Medical Drama on the ISS-Update | ESA's Rocket Revamp | Mysterious Early Galaxies: Your Daily Space News

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily.

Your daily companion for all things space and astronomy.

I'm Anna and joining me as always

is my good friend and co-host Avery.

Hey Avery, it's January 10th, 2026.

Hope everyone's weekend is stellar.

Hey Anna, and hello to our listeners everywhere.

Yeah, it's been a busy start to the year.

And today we've got some fantastic updates and discoveries.

We're kicking off with a big follow-up

to yesterday's breaking news on the ISS medical situation

plus rocket upgrades in Europe.

Some weird early universe galaxies from JWST.

Insights into our galaxy's black bowl past

and China's upcoming space telescope

that's poised to reveal cosmic secrets.

Let's dive right in.

First up, the update we've all been waiting for.

NASA and SpaceX have set a target date

for crew 11's return to Earth

following the medical concern with one crew member.

This is a historic early return we talked about yesterday.

The first medical evacuation of an entire crew

from the ISS in its 25 year history.

Crew 11, who launched last August on Dragon Endeavor,

includes NASA astronauts Michael Fink and Zena Cardman.

Jax's Kamiya Yu and Ross Cosmos Cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

The plan now is undocking no earlier than 5 PM

eastern time on Wednesday, January 14th,

weather permitting, and splashdown around 3.40 AM

on Thursday, January 15th off the coast of California.

Recovery teams are prepped and managers

are monitoring sea states, spacecraft readiness,

everything to make sure it's safe.

NASA stresses the crew member is stable

and has been receiving care on board,

but the decision was made to return early as a precaution

since full diagnosis and treatment

aren't feasible in microgravity.

Details remain private for medical privacy reasons,

no specifics on the condition.

Importantly, this shouldn't impact

the upcoming Artemis II mission.

NASA administrator Jared Eisenman said

the evacuation is, quote,

a totally separate campaign at this point,

and they're still aiming for the first launch window

in early February.

No delays expected.

That's reassuring for the whole program.

With crew 11 heading home,

the ISS will temporarily drop to three crew members.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two Russian cosmonauts.

They'll keep things running,

but NASA is looking at accelerating crew 12's launch

from mid-February to minimize any gap.

This shows how flexible the partnership is,

even in tough moments.

Sending all the best wishes for a safe return to crew 11,

whatever reminder of the human element in spaceflight.

Next, some rocket news from Europe.

ISS considering ways to write the wrongs of Arion VI

by turning it into a sort of franken rocket

with reusable elements.

Arion VI debuted last year,

but has faced criticism for being fully expendable,

high-cost, and struggling against reusable competitors

like SpaceX's Falcon 9.

It's not hitting the launch cadence

or affordability goals Europe hoped for.

Under ISS' best initiative,

Arion Group is proposing to retrofit Arion VI

by swapping its solid rocket boosters

for reusable liquid field ones from Maya Space.

Their methane field design.

The core and upper stage would stay expendable

because recovering them is much harder.

Higher speed, single engine, no easy descent control.

This plug and play approach could lower costs,

boost flight rates, and give Europe quick experience

with reusability.

Maya Space's full rocket isn't expected

until 2027 at earliest,

so integration would take time.

There's also a separate study

for a reusable demonstrator from Isaac Aerospace.

It's a pragmatic step to catch up.

Europe knows it needs reusability to compete long-term.

Critics say it's playing catch up to tech

from a decade ago,

but gaining data from multiple boosters per flight

could accelerate progress.

Exciting to see Europe innovating,

even if it's a hybrid solution.

Shifting to deep space.

The James Webb Space Telescope

has spotted some truly strange cosmic objects

that might be baby platypus galaxies

or perhaps an entirely new class

of early universe phenomena.

These appear as compact, oddly shaped galaxies

in the very early universe,

with unusual morphologies that don't fit standard models,

maybe mergers, rapid formation, or something unique.

JWST's infrared power,

lets us see them at high redshift

when the universe was young and chaotic.

The platypus nickname comes from their bizarre mixed features,

like a mashup of traits from different galaxy types.

Researchers are debating if they're transitional forms,

feeding black holes in disguise

or in new physics at play.

This could reshape our understanding

of how the first galaxies assembled.

JWST keeps delivering surprises.

Every image challenges our assumptions.

Staying galactic, new observations show

that while Sagittarius A star,

our Milky Way supermassive black hole, is quiet now,

its recent past was far more active.

Using XRISM and other telescopes,

astronomers detected FEK Alpha emission lines

in nearby molecular clouds,

like 0.11 minus 0.11.

X-ray fluorescence from past outbursts,

illuminating the gas.

These flares happened a few hundred to a thousand years ago,

possibly specific events around 130 and 230 years back.

The black hole likely had a feeding frenzy,

gobbling a star or gas cloud, then settle down.

We might see another echo in decades.

It highlights how black holes toggle

between active and quiescent states,

influencing galactic evolution,

even in quiet galaxies, like ours,

and may it long remain quiet, I might add.

Finally, exciting news from China,

their revolutionary space telescope,

the Chinese Space Station Telescope,

or Shangqian, is on track for 2026 launch

and ready to uncover universe secrets.

With a two meter mirror, wide field of view,

high resolution imaging across multiple wavelengths

and spectroscopic capabilities,

Shangqian will map large sky areas,

directly image exoplanets,

survey galaxies and stars,

probe cosmology, dark matter, and fundamental physics.

Recent breakthroughs include advanced simulation suites

for pixel level data testing,

ensuring systems are optimized pre-launch.

It's designed for broad surveys and deep looks,

complementing Hubble and JWST

by covering huge areas efficiently.

This could lead to major discoveries

in exoplanets, galaxy, evolution, and more.

China is stepping up big time in space astronomy.

We'll be watching this with interest as the year rolls on.

And that's it for today, time to call it a wrap.

What a pack day from human space flight drama

to cosmic deep dives.

Thanks so much for listening to Astronomy Daily.

If you enjoy these updates, subscribe,

share with a friend, and we'll be back on Monday with more.

In the meantime, if you'd like to keep abreast

of all the latest developments,

just visit our website at astronomydaily.io

and check out our news update page.

Until then, keep your eyes on the skies.

Clear skies, everyone.

Astronomy day, the star is the toe.

The star is the toe.

The star is the toe.

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