<description>&lt;iframe src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-10-a-trip-into-the-deep-past/id1566208506?i=1000527185268&amp;amp;itsct=podcast_box_player&amp;amp;itscg=30200&amp;amp;ls=1&amp;amp;theme=auto" height="175px" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-top-left-radius: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; background-color: transparent;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Space news&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color"&gt;Hubble still down: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;NASA is trying to fix the HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE after a memory module failure forced the agency to shut down the iconic orbiting observatory. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The problem is with the payload computer, which halted o June 13, stopping hte spacecraft from collecting science data. The telescope andother instruments are all working as expected, but they rely on the payload computer to operate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Over the next week, the team will continue to assess hardware to identify if something else may be causing the problem. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-dots"/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Thousand sign up to fly to space:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking for six astronauts to join its core, as well and 20 reservists from academia.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;They will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) and one day on to the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://ptp-uk-cc.anlremote.com/sciencetech/nasa/index.html"&gt;NASA&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;Lunar Gateway that will be in orbit around the Moon.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A total of 22,589 people have applied, and submitted a valid medical certificate, in the hope of going into the next round. The six will be confirmed late in 2022.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-dots"/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color"&gt;Are they watching us?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; There could be as many as 29 potentially habitable worlds &amp;#8216;perfectly positioned' to observe the Earth if they hold an intelligence civilisation, according to a new study.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Exploring ways in which we find exoplanets, that is worlds outside the solar system, the team from Cornell University reversed the process to see which could spot us.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While exoplanets haven't been detected around all of the stars that can observe the Earth, the team estimate 29 will have a rocky world in the habitable zone that are well positioned to also detect radio waves emitted by humans over 100 years ago.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-dots"/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color"&gt;A Virgin licence: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; Space tourism firm&amp;nbsp;Virgin Galactic has been given the go ahead by the FAA to take paying customers to the edge of space, in a first for the aviation industry.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The firm said there were still three test flights to go before it takes the first commercial astronauts next year, but this is an important step in that journey.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The new licence from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) gives the firm the right to send paying customers into space, and not just as part of a test flight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide"/&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Upcoming launches&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;This week: SpaceX Falcon 9 • Transporter 2&lt;strong&gt; from &lt;/strong&gt;Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 2 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with numerous small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-dots"/&gt;&lt;p&gt;June 29: Soyuz • Progress 78P &lt;strong&gt;from&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 78th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. Delayed from March 19.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-dots"/&gt;&lt;p&gt;July 1: Soyuz • OneWeb 8&lt;strong&gt; from&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia. A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 36 satellites into orbit for OneWeb, which is developing a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit for low-latency broadband communications. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket will use a Fregat upper stage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-dots"/&gt;&lt;p&gt;July: Falcon 9 • Starlink&lt;strong&gt; from &lt;/strong&gt;Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch on the first dedicated mission with Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This mission will deploy an unspecified number of Starlink satellites into a high-inclination orbit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide"/&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Exoplanet of the week: TYC 8998-760-1 c&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;This hot, very large planet is the second to be directly imaged – that is, pixels of light captured by telescope from the planet itself – as it orbits a Sun-like star some 300 light-years away. An international team of scientists published its discovery of the star's first directly imaged companion in February 2020.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Key facts:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;These two planets – TYC 8998-760-1 b and now, c – are considered the first multi-planet system to be directly imaged around a Sun-like star. The star is a baby version of our Sun, only 17 million years old. The extreme youth of this system is a big part of why astronomers were able to capture direct images: The planets are so hot from their recent formation that they still glow brightly enough to be seen from our vantage point, even though they're hundreds of light-years away.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-image size-large"&gt;&lt;img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1653_eso2011a-2-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-717" srcset="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1653_eso2011a-2-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1653_eso2011a-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1653_eso2011a-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1653_eso2011a-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1653_eso2011a-2.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;This image, captured by the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows the star TYC 8998-760-1 accompanied by two giant exoplanets. This is the first time astronomers have directly observed more than one planet orbiting a star similar to the Sun.  The image was captured by blocking the light from the young, Sun-like star (on the top left corner) using a coronagraph, which allows for the fainter planets to be detected. The bright and dark rings we see on the star’s image are optical artefacts. The two planets are visible as two bright dots in the centre and bottom right of the frame.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Details:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Planets b and c are much farther away from their star than, say, Jupiter and Saturn are from the Sun. Planet b is 160 times the Earth-Sun distance, planet c is about 320 times. Just for comparison, Jupiter is 5 times the Earth-Sun distance, Saturn 10 times.