1 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 1: From Bloomberg News and iHeartRadio. It's the big Take. I'm 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: Westkasova today. To see the past, the present, in the future, 3 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: just look up today. We're talking about two significant advances 4 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: in science and technology that may not sound related, but 5 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,199 Speaker 1: they are. The first is probably familiar. It's the James 6 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: Webb Space Telescope that's been beaming back these incredibly detailed 7 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: images from galaxies far far away. The other may be 8 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: less familiar. It's NASA's SWAT mission. That's a satellite that 9 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 1: uses something called remote sensing to take detailed measurements of 10 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: the planet surface, water, and ocean topography. So SWAT together, 11 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: these two things represent a leap in our ability to 12 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: access space together vast amounts of data about the status 13 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: of our planet right now, and to look back in 14 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: time and into the future. That's useful not just for 15 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: pure science and discovery, but to make decisions about our 16 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: everyday lives. Let's jump right in with the James Webb 17 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,199 Speaker 1: Space Telescope, and to do that I have the help 18 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: of my colleague Lauren Grush, who's on the space beat 19 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 1: for Bloomberg. Lauren, I want to start by asking you 20 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: about the James Web Space telescope. I think we've all 21 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: been looking at those amazing pictures coming back. It launched 22 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: into December twenty one. Why is this thing such a 23 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: big deal, Well, you have to understand how astronomy works, right, 24 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: we're essentially trying to map out our neighborhood without ever 25 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: leaving our house. What a telescope like JWC does is 26 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: it gives us an even bigger I guess, magnifying glass, 27 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: if you will, so look even deeper and farther into 28 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: space than we can before. So it's not only is 29 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: it located you know, roughly one million miles from Earth 30 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: that's you know, extremely far, but also it has the 31 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: biggest mirror that we've sent into space that can collect 32 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: even more light than we've ever collected before. So that 33 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: is our best tool for being able to see into 34 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: the deepest recesses of the universe. That and learning more about, 35 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: you know, what the earliest galaxies look like, that formed 36 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: right after the Big Bang. I've heard it described as 37 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: you're not really looking at distance, you're looking at time 38 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: because you're like looking so far back in time, anything 39 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: you're seeing could be potentially billions of years old, right, 40 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: because you know, light does take time to travel to 41 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 1: our eyes, and so when you're gathering light from such 42 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: deep distances, that light has spanned, you know, billions of 43 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: light years to reach jw'st's mirrors, and so what you're 44 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: really seeing when you look at those images is how 45 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: those galaxies looked billions of years ago. What was it like, 46 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: as someone who covers space to wash that thing launch? 47 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,679 Speaker 1: Was that like a big moment for just you Well, 48 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: I like to say that the James Web Space Telescope 49 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: has kind of two chapters and my reporting history. You know, 50 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: people don't think about it now because it's in space 51 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: and it's working as it's supposed to. But most of 52 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: JWST's lifetime was marked by cost overruns and development delays. 53 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: You know, we had all these promises that it was 54 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: going to launch, you know, many years ago, and then 55 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: you know, we would constantly get new updates. Oh, it's 56 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: going to take more time, it's going to take more testing, 57 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: and so you know, it was always kind of a 58 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: long running joke, you know, was it ever actually going 59 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: to launch and would we actually be able to afford 60 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: it before Congress pulled the plug? And then also there 61 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: was just kind of a general terror not just among 62 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: reporters but also among the astronomy community because of how 63 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: JWST to launch. Producer Katherine Fink sat down with senior 64 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: project scientist doctor John Mather at his home in Maryland. 65 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: Here's what he told her about developing the James Webb 66 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: Space Telescope. The biggest challenges were that it's huge. It's 67 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: bigger than the rocket, and so it has to be 68 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: folded up to fit inside the rocket. And it also 69 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: has to be cold so that it doesn't emit its 70 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 1: own infrared light, and that means it's got to be 71 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: protected by a gigantic umbrella, which we call a sunshade 72 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 1: that's as big as a tennis court that also has 73 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: to be unfolded in outer space. And because it's so 74 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: far away from Earth, we can't go fix it if 75 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: anything's wrong. So some major challenges here which require serious engineering. 