NASA’s Ingenious Mars Rover Fix // Special Earth // Space LEGO from ESA 

Lego regolith? Legolith. We should send up James May to build the first outpost. He has experience in this field.

I think "sneaker zoom" was the term you were looking for. As always, wonderful coverage of the universe about us. Thank you for that.

The brilliant and creative adaptations to malfunctioning space equipment never fails to impress the heck outta me!

Actually, I think plate tectonics kicked off much earlier than 600 million years ago. The general consensus among geologist's is somewhere around 3.2 billion years ago.

Is there anything NASA and its engineers can’t do? Bravo engineers and scientists!😊

Great, just effing great, now i wi be stepping on moon lego's at night on tbe way to the john.

I love the idea of a spacecraft recovery series, I'd watch that.

That owl knew you were the real potential threat

When you started talking about lunar swirls, I could have sworn you said "lunar squirrels." I was disappointed at what it turned out to be. You have to admit, a piece about lunar squirrels would get 100% of the vote for coolest story of the week.

As a mold designer at LEGO, I have to say, this is pretty damn cool 👍👍

I wonder if we have plate tectonics because of the early collision that knocked off a chunk of our crust making the moon. That would leave a crust with different thickness in different areas, promoting the convection below that energizes tectonics.

Never forget, we only got pretty sure proof there were exoplanets in 1992. That always blows my mind, and shows how fast knowledge grew after that first discovery.

It's about time some popular science channel on YT began talking about plate tectonics and abiogenesis. This idea has been kicking around a while and deserves a more thorough presentation.

Juicy. We need a juicy planet.

Love Space Bites!

That proto star photo is awesome

Pretty excited for the rover and can't wait to see flight 5!

Excllent episode! A nice way to end work and start the weekend.

Speculative astrogeology and pretty protostars make for some superb space bites.

Without plate tectonics, there are no long-term (over hundreds of millions of years) sustainable continents: all seamounts would erode and/or subside back to below sea level, and so there wouldn't be any life adapted to dry land. It's a somewhat popular (and plausible) hypothesis that life confined entirely to ocean environments would never achieve the levels of complexity required to cope with much more challenging and variable conditions on dry land. Or at least, it would evolve much more slowly because its environment is so much more stable and less varied.

Lego will hopefully relinquish patents expressly for the lunar outpost construction, a much smaller 3d printer could be used then.

The earth’s tilt is technically not stationary. (It’s one of the Milankovitch cycles Quote: “Earth's axis is currently tilted 23.4 degrees, or about half way between its extremes, and this angle is very slowly decreasing in a cycle that spans about 41,000 years. It was last at its maximum tilt about 10,000 years ago and will reach its minimum tilt about 10,000 years from now.”