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And these planets are bruisers. The inner planet, b, is about 14 times the mass, or heft, of Jupiter, c about 6 times. Planet b, in fact, might even be a brown dwarf, a kind of failed star considered neither a star nor a planet, but somewhere in between.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fun facts:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Thousands of planets around other stars – exoplanets – have been confirmed so far in our galaxy, which likely holds trillions. But the vast majority are found through indirect means – measuring&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/ways-to-find-a-planet/#/1"&gt;wobbles in the star's motion&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;caused by the gravity of orbiting planets, or the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/ways-to-find-a-planet/#/2"&gt;tiny dip in starlight&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;as a planet crosses its star's face. Only a few dozen of the exoplanets found so far have been&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/ways-to-find-a-planet/#/3"&gt;directly imaged&lt;/a&gt;. And direct images of multi-planet systems are rarer still: only two others so far, both with stars very different from our Sun. The new system, with its Sun-like star, might have some characteristics in common with the very early history of our own solar system. It offers an exciting opportunity for scientists to learn more about the formation of such systems, including our own.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The discoverers:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Both planets in this system were discovered by an international team of scientists led by Alexander J. Bohn of Leiden University in the Netherlands. They used the SPHERE instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory in Chile to observe the star and its planets in February 2020. The planet was entered into&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/exonews_archive.html#23July20"&gt;NASA's Exoplanet Archive&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;on July 23.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;More details on this planet and its companion from &lt;a href="https://science.nasa.gov/tyc-8998-760-1-multiple-planets-around-sun-star"&gt;NASA&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide"/&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Cosmic Dawn was just 250 million years after the Big Bang&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cosmic dawn, that is the moment the first stars in the universe started emitting light, happened between 250 and 350 million years after the Big Bang, a study revealed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Studying Hubble telescope images from galaxies 550 million years after the Big Bang, allowed UCL and the University of Cambridge experts to calculate the age of the oldest stars in those galaxies, and in turn estimate the time of cosmic dawn.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The team say that the James Webb space telescope, scheduled for launch in November, will be sensitive enough to observe the first light from these stars.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;They will find the first moment of galactic light by searching back for the dark ages of the universe, then looking for tell-tale dots of light from hydrogen-rich stars.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The stars will be significantly larger, burn much brighter and burn out much more quickly than modern stars, creating a kind of &amp;#8216;cosmic firework show,' the team said.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide"/&gt;&lt;h2&gt;One strange supernova&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Scientists have confirmed a new type of stellar explosion that can explain why a 1,000 year old supernova was so bright our ancestors could see it for 23 days.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Described as an &amp;#8216;electron capture supernova,' this is a destructive event first theorised 40 years ago, but only now confirmed from observations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Electron capture supernova are thought to arise from the explosions of massive super-asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) stars, for which there is little evidence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Scientists at Las Cumbres Observatory, a network of telescopes run from&amp;nbsp;Goleta, California, scoured space for the telltale signs of this explosion and their output.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Doing so also solved a mystery dating back to 1054 CE, when a bright light was seen in the daytime for 23 days all around the world, it is though this became the beautiful crab nebula, which has a 5.5 light year radius and is about 1,000 years old.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These &amp;#8216;new' types of supernova sit between those created when a white dwarf pulls in matter from another star, and the supergiant explosions that create black holes.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide"/&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Percy took a selfie&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Space Agency NASA has taken a selfie with the Perseverance rover &amp;#8211; a right of passage for all rovers, and one the Chinese Mars rover has also undertaken.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Selfies allow engineers to check wear and tear on the rover. But they also inspire a new generation of space enthusiasts: Many rover team members can cite a favorite image that sparked their interest in NASA.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“I got into this because I saw a picture from Sojourner, NASA’s first Mars rover,” said Vandi Verma, Perseverance’s chief engineer for robotic operations at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Verma worked as a driver for the agency’s Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, and she helped to create&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/4845/high-resolution-self-portrait-by-curiosity-rover-arm-camera/?site=msl"&gt;Curiosity’s first selfie&lt;/a&gt;, snapped on Oct. 31, 2012. “When we took that first selfie, we didn’t realize these would become so iconic and routine,” she said&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Video from one of Perseverance’s navigation cameras shows the rover’s robotic arm twisting and maneuvering to take the 62 images that compose the image. What it doesn’t capture is how much work went into making this first selfie happen. Here’s a closer look.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;div class="epyt-video-wrapper"&gt;&lt;div  id="_ytid_52793"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aKNjQhIAUp0?enablejsapi=1&amp;#038;list=PLTiv_XWHnOZqCrMU2ppcLjRn1zlDkNx3q&amp;#038;autoplay=0&amp;#038;cc_load_policy=0&amp;#038;cc_lang_pref=&amp;#038;iv_load_policy=1&amp;#038;loop=0&amp;#038;modestbranding=1&amp;#038;rel=1&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;playsinline=0&amp;#038;autohide=2&amp;#038;theme=dark&amp;#038;color=red&amp;#038;controls=1&amp;#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" &gt;&lt;img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aKNjQhIAUp0/maxresdefault.jpg"  /&gt;&lt;button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"&gt;&lt;svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"&gt;&lt;path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/button&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The post &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/podcast/episode-10-a-trip-into-the-deep-past/"&gt;Episode 10: A Trip into the Deep Past&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk"&gt;Ryan Morrison&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Strange supernova, directly imaging an exoplanet and Percy takes a selfie.

