Mars to Earth: China's Ambitious Sample Return Mission and Cosmic Anomalies

This is Spacetime Series twenty nine, episode eighty two, for broadcast on the tenth of July twenty twenty six. Coming up on Spacetime, China's Mars sample return mission, set to launch in twenty twenty eight. Is Sign's wrong about our Universe and an Assassin reveals its secrets? All that and more Coming up on Spacetime. Welcome to space Time with Stuart Gary. China says it's now planning to launch a Mars sample return mission to the Red planet in two years time, bringing back at least five hundred grams of Martian regular by twenty thirty one. Beijing says the tian Win three mission is progressing at a steady pace and remains scheduled for launch around twenty twenty eight. The project will involve coordinated flights using several spacecraft in order to ensure collection, orbital insertion, and secure sample return to Earth. The orbiter alone will carry three payloads dedicated to study Mars. There's a PX spectrometer which will analyze potential life traces on the Red planet and study the mirological composition of the surface. A molecular ion composition analysa will study the Martian atmosphere and monitor escaping gases, and a laser heterodyne spectrometer will measure the distribution of water isotopes and dynamics in the Martian winds. The service module will integrate a Martian surface hyperspectual imager to map potential life signatures, hydrat ad minerals and the identification of exploitable resources. The lander will be equipped with a laser retroreflector array in order to establish high precision reference points on the Martian surface for advanced geodetic measurements. Beijing says with chan Win three, China positions itself to achieve the first Martian sample at a time when NASA and ES's programs appear to be in limbo, happened by technical uncertainties and budgetary constraints. This is space time still to come. Is science wrong about our universe? And an assassin reveals its secrets? All that and more still to come? On space time? Our universe should look the same in all directions, at least on large cosmic scales, but new data based on dark energy observations are suggesting otherwise. The findings are based on data from DESI, the dark energy spectroscopic instrument, which mapps some forty seven million galaxies across eleven billion light years. It allowed astronomers to better evaluate the large scale cosmic structure of the visible universe. This structure comprises strands of galaxies and galaxy clusters linked to filaments and nodes made up of superclusters, all of which surround vast empty voids, and the density pattern should be the same in all directions. But after studying the new DESI data, astronomers Francisco Silas S Labini and Marco Galoppo say that's not what the DESI data has shown. Their findings, reported in the journal Nature, suggests that the scales of a single galaxy or group of galaxies, the universe is anisiitropic, meaning its structure is different depending on which direction you're looking. It turns out that in one direction there may be more voids, well in another there appear to be more galaxy clusters. The findings therefore contradictive fundamental assumption in modern cosmology, which says that at the larger scales, the universe consists of matter that is more or less distributed evenly in all directions. That's because observations based on the cosmic microwave background radiation the left overheat from the Big Bang thirty point eight billions shows the same basic pattern density in all directions, But the new DESI data found persistent anisotropic structure in galaxy distribution out to at least megapastic scales. That means the galaxies were clapping together more than they should in one direction at least as scales far larger than those previously examined. These results provide direct evidence that directional coherence persists the larger scales than predicted in the standard model framework, and that challenges the assumption of lard scale isotropy. Now, the authors admit there are limitations to their study and the universe may eventually become isotropic at even larger scales. Still, the detection of large scale and isotropies contrast the standard formation of the cosmological principle, which assumes statistical homogeneity and isotropy about any point. This is space time still to come. An assassin reveals its secrets, and later in the Science report, a new study claims taking vitamin A and D could linked to better lung function, and in the case of vitamin D, it could help slow down your biological aging. All that and more still to come on space time. Astronomers have converted observations of a nerver explosion on a distance start into sound waves in order to better understand the dynamics of the spectacular blast. A nerve happens when a white dwarf star that's the still a corpse of a sun like star, draws off material from a companion star in a binary system. As this material builds up on the surface of the white dwarf, it eventually reaches a critical mass, exploding in a blast called a nova. Meanwhile, the white dwarf continues to draw more material from its binary partner till eventually it triggers another nerve explosion and so the process can continue. The authors were studying Neva V six twelve Scoutie, also known as Assassin seventeen HX, which occurred on a white dwarf in twenty seventeen. The event occurred nine five hundred light years away in the constellations scot of the shield, towards the disc of