Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host Anna. Today We've
got a packed episode covering India's ambitious new space projects,
SpaceX's plans to catch starship, exciting discoveries about water on
the Moon, groundbreaking observations from a new X ray telescope,
and concerns about satellite interference with radio Astronomy. Let's dive
right in first Up Today. India has recently greenlit an
ambitious slate of space projects, showcasing its commitment to becoming
a major player in space exploration. The Indian government has
allocated a substantial two point seven billion dollars for these endeavors,
which are set to push the boundaries of the nation's
space capabilities. At the forefront of these plans is the
Chandriyan four mission, a bold lunar sample return effort aimed
at collecting material from the Moon's south polar region. This
mission builds on the success of Chandrian three and demonstrates
India's growing expertise in lunar exploration. Equally exciting is India's
approval of its first venus orbiter mission, known as Shukre.
While initially planned for an earlier launch, the mission is
now targeted for twenty twenty eight. This venture will allow
India to join the select group of nations that have
sent spacecraft to our planetary neighbor. Perhaps most ambitious is
India's plan to develop its first space station module, name
the Paratia Enturich Station or BAS. This project signifies India's
aspirations for a long term human presence in space. The
first module is slated for launch by the end of
twenty twenty eight, with full operational status expected by twenty
thirty five. These projects not only highlight India's technological advancements,
but also underscore its determination to become a key player
in the global space arena. Let's delve deeper into India's
ambitious Chandrian formassion. This lunar sample return endeavor is set
to be a complex operation involving four modules launched across
two separate rocket flights. The first launch will carry a
lander and a sample collecting a sender vehicle targeting the
lunar South Pole region. The second launch will deliver a
transfer module and a re entry module to lunar orbit.
The mission's primary goal is to collect lunar samples from
Shivshakti point where the Chandreyan three spacecraft previously landed. Once collected,
the ascender will launch from the Moon's surface and transfer
its precious cargo to the re entry module. This module
will then make the crucial journey back to Earth, aiming
for a safe touchdown with the lunar samples intact. This
ambitious project not only pushes India's space capabilities, but also
sets the stage for future crude missions to the Moon.
The technologies developed and tested during Chandreyan four will be
critical for India's goal of landing astronauts on the lunar
surface by twenty forty and India's space ambitions continue to grow,
with plans now approved for the country's first space station module.
The module, named bas Ie, is set to launch by
December twenty twenty eight. This marks a significant step for
India's space program, as they aim to have a fully
operational space station by twenty thirty five. Meanwhile, India's Venus
orbiter mission, known as Shukrayan, has faced some delays. Originally
planned for an earlier launch, the mission is now targeted
for March twenty twenty eight. The orbiter will carry a
suite of scientific instruments to study Venus's atmosphere, geology and evolution.
These projects, along with the Chandrian form mission we just discussed,
demonstrate India's commitment to becoming a major player in space exploration.
With a budget of nearly one hundred and fifty million
dollars allocated for the Venus mission alone, it's clear that
India is investing heavily in its space future. Next up,
SpaceX is gearing up for another groundbreaking achievement in spaceflight
history with their upcoming Starship test flight. The company plans
to attempt something truly revolutionary, catching the massive super heavy
first stage booster using the chopstick arms of the launch
tower at their Starbase facility in Texas. This ambitious maneuver,
if successful, would take rocket reusability to the next level.
Instead of landing on a ship at sea or a
designated pad, catching the booster right on the launch mount
could dramatically reduce turnaround time between flights. SpaceX has been
practicing with these tower arms, designed to lift both stages
of Starship. Recent photos show them raising the super heavy
booster to the expected catch height. While SpaceX says they've
been ready for this next test flight since early August.
Regulatory reviews have delayed the launch. The FAA isn't expected
to complete its assessment until late November at the earliest.
When it does fly, this will be Starship's fifth test flight.
Each previous mission has shown improvement, with the last one
reaching orbital velocity before a successful splashdown of both stages.
If SpaceX can pull off this catch, it would be
a major milestone in their quest to make Starship rapidly
and fully reusable, a key to their goals of affordable
space access and eventual Mars colonization. Let's take a look
now at what's going on in China. Chinese private space
companies are making significant strides in developing reusable rocket technology.
Two firms, Deep Blue Aerospace and land Space have recently
conducted impressive high altitude hop tests within their prototype vehicles.
