Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your premier source for
Speaker 1: all things space and astronomy. I'm Anna and I'm thrilled
Speaker 1: to be your guide through the Cosmos. Today, we have
Speaker 1: an absolutely packed episode for you with some truly groundbreaking
Speaker 1: developments in space exploration and astronomical research. The headlines are
Speaker 1: buzzing with SpaceX's latest achievement, the historic fram two mission
Speaker 1: that has just sent the first ever human spaceflight over
Speaker 1: Earth's poles. We'll dive into what makes this mission so
Speaker 1: special and the unique experiments the crew will be conducting
Speaker 1: as they circle our planet in a way no humans
Speaker 1: have done before. But that's just the beginning of our
Speaker 1: cosmic journey. Today, we'll also explore how SpaceX is ramping
Speaker 1: up its launch schedule to unprecedented levels, with multiple missions
Speaker 1: taking off in rapid succession this week alone. Then we'll
Speaker 1: head to Mars, where NASA's Perseverance Rover is conducting fascinating
Speaker 1: tests on space suit materials, giving us crucial data for
Speaker 1: future human exploration of the Red planet. The harsh Martian
Speaker 1: environment poses unique challenges for astronaut safety, and this research
Speaker 1: could be key to overcoming them. We'll also check in
Speaker 1: with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, who recently
Speaker 1: returned to Earth after what was supposed to be a
Speaker 1: brief mission turned into a nine months day aboard the
Speaker 1: International Space Station. And finally, we'll explore new research suggesting
Speaker 1: something truly mind bending that dark matter could actually be
Speaker 1: affecting planetary rotation, potentially making planets spin faster. This could
Speaker 1: have profound implications for how we understand our own Earth
Speaker 1: and distant exoplanets. So strap in for a journey across
Speaker 1: our Solar System and beyond as we explore the latest
Speaker 1: and most fascinating developments in space science and astronomy. Let's
Speaker 1: kick things off with today's big story. SpaceX has made
Speaker 1: history with the first ever human spaceflight to circle Earth
Speaker 1: over its poles. The private fram two mission lifted off
Speaker 1: from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March thirty
Speaker 1: first at nine forty six pm Eastern Time, carrying four
Speaker 1: space travelers into a unique polar orbit that no human
Speaker 1: has experienced before. The crew launched aboard the crew Dragon
Speaker 1: capsule Resilience, which has now completed its fourth space mission
Speaker 1: after previously supporting crew ie Inspiration four and Polaris Dawn.
Speaker 1: Falcon nine booster B one thousand eighty five powered the
Speaker 1: launch for its sixth flight before successfully landing on SpaceX's
Speaker 1: Drone ship a shortfall of gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
Speaker 1: This groundbreaking mission is commanded by Chun Wang of Malta,
Speaker 1: who is joined by an international team including vehicle commander
Speaker 1: Janecke Michelson from Norway, pilot Rabea Roga of Germany, and
Speaker 1: Australian medical officer and mission specialist Eric Phillips. All four
Speaker 1: are first time space travelers, making this journey even more remarkable.
Speaker 1: After reaching orbit, SpaceX's Bill Gerstenmeier radioed the crew, saying
Speaker 1: Dragon on behalf of the Falcon team were honored to
Speaker 1: deliver you safely to your polar orbit. Enjoy the v
Speaker 1: use of the poles, Send us some pictures, and our
Speaker 1: hearts and minds will be flying with you as you
Speaker 1: go over the poles. The mission is named after the
Speaker 1: famous Norwegian exploration ship Fram, which ventured into both Arctic
Speaker 1: and Antarctic regions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Speaker 1: Fram translates to forward or onward in Norwegian. A fitting
Speaker 1: name for this pioneering spaceflight that carries the same spirit
Speaker 1: of exploration into Earth orbit. During their three to five
Speaker 1: days in space, the crew will conduct twenty two scientific
Speaker 1: experiments that leverage their unique orbital path. These include the
Speaker 1: first ever attempt to grow mushrooms in the microgravity environment
Speaker 1: of space, and operating a machine that will capture the
Speaker 1: first X ray images of the human body while in orbit.
