Astronomy Daily: Space News Updates

Today on Astronomy Daily: Astronomers have witnessed something extraordinary in the Andromeda Galaxy — a massive star that simply vanished, collapsing into a brand-new black hole without the usual supernova fireworks. We cover the SpaceX Crew-12 launch to the ISS, Europe's powerful Ariane 64 flying for the first time with Amazon satellites aboard, another booster anomaly for ULA's Vulcan rocket, a...

In today's episode of Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery unpack six major space stories. China has achieved a crucial milestone in its crewed lunar programme, successfully testing the Mengzhou capsule's abort system at maximum dynamic pressure while also demonstrating SpaceX-style rocket recovery with the Long March 10 first stage. ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket is set to launch its longest mission yet,...

Four astronauts are stuck in quarantine in Florida as weather keeps pushing back the Crew-12 launch — now targeting no earlier than Friday, February 13. We've got the full story, including the remarkable subplot involving a Russian cosmonaut who was quietly removed from the mission in December. Plus: interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is on its way out of the solar system forever, but new data from NASA'...

In today's episode of Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery cover five major stories from across the cosmos. SpaceX Crew-12 is targeting Thursday February 12th for launch to the International Space Station, after weather pushed back the Wednesday window. Meet the international crew of four and find out why this mission will run longer than usual. Our Sun has been active overnight, with sunspot region AR...

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Today we explore the new lunar space race as SpaceX shifts focus from Mars to the Moon, Europe establishes its Moonport company, and NASA continues Artemis II preparations. Plus, scientists solve the mystery behind auroras, explain Uranus's radiation anomaly from 1986, and SpaceX returns to flight after a brief stand-down. Join hosts Anna and Avery for your daily dose o...

## In Today's Episode: - **FAA clears Falcon 9 — Crew-12 launch set for February 11** — The four-day grounding ends after SpaceX identifies and addresses the upper stage engine ignition failure. Fourth upper stage issue in 19 months. - **NASA study: Non-biological sources can't fully explain Mars organics** — Researchers find that known non-biological processes don't account for the abundance of o...

Episode S05E32 - Friday, February 6, 2026 Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Join hosts Anna and Avery as they bring you the latest space and astronomy news from across the cosmos. Episode Highlights Lunar Smartphones: NASA Approves Modern Tech for Space NASA astronauts will finally be allowed to bring their smartphones on missions, starting with Crew-12 to the ISS next week and the Artemis II lunar flyb...

Astronomy Daily - S05E31: Dark Sky Victory, Jupiter Redefined, Monster Sunspot Victory for dark skies as industrial plant near major observatory cancelled • NASA's Juno mission reveals Jupiter is larger and flatter than we thought • 15-Earth-wide sunspot currently facing our planet • Unusual Martian storm reveals subsurface secrets • NASA acknowledges SLS rocket sustainability challenges • How red...

Welcome to Astronomy Daily, bringing you the latest space and astronomy news. I'm Anna, joined by my co-host Avery, with today's cosmic headlines for Wednesday, February 4th, 2026. Episode Highlights: 🚀 ARTEMIS 2 DELAYED - NASA's historic moon mission pushed to March after hydrogen leak during wet dress rehearsal. Four astronauts await their journey around the Moon as teams address familiar techn...

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Join hosts Anna and Avery for Tuesday, February 3rd's space news roundup. Today we're covering a critical setback in NASA's Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal, Elon Musk's controversial vision for orbital AI data centers following SpaceX's acquisition of xAI, NASA's announcement of Axiom Mission 5 to the ISS, extraordinary solar flare activity from a volatile new sunspot, th...

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Join hosts Anna and Avery for today's cosmic journey through space news, featuring SpaceX's audacious plan for one million solar-powered satellites, an ancient star catalog recovered from layers of medieval text, and China's groundbreaking solar mission to the L5 point. **Episode Highlights:** 🛰️ **SpaceX's Million-Satellite Vision** - SpaceX files with the FCC to launc...

Join hosts Anna and Avery for Saturday's cosmic roundup! NASA's Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal faces weather delays, pushing the historic lunar mission to April 2026. Blue Origin announces a major strategic shift, pausing space tourism for two years to focus on their Blue Moon lunar lander program. We explore million-mile-per-hour cosmic winds racing through a "magnetic superhighway" in colliding g...

