for routine flights still elusive. Meanwhile, 171 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.480 Boeing isn't just looking at Starliner as a NASA taxi service. 172 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:04.559 The company has broader commercial aspirations to use the spacecraft 173 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:08.120 for transporting customers to and from privately built space stations 174 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:12.000 currently in early development. This represents the kind of non 175 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:15.919 government revenue stream that SpaceX has already started capturing with 176 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:20.440 its fully private Dragon missions, but Starliner's uncertain future complicates 177 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.519 these commercial ambitions. A NASA Safety advisory panel noted in 178 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:28.759 January that while significant progress was being made in postflight 179 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:34.559 technical investigations, the propulsion system issues remain unresolved. Until Boeing 180 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:39.039 can definitively fix these problems, Starliner's path to certification and 181 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:43.840 commercial viability remains blocked. The contrast with SpaceX grows starker 182 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:47.120 with each passing year. While Starliner has yet to complete 183 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:50.600 a fully successful crude mission crew, Dragon has become the 184 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:55.360 workhourse of America's human spaceflight program, with eleven successful astronaut 185 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:00.120 missions already completed. This operational track record gives SpaceX a 186 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:05.200 tremendous advantage in both government and private markets. For Boeing, 187 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.480 the stakes go beyond just this spacecraft program. The company's 188 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.679 reputation as a premier aerospace manufacturer has already faced challenges 189 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:17.519 with its commercial airline issues. Starliner was meant to showcase 190 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:21.559 Boeing's capabilities in the growing commercial space sector, but instead 191 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:24.960 the ongoing difficulties have highlighted the company's struggles to deliver 192 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:30.080 complex space systems on budget and on schedule. Meanwhile, China's 193 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.799 space industry seems to be going from strength to strength. 194 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:35.519 In a bold move that signals a new era for 195 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.279 China's space ambitions, a commercial space company called Beijing z 196 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:43.600 Way Yutong Technology, better known as AZ Space, has announced 197 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:47.159 plans to conduct orbital crude flight tests by twenty twenty 198 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:51.480 seven or twenty twenty eight. This represents a significant milestone 199 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:55.159 for China's commercial space sector, which until now has seen 200 00:12:55.240 --> 00:13:00.080 human spaceflight as the exclusive domain of government agencies. K 201 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.600 Shiao Min, chairman of AIDS Space, made the announcement to 202 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:06.799 Chinese media last week, setting a timeline that would make 203 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:10.519 his company the first private Chinese entity to send humans 204 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:15.000 to orbit. While China's government run human spaceflight program has 205 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:20.200 successfully operated the Tiangong space station using Shenzho spacecraft launched 206 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:23.000 on Long March rockets, this would mark the first time 207 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:26.440 a commercial company attempts such a mission. Founded just five 208 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:30.120 years ago in twenty nineteen, AZ Space has focused its 209 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:35.120 business on spacecraft manufacturing and space tourism. The relatively young 210 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:39.039 company has secured backing from several venture capital firms, though 211 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:44.039 specific funding details for their ambitious human spaceflight program weren't disclosed. 212 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:47.320 This leaves questions about how the company will finance such 213 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:51.960 a technically challenging and expensive endeavor. The path to crewed 214 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:56.159 spaceflight involves several intermediate steps, which, as space has already begun. 215 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.159 The company has more immediate plans for twenty twenty five, 216 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:02.360 including life launches of their self developed B three hundred 217 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:06.480 spacecraft and the more advanced Deer five spacecraft. These missions 218 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.720 are scheduled for July and September this year, respectively, with 219 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:14.559 Jang explaining that these spacecraft will conduct critical on orbit, docking, verification, 220 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:18.720 and re entry tests. This follows Azy Space's December twenty 221 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:21.480 twenty three launch of their Deer one spacecraft aboard an 222 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:25.080 I Space Hyperbola one rocket. The company is also developing 223 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:27.879 the larger C two thousand spacecraft with a two thousand 224 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:31.120 kilograms payload capacity, which they see as a stepping stone 225 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:35.320 toward their ultimate goal of human rated spacecraft. While the 226 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:41.279 timeline appears highly ambitious by global spaceflight standards, the announcement 227 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:44.879 comes in the context of strong governmental support for China's 228 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:49.399 commercial space sector. The central government has designated commercial space 229 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:53.000 as a key emerging industry to be supported and promoted, 230 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:56.919 with local and provincial governments actively working to attract space 231 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:01.519 companies and foster innovation ecosystems. What remains unclear is whether 232 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.720 azy space will have access to state owned technology for 233 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:09.399 their reusable and crude spacecraft plans, or if they'll need 234 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:14.240 to develop these critical systems independently. Either way, this announcement 235 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:18.159 signals that China's commercial space race is accelerating to new heights. 