Speaker 1: Additional studies will investigate how spaceflight and microgravity affect the
Speaker 1: human musculoskeletal system. FRAM two represents SpaceX's seventeenth human spaceflight
Speaker 1: overall and its sixth private crude mission. What makes this
Speaker 1: launch particularly notable is that it came just seventeen days
Speaker 1: after SpaceX's previous astronaut launch Crew ten to the International
Speaker 1: Space Station, marking the shortest interval between SpaceX Creude missions
Speaker 1: to date. Upon completion of their orbital journey, the FRAM
Speaker 1: two crew will make history again with the first Pacific
Speaker 1: Ocean splash down for a SpaceX Crude mission. Previous Dragon
Speaker 1: capsules have all landed in the Atlantic off Florida's coast,
Speaker 1: but the company is shifting returns to the West coast
Speaker 1: to minimize risk to people and property during re entry.
Speaker 1: In one final research opportunity, the crew will forego the
Speaker 1: typical medical assistance normally provided to astronauts returning from space,
Speaker 1: allowing scientists to study how their bodies readapt to Earth's
Speaker 1: gravity without intervention, valuable data for future space exploration missions.
Speaker 1: Speaking of launches, let's turn our attention now to this
Speaker 1: week's schedule. It's been an exceptionally busy period for SpaceX,
Speaker 1: with this week alone featuring five planned Falcon nine launches.
Speaker 1: The company's impressive cadence kicked off with the Starlink Group
Speaker 1: six eighty mission from Cape Canaveral, which lifted off just
Speaker 1: hours before the historic FRAM two flight. This Starlink deployment
Speaker 1: carried a record twenty eight of SpaceX's upgraded V two
Speaker 1: Mini Optimized satellites to orbit, marking the first time these
Speaker 1: enhanced satellites have launched from the East Coast. The rapid
Speaker 1: fire succession of launches showcases SpaceX's growing operational capability. Just
Speaker 1: consider that the booster used for the Starlink six eighty
Speaker 1: mission was making its seventeenth flight after a turnaround of
Speaker 1: only forty one days, numbers that would have seemed impossible
Speaker 1: just a few years ago. Looking ahead through the week,
Speaker 1: SpaceX has scheduled three more Starlink missions. On April first,
Speaker 1: Falcon nine is set to launch Starlink Group eleven thirteen
Speaker 1: from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, followed by two
Speaker 1: additional deployments, Starlink Group eleven eleven on April five and
Speaker 1: Starling Group six seventy two on April sixth from opposite
Speaker 1: coasts of the United States. The timing between the Fram
Speaker 1: two Crude mission and the previous Crew ten launch to
Speaker 1: the International Space Station set a new record for SpaceX,
Speaker 1: with just two weeks and three days separating these human
Speaker 1: space flights. This compressed timeline demonstrates the maturity of SpaceX's
Speaker 1: human spaceflight program and the reliability of their Falcon nine
Speaker 1: and Dragon systems. While SpaceX dominates the launch schedule this week,
Speaker 1: they're not alone in reaching for orbit. China also has
Speaker 1: two launches planned, with their chang Jeng two D rocket
Speaker 1: scheduled to lift off on April first, followed by what
Speaker 1: might be one of the final flights of the chung
Speaker 1: Jang six rocket later in the week from the Taiyuan
Speaker 1: Satellite Launch Center. The increasing frequency of SpaceX launches has
Speaker 1: become almost routine, but it represents a fundamental shift in
Speaker 1: space access. Just a decade ago, achieving this many orbital
Speaker 1: launches across an entire year would have been considered remark
Speaker 1: maarkable for a single company. Now SpaceX is demonstrating the
Speaker 1: capability to achieve that in a single week while simultaneously
Speaker 1: conducting historic human spaceflight missions and expanding their global satellite
Speaker 1: Internet constellation. This operational tempo not only serves SpaceX's commercial interests,
Speaker 1: but also provides crucial experience for NASA's future crude missions
Speaker 1: and demonstrates the kind of launch cadence that will be
Speaker 1: necessary as humanity expands its presence beyond Earth. Let's go
Speaker 1: to Mars now for an update. This is fascinating. While
Speaker 1: the Perseverance rover's primary mission on Mars focuses on searching
Speaker 1: for signs of ancient microbial life, it's also quietly conducting
Speaker 1: crucial research that could directly impact the safety of future
Speaker 1: human explorers. For the past four years, the rover has
Speaker 1: been exposing small swatches of space suit materials to the
Speaker 1: harsh Martian environment in what amounts to the ultimate real
Speaker 1: world test. These material samples, each measuring just three quarters
Speaker 1: of an inch square, are attached to a calibration target
Speaker 1: for the rover's sherlock instrument. The selection includes pieces that
Speaker 1: would be integral to any Mars astronaut's protective gear, a
Speaker 1: polycarbonate helmet visor vectrin used in glove palms for cut resistance,
Speaker 1: two variations of teflon with dust repelling properties, and a
Speaker 1: complex material called orthofabric. The ortho fabric is particularly interesting
Speaker 1: as it combines multiple protective layers nomechs for flame resistance
Speaker 1: like firefighter gear, breathable gortex, and kevlar for tear resistance,
Speaker 1: similar to what's used in bulletproof vests. Together, these materials
Speaker 1: represent the building blocks of what future Martian explorers might wear.
