| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Space | | By Miriam Kramer · May 30, 2023 | | Thanks for reading Axios Space. At 1,306 words, this newsletter is a 5-minute read. - Programming note: I'm going on a family trip, so this newsletter is also taking a week off. Axios Space will return on June 13.
Please send your tips, questions and ripples in space-time to miriam.kramer@axios.com, or if you received this as an email, just hit reply. | | | | | | 1 big thing: The search for gravitational waves |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The search for ripples in space and time sent out by extreme cosmic collisions is entering a new phase with more and faster detections. Why it matters: These ripples — called gravitational waves — carry information about crashes between dense objects like black holes and neutron stars that scientists use to test long-held theories about the universe. What's happening: Two gravitational wave detectors — in Washington State and Louisiana — are now back online after three years of upgrades to improve their sensitivity. - It's possible that once the detectors that make up the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) are at full strength, they will detect a gravitational wave signal every two or three days.
- Previous observations have netted between 90 and 100 detections since LIGO clocked its first gravitational wave in 2015, astronomer Chad Hanna of Pennsylvania State University tells Axios, adding, "It's quite likely that we will add several hundred more."
- More observations mean more opportunities to see the rarest events in the universe, Hanna added.
How it works: LIGO makes use of a laser that sends a beam of light down the arms of the L-shaped instrument. That light bounces off the end of the arm and back to the middle, always arriving at precisely the predicted time. - However, if a gravitational wave passes through Earth's part of space, it slightly bends the fabric of space-time, imperceptibly warping every piece of matter it passes through, including the detector. That creates a very slight change in the time that light reaches the middle of the detector.
- By having multiple detectors operating at once, scientists are able to more precisely track signals to the parts of space they originate from, Katerina Chatziioannou, physics professor at CalTech, tells Axios.
The intrigue: Astronomers think LIGO's improved sensitivity could allow them to more readily see light and other signals like radio waves emitted during crashes between two neutron stars and possibly other objects as well. - Gravitational waves from two neutron stars colliding have been detected before, but seeing the light also emitted by them poses a logistical challenge with multiple instruments needing to be tasked quickly.
- LIGO scientists are hoping to make use of the observatory's newfound sensitivity to quickly localize the part of the sky where a given gravitational wave signal originates, allowing other light-detecting telescopes to turn toward the source of the waves.
- This kind of "multi-messenger" detection with gravitational waves and light has only been done once before, in 2017, when two neutron stars collided.
Between the lines: If researchers see more multi-messenger collisions, it could help them piece together a better understanding of the objects that produced them. - For example, the 2017 detection confirmed that some gamma-ray bursts are caused by neutron star collisions.
- Multi-messenger detections also have the potential to help measure the expansion of the universe in a new way, possibly helping to settle a growing debate about the measurement known as the Hubble Constant.
What to watch: Two other gravitational wave facilities are slated to collaborate with LIGO during this observing run. - The KAGRA detector in Japan is online now, but it will go offline in about a month for some upgrades. Virgo, in Italy, will also be back online after upgrades and will join LIGO's observing run.
- India and the U.S. are also building a gravitational wave detector that is expected to be online and collaborating with the other observatories by 2030.
|     | | | | | | 2. A mission to the asteroid belt |  | | | Artist's rendering of the UAE's asteroid belt mission. Image: UAE Space Agency | | | | The United Arab Emirates is launching a mission to study space rocks in the main belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. Why it matters: The UAE is a rising space power and this mission highlights the nation's ambitions. - If successful, the UAE will join just four other space agencies — NASA, the European Space Agency, China's National Space Administration and Japan's JAXA — that have sent missions to asteroids.
Driving the news: The UAE announced the new mission Sunday and said the spacecraft is expected to launch in 2028. - The spacecraft is expected to perform a series of close flybys to observe seven asteroids, with a particular eye toward the asteroid 269 Justitia, which may have migrated in from a group of objects past Neptune.
- The UAE is planning to fly a lander developed by a startup in the nation's private sector that will be designed to drop onto the surface of Justitia to collect more data.
The big picture: Asteroids are thought to be bits of rocky material left behind after the planets formed during the dawn of the solar system. - By learning more about these fragments, scientists might be able to piece together a more complete history of our part of space and learn more about how other star systems evolve.
- It's possible asteroids delivered water to Earth early in its history, so learning more about asteroids rich in water today could help scientists understand how exactly that happened in the past.
Context: This mission is designed to build on the success of the UAE's mission to Mars. Its Hope probe is still functioning in orbit around the Red Planet. - The mission's program director, Mohsen Al Awadhi, said in a statement that the asteroid belt mission is five times more difficult than the mission to Mars.
- The Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt "is a key component of the UAE National Space Strategy and has one over-riding goal — the creation of viable and rewarding employment opportunities for young Emiratis for generations to come," Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Space Agency chair, said in the statement.
| | | | | | | | 3. Tracking coal from space |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Satellite company BlackSky and analytics company SynMax are partnering to monitor the amount of coal stored at more than 100 power plants in the U.S. Why it matters: If successful, keeping an eye on coal inventory at these plants could provide information to energy stakeholders that will help keep tabs on energy generation as the nation transitions away from coal power. - "Reducing coal power generation means reducing the supply chain of coal along with it, which can impact inventories," Eric Anderson, SynMax CTO, tells Axios. "This is a precarious process, which if done wrong could lead to inadequate generation and painful energy prices."
- The partnership follows a flurry of other environment- and climate-focused initiatives to monitor emissions — like methane emitted from gas facilities — from space.
How it works: BlackSky is able to take five satellite photos over the course of 15 seconds, giving users multiple angles on the same object — in this case, coal piles at power plants. - "We're able to monitor thousands of sites and not just every couple days, but whenever anybody wants to throughout the day," Brian O'Toole, BlackSky CEO, tells Axios.
The big picture: These kinds of partnerships have the potential to expand the space industry into new markets, fueling its growth. - "There is pent-up demand for this information and these answers," SynMax founder Bill Perkins tells Axios. "People want to know, 'Is that well leaking methane or not?' People want to know, 'Is their ocean polluted?'"
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up on the go | | |  | | | | Catch up on the biggest stories of the day and why they matter with the Axios Today podcast. Host Niala Boodhoo is joined by journalists from Axios' newsroom to unpack the stories shaping your world and the trends shaping our time. Listen for free. | | | | | | 4. Out of this world reading list |  | | | The Space Launch System rocket. Photo: NASA | | | | 🚀 NASA IG faults agency on SLS booster and engine overruns (Jeff Foust, SpaceNews) 🌙 China says it wants astronauts on the moon by 2030 (Christian Shepherd, Washington Post) ✈️ Virgin Galactic returns to space in crucial test (Loren Grush, Bloomberg) ✨ Your guide to planning stargazing road trips in the U.S. Southwest (Jamie Carter, Space.com) | | | | | | | | 5. Weekly dose of awe: A Dragon approaches |  | | | Photo: NASA | | | | Four visitors fly toward the International Space Station in style aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule on May 22 in this photo. - The private Axiom crew docked to the ISS just after this photo was taken, and they undocked from the station earlier today.
- The crew — which includes former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi — are on their way back to Earth now. You can watch coverage of the splashdown live via Axiom.
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up on the go | | | | | | | | Catch up on the biggest stories of the day and why they matter with the Axios Today podcast. Host Niala Boodhoo is joined by journalists from Axios' newsroom to unpack the stories shaping your world and the trends shaping our time. Listen for free. | | | | 🕳 Big thanks to Alison Snyder for editing, Sheryl Miller for copy editing and the Axios visuals team. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, subscribe. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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