76 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: It was harder than we thought it would be, and 77 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: we ran into budget trouble because well, we just didn't 78 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: know how hard it was going to be. So unfortunately, 79 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: our funding agencies, the Congress International partners, they all said, well, 80 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: that's true, it's harder than we thought, but this is 81 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 1: the only way to get this, so we better keep 82 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: on going. And so we finally finished it and launched 83 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: it on Christmas morning twenty one, and it was a 84 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: perfect launch. We were all kind of umpins and needles 85 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: for a good solid month after launched. But now we're 86 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: in this new chapter, which is, you know, the discovery phase. 87 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: And you know, I think most people don't even remember 88 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 1: the first phase, the first chapter, because we're getting back 89 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: such stunning imagery and amazing science from the telescope, which 90 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: is what the astronomers and scientists and engineers worked so 91 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: hard to achieve to begin with. So it's definitely all 92 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: been worth it, and it has been nice to see 93 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 1: the narrative change into discovery now. And this was part 94 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: of an international partnership. Who else is involved in the project? 95 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: Europe was also involved. They provided the launch vehicle for this, 96 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: the Area in five, which launch JWST in a space 97 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: and it actually did such a good job with its 98 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 1: launch that it put it on a great trajectory so 99 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: that JWC will actually last longer than they even anticipated. 100 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: And so it really was a global project. I mean, 101 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: scientists around the world are are all vying for time 102 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: on this telescope. So it wasn't just NASA. You know, 103 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: NASA was the one that provided the bulk of the money. 104 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: North Grumman was the primary contractor, and then various scientists 105 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: and astronomers from around the world are also involved. Catherine 106 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: asked doctor Mather what questions he was most eager to 107 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: answer about our galaxy. The nature of the cosmic dark 108 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: matter in the cosmic dark energy are very puzzling. Astronomers 109 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 1: physicists did not expect them. There was some evidence from 110 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 1: a long time ago that they might be real, but 111 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: we didn't expect them. We don't understand why they're there, 112 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: and so we're all hunting for more evidence about that. 113 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 1: Will we ever understand, maybe not, what happened to grow 114 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: the first galaxies. You know, every big galaxy has a 115 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: black hole in the middle, a big one. They're called supermassive, 116 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: so they're like a million or a billion times the 117 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: mass of the Sun. We don't know whether the galaxy 118 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: made the black hole or the black hole made the 119 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: galaxies which came first. We would certainly like to know 120 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: are there planets anything like Earth out there? So we 121 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: know that there are planets of the right size and 122 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: temperature to be like Earth. The next big step after 123 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: the telescopes that were already building, is something called the 124 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: Habitable World's Observatory, and it would be about the size 125 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: of the web, only much more accurate and capable of 126 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: making such a good image that you could see a 127 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: little Earth next to the star that it orbits as 128 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: a separate image, and then we can say, well, does 129 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: it have water and oxygen and carbon dioxide and things 130 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: like that. That would be a hint that it's alive. 131 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: So here on Earth, of course, the oxygen comes from 132 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: plants and algae, so if we find it out there, 133 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: then we'll have a long discussion about what it means. 134 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: But it's a hint that another little planet could be alive. 135 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: I think that's what's so exciting about JWST is that 136 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: it really is designed to tell us things that we 137 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: can't even give it prompts for, and to you know, 138 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: look even deeper than we could even think possible. I mean, 139 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: one of the most amazing parts of it was when 140 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: it first launched. You know, scientists were getting data back 141 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: so quickly and analyzing it so fast that they were 142 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: constantly breaking the record for finding, you know, the most 143 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: distant galaxy that's ever been found, and you know, they 144 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: would find it one day, and then like a week 145 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: later they would find another more distant one. So the 146 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: rate at which we are learning new things from this 147 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: telescope is so rapid and fast, and so I think 148 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: it's only a matter of time before it's telling us 149 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: something that we didn't even anticipate to look for. When 150 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 1: we come back a scientist who will use the web 151 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: lescope to peer into black holes to hear more about 152 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: the kind of data that's come in from the web 153 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: telescope so far. Catherine checked in with doctor Priamvida not 154 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 1: to rage. She's an astrophysicist who studies black holes. Her 155 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: team has been awarded time with the telescope later this year, 156 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: and already all these new discoveries from other scientists using 157 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: the instrument have kept her pretty busy. You, of course 158 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: studied black holes. Could you just give a brief description 159 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: for those like myself who just have a hard time 160 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: wrapping her heads around what a black hole is. One 161 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,120 Speaker 1: way to think about a black hole is that it 162 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: is a place where gravity is so intense that almost 163 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: anything that comes close get captured by the intense gravity. 