Episode 10: A Trip into the Deep Past

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week on the show we look at the European Space Agency's planned trip to Venus, new competition for SpaceX in the launch market and what is a solar eclipse?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also launch a new feature &amp;#8211; exoplanet of the week &amp;#8211; where I trawl through NASAs vast exoplanet archive, pick one that looks interesting and go on a virtual vacation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Envision is the name of the new ESA mission to Earth's &amp;#8216;&lt;a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_selects_revolutionary_Venus_mission_EnVision"&gt;evil twin&lt;/a&gt;,' as the agency puts it. The probe will study the atmosphere nature and explore down to the core of the inhospitable world.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It will launch in the early 2030s and include NASA instruments, making it compatible with the DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions being sent to the world by the US agency.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-image size-large"&gt;&lt;img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-684" srcset="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-300x169.jpg 300w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-768x432.jpg 768w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sticking with the European Space Agency, ESA has announced its science themes as part of its &lt;a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Voyage_2050_sets_sail_ESA_chooses_future_science_mission_themes"&gt;Voyage 2050&lt;/a&gt; planning, outlining projects and missions that will happen from the 2030s onward.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8216;The selection of the Voyage 2050 themes is a pivotal moment for ESA’s science programme, and for the future generation of space scientists and engineers,' says Günther Hasinger, ESA Director of Science.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Themes include habitability of the moons of the outer planets in the solar system, a search for temperate exoplanets and the less accessible regions of the Milky Way galaxy and probes of the early Universe.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-video"&gt;&lt;video controls src="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2106_018_AR_EN.mp4"&gt;&lt;/video&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;SpaceX has more competition, this time in the form of the &lt;a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2021/relativity-space-announces-650-million-funding-build-bigger-3d-printed-rocket/"&gt;Relativity Space&lt;/a&gt;, 3D printed and fully reusable Terran R rocket, that will take on the Falcon 9.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It is a few years away from launch but a new $650 million funding round could bring that closer to reality sooner than previously expected, making them the latest, after Rocket Labs, to enter this heavier lift market.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Speaking of rocket firms, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, announced he'd be heading to space on the &lt;a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/jeff-bezos-first-human-flight"&gt;New Shepherd&lt;/a&gt; rocket on July 22. This flight will go up to about 100km, have 10 minutes weightless and return.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This could make Bezos the first of the three billionaire space firm founders to make it up into space on their own launch vehicle &amp;#8211; beating out Sir Richard Branson, who is due to go up on VSS Unity later this year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0MSOqnYEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:640px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"&gt;&lt;div style="padding:16px;"&gt; &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0MSOqnYEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"&gt; &lt;div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"&gt; &lt;div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"&gt; &lt;div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="padding: 19% 0;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"&gt;&lt;svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"&gt;&lt;g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"&gt;&lt;g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"&gt;&lt;g&gt;&lt;path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/g&gt;&lt;/g&gt;&lt;/g&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="padding-top: 8px;"&gt; &lt;div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"&gt; View this post on Instagram&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-left: 8px;"&gt; &lt;div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-left: auto;"&gt; &lt;div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"&gt; &lt;div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0MSOqnYEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank"&gt;A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;However, Branson confirmed that he was looking to go up on an earlier test flight &amp;#8211; possibly the very next trip &amp;#8211; potentially allowing him to beat Bezos into space by a few days or weeks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This week also saw a partial solar eclipse across the UK and US, as well as a full &amp;#8216;ring of fire' eclipse in Canada, Greenland and Russia &amp;#8211; but what is an eclipse and when is the next one?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I explore these questions and more, as I take a slightly more detailed look at our star and the unique relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;div class="epyt-video-wrapper"&gt;&lt;div  id="_ytid_62758"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8v4SRfmoTuU?enablejsapi=1&amp;#038;autoplay=0&amp;#038;cc_load_policy=0&amp;#038;cc_lang_pref=&amp;#038;iv_load_policy=1&amp;#038;loop=0&amp;#038;modestbranding=1&amp;#038;rel=1&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;playsinline=0&amp;#038;autohide=2&amp;#038;theme=dark&amp;#038;color=red&amp;#038;controls=1&amp;#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" &gt;&lt;img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8v4SRfmoTuU/maxresdefault.jpg"  /&gt;&lt;button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"&gt;&lt;svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"&gt;&lt;path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/button&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Finally, &lt;a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-perseverance-rover-begins-its-first-science-campaign-on-mars"&gt;Perseverance&lt;/a&gt; is heading south on Mars to explore the ancient lakebed of Jezero Crater in a bid to find traces of ancient microbial life. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This marks the end of system testing, and the start of the true purpose for the rover on the Red Planet. Driving to a low-lying scenic overlook to survey some of the oldest geologic features within the crater.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Exoplanet of the week:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-452b"&gt;Kepler-452b &lt;/a&gt;(Earth's Cousin)&lt;br&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Classic SciFi read:&lt;/strong&gt; HG Well's A Modern Utopia &amp;#8211; Chapter 5&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The post &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/podcast/episode-8-a-trip-beyond-the-edge/"&gt;Episode 8: A Trip Beyond the Edge&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk"&gt;Ryan Morrison&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

ESA is going to Venus in the 2030s, Relativity Space is entering the larger launch market, Jeff Bezos is going to space and we look at an exoplanet.

