00:00NASA sent a spacecraft right into the Sun.
00:07It's the fastest human-made object ever, and could cover the distance from Philadelphia
00:12to Washington, D.C. in just one second.
00:16The Parker Solar Probe's mission is to study our star's dangerous behavior.
00:22Scientists warn that massive solar storms are inevitable, and the consequences could
00:26be catastrophic for our planet.
00:29The spacecraft got seven times closer to the Sun than any other probe ever did.
00:35It managed to do so during its 20-second flyby to the star since its launch in 2018.
00:42Because our star is so massive, its gravity is really strong, like a giant magnet.
00:48As the probe flies around the Sun, it uses gravity to go faster and faster and eventually
00:54picks up that crazy speed.
00:57As it got closer and closer to the Sun's corona, which is its outer atmosphere, the
01:02probe had to survive temperatures of 2,552 degrees Fahrenheit.
01:08That's hot enough to melt many metals.
01:10It was protected from that heat and radiation by a 4.5-inch-thick carbon shield.
01:16It kept the tools inside the probe safe and running at around room temperature.
01:20The scientists went to all this effort because they're hoping to solve a big mystery about
01:26the Sun that's been puzzling them for ages.
01:29The surface of our main star is already super hot, but as you move closer out to the corona,
01:36the temperature shoots up to millions of degrees.
01:39And it doesn't make any sense because it's farther away from the Sun.
01:44So maybe we could finally get some answers about this heat phenomenon!
01:49The mission is also going to help us understand something called solar wind.
01:54The Sun is constantly shooting out tiny bits of energy and charged particles into space,
01:59like a never-ending breeze of electricity.
02:02When this solar wind hits Earth, it can create amazing light shows in the sky called auroras.
02:09The more active the Sun is, the farther south you can see auroras.
02:14Our star follows natural cycles that last about 11 years.
02:18The activity goes from low to high and back down to low.
02:23Right now we're in the solar maximum, the peak of the activity cycle.
02:27That's why we've spotted beautiful auroras in the most unexpected places in 2024.
02:33The downside to it is that the Sun's activity can send out bursts of energy and charged
02:38particles that can mess up things like radios, satellites, and even GPS.
02:43It can be dangerous, especially for astronauts out in space who aren't as protected as we
02:48are here on Earth.
02:51Astronauts wouldn't feel the compression of the planet's electromagnetic field because
02:55of all the extra radiation, but power grids are really sensitive to it.
03:00If we don't act fast, when it happens, the influx of energy will go into power transformers
03:05all over the world, disrupt them, and leave big areas without electricity.
03:11If this happens during a hurricane or a tornado, when communication is already super important,
03:17it could make it much harder for emergency services to communicate and save lives.
03:23That's why it's so important to learn to predict this space weather.
03:27It's tricky because, unlike most disasters like earthquakes, floods, and volcanoes, it
03:33doesn't leave behind any kind of physical evidence.
03:36The only big solar storms we really know about happened in 1859 and 1921.
03:43The first one, called the Carrington event, was so wild that it made sparks fly from telegraph
03:49wires.
03:50The auroras were seen all the way near the equator.
03:54Scientists back then were using a special kind of paper that reacted to light to record
03:58solar activity.
04:00During the Carrington event, the reading from the sun went off the page, literally.
04:06Whatever was happening, it was so extreme that we still don't fully understand it.
04:11Then there was the New York Railroad Storm of 1921.
04:15It was powerful enough to knock out telegraph systems across the US, Europe, and the Southern
04:20Hemisphere.
04:22The storm boosted radio transmissions for a bit, making them travel farther than usual.
04:27But back then, there weren't nearly as many radios, so it wasn't super helpful.
04:32The bigger problem was the electrical grid in the US, which was heavily damaged.
04:37Back in 1859 and 1921, people weren't as dependent on tech as we are now.
04:44If a storm like that hits today, the consequences could be way more catastrophic.
04:50Scientists from New Zealand who study space weather are working on simulations trying
04:54to prevent disasters from happening.
04:57They say one of the possible options to do it is to study other suns like ours elsewhere
05:03in space.
05:04If we get data from thousands of stars, not just one, the picture for analysis would be
05:10more complete.
05:11So far, scientists have launched or plan to launch several other missions in addition
05:16to the Parker Solar Probe.
05:18Meanwhile, NASA is working on another mission, launching Endurance, robotic moon machinery
05:25on steroids.
05:26Its main mission will be to collect samples from key lunar locations that will later be
05:31retrieved by astronauts from the Artemis program.
05:35These samples are spread across the largest impact basin on the moon, separated by hundreds
05:40of miles.
05:42To do it, Endurance will have to be way more advanced than Perseverance, NASA's current
05:47most cutting-edge rover.
05:50Endurance will drive roughly 100 times further, drive 10 times faster, and collect roughly
05:56200 times more sample mass.
05:59Endurance would also be the first planetary rover to drive at night.
06:04And because it will be on the far side of the moon with limited communication to Earth
06:09and surface data, it will have to drive autonomously between sample locks and make its own decisions
06:15in tough conditions.
06:18When it reaches its destination, it's going to switch to a more classic way of doing things.
06:23Scientists back on Earth will get involved directly, guiding a rover to explore the sites
06:28and collect samples.
06:30The teams on Earth will also keep an eye on how the rover is doing by monitoring its telemetry,
06:36which is the data it sends back, like its health stats.
06:40If they spot any signs that a part is wearing out or something isn't working quite right,
06:45they'll tweak the plan to keep things running smoothly.
06:48All this will cost huge amounts of money, probably way more than the Viper moon mission
06:54that was cancelled after NASA had spent around $450 million on it.
07:00While Endurance is in the planning stage, the Blue Ghost lunar lander is already on
07:05its way to the moon.
07:07Its main mission is research.
07:09It will spend 25 days in Earth's orbit, taking measurements and waiting for the right time
07:14to fling itself to the moon.
07:17After four days in transit, Blue Ghost will hang out in lunar orbit for another 16 days
07:23to collect more data.
07:25Then it will descend to one of the largest basins on the moon and spend one lunar day
07:31there.
07:32It will measure subsurface thermal data, radiation levels, and other important data.
07:38At the end of its mission, Blue Ghost will take some final pictures of the lunar sunset.
07:44It isn't designed to return back to our planet, so when the night falls, it will do some final
07:49work and go offline for good.
07:54NASA chose the team of University of Florida aerospace engineers to work on another innovative
07:59space project.
08:01It will cost $12 million and its goal will be to improve the way we track changes in
08:06tectonic plates and oceans on Earth, from space.
08:11It will use state-of-the-art sensors that will measure even the tiniest gravitational
08:15changes.
08:17The data it gets will help scientists monitor droughts, assess groundwater reserves, and
08:22better understand changes in sea levels.
08:26They expect to launch it around 2027 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
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