164 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: They are such strongly aggregated the dense clumps of matter 165 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: that the end states of stars. So when stars burn 166 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: out all their fuel, they explore and they can leave 167 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: behind if they started life as a pretty massive star, 168 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: very compact objects. So for example, for if the Earth 169 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: were to behave like a black hole and have the 170 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: intense gravity that a black hole has, we'd have to 171 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: scrunch the entire Earth to the size of a penny. 172 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,080 Speaker 1: That's when that compact wow, and that's when it's gravity 173 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: would have the intensity of that of a black hole. 174 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: So what is a typical day like as someone who 175 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 1: researches black holes? Is there a typical day? There is 176 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: no typical day, And in particular with James web right now, 177 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: I'm looking for any new findings about distant black holes 178 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:55,079 Speaker 1: where James Webb has imaged some fantastic nearby black holes. 179 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,840 Speaker 1: Two galaxies that harbor black holes in their inner regions 180 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: are very, very dusty, so you know, James Webb has 181 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 1: been able to cut through right into the heart of 182 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: this galaxy, look at the dust and given us a 183 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:12,079 Speaker 1: really clearer view than we've ever had before. And so 184 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,199 Speaker 1: we can actually see the impact of the black hole 185 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: in the region around, so matter falls into the black 186 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: hole and some portion of the rest mass energy of 187 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: the matter that is swirling in gets converted into radiation, 188 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: so that heats up in the vicinity of the black hole. 189 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 1: So these were all sort of you know, theoretically, we 190 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: had worked this all out, and James Webb JWST is 191 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: actually revealing all the sort of ionized hot gas that 192 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: we expected. But now we're actually seeing it really up close, 193 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: so it's pretty amazing. Yeah, So you mentioned the distant 194 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 1: black holes. What would those tell us if we're able 195 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: to get data from the telescope versus the ones you 196 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: just talked about, Well, the distant black holes, you know, 197 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 1: obviously the question is of the origin, right where did 198 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: the first black holes come from? James web has the 199 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: capacity to look back into the infant universe and actually 200 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: revealed the presence and catch the first black holes in action. 201 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: So we don't quite know how the first black holes 202 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:19,960 Speaker 1: grow whether, you know, we think that the end states 203 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: of stars could produce the first lot of black holes seeds, 204 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: but there are also other physical mechanisms, So people like 205 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 1: me and many other researchers have proposed like direct formation 206 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: bypassing the formation of a star and just forming a 207 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: black hole just from the gas just you know, in 208 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: the early universe is so violent that you can actually 209 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: condense a lot of gas very rapidly and make a 210 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: seed black hole that is much more massive, much bigger 211 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 1: than the ones you could get from the end states 212 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: of stars. So I think what the first black holes 213 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: really are, how they grow, because we believe that the 214 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: black hole at the center of our own galaxy, right, 215 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: the Milky Way has a black hole at its center 216 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: that is four million times the mess of the Sun. 217 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: You know, it's like wanting to see the picture of 218 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: an infant when we see the picture of the fully 219 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 1: grown adult or the aging person, right, So we want 220 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: all the intermediate snapshots to build that sort of life 221 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,199 Speaker 1: history of how a black hole would form and grow. 222 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: But meanwhile, what is super exciting is that James Webb 223 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 1: has revealed the presence of early galaxies, many more galaxies 224 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: in the early universe than we expected, and out much 225 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: earlier in the universe. So it's like the clock of 226 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: when things start, you know, all the action starts in 227 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:43,959 Speaker 1: the universe, as it were with stars forming, And seems 228 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 1: like suggestions are that probably the clock is starting a 229 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: lot earlier than our current theories led us to believe. 230 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: So that's that would be super exciting, that would be radical. 