236 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:22.200 China's approach to commercial space has evolved dramatically over the 237 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:25.480 past decade. When the government first began opening the sector 238 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:29.000 to private capital in late twenty fourteen, the initial focus 239 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:33.679 was quite narrow, primarily small launch vehicles and satellites. This 240 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.799 marked a significant shift from the exclusively state run space 241 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:40.720 program that had defined China's approach for decades. In the 242 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:43.840 years that followed, we've seen a remarkable expansion in both 243 00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:47.639 the scope and ambition of China's commercial space ventures. What 244 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:51.240 began with modest rockets and small satellites has progressively grown 245 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:55.960 to encompass ever larger liquid propellant launchers with potential reusability, 246 00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:01.399 diverse space systems and applications, remote sensing and communecations, constellations, 247 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:05.720 and more recently, low cost, reusable cargo spacecraft designed to 248 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:09.759 service the Tiangong Space Station. The emergence of two planned 249 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:13.720 low Earth orbit mega constellations has provided a crucial market 250 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:17.600 opportunity for these commercial launch companies to establish themselves and 251 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.559 build sustainable business models. Much like we've seen with SpaceX 252 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:25.120 in the United States, these large satellite deployments create the 253 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:29.200 consistent launch demand needed to justify investment in rocket development. 254 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:34.000 With AZS Space now setting its sites on crude orbital spaceflight, 255 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:36.679 we're witnessing what appears to be the beginning of a 256 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:41.039 new phase in China's commercial space evolution. This represents a 257 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:45.240 fundamental shift where private firms may soon undertake human spaceflight 258 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:49.320 activities that have traditionally been the exclusive domain of China's 259 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:53.679 state run human spaceflight agency. This transformation is occurring with 260 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:58.840 explicit government encouragement. China's central government has formally designated commercial 261 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:03.120 space as a key emerging industry deserving of support and promotion. 262 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:07.400 This top down endorsement cascades through various levels of government, 263 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.839 with local and provincial authorities actively competing to attract commercial 264 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:16.400 space companies to their regions through incentives and infrastructure development. 265 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:21.680 The strategy appears designed to foster innovation ecosystems around space 266 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:26.759 technology while maintaining strategic oversight of the sector's development. It 267 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:30.400 creates a hybrid model where private capital and entrepreneurial energy 268 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:35.200 can accelerate technological progress and commercial applications, while the government 269 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:39.759 maintains involvement in critical aspects of space development. As this 270 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:43.799 landscape continues to evolve, the boundaries between commercial and state 271 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:48.559 space activities in China may become increasingly fluid, potentially creating 272 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:51.519 new models for how public and private sectors collaborate in 273 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:57.279 space exploration and utilization. In a fascinating discovery that highlights 274 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:00.799 the diversity of worlds beyond our Solar system, astronomers have 275 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:05.359 recently identified two exoplanets orbiting a star called TOI one thousand, 276 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:09.319 four hundred fifty three, located approximately two hundred and fifty 277 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:13.519 light years away in the Draco constellation. These newly found 278 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:17.160 worlds represent planetary types that are actually quite common throughout 279 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.839 our galaxy, but completely absent from our own Solar System. 