Witness the largest volcanic eruption ever seen on Jupiter's moon Io, explore NASA's breakthrough in nuclear propulsion, and discover evidence of ancient Martian beaches that could rewrite the story of life beyond Earth. In this episode, we cover: • NASA's Juno spacecraft captures a colossal 150-mile-high volcanic plume on Io • KRUSTY nuclear reactor test paves the way for deep space exploration •...

Join hosts Anna and Avery for an exciting journey through today's most compelling space stories. We explore Mercury's surprising geological activity, NASA's TESS satellite recovery, a frigid Earth-like exoplanet discovery, an accelerated ISS crew launch, runaway black holes tearing through space, and the scientific opportunities of a potential lunar asteroid impact in 2032. ### Episode Highlights...

## Today's Headlines: 🛰️ **NOAA Solar Observatory Reaches L1**   NOAA's Space Weather Follow-On satellite successfully arrived at Lagrange point 1 on January 21st, establishing the first component of a future constellation designed to provide early warning of solar storms and coronal mass ejections. The satellite offers 15-60 minutes advance notice of space weather events that could impact Earth's...

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Join hosts Anna and Avery as they explore today's most fascinating space and astronomy stories. IN THIS EPISODE: 🌌 NASA's Dark Matter Map NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has created one of the most detailed dark matter maps ever produced, revealing the invisible scaffolding of the universe in unprecedented detail. Scientists mapped nearly 800,000 galaxies, showing ho...

# Astronomy Daily - S05E22 ## Monday, January 26, 2026 Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Join hosts Anna and Avery as they explore the latest developments in space and astronomy, from ambitious plans to terraform Mars to stunning new views of dying stars. ### Episode Highlights **Mars Terraforming Gets Serious** Scientists unveil a comprehensive blueprint for transforming Mars into a habitable world. Di...

Rocket Lab's "Hungry Hippos" arrive at Wallops Island despite tank test setback, NASA enlists global volunteers to track Artemis II, ancient lunar impact explains Moon's asymmetry, affordable space memorials launching in 2027, massive exomoon challenges definitions, and an 11th-century monk may have discovered Halley's Comet first. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: 🚀 Rocket Lab's Neutron program reaches major...

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Today we explore NASA's inspiring collection of historic keepsakes heading to the Moon on Artemis II, including fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer. We examine an urgent warning about orbital debris—the CRASH Clock shows catastrophic collision could occur in just 5.5 days if satellites lose maneuvering capability. New analysis of Apollo lunar samples challenges our unders...

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! In today's episode, we explore Blue Origin's ambitious new TeraWave satellite internet network offering speeds up to 6Tbps, discuss the first-ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station, and celebrate Buzz Aldrin's 96th birthday as the oldest living astronaut. We also dive into exciting science from Saturn's moon Enceladus, surprising plasma wave discov...

Stunning northern lights dazzle the world after a severe G4 geomagnetic storm, legendary NASA astronaut Suni Williams retires after 27 years, and China executes a dramatic space rescue. Plus, Blue Origin's next tourist launch and groundbreaking telescope observations! In today's episode of Astronomy Daily, hosts Anna and Avery bring you the latest space and astronomy news: 🌌 SEVERE GEOMAGNETIC ST...

The Sun's latest outburst arrived ahead of schedule! A powerful X1.9 solar flare and massive CME triggered severe G4 geomagnetic storms on January 19th, bringing spectacular auroras as far south as Alabama. Hosts Anna and Avery break down what happened and what to expect. Also in today's episode: China successfully tests the Long March 12B reusable rocket, giving us a preview of their next-gen lau...

Join hosts Anna and Avery for today's essential space and astronomy news roundup! 🚀 NASA's Artemis II rocket completes its journey to Launch Pad 39B, bringing humanity one step closer to returning to the Moon. We bid farewell to Japan's remarkable Akatsuki Venus orbiter after a decade of groundbreaking discoveries. China's FAST telescope solves a ten-year mystery about fast radio bursts, revealin...

NASA attempts to contact the silent MAVEN Mars orbiter after 40 days—but prospects look grim. Plus: the first-ever ISS medical evacuation succeeds, Europe debuts its powerful Ariane 64, scientists crack asteroid defense secrets, China releases lunar timekeeping software, and Hubble reveals where planets are born. Your daily space news for January 15, 2026. ### Extended Episode Description (for pod...

Artemis II is entering its final preparations! This weekend, NASA rolls out the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft to the launch pad for the first crewed mission to lunar orbit in over 50 years. We cover the crew, timeline, challenges, and what to expect in the coming weeks. Plus: The European Space Agency suffers a major cyberattack with over 700 GB of sensitive data stolen. We discuss what...