the Milky Way and near the so called zone of Avoidance, a region of the galaxy obscured by dense expanses of dust, gas, and stars, resulting in a sort of astronomical blind spot. To understand the nervous evolution in more detail, scientists at Texas Tech University converted the nervous light curve into audio, revealing how the blast stellar shocks evolved and changed over time. The findings, reported in the Monthly Noticed as the Royal Astronomical Society, are adding a new dimension to sciences understanding of how the explosion unfolded. Although astronomers have long studied these explosions, recent discoveries have changed how researchers understand these events. These discoveries led astronomers to explore how nervy could produce such energetic radiation. One explanation sets on shock. During a nova eruption, gas can be ejected at different speeds. Later, faster moving material could collide with gas ejected earlier in the process, creating powerful sharks. These shocks also heat the surrounding gas, causing it to radiate at visible wavelengths. Reason studies have shown that much of the visible light typically observed from nervae, long thought to come primarily from the nuclear reactions on the surface of the white dwarf, may instead originate at least in part from the shock heated gas. To investigate the eruption, strotmers around the world who were studying the nervae use spectroscopy to separate light from the eruption into different wavelengths representing different chemical compositions, temperatures, and velocities. This allows them to measure how strongly the object emits a different wavelengths and attract the motion of the gas during the explosion. The Texas Tech team used these observations to examine when the brightness jumps occurred, what caused them, and how the gas moved during the eruption, and they found evidence that new ejections occurred with H jump in the light curve. By studying shifts in the spectra, they're also able to calculate the velocity of the material. Over several months of observations, they found that the gas increase significantly in velocity with H major jump, and that's when they decided to take their analysis a step further. They had the high resolution spectra, which measures intensity versus frequency. They then converted this into sound pitch and frequency, providing a new view of the explosion. This report from Texas Tech University. Have you ever wondered what a stellar explosion might sound like. In twenty seventeen, a star in the constellation Scutum erupted. Astronomers designated it V six' one Two, scuti a nova that didn't flare once but several. Times nova occur when a white dwarf pulls gas from a companion star until a thermonuclear outburst ignites on its. Surface the visible brightness typically, surge often by thousands of, times and then declines over weeks to, months but some novae break that, pattern flaring multiple times before. FADING v six Twelve scootie is one of. Them early in its, ERUPTION v six Twelve scoutie produced two prominent, flares each lasting over a month and brightening by roughly fifteen. Times several smaller flares followed before the nova slipped behind The sun for about one hundred days and later reappeared while. Fading the origin of such flares remains an open. Question proposed explanations range from changes in the energy output at the white dwarf surface to new episodes of mass ejection that drive powerful. SHOCKS a team led by astronomers At Texas Tech university assembled an unusually dense set of high resolution spectra capturing the eruption in exceptional. DETAIL a spectrum spreads starlight into its component, wavelengths revealing both the chemistry of the ejecta and the velocities of the expanding. Gas comparing the nova's light curve with those, spectra the team found a striking. Pattern each flare coincides with the appearance of new spectral features at increasing. Velocities in other, words faster ejections show up precisely when the nova brightens. Again this can be seen clearly by creating a TWO d dynamic spectral plot using the, spectra which help us to visualize the changing velocities of the. Gas as time, advances new spectral features appear at higher, velocities with each flare consistent with multiple. Ejections to help non specialists experience this event in a new, way the team used these high resolution spectra to translate them into sound by mapping the velocities to pitch and fluxes to loudness and. Texture this isn't recorded audio from, space it's a, soonification a mapping from numbers to. Notes when new features at faster velocity, appear we hear higher, pitches and the sound's texture grows more, complex an audible counterpart to the visual changes seen in the. Plots taken together light, curve spectra and SOUND v six, Twelve scootie tells a coherent. Story multiple mass ejections and shock interactions likely power its multiple. Maxima the timing is. Unmistakable new flares and new high velocity features arrive. Together. V six. Twelve scootie is a nova we can watch in exquisite detail and now here this. Space time and time that to take another brief look at some of the other stories MAKING us and science this Week with a science, report any study claims higher levels of VITAMIN a are linked to better lung function in paper with, asthma or higher levels of VITAMIN d give similar results and could also potentially slow your biological. Aging the findings reported in the Journal, thorax examined eleven hundred and sixty five kids and one