<p>This week on the show we look at the European Space Agency's planned trip to Venus, new competition for SpaceX in the launch market and what is a solar eclipse?</p><p>We also launch a new feature &#8211; exoplanet of the week &#8211; where I trawl through NASAs vast exoplanet archive, pick one that looks interesting and go on a virtual vacation.</p><p>Envision is the name of the new ESA mission to Earth's &#8216;<a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_selects_revolutionary_Venus_mission_EnVision">evil twin</a>,' as the agency puts it. The probe will study the atmosphere nature and explore down to the core of the inhospitable world.</p><p>It will launch in the early 2030s and include NASA instruments, making it compatible with the DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions being sent to the world by the US agency.</p><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-684" srcset="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-300x169.jpg 300w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-768x432.jpg 768w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Voyage_2050_themes.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure><p>Sticking with the European Space Agency, ESA has announced its science themes as part of its <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Voyage_2050_sets_sail_ESA_chooses_future_science_mission_themes">Voyage 2050</a> planning, outlining projects and missions that will happen from the 2030s onward.</p><p>&#8216;The selection of the Voyage 2050 themes is a pivotal moment for ESA’s science programme, and for the future generation of space scientists and engineers,' says Günther Hasinger, ESA Director of Science.</p><p>Themes include habitability of the moons of the outer planets in the solar system, a search for temperate exoplanets and the less accessible regions of the Milky Way galaxy and probes of the early Universe.</p><figure class="wp-block-video"><video controls src="https://ryanmorrison.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2106_018_AR_EN.mp4"></video></figure><p>SpaceX has more competition, this time in the form of the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2021/relativity-space-announces-650-million-funding-build-bigger-3d-printed-rocket/">Relativity Space</a>, 3D printed and fully reusable Terran R rocket, that will take on the Falcon 9.</p><p>It is a few years away from launch but a new $650 million funding round could bring that closer to reality sooner than previously expected, making them the latest, after Rocket Labs, to enter this heavier lift market.</p><p>Speaking of rocket firms, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, announced he'd be heading to space on the <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/jeff-bezos-first-human-flight">New Shepherd</a> rocket on July 22. This flight will go up to about 100km, have 10 minutes weightless and return.</p><p>This could make Bezos the first of the three billionaire space firm founders to make it up into space on their own launch vehicle &#8211; beating out Sir Richard Branson, who is due to go up on VSS Unity later this year.</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0MSOqnYEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:640px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0MSOqnYEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0MSOqnYEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos)</a></p></div></blockquote></div></figure><p>However, Branson confirmed that he was looking to go up on an earlier test flight &#8211; possibly the very next trip &#8211; potentially allowing him to beat Bezos into space by a few days or weeks.</p><p>This week also saw a partial solar eclipse across the UK and US, as well as a full &#8216;ring of fire' eclipse in Canada, Greenland and Russia &#8211; but what is an eclipse and when is the next one?</p><p>I explore these questions and more, as I take a slightly more detailed look at our star and the unique relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun.</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><div class="epyt-video-wrapper"><div  id="_ytid_62758"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8v4SRfmoTuU?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" ><img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8v4SRfmoTuU/maxresdefault.jpg"  /><button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"><svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"><path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"></path><path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"></path></svg></button></div></div></div></figure><p>Finally, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-perseverance-rover-begins-its-first-science-campaign-on-mars">Perseverance</a> is heading south on Mars to explore the ancient lakebed of Jezero Crater in a bid to find traces of ancient microbial life. </p><p>This marks the end of system testing, and the start of the true purpose for the rover on the Red Planet. Driving to a low-lying scenic overlook to survey some of the oldest geologic features within the crater.</p><p><strong>Exoplanet of the week:</strong> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-452b">Kepler-452b </a>(Earth's Cousin)<br><strong>Classic SciFi read:</strong> HG Well's A Modern Utopia &#8211; Chapter 5</p><p>The post <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/podcast/episode-8-a-trip-beyond-the-edge/">Episode 8: A Trip Beyond the Edge</a> first appeared on <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk">Ryan Morrison</a>.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Episode 8: A Trip Beyond the Edge

<description>&lt;p&gt;NASA is going back to Venus, selecting the &lt;a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-2-missions-to-study-lost-habitable-world-of-venus"&gt;VERITAS and DAVINCI+&lt;/a&gt; missions as part of the Discovery program, with both scheduled to launch between 2028 and 2030.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These two missions to Earth's hellish twin will aim to find out why it’s so hot and inhospitable, why its early development went from being Earth-like to hellish and what hides beneath the thick acidic clouds.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A jellyfish galaxy is a strange form of star cluster. It has a tail making it look like a jellyfish &amp;#8211; and a team from the Max Plank Institute want you to help them find out why&amp;nbsp;&amp;#8211; through the &lt;a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/apillepich/cosmological-jellyfish"&gt;Zooniverse&lt;/a&gt; citizen science website.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/news.asp#20210528"&gt;Canadaarm2&lt;/a&gt; is the Canadian Space Agency contribution to the ISS. It helps spaceships dock and installs equipment without astronauts having to take an EVA &amp;#8211; but it had a recent close encounter&amp;nbsp;with a piece of space debris.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;div class="epyt-video-wrapper"&gt;&lt;div  id="_ytid_25004"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3JFR70YOQv0?enablejsapi=1&amp;#038;autoplay=0&amp;#038;cc_load_policy=0&amp;#038;cc_lang_pref=&amp;#038;iv_load_policy=1&amp;#038;loop=0&amp;#038;modestbranding=1&amp;#038;rel=1&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;playsinline=0&amp;#038;autohide=2&amp;#038;theme=dark&amp;#038;color=red&amp;#038;controls=1&amp;#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" &gt;&lt;img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3JFR70YOQv0/maxresdefault.jpg"  /&gt;&lt;button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"&gt;&lt;svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"&gt;&lt;path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/button&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://kelvins.esa.int/space-debris-the-origin/challenge/"&gt;ESA&lt;/a&gt; has launched a debris coding challenge. Space junk it is a growing problem and to encourage coders and STEM students to think about the problem, the European Space Agency launched a challenge asking people to calculate the origin of fictional space junk when given just their trajectory.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also look at the &lt;a href="https://blogs.esa.int/exploration/new-podcast-episode-luca-reflects-on-beyond/"&gt;ESA&lt;/a&gt; astronaut program, with the opportunity to apply to become a European astronaut coming to close in just over a week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Virgin Galactic are sending an bioastronautics researcher up to space. &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/kelliegerardi"&gt;Kellie Gerardi&lt;/a&gt; will go up on VSS Unity from next year to test fluid dynamics in low gravity, an undersuit with sensors and look out of the window at Earth. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And chapter three of HG Wells A Modern Utopia, where we start to explore the idea of another world.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The post &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/podcast/episode-7-a-trip-to-leo-and-venus/"&gt;Episode 7: A Trip to LEO and Venus&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk"&gt;Ryan Morrison&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

NASA is going back to Venus, ESA is asking for help with space debris and what is a jellyfish galaxy? All that and more on this week's A Trip to Space.