Legos + space wins the day

As to why we have plate tectonics and other planets don't seem to...the 'cooling planets' would have cooled steadily overall, self-sorting by density in a slow and gradual fashion, nothing big upsetting things, and the hot core would simply 'still be hot but nothing special' was going on to make things 'move' for the most part. My own hypothesis is that Theia is responsible for the Moon AND plate tectonics. When Theia hit it added (first, in my own hypothesis as to how Earth is different from average) Theia's high-density radioactive core to ours, while splashing a big 'moon-sized and more' dollop of lighter material that had settled up into the outer 'generic crust that had been cooling smoothly until then'. So Theia melted a huge section of our crust (but not UNIFORMLY heating ALL of it) by dropping in on us with a "Mars-sized" planet or whatever. Anything on the crust that didn't melt surely had fractures, but also that would have wildly-differentiated the density of material on the various sides of the planet. Theia's sinking radioactive core (dense materials settling lowest in general) added to our own core eventually, but also displaced some insane number of mega-tons of magma on its way down there, disrupting ALL the layers, and effectively "Stirring the magma-milkshake" called the still-cooling Earth, making our core and mantle all "Messy and varied in density". As one thing settled another rose, heat moved, impactor-fractured crust buckled from underneath as volcanic gasses built up, then...bloop, magma "pours" upward, and then a continental-plate began to be born. The 'sorting and sinking' of Theia's remnants, and likely random huge chunks falling back from "didn't manage to hit the moon" orbits broke other trying-to-cool sections or whatever, making more big fractures, or pulverizing zones (maybe even causing Hot Spots?), or at a minimum, once again adding denser, cooler material to the hot Earth and making THAT new material also try to sink into the core or whatever-layer its material might be self-sorting to from density, but that still displaces lighter, hotter core magma, stirs things up, moves the 'iron core' by proxy of stirring above it...and the cycle of "sorting by density, heat upwellings, and occasional fractures as the 'magma ocean' ebbs and flows and volcanically-bubbles under the 'chips' of continental-crust that are floating merrily along on top of the mantle adds new continental breaches or upwellings or subsidence or whatever" all gets moving from that stirring, sinking, swirling, unequally-heated mess... So I think that "Theia, and especially its share of radioactive core applied to our sorta-cooling Earth" is what set the stage, or maybe even truly began, the plate tectonics flows. Maybe the crust didn't flow at first until the chaos in the magma 'settled into stable chaos'...somewhat like Mandelbrot orbits, where the fractals are calculated around a 'point' but with the right variables it makes loops and whirls and circles...unlike Pure Math, magma DGAF and crushed the tiny eddies over time, turning it all into big swirls for maximum 'dynamic-stability' as other magma ebbed and flowed 'around/along' that magma. As the flows self-sorted and optimized, eventually (or immediately? Dunno) the continental plates began their break-up and dance, which continues to this day. Relatedly, I suspect that 'hot spots' are remainders of the Theia impactor (or other VERY massive, high-density impact objects, even meteors or whatever) where the piercing to the core 'splashed back upwards' enough to raise super-hot material, which since it's hotter and lighter and likely feeds from closer to the core-layer of the planet, the hot 'plume' of a hot spot remains viable for a long, LONG time, and maybe forever. It 'stirred' from a planet crashing into Earth...you'd need a LOT of resistance to fight that rising plume in any given spot. Which, I point out since this is my own hypothesis so far, if I'm right, then there's likely a hot-spot MUCH larger than all the others where the Theia Core sank down to our core, though my imagined 'super-hotspot' may have made a super-downwelling area where it's drawing anomalously-more material than most areas. The downwelling (caused by sinking-to-the-core momentum and splashed-planet-mantle flowing back into the crater), since it's from Theia, might well have a scope much larger than any hot-spot-upwelling that we've ever seen before, and it could just be much harder to notice. It may also have an upwelling that is much larger than any others since its core would have been piping-hot from radiation too, so as it sank and eventually 'merged into our core too' it would have been piping-hot and sticking out of the core until it merged fully into our own. There would likely be a large portion of the inner or outer core of our planet that has oddly-higher or lower density left from Theia, too, but that's a guess...depending on stirring and how it flows, uneven iron-core material may have stirred too much and have evened out in the core by this point. Anyway...so there's my random offering of seems-sensible-to-me Scientific Hypothesis in case any actual Science professionals want to look into the idea. I was silly and went into Computers, not geophysics or anything...still, here's my hypothesis about why we have plate tectonics but Venus doesn't seem to. Io might get 'taffy-pulled' enough to have some. Mars likely never had a chance to have enough heat for that long. But...maybe the only secret for how improbable it is is that a partly-cooled planet has to be hit by another PLANET so as to give it a larger, hotter core and 'stir the whole magma/core region up' and cause the cooling plates on top to shift around. And as my last point, which I admit I'm less sure on but still think may be the case...a 'tectonically-viable world' may need to have, or have tried to make, a moon of its own to toss off lighter material and make it so the 'Core' is that much hotter/closer to the surface in addition to JUST the melting from the impact. I'm not as sure on this point, but say I '60%' suspect this to be the case.

I posited techtonics as the main governor of life - I tried to find the range of what would allow them to exist in the range they do - this is a very interesting thing to look at - also asteroids and volcano debris in oceans that can cause massive blooms of life when it does exist - who knows what effects that has on ability for oxygenation?

we need a couple more seismometers on mars

So, yeah the Lego bricks are cute but we can also 3D print buildings... remotely...? 3D print Moon Base 1 ftw. 🤩

I love this episode. Solid graphics and topics, excellent work 🙌

This is a space news overload - great content

Fraser, maybe you need to watch the fantastic videos of GEO GIRL. The exact time plate tectonics developed is unclear, but it’s closer to 3 B yrs ago. Wikipedia says 3.4 B yrs ago. 600 M isn’t even close.

Excellent show this week. Very deep insights.