Speaker 1: Mars presents an extremely hostile environment for both humans and
Speaker 1: their equipment. Unlike Earth, with its protective magnetic field that
Speaker 1: deflects much of the Sun's radiation, Mars lost its magnetic
Speaker 1: shield billions of years ago, along with most of its atmosphere.
Speaker 1: This leaves the surface exposed to intense ultraviolet radiation that
Speaker 1: can rapidly degrade materials. Add to this, the planet's freezing temperatures,
Speaker 1: find dust particles that can infiltrate mechanisms, and corrosive perchlurates,
Speaker 1: toxic salts that permeate the Martian soil, and you have
Speaker 1: an environment engineered to break down almost anything we might
Speaker 1: send there. Mark Fryes of NASA's Johnson Space Center explains
Speaker 1: the forward thinking nature of this experiment. This is one
Speaker 1: of the forward looking aspects of the Rover's mission, not
Speaker 1: just thinking about its current science, but also about what
Speaker 1: comes next. We're preparing for people to eventually go and
Speaker 1: explore Mars. The data being collected is particularly valuable because
Speaker 1: it shows how quickly different materials degrade. Remarkably, about half
Speaker 1: of all the changes observed in the samples occurred within
Speaker 1: just the first two hundred days on Mars, with vectin
Speaker 1: appearing to deteriorate most rapidly. This gives engineers crucial information
Speaker 1: about how frequently spacesuits might need replacement or repair during
Speaker 1: extended missions. Scientists are a especially concerned about maintaining flexibility
Speaker 1: and tear resistance in spacesuit materials. As Sherlock team member
Speaker 1: joby Razzl Hollis notes, Mars is a really harsh tough place.
Speaker 1: The radiation in particular is pretty nasty. When these materials degrade,
Speaker 1: they can become brittle, similar to how white plastic lawn
Speaker 1: furniture yellows and cracks after years in sunlight, but likely
Speaker 1: happening much faster on Mars. The research team is now
Speaker 1: preparing to publish their findings, while scientists at NASA Johnson
Speaker 1: are developing Earth based simulations that can replicate Martian conditions.
Speaker 1: They plan to subject identical materials to simulated Martian carbon
Speaker 1: dioxide atmospheres, air pressure, and ultraviolet light, then stress tests
Speaker 1: them to determine how much structural integrity they've lost. The
Speaker 1: fabric materials are designed to be tough but flexible, Freeze explains,
Speaker 1: we want to know the extent to which they lose
Speaker 1: their strength and flexibility over time. As fabrics weaken, they
Speaker 1: can fray and tear, allowing a space suit to leak
Speaker 1: both heat and air, a potentially fatal situation for any
Speaker 1: Mars explorer. This research represents a critical step in preparing
Speaker 1: for human exploration of the Red planet, demonstrating how current
Speaker 1: robotic missions are directly enabling future human missions by solving
Speaker 1: practical challenges before astronauts ever set foot on Martian soil. Well,
Speaker 1: we finally got to see Butch and Sunni addressing the
Speaker 1: world today in their first sit down TV interview since
Speaker 1: returning home. After nine months aboard the International Space Station
Speaker 1: two hundred and seventy eight days longer than planned, NASA
Speaker 1: astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams have finally returned to Earth.