<p>NASA is going back to Venus, selecting the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-2-missions-to-study-lost-habitable-world-of-venus">VERITAS and DAVINCI+</a> missions as part of the Discovery program, with both scheduled to launch between 2028 and 2030.</p><p>These two missions to Earth's hellish twin will aim to find out why it’s so hot and inhospitable, why its early development went from being Earth-like to hellish and what hides beneath the thick acidic clouds.</p><p>A jellyfish galaxy is a strange form of star cluster. It has a tail making it look like a jellyfish &#8211; and a team from the Max Plank Institute want you to help them find out why&nbsp;&#8211; through the <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/apillepich/cosmological-jellyfish">Zooniverse</a> citizen science website.</p><p><a href="https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/news.asp#20210528">Canadaarm2</a> is the Canadian Space Agency contribution to the ISS. It helps spaceships dock and installs equipment without astronauts having to take an EVA &#8211; but it had a recent close encounter&nbsp;with a piece of space debris.</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><div class="epyt-video-wrapper"><div  id="_ytid_25004"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3JFR70YOQv0?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" ><img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3JFR70YOQv0/maxresdefault.jpg"  /><button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"><svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"><path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"></path><path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"></path></svg></button></div></div></div></figure><p><a href="https://kelvins.esa.int/space-debris-the-origin/challenge/">ESA</a> has launched a debris coding challenge. Space junk it is a growing problem and to encourage coders and STEM students to think about the problem, the European Space Agency launched a challenge asking people to calculate the origin of fictional space junk when given just their trajectory.</p><p>We also look at the <a href="https://blogs.esa.int/exploration/new-podcast-episode-luca-reflects-on-beyond/">ESA</a> astronaut program, with the opportunity to apply to become a European astronaut coming to close in just over a week.</p><p>Virgin Galactic are sending an bioastronautics researcher up to space. <a href="https://twitter.com/kelliegerardi">Kellie Gerardi</a> will go up on VSS Unity from next year to test fluid dynamics in low gravity, an undersuit with sensors and look out of the window at Earth. </p><p>And chapter three of HG Wells A Modern Utopia, where we start to explore the idea of another world.&nbsp;</p><p>The post <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/podcast/episode-7-a-trip-to-leo-and-venus/">Episode 7: A Trip to LEO and Venus</a> first appeared on <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk">Ryan Morrison</a>.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Episode 7: A Trip to LEO and Venus

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week on the show we find that the Milky Way may not be all that unique, plasma from a microsecond after the Big Bang may have made all atoms, SpaceX may be creating a monopoly&amp;nbsp;and the second chapter in our reading of HG Wells Modern Utopia.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also explore whether we are heading for a Wild West&amp;nbsp;in space, with a lack of coherent global regulation leading to a spike in the number of satellites sharing an orbit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a slightly related area, ArianeSpace, the main European launch provider, ESA partner and operator of many Soyuz rockets, believes SpaceX is monopolising low Earth orbit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After covering space launch and policy, we move on to space science &amp;#8211; with two big studies published in the last week before revealing more about our universe.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The first goes right back to a microsecond after the Big Bang, when the only matter about, &lt;strong&gt;Quark&lt;/strong&gt;–gluon&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;plasma&lt;/strong&gt;, turned into all of the atoms in the universe &amp;#8211; at least their cores &amp;#8211; due to the rapid hot expansion.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;QGP&amp;nbsp;is a state of&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;matter&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;in which the elementary particles that make up the hadrons of baryonic&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;matter&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;are freed of their strong attraction for one another under extremely high energy densities. (&lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark–gluon_plasma"&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The second study we explore looked at our Milky Way, well actually it looked at another galaxy 320 million light years away &amp;#8211; but by studying it side on they found it was remarkably similar to the Milky Way.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This allowed them to theorise that, rather than being unique and created from an explosive merger with another galaxy, the Milky Way is typical off spiral galaxies and formed slowly over time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We finish with chapter two of HG Well's Modern Utopia.Finally, it’s time for chapter two in our reading of HG Wells Modern Utopia The 1905 work was serialised in the Fortnightly Review and is presented as a tale told by a character known as the ‘Owner of the Voice’.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="200px" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://embed.audioburst.com?region=usa&amp;#038;source=audioburst&amp;#038;mode=maxi&amp;#038;action=same_source&amp;#038;value=e6jg8VAd7GKR&amp;#038;autoplay=false&amp;#038;query_id=0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CREDITS: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;Background audio: &lt;a href="https://icons8.com/license"&gt;Icons8&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://pixabay.com/music/"&gt;Pixabay&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;AI voices: &lt;a href="https://Podcastle.ai"&gt;Podcastle.ai&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;Text for Modern Utopia: &lt;a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6424"&gt;Project Gutenberg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The post &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/podcast/episode-6-a-trip-to-the-edge/"&gt;Episode 6: A trip to the edge&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk"&gt;Ryan Morrison&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

We are close to the Wild West of space, SpaceX getting monopolistic and the Milky Way might just be normal.