We seem to have more and more to thank the collision with Thera for - not least the Moon and plate tectonics. Current theories suggest both are a result of the impact and the embedded remains.

I was gonna go with the space lego but, confirming a constant hail of impacts on Mars is way cool because Elon will need a meteor-shooty thing for his mars base. I wanna see the cybertruck space laser or whatever

There is no theory I have ever heard of that plate tectonics appeared on Earth only 600 million years ago, maybe that’s a fringe theory somewhere, but the vast majority of scientists accept a much older origin, about a billion years after the Earth formed.

For space craft recovery, I like the the story of the first Hayabusa mission

Man I love this channel. ❤

I voted for the equipment fix on the Mars rover. But the owl and robin video was great. Please share more of your home environment.

Great video brother Fraser!🤠

Nice big beautiful owl, we kinda had a pet owl, it randomly starting hanging out in our chicken coop every night when it was young, and it stuck around for many years, it got so used too me coming in every night to close up and check for eggs that I could pet it.

really enjoyed that cheers

Love space news and the newsletter!

Excellent channel that I'd only come across today.

Thanks for the video! Can we tell how large L1527 (the proto star pic at the end) will be once it's finished forming?

Moon bricks have also been tested with simulated rammed regolith material. Rammed earth has been used heavily by the Chinese from ancient times for massive constructions. A bonding agent may also be added. Solar lenses could also be used for 3D printing. This exists' Sandbag structures are another option. Gabion baskets, like Hesco boxes, can use rocks and soil. With lighter construction than on Earth, could also be used. These could protect lighter portable structures. And no rust. Though I think many structures should use tunnels for the best protection with painted sealant. Manual working under ground, building structures, would be much easier in sealed tunnels.

Thank you. Barred owls are beautiful.

Kuiper belt II, Kuiper Reloaded (For real, that's really exciting. I wish we could sling more probes out into the far solar system.)

Great and informative.

With respect to the tectonic story, there is a closer relationship between groundwater and plate tectonics, as the authors in that paper discussed. The factors in the Drake equation were normally considered as independent variables, but there is some conditional probability going on there because of the relationship between the presence of water, and an indication of habitability, and the presence of plate tectonics. in fact, some people think that tectonics are an inevitable result of the presence of groundwater. So, if you have enough water for habitability, you may also have tectonics and so we may be looking at an association and not causation. something to think about.

So dense with information my head imploded. ;-) thnx.

👇Use as vote for Robin vs. Owl for space news of the week 🙌

If they get fast internet, Butch and Suni can watch all the videos saying they are stranded and roll their eyes.

Thanks for all the news, Fraser! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Id wish we find something analogous to a massive mirror somewhere deep in space, a few hundred million lightyears away, like maybe looking through a gravitational lense at certain zones of a black hole, that way we could see earth reflected as how it was a billion or so years ago. Imagine if the distance is right, we could see the Impact of Theia, and the formation of the Moon

question. if space x achieves that much of a lift to orbit, what does a 100-200 ton planetary probe look like? what sort of science will be able to be done that we cant do now?

They are treating the camera as fixed-focus and have determined the focal distance.

Thanks

The laser comms is a great step forward. Good, fast communications are a must.

0:00 Stereophonic, lava and tonic

@12:16 I thought we were witnessing the demonstration of the Genesis Device 🖖

thks

Atmosphere is garden mulch for your planet.

Greetings from the BIG SKY.

Thank you for another fine episode!

About plate tectonics: what if it's the other way around? Life created and boosted it. First microbes degraded and contributed to erosion of oceanic crusted creating lighter continental crust. Models should include all the work done by microorganisms for billions of years.

If plate tectonics were ultimately caused by the impact event that created the moon - both plate tectonics and a large, close moon could have a statistical association when looking at planets in the universe. It also means anything about life that is potentially attributable to plate tectonics could also be attributable to the effects of a large moon - something we know that life is attuned to. So a blessing and a curse depending on your theory :)

I think plate tectonics are likely important for a wide range of diversity of complex life and not necessarily that important to the basic development of complex life. The constant and slow shifting of biomes and biome changes would likely cause stress within evolutionary systems that possibly would exist without plate tectonics. Still very much believe dark matter/dark energy is the real world equivalent of sub space in Star Trek, hence not being able to see or observe them directly because they exist in another “layer or dimension” of space.

Questions. Why is the universe a vacuum and why is it so cold? Thanks. Love your podcasts.