thousand and forty one, adults all of them had. Asthma after measuring their levels of VITAMINS a AND, d they assist their long capacity and health by getting them to exhale as much as they could in one. Second, first they discovered that kids and adults with higher levels of VITAMIN a had better functioning lungs than those were lower. Levels then they noticed the same for higher levels of VITAMIN d in, adults and additionally they found adults with higher levels of VITAMIN d also had less biological, aging that, is the deterioration of cells and tissues over, time which suggests that VITAMIN d may help slow, aging especially in people with. Asthma surgeons say the first ever inhuman bladder transplant with a kidney has reached the promising six month. Milestone the eight hour operation was performed back In may twenty twenty five on a forty one year old man who had end stage kidney disease and severe bladder. Damage previous bladder transplants hadn't been possible due to the complex network of blood vessels in the, bladder so surgeons had often repurposed segments of the ball. Instead in this new, procedure donut bladder was transplanted as a, true separate vascularized organ with its time own blood, supply independent of the transplanted. Kidney doctors at The Ronald REAGAN Ucla Medical center say the kidney began functioning immediately when blood flow was restored and the bladder graft also showed good blood flow and viability throughout the. Operation, now six months post, surgery the patient has functioning bladder storage and is able to, urinate while his kidney remains stable and continues to function on standard immuni suppression therapy with no signs of organ. Rejection scientists have discovered that some native grasses not only survive wildfires or, bushfires but also multiply after being. Burnt the, findings reported in The Australian journal Of, botany looked at a type of native grass known as. Marina the authors had compared burnt and unburnt grasslands in Central. Victoria they found, that compared with unburnt, grasslands burnt area showed increases in plant, density, height and fruiting in two species of these native. Grasses, okay, guys let's face it as a G we're ugly and. NOW a new study reported in The journal of The proceedings Be as confirmed that female faces are consistently rated as being far more attractive than those of. Males the findings follow a review of data from previous studies where people rated facial. Attractiveness the authors found that unlike in many other, species where males are usually more. Ornamental the results show that in, humans female faces are often considered more attractive across cultures and age. Groups the research shows that this gender attractiveness gap is more pronounced among female, raters with women showing an even stronger preference for female faces than, men while men tend to show more stringency with their. Ratings the authors say the fighting showed facial attractiveness judgments extend far beyond heterosexual made. Choice America's NATIONAL Ufo Reporting center has released its list of the most POPULAR ufo hotspots across The United states And. Canada The skeptics timendum says the findings were, Surprising but The Great state Of, Nevada i'm a very fifty one early ranking in nineteenth. Position, well there's been a. Lot of sightings of UFOs and upho's viewing. Them, yeah there are data bases that people keep and have been keeping ever since ninety forty seven and whenever it was that the first sightings took. Place, so, yeah hundreds of thousands of sightings over the. Years you may not be surprised to know that the highest percentage of sightings is in THE. Usa they're very sort OF ufo oriented OR uap oriented, there we'd like to call it these. Days the article came out. Recently looking at the. Figures they have a little bit of a terminological problem with this article because the kids referringce of sightings and, abductions which because a lot of fewer people would be abducted in, quote they have a sighting in. Quotes the siting is pretty common in a. Way what they do say is the most commonplace FOR ufo sightings on a per capita basis is the state Of. Delaware you have one reported sighting for every nine hundred and twenty eight. Residents the next state In america Is Washington. State the least likely played Is. Louisiana you probably haven't seen A french food or something like that, anyway But. Louisiana In, canada the busiest place FOR ufo sightings Is. Alberta, well there's not much to do there is There after, That ontario is the. Biggest the Lowest newfoundland And labrador perhaps the UFOs that when you want to go. There interesting thing is the really populous states Like New York state is not that. High it's in there somewhere In, california which you would expect a lot OF UFOs, sightings but it tends to be the less populated, areas and not always The midwest, areas but the whole range of different. Places whether they've said something about the people who live in those, AREAS i don't. Know they tend to have more sightings per capita than some of the other. Areas so if you want to go see A, ufo go To delaware Or. Alberta the problem is that, said this article flips between sightings and, abductions AND i don't think there's going to be that many people abducted or claim to have been abducted in those. States certainly not one in nine hundred people Abducted. DELAWARE i think someone would have. Noticed that's the skeptics. 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