Land Space achieved a notable milestone in late August with
its Juqua three hopper prototype. The vehicle swored to an
altitude of ten kilometers during a two hundred second flight
that included a crucial engine reignition test. The single tian
K twelve B engine performed flawlessly, accurately landing just one
point two meters from the center of the pad. Not
to be outdone, Deep Blue Aerospace is preparing for its
own high altitude test. Their shing Yan one first stage prototype,
also known as Nebula one, is being readied for a
flight between five and ten kilometers. This follows successful lower
altitude tests with their subscale Nebula M vehicle. Both companies
are aiming to develop fully reusable orbital launchers. Land Space's
finished jew K three will stand taller than a Falcon
nine at nearly seventy seven meters, powered by nine methane
fueled engines. Deep blues shing Yuan one will feature nine
kerosene burning engines in a configuration similar to the Falcon nine.
These tests represent significant progress for China's commercial space sector
as they work towards cost effective, reusable launch capabilities to
serve the growing demand for satellite deployment. New research has
revealed that water is far more abundant on the Moon
than previously thought. A study based on data from NASA's
Moon Mineralogy Mapper has shown that water and hydroxyl molecules
are widespread across the lunar surface, not just confined to
the poles as once believed. The analysis found water hidden
in ice deposits in shaded areas and inside enriched rocks. Interestingly,
hydroxyl molecules, which are components of water, form when solar
protons interact with oxygen in the lunar regolith. These findings
suggest that future astronauts may be able to find water
resources even near the Moon's equator. Two types of lunar
rocks were identified as potential water sources. The dark Marba
salts are relatively dry, while the anorthosite rocks found in
the lunar highlands contain more water heating. These rocks could
potentially provide a long lasting water supply for lunar missions,
while polar ice deposits remain the most accessible water source.
This new understanding of lunar water distribution opens up possibilities
for more flexible mission planning. However, extracting water from rocks
would require significant energy expenditure. These discoveries are crucial for
future lunar exploration and potential bases, as they could reduce
the need to transport water from Earth. Understanding the Moon's
water resources is a key step in making long term
lunar missions sustainable. Japan's X Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission
or x RISM, has unveiled its first results, and they
are absolutely fascinating. This space telescope, operated by JACKSA with
ESA's participation, has captured stunning observations of two cosmic phenomena.
First up, x RISM studied a supermassive black hole at
the heart of galaxy NNGC four THY one hundred and
fifty one, about sixty two million light years away. The
telescope tracked superheated plasma circling the black hole at distances
as close as zero point zero zero one light years.
Precedented view is giving astronomers new insights into how these
cosmic giants feed and grow. But that's not all. XORISM
also turned its gaze to a supernova remnant called N
one hundred thirty two D in our galactic neighbor, the
large Magellanic Cloud. This cosmic bubble of plasma ejected from
a massive star about three thousand years ago, revealed some surprises.
Instead of the expected spherical shell, the remnant is more
doughnut shaped and expanding at a mind boggling two point
six million miles per hour. Even more astonishing, its temperature
clocks in at a scorching eighteen billion degrees fahrenheit. These
observations are helping scientists better understand the life cycles of
massive stars and how elements are distributed throughout the cosmos.
With over three thousand proposals submitted for future studies, it's
clear that xorism is just getting started in revolutionizing our
view of the X ray universe. While starlink satellites have
already raised concerns about their impact on visible light astronomy,
new research reveals they may pose an even greater threat
to radio astronomy. Recent observations using the Low Frequency Array
or lo FAR, have shown that SpaceX's second generation v
too many starlink satellites are emitting up to thirty two
times more radio waves than their predecessors. These unintentional radio
emissions are astonishingly bright, about ten million times brighter than
the faintest astronomical objects lo FAR can detect. This means
any radio telescope observing when a starlink satellite passes overhead
could have its data completely overwhelmed. As companies like SpaceX
and one Web plan to launch tens of thousands more satellites,
astronomers are increasingly concerned about the future of radio astronomy.
Without proper regulations and cooperation from satellite operators, our ability
to study the universe through radio waves could be severely compromised.
This underscores the urgent need for dialogue between the astronomy
community and satellite companies to find solutions that allow both
internet access and scientific research to coexist. And that brings
us to the end of today's Astronomy Daily. I hope
you've enjoyed this cosmic journey through the latest space and
astronomy news. Thanks so much for tuning in. If you're
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Keep looking up Sunday Start Starz