<p>This week on the show we find that the Milky Way may not be all that unique, plasma from a microsecond after the Big Bang may have made all atoms, SpaceX may be creating a monopoly&nbsp;and the second chapter in our reading of HG Wells Modern Utopia.</p><p>We also explore whether we are heading for a Wild West&nbsp;in space, with a lack of coherent global regulation leading to a spike in the number of satellites sharing an orbit.</p><p>In a slightly related area, ArianeSpace, the main European launch provider, ESA partner and operator of many Soyuz rockets, believes SpaceX is monopolising low Earth orbit.</p><p>After covering space launch and policy, we move on to space science &#8211; with two big studies published in the last week before revealing more about our universe.</p><p>The first goes right back to a microsecond after the Big Bang, when the only matter about, <strong>Quark</strong>–gluon&nbsp;<strong>plasma</strong>, turned into all of the atoms in the universe &#8211; at least their cores &#8211; due to the rapid hot expansion.</p><p>QGP&nbsp;is a state of&nbsp;<strong>matter</strong>&nbsp;in which the elementary particles that make up the hadrons of baryonic&nbsp;<strong>matter</strong>&nbsp;are freed of their strong attraction for one another under extremely high energy densities. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark–gluon_plasma">Wikipedia</a>).</p><p>The second study we explore looked at our Milky Way, well actually it looked at another galaxy 320 million light years away &#8211; but by studying it side on they found it was remarkably similar to the Milky Way.</p><p>This allowed them to theorise that, rather than being unique and created from an explosive merger with another galaxy, the Milky Way is typical off spiral galaxies and formed slowly over time.</p><p>We finish with chapter two of HG Well's Modern Utopia.Finally, it’s time for chapter two in our reading of HG Wells Modern Utopia The 1905 work was serialised in the Fortnightly Review and is presented as a tale told by a character known as the ‘Owner of the Voice’.</p><iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="200px" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://embed.audioburst.com?region=usa&#038;source=audioburst&#038;mode=maxi&#038;action=same_source&#038;value=e6jg8VAd7GKR&#038;autoplay=false&#038;query_id=0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></iframe><p><strong>CREDITS: </strong><br>Background audio: <a href="https://icons8.com/license">Icons8</a>, <a href="https://pixabay.com/music/">Pixabay</a><br>AI voices: <a href="https://Podcastle.ai">Podcastle.ai</a><br>Text for Modern Utopia: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6424">Project Gutenberg</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/podcast/episode-6-a-trip-to-the-edge/">Episode 6: A trip to the edge</a> first appeared on <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk">Ryan Morrison</a>.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Episode 6: A trip to the edge

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week on the A Trip to Space podcast we take a trip back to the Moon, where ESA and NASA are preparing to make exploration much easier and more sustainable. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;First The European Space Agency has announced plans to build a constellation of a navigation and communication satellites in orbit around the Moon that could one day enable it to become the &amp;#8216;eighth continent'.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This network would be open to all travellers to the lunar surface and orbit &amp;#8211; both human and robotic and from any space agency or space businesses, with the goal of making lunar exploration cheaper and more sustainable.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;div class="epyt-video-wrapper"&gt;&lt;div  id="_ytid_36660"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vl6jn-DdafM?enablejsapi=1&amp;#038;autoplay=0&amp;#038;cc_load_policy=0&amp;#038;cc_lang_pref=&amp;#038;iv_load_policy=1&amp;#038;loop=0&amp;#038;modestbranding=1&amp;#038;rel=1&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;playsinline=0&amp;#038;autohide=2&amp;#038;theme=dark&amp;#038;color=red&amp;#038;controls=1&amp;#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" &gt;&lt;img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vl6jn-DdafM/maxresdefault.jpg"  /&gt;&lt;button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"&gt;&lt;svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"&gt;&lt;path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/button&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;On that note, NASA announced the VIPER mission, to send a rover to the lunar South Pole in search of frozen water and other potentially beneficial researchers future human explorers could utilise. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;NASA plans to send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024, a year after this robotic explorer will scope out the same location and landscape.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But that's not all we cover in this packed show. NASA has confirmed it &amp;#8216;may' have discovered organic salts on the surface of Mars &amp;#8211; thanks to the chemistry lab in the belly of the long-running Curiosity rover.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These salts are like ancient relics, signs that life may once have been present on Mars, but all other larger molecules have since been removed due to radiation &amp;#8211; leaving just these tiny remnants.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;NASA says &amp;#8216;may' as it is impossible to tell if they are organic in origin with the equipment Curiosity has, but studies on Earth seem to suggest they should be, so future missions will explore this idea in more detail&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;div class="epyt-video-wrapper"&gt;&lt;div  id="_ytid_96176"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G6baLED8qdA?enablejsapi=1&amp;#038;autoplay=0&amp;#038;cc_load_policy=0&amp;#038;cc_lang_pref=&amp;#038;iv_load_policy=1&amp;#038;loop=0&amp;#038;modestbranding=1&amp;#038;rel=1&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;playsinline=0&amp;#038;autohide=2&amp;#038;theme=dark&amp;#038;color=red&amp;#038;controls=1&amp;#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" &gt;&lt;img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G6baLED8qdA/maxresdefault.jpg"  /&gt;&lt;button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"&gt;&lt;svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"&gt;&lt;path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/button&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also come a little closer to home, with Virgin Galactic's news that it completed the first ever human spaceflight operating out of New Mexico &amp;#8211; sending its VSS Unity up beyond 55 miles.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic have successfully reached space for the first time from New Mexico with their spaceship VSS Unity – after it separated from mothership VSS Eve.