It's an interesting point about data and astronauts taking the movies up . Data is light and is easily transmitted . So the real gain is taking the software , the intelligence and not the material.using on planet material is a far better use of our ability. Learning to adapt the materials on moon to build tools that can build buildings and machines

Wow! Hey! We finally got fast internet service to ISS, so... let's crash it into the sea! Ah! I left my copy of "The Fifth Element" up there!

I don't expect man to return to the moon any time soon. There is nothing there worth the trip and doubly so when going there involves taking a human. I expect robots to explore and eventually set up a radio telescope.

now i want to see a rocket made of space lego.

I really dont think you made enough of that Mars asteroid rate. It dramatically changes chances of colonisation if any settlement needs to be 40m+ underground.

Why crush up moon rocks when you can vacuum up dust (which is a bother)?

Without plate tectonic, Earth would be a shallow ocean world with very little complex life, since most of the minerals needed for life would have been bound up in sediments at the bottom of the ocean that eroded into them over time.

URANIUM THORIUM LIFE EARTH One important factor often forgotten as vital to our life on Earth is the existence of large deposits of Uranium and Thorium deep in the Earth that may contribute nearly 50% of the Earths core heat. This heat is vital for the Earths magnetic field which in turn protects us from solar and cosmic radiation. Also assisting plate tectonics. Uranium and Thorium slowly release heat from radiation decay. So life on Earth is nuclear powered. Including solar fusion. And the universe is full of radiation from many sources.

My understanding was that the Kuiper Belt was defined by its distance from the Sun, and beyond the Kuiper was the Oort Cloud. As both contain icy bodies, why would the fact that New Horizons is detecting icy bodies more than 50 AUs from the Sun mean the Kuiper Belt should be extended?

Fixed Focus.

Oddly, I just cancelled my trip to Legoland in London. We're going to the one in Denmark instead. My kids love Lego. I mean, my daughter went busking to buy sets when I wouldn't pony up! Obsessed.

12:15 that crater on the right looks like a dime pressed into the regolith

a question for your ask me a question video . Dose gravity have a measurable effect on time ?

Prediction, spacex ,space walk , not convinced it will go smoothly if at all.

Another great video, I appreciate everything that you teach us Fraser! I was wondering does it help the channel more if I watch the video via RU-vid? If I watch it via Patreon does it still give the video a view on RU-vid?

Canadian Robins are very different to the British equivalent. Much bigger looking. Different beaks, and more.

It looks like they pretty much printed that Lego brick on a modified Ender 3. I've actually seen that same .STL on Thingiverse.

Most energy of early life was produced via chemosynthetic, using inorganic minerals produce energy. these minerals came from hydrothermal vents. most hydrothermal vents form along plate boundaries.

I suspect that Earth's plate tectonic systems are closely tied to the creation (Theia crash) and existence of such a proportionally large moon, tidally affecting the the Earth's crust, as well as oceans for the past 4.5 billion years. Life on Earth is the convergent result of astonishing luck!

That tectonic plate theory sounds a lot like scientists building around the idea the earth is a rare event / is the only place in the universe where there is intelligent life. The conclusion should happen AFTER you make your study. Hey, what do I know ...

Of all the equipment planned for space launch, which do you think will have the greatest individual impact on our scientific understanding?

A recurring theme of space science is, there is more matter out there than we thought. Makes me wonder if Dark Matter/Energy theory will be the flat earth theory of the 20th century. Only time will tell.

It can see objects clearly at it's focal length.

@universetoday could you put the "space bites" or whatever this is called in the title? All of the content is excellent of course, but it would be nice to be able to easily look for these news summaries!

Would astronauts on Mars who are hit by large falling space rocks be squished or would they be squashed? Wouldn’t the problem be just as bad on the Moon?

Plate tectonics possibly linked with a magnetic flux to allow development of terrestrial life protected from ionising radiation. I think this needs to be included in the Drake equation if we are considering life able to develop technology that we might be able to spot.

ISS internet: could they not just use StarLink?

We missed you Fraser.

Name the owl Hoot Gibson

Are there any estimates of the mass of the Kuiper Belt.

Could the extended Keiper belt really be the beginnings of the Oort cloud?

How come Starlink haven’t taken the task of serving high-bandwidth data to the ISS on themselves yet?

So even birds can be annoyed by birds.