Speaker 1: What began as a routine eight day test flight of
Speaker 1: Boeing Starliner spacecraft transformed into one of the most dramatic
Speaker 1: extended stays in space history, turning them into household names
Speaker 1: in the process. The veteran astronauts splashed down off Florida's
Speaker 1: coast two weeks ago, not in the Boeing capsule that
Speaker 1: carried them up, but in a space X Dragon that
Speaker 1: came to their rescue. Their unprecedented mission extension came after
Speaker 1: Starliner experienced multiple technical issues during its June twenty twenty
Speaker 1: three launch, including thruster failures and helium leaks that raised
Speaker 1: serious safety concerns about the capsule's return capability. In their
Speaker 1: first news conference since returning home, both astronauts displayed remarkable
Speaker 1: composure and professionalism despite their ordeal. I'll start and point
Speaker 1: the finger, and I'll blame me, Wilmore told reporters, sharing
Speaker 1: responsibility for the mission's issues. I could have asked some questions,
Speaker 1: and the answers to those questions could have turned the
Speaker 1: tide all the way up and down the chain. We
Speaker 1: all are responsible, we all own this. The saga took
Speaker 1: on additional dimensions when President Trump publicly urged SpaceX's Elon
Speaker 1: Musk to accelerate the rescue mission, adding political pressure to
Speaker 1: an already complicated situation. Meanwhile, NASA engineers and Boeing officials
Speaker 1: spent months deliberating the safest course of action before ultimately
Speaker 1: determining that Starliner was too risky to bring the astronauts home.
Speaker 1: Despite everything they experienced, both Wilmore and Williams expressed continued
Speaker 1: confidence in Boeing spacecraft. When asked if they would fly
Speaker 1: on Starliner again, Williams responded emphatically, we're all in. She
Speaker 1: added that the vehicle has a lot of capability and
Speaker 1: she wants to see it succeed. Wilmore echoed this sentiment,
Speaker 1: saying he'd return in a heartbeat because we're going to
Speaker 1: rectify all the issues that we encountered. We're going to
Speaker 1: fix them. We're going to make it work. The pair
Speaker 1: is scheduled to meet with Boeing leadership this week to
Speaker 1: provide detailed feedback on their flight experience. Wilmore emphasized that
Speaker 1: the meeting is not for pointing fingers, but rather to
Speaker 1: make the path clearer going forward. Both astronauts have been
Speaker 1: adjusting well to life back on Earth. Williams waited until
Speaker 1: she was steadier on her feet before reuniting with her
Speaker 1: two Labrador retrievers the day after splashdown, describing the moment
Speaker 1: as pure joy. Wilmore, meanwhile, has already received his first
Speaker 1: terrestrial assignment from his wife, replacing all the shrubs in
Speaker 1: their yard before summer. NASA engineers still don't fully understand
Speaker 1: what caused Starliner's thrust or malfunctions. With more testing planned
Speaker 1: through summer, the Space Agency may require another uncrude test
Speaker 1: flight before allowing astronauts aboard again, but that potential redo
Speaker 1: could happen by year's end. Despite Starliner's troubled development, NASA
Speaker 1: officials maintained that their strategy of having two competing US
Speaker 1: companies providing space station transportation remains sound However, with the
Speaker 1: International Space Stations scheduled for retirement in just five years,
Speaker 1: the window for Boeing to establish Starliner as a reliable
Speaker 1: crew transport is rapidly closing. Finally, today, a dark matter update.
Speaker 1: Dark matter remains one of the most enigmatic components of
Speaker 1: our universe, making up approximately eighty five percent of all matter.