280 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:26.279 The discovery team used NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or 281 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:30.240 tests along with the HARPS in high resolution spectrograph to 282 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:35.480 confirm these distant worlds. What makes this finding particularly exciting 283 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.920 is the nature of the planets themselves. One is classified 284 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.759 as a super earth, while the other is what astronomers 285 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:46.680 call a sub neptune. While both planets are intriguing, it's 286 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:50.799 the sub neptune, designated TOI one thousand, four hundred fifty 287 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:54.720 three C that has astronomers truly puzzled. This world is 288 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.920 approximately two point two times the size of Earth, which 289 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:02.039 isn't unusual for its type. However, what's extraordinary is its mass, 290 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.839 measuring just two point nine times that of Earth. This 291 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:09.200 creates an extremely low density that has left scientists scratching 292 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:11.839 their heads about what this planet could possibly be made of. 293 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:16.400 To put this in perspective, this makes TOI one thousand, 294 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:19.480 four hundred and fifty three C one of the least 295 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:23.920 dense sub neptunes ever discovered. The planet's lightweight nature suggests 296 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:28.119 one of two fascinating possibilities. Either it has an unusually thick, 297 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:32.680 hydrogen rich atmosphere extending far above its surface, or perhaps 298 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:36.440 its composition is dominated by water rather than rock. The 299 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:40.440 combination of precise size and mass measurements allowed researchers to 300 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:43.880 calculate the planet's density with confidence, which is what revealed 301 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:50.039 this peculiar characteristic. As astrophysicist Manu Staalport, who worked on 302 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:54.279 the study, explained, the two planets present an interesting contrast 303 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:59.119 in their characteristics. While two OI one thousand, four hundred 304 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:02.200 fifty three B appears to be a fairly typical rocky 305 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:05.839 super Earth orbiting close to its star with a four 306 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:09.480 point three day cycle, two I one thousand, four hundred 307 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:15.200 fifty three C defies easy categorization. This puzzling world raises 308 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:19.720 fundamental questions about planetary formation and evolution. How could a 309 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:23.039 planet grow to such a size while maintaining such low density, 310 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:27.640 what processes shaped its development, and what might its surface 311 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:31.480 or atmosphere be like. These mysteries make TOI one thousand, 312 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:35.079 four hundred fifty three C an exceptionally promising target for 313 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:38.839 future atmospheric studies. The research team employed a two pronged 314 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:43.279 approach to characterize these distant worlds. The transit method, using 315 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:46.759 test data, revealed each planet's size and orbital period by 316 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:49.359 measuring the slight dimming of starlight as they passed in 317 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:53.680 front of their host star. Meanwhile, the radial velocity measurements 318 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:57.839 from Harpsend detected the subtle gravitational wobble each planet induces 319 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:02.319 on the star, allowing scientists to determine their masses. What's 320 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:05.720 particularly fascinating about the system is that the two planets 321 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:08.680 orbit in a configuration close to what astronomers call a 322 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:12.880 three to two resonance. This means that for every three 323 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:16.319 complete orbits of the inner planet, the outer planet completes 324 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:21.279 almost exactly two. Such orbital resonances aren't random. They're considered 325 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:25.200 a natural consequence of orbital migration, providing important clues about 326 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:28.920 how these planets moved and eventually settled into their current positions. 327 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:32.720 Two I one thousand, four hundred and fifty three ce's 328 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:37.680 extraordinarily low density presents an exciting scientific puzzle. For a 329 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.319 planet its size to be so light weight, it must 330 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.240 have a fundamentally different composition than the rocky worlds we're 331 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:48.119 familiar with. The evidence points to either a substantial hydrogen 332 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:53.079 rich atmosphere that significantly increases the planet's diameter without adding 333 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:56.960 much mass, or perhaps an interior largely composed of water 334 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.960 rather than denser materials like rock and metal. And this 335 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:04.440 makes TYI one thousand, four hundred fifty three C an 336 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:08.920 ideal candidate for future atmospheric studies Using next generation instruments 337 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:14.240 like the James Web Space Telescope. JWST's advanced capabilities could 338 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:19.160 potentially analyze the planet's atmosphere, determining whether it's primarily hydrogen 339 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:23.160 or water dominated, which would revolutionize our understanding of this 340 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:28.319 enigmatic world. The orbital resonance also suggests these planets have 341 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:32.039 remained dynamically stable for a long time, providing a window 342 