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This flight meant that New Mexico had become the third state to launch humans into space. Unity reached Mach 3 after being released from Eve and reached space at 55.45 miles before gliding back to Spaceport America.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;CJ Sturckow and Dave Mackay were in the flight deck of Unity when it reached space with CJ becoming the first person to fly to space from three different US states.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;div class="epyt-video-wrapper"&gt;&lt;div  id="_ytid_92151"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1TVs2lWk_GI?enablejsapi=1&amp;#038;autoplay=0&amp;#038;cc_load_policy=0&amp;#038;cc_lang_pref=&amp;#038;iv_load_policy=1&amp;#038;loop=0&amp;#038;modestbranding=1&amp;#038;rel=1&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;playsinline=0&amp;#038;autohide=2&amp;#038;theme=dark&amp;#038;color=red&amp;#038;controls=1&amp;#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" &gt;&lt;img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1TVs2lWk_GI/maxresdefault.jpg"  /&gt;&lt;button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"&gt;&lt;svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"&gt;&lt;path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/button&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;I also finish the show with a reading of the first chapter from &lt;a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6424"&gt;HG Wells Modern Utopia&lt;/a&gt;, in a new feature exploring some old, public domain science fiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 1905 work was serialised in the Fortnightly Review and is presented as a tale told by a character known as the &amp;#8216;Owner of the Voice'. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The premise is that there is a planet exactly like Earth, so similar in fact all the current people on Earth also exist &amp;#8216;in duplicate' on this world, but they have different habits, traditions, knowledge, ideas, clothing and appliances.' &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But they all speak English, as, according to Wells &amp;#8216;should we be in Utopia at all, if we could not talk to everyone?'&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"&gt;&lt;div class="epyt-video-wrapper"&gt;&lt;div  id="_ytid_96127"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0ZOhJe_7GrE?enablejsapi=1&amp;#038;autoplay=0&amp;#038;cc_load_policy=0&amp;#038;cc_lang_pref=&amp;#038;iv_load_policy=1&amp;#038;loop=0&amp;#038;modestbranding=1&amp;#038;rel=1&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;playsinline=0&amp;#038;autohide=2&amp;#038;theme=dark&amp;#038;color=red&amp;#038;controls=1&amp;#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" &gt;&lt;img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0ZOhJe_7GrE/maxresdefault.jpg"  /&gt;&lt;button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"&gt;&lt;svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"&gt;&lt;path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"&gt;&lt;/path&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/button&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Then we explore Proxima Centauri b, the first planet in the Proxima Centauri system, which is the smallest star in the triple star system Alpha Centauri.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Proxima Centauri b was first discovered in 2016 and is thought to be a slightly larger than Earth terrestrial world, orbiting within the habitable zone of its star &amp;#8211; meaning it may have liquid water.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It hit the headlines recently when unexplained radio signals were detected coming from the star system, although radio astronomers now believe this was just natural inference, rather than an intelligent alien race saying &amp;#8216;hi'.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The system is also popular due to the fact it is the closest star system to the Earth at 4.2465 &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-year"&gt;light-years&lt;/a&gt; (1.3020 &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsec"&gt;pc&lt;/a&gt;) away from the &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun"&gt;Sun&lt;/a&gt; in the southern &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation"&gt;constellation&lt;/a&gt; of &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurus"&gt;Centaurus&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Breakthrough Starshot is a mission to send a fleet of tiny solar sail powered probes to Proxima Centauri travelling at 20% of the speed of light propelled by around 100 &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigawatts"&gt;gigawatts&lt;/a&gt; of Earth-based lasers. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The probes would perform a fly-by of Proxima Centauri to take photos and collect data of its planets' atmospheric compositions. It would take 4.25 years for the information collected to be sent back to Earth.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We may get some indication sooner than that though, according to astronomer Avi Loeb, who predicts that the James Webb Space Telescope will be able to see evidence of artificial light on the planet.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The post &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/space/episode-5-a-trip-back-to-the-moon/"&gt;Episode 5: A Trip back to the Moon&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk"&gt;Ryan Morrison&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

This week on A Trip to Space we go back to the Moon, find salt on Mars and a past Utopia

<p>This week on the A Trip to Space podcast we take a trip back to the Moon, where ESA and NASA are preparing to make exploration much easier and more sustainable. </p><p>First The European Space Agency has announced plans to build a constellation of a navigation and communication satellites in orbit around the Moon that could one day enable it to become the &#8216;eighth continent'.</p><p>This network would be open to all travellers to the lunar surface and orbit &#8211; both human and robotic and from any space agency or space businesses, with the goal of making lunar exploration cheaper and more sustainable.</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><div class="epyt-video-wrapper"><div  id="_ytid_36660"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vl6jn-DdafM?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" ><img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vl6jn-DdafM/maxresdefault.jpg"  /><button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"><svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"><path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"></path><path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"></path></svg></button></div></div></div></figure><p>On that note, NASA announced the VIPER mission, to send a rover to the lunar South Pole in search of frozen water and other potentially beneficial researchers future human explorers could utilise. </p><p>NASA plans to send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024, a year after this robotic explorer will scope out the same location and landscape.