Speaker 1: It's practically invisible, detectable only through its gravitational effects, but
Speaker 1: new research suggests we might have another way to observe
Speaker 1: its presence through its influence on planetary rotation. Scientists from
Speaker 1: the Shinjang Astronomical Observatory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Speaker 1: have published intriguing findings suggesting that dark matter could actually
Speaker 1: make planets spin faster. Their paper, aptly titled dark Matter
Speaker 1: Spins the Planet proposes that planets act as natural dark
Speaker 1: matter collectors, gradually accumulating these mysterious particles over billions of years.
Speaker 1: When dark matter particles enter a planet, they don't interact
Speaker 1: with normal matter in conventional ways. Instead, through quantum effects
Speaker 1: like tunneling, they can deposit energy into the planet's interior.
Speaker 1: This energy transfer manifests in two ways, heating the planet
Speaker 1: and accelerating its rotation. The researchers simulated this dark matter
Speaker 1: capture process in fifteen confirmed exoplanets, including notable examples like
Speaker 1: fifty five Cancree D also known as lip Hay, and
Speaker 1: Epsilon Eridani B. They also applied their model to more
Speaker 1: familiar worlds like Jupiter and our own Earth. For Earth specifically,
Speaker 1: their calculations predict some measurable effects. Dark matter heating combined
Speaker 1: with solar energy could increase Earth's surface atmospheric temperature by
Speaker 1: approximately zero point zero one five kelvin over one hundred
Speaker 1: years and zero point one five kelvin over a millennium.
Speaker 1: More dramatically, Earth's rotation period could decrease by about twelve
Speaker 1: seconds over the next century and potentially one hundred and
Speaker 1: twenty seconds over one thousand years. These might sound like
Speaker 1: small changes, but they are significant enough that we should
Speaker 1: be able to detect them with current ground based measurement methods.
Speaker 1: This provides astronomers with a potential new avenue for confirming
Speaker 1: dark matter's existence and properties. The implications extend beyond pure physics.
Speaker 1: The team suggest that dark matter interactions might play a
Speaker 1: role in planetary habitability by altar thermal conditions within planets,
Speaker 1: dark matter could affect the stability of liquid water and
Speaker 1: influence atmospheric evolution, key factors in determining whether a world
Speaker 1: can support life. Despite the theoretical nature of this work,
Speaker 1: it represents an innovative approach to the dark matter puzzle.
Speaker 1: Rather than focusing solely on microscopic particle physics or cosmic
Speaker 1: scale observations, these researchers are looking at planetary scale effects
Speaker 1: that accumulate over long time periods. Dark matter candidates range
Speaker 1: from weakly interacting massive particles WIMPs, to axians to primordial
Speaker 1: black holes. If any of these particles are indeed captured
Speaker 1: by planets, the energy released when they annihilate each other
Speaker 1: could contribute to the heating and rotational effects described in
Speaker 1: the study. As the author's note, this research could prove
Speaker 1: especially valuable as humanity continues searching for potentially habitable worlds
Speaker 1: beyond our Solar System. Understanding how dark matter influences planetary
Speaker 1: conditions might help us better assess which exoplanets could support life,
Speaker 1: adding yet another factor to consider in our quest to
Speaker 1: find a second home among the stars. That wraps up
Speaker 1: today's journey through the Cosmos. From SpaceX's groundbreaking polar mission
Speaker 1: to the intriguing effects of dark matter on planetary rotation,
Speaker 1: We've covered some truly fascinating developments in space exploration and astronomy.
Speaker 1: I'm anna your guide to the stars here at Astronomy Daily,
Speaker 1: and it's been my absolute pleasure sharing these stories with you.
Speaker 1: Space science moves at an incredible pace, and there's always
Speaker 1: something new to discover together. If you're hungry for more
Speaker 1: space news between our episodes, I've got you covered, head
Speaker 1: over to Astronomy Daily dot io, where our constantly updating
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Speaker 1: astronomy as they unfold. You'll also find our complete episode
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Speaker 1: We love hearing from fellow cosmic explorers. Until next time,
Speaker 1: keep looking up at those stars. The universe is vast
Speaker 1: and mysterious, but together we're understanding more of it every day.
Speaker 1: This is Anna signing off from Astronomy Daily, where we
Speaker 1: believe the sky is just the beginning star