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:36.640 into the system's formation history. Such configurations typically develop when 343 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:41.400 planets migrate inward through their star's protoplanetary disc, gradually locking 344 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:45.599 into these synchronized orbits. If TOI one thousand, four hundred 345 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.839 and fifty three C does indeed have a substantial water component, 346 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:53.720 it would represent a fascinating planetary category, neither truly rocky 347 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.000 like Earth nor gaseous like Neptune, but something in between 348 00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:59.880 that we don't see in our Solar System understanding. So 349 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:04.200 worlds could fundamentally reshape theories about how planets form and 350 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.319 what kinds of habitable environments might exist throughout the galaxy. 351 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:12.359 And in another exciting discovery, scientists may have finally solved 352 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:15.559 a decade's old cosmic mystery that has puzzled astronomer since 353 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:19.440 nineteen eighty. Strange X ray emissions detected from the center 354 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:22.000 of the Helix nebula might actually be evidence of a 355 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:25.119 planet being violently ripped apart and devoured by the dying 356 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:28.640 star at its core. The helix nebula represents the final 357 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:31.400 stage of a dying star that has shed its outer layers, 358 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:35.039 leaving behind a small, dense remnant called a white dwarf. 359 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:39.039 What makes this particular white dwarf, designated WD twenty two 360 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:43.119 twenty six, two hundred and ten unusual is that it 361 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:46.480 shouldn't be producing the powerful X rays that telescopes have 362 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:50.839 consistently detected for over forty years. Thanks to observations from 363 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:55.640 NASA's Chandra X ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM, Newton, 364 00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:00.480 researchers believe they finally cracked this cosmic case. The data 365 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.799 reveals a Neptune sized planet orbiting perilously close to the 366 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:08.839 white dwarf, completing a revolution in less than three days. 367 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.400 Even more intriguing evidence suggests there may have been a 368 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:17.640 Jupiter like planet orbiting even closer that met a catastrophic fate. 369 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:22.279 Lead author Sandino Estrata Dorado from the National Autonomous University 370 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:25.640 of Mexico explains, we think this X ray signal could 371 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:28.799 be from planetary debris pulled onto the White dwarf as 372 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:31.000 the death knell from a planet that was destroyed by 373 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.440 the White Dwarf in the Helix nebula, we might have 374 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:35.880 finally found the cause of a mystery that's lasted over 375 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:39.759 forty years. The doomed planet likely began its life at 376 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:42.480 a safe distance from its star, but as the star 377 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:46.400 aged and transformed into a white dwarf, the planet's orbit 378 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:49.960 may have been disturbed by gravitational interactions with other planets 379 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:53.680 in the system. This migration brought it fatally close to 380 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:57.680 the White Dwarf, where intense gravitational forces began to tear 381 00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:01.480 it apart. What astronomers our witnessing now appears to be 382 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:05.240 the aftermath of this cosmic destruction. As debris from the 383 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:08.920 shattered planet falls onto the white dwarf surface, it becomes 384 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:13.160 superheated to millions of degrees, producing the telltale X ray 385 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:17.880 signature that astronomers have been detecting for decades. If confirmed 386 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:20.839 This would represent the first documented case of a planet 387 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:24.119 being destroyed by the central star in a planetary nebula. 388 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:28.319 The observation offers a sobering glimpse into the potential fate 389 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:31.880 that awaits planet's orbiting aging stars, perhaps even our own 390 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:36.240 Solar System in the distant future. This discovery provides crucial 391 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:39.519 insights into the fate of planetary systems as their stars 392 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:42.720 reach the end of their lives. What we're witnessing at 393 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:45.319 the Helix nebula may be a preview of what awaits 394 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:49.359 countless other star systems, including possibly our own Solar System, 395 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:53.400 billions of years in the future. The research team analyzed 396 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.920 X ray data collected over multiple observations spanning a decade 397 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:01.279 and found something remarkable. The signal has remained relatively consistent 398 00:26:01.319 --> 00:26:05.440 in brightness since the early nineteen nineties. This stability suggests 399 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:08.839 we're observing an ongoing process rather than a one time 400 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:14.119 catastrophic event. But within this consistent signal, astronomers detected subtle 401 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:18.599