</p><p>But that's not all we cover in this packed show. NASA has confirmed it &#8216;may' have discovered organic salts on the surface of Mars &#8211; thanks to the chemistry lab in the belly of the long-running Curiosity rover.</p><p>These salts are like ancient relics, signs that life may once have been present on Mars, but all other larger molecules have since been removed due to radiation &#8211; leaving just these tiny remnants.</p><p>NASA says &#8216;may' as it is impossible to tell if they are organic in origin with the equipment Curiosity has, but studies on Earth seem to suggest they should be, so future missions will explore this idea in more detail</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><div class="epyt-video-wrapper"><div  id="_ytid_96176"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G6baLED8qdA?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" ><img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G6baLED8qdA/maxresdefault.jpg"  /><button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"><svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"><path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"></path><path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"></path></svg></button></div></div></div></figure><p>We also come a little closer to home, with Virgin Galactic's news that it completed the first ever human spaceflight operating out of New Mexico &#8211; sending its VSS Unity up beyond 55 miles.</p><p>Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic have successfully reached space for the first time from New Mexico with their spaceship VSS Unity – after it separated from mothership VSS Eve.</p><p>This flight meant that New Mexico had become the third state to launch humans into space. Unity reached Mach 3 after being released from Eve and reached space at 55.45 miles before gliding back to Spaceport America.</p><p>CJ Sturckow and Dave Mackay were in the flight deck of Unity when it reached space with CJ becoming the first person to fly to space from three different US states.</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><div class="epyt-video-wrapper"><div  id="_ytid_92151"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1TVs2lWk_GI?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" ><img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1TVs2lWk_GI/maxresdefault.jpg"  /><button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"><svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"><path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"></path><path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"></path></svg></button></div></div></div></figure><p>I also finish the show with a reading of the first chapter from <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6424">HG Wells Modern Utopia</a>, in a new feature exploring some old, public domain science fiction.</p><p>The 1905 work was serialised in the Fortnightly Review and is presented as a tale told by a character known as the &#8216;Owner of the Voice'. </p><p>The premise is that there is a planet exactly like Earth, so similar in fact all the current people on Earth also exist &#8216;in duplicate' on this world, but they have different habits, traditions, knowledge, ideas, clothing and appliances.' </p><p>But they all speak English, as, according to Wells &#8216;should we be in Utopia at all, if we could not talk to everyone?'</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><div class="epyt-video-wrapper"><div  id="_ytid_96127"  width="640" height="360"  data-origwidth="640" data-origheight="360" data-facadesrc="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0ZOhJe_7GrE?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;" class="__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload" data-epautoplay="1" ><img class="epyt-facade-poster" loading="lazy"  alt="YouTube player"  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0ZOhJe_7GrE/maxresdefault.jpg"  /><button class="epyt-facade-play" aria-label="Play"><svg data-no-lazy="1" height="100%" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 68 48" width="100%"><path class="ytp-large-play-button-bg" d="M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z" fill="#f00"></path><path d="M 45,24 27,14 27,34" fill="#fff"></path></svg></button></div></div></div></figure><p>Then we explore Proxima Centauri b, the first planet in the Proxima Centauri system, which is the smallest star in the triple star system Alpha Centauri.</p><p>Proxima Centauri b was first discovered in 2016 and is thought to be a slightly larger than Earth terrestrial world, orbiting within the habitable zone of its star &#8211; meaning it may have liquid water.</p><p>It hit the headlines recently when unexplained radio signals were detected coming from the star system, although radio astronomers now believe this was just natural inference, rather than an intelligent alien race saying &#8216;hi'.</p><p>The system is also popular due to the fact it is the closest star system to the Earth at 4.2465 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-year">light-years</a> (1.3020 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsec">pc</a>) away from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun">Sun</a> in the southern <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation">constellation</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurus">Centaurus</a>.</p><p>Breakthrough Starshot is a mission to send a fleet of tiny solar sail powered probes to Proxima Centauri travelling at 20% of the speed of light propelled by around 100 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigawatts">gigawatts</a> of Earth-based lasers. </p><p>The probes would perform a fly-by of Proxima Centauri to take photos and collect data of its planets' atmospheric compositions. It would take 4.25 years for the information collected to be sent back to Earth.</p><p>We may get some indication sooner than that though, according to astronomer Avi Loeb, who predicts that the James Webb Space Telescope will be able to see evidence of artificial light on the planet.</p><p>The post <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk/space/episode-5-a-trip-back-to-the-moon/">Episode 5: A Trip back to the Moon</a> first appeared on <a href="https://ryanmorrison.uk">Ryan Morrison</a>.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Episode 5: A Trip back to the Moon

An exploration of space, the orbital economy and the people involved. A weekly podcast presented by science and technology journalist Ryan Morrison featuring a range of guests and features including Exoplanet of the Week.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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