231 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,200 Speaker 1: You know, James Webb is also forming our view of 232 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: the nearby universe. So for example, you know, they're the 233 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:12,839 Speaker 1: first observation of an outsized exoplanet system and its atmosphere, 234 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: and that is just like awesome. We've never been able 235 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: to do that, right, So number this just opens the 236 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: door for studies of the composition of these atmospheres, and 237 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 1: you know, it leads us to ponder some of the 238 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: really big questions, right, are there any atmospheres that are 239 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: similar enough to ours or have the kind of composition 240 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 1: that could support some kind of life, etc. Etc. So 241 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: it's kind of opening the window even in the very 242 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 1: nearby universe. So it's sort of radical observations, Lauren, coming 243 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: back now from black holes in the depths of space 244 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: to something a little closer to home. NASA is at 245 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: work on any number of missions. What is NASA doing 246 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: right now that excites you. NASA is trying to go 247 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: back to the Moon after all of this time, and 248 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: this time they're trying to do it a little differently. 249 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: So a few years ago, they officially named their Artemis 250 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 1: program for the effort, and Artemis is a great name 251 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: for it because she's the twin goddess of Apollo in 252 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: Greek mythology, and the purpose of Artemis is actually to 253 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: send the first woman and the first person of color 254 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: to the Moon. So that will be great, you know, 255 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: in terms of its own historical significance, But it also 256 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: differs from Apollo and that NASA really is trying to 257 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: go back to the Moon this time to stay. So 258 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: rather than just sending you a couple of astronauts to 259 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: the Moon at a time to collect samples and leave footprints, 260 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: you know, that's their motto. It's no longer flags and footprints. 261 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: They're looking to go sustainably, so creating infrastructure in and 262 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: around the Moon that will allow humans to live and 263 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: work their long term so that we have a sustainable 264 00:15:55,480 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: presence of there. It's an extremely ambitious endeavor, but I 265 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: think what you know, I think it's what we are 266 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: ultimately working towards when it comes to our space exploration goals. 267 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: It's how do we improve upon the major achievements that 268 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 1: we've done in the past, And so that's what I'm 269 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: really excited to see. And what I'm also excited about 270 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: is this program seems to have some staying power, more 271 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 1: so than other ambitious programs have had in the past. 272 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: You know, this isn't the first time that we've tried 273 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: to go back to the Moon again or even go 274 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: on to Mars. But when it comes to administration changes, 275 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: you know, things, things can get wiped away. But this 276 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: one survived an administration change, so hopefully it will survive another. 277 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: And it would be great because that's how we make, 278 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 1: you know, impressive things in space happen. They take a while, 279 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: more longer than four years of presidency. So I'm very 280 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: excited about that, and I'll be following it as long 281 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: as I am reporting on space. We'll return to Earth 282 00:16:53,160 --> 00:17:03,360 Speaker 1: when we come back. Lauren, we've talked about the Moon 283 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,480 Speaker 1: and deep space. Now let's come back home and talk 284 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: about NASA's new project called SWAT that stands for Surface 285 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: Water and Ocean Topography, and it uses this thing called 286 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: remote sensing to survey the Earth. Can you tell us 287 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: what remote sensing is? Sure? So, remote sensing is the 288 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: technology that we use from space to observe our Earth. 289 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: So that can be an optical wavelengths that can be 290 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,919 Speaker 1: with radar, that can be with an infrared. It's using 291 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: satellites to collect data about our Earth. So looking back 292 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: at us the ultimate selfie, if you will. Why is 293 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: it important to do this from high above the Earth? 294 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: What do we get looking down that we don't get 295 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,160 Speaker 1: from all the different ways we're able to measure stuff 296 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: from Earth? Well, I mean it gives us a more 297 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: complete picture of the overall globe. So, for instance, remote 298 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: sensing has been great for collecting data about our climate 299 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: and observing it over time. So if we want to 300 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,679 Speaker 1: focus on one patch of the Earth and see how 301 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: the climate in that area is changing, you know, that's 302 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: a great use of remote sensing and space technology. Another 303 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,359 Speaker 1: obvious reason is, you know, if we want to look 304 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: over a distant part of the Earth that is not 305 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: very accessible, we're getting much more fidelity with the data 306 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: that we can collect. And also the commercial space industry 307 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,959 Speaker 1: has taken a big foothold in remote sensing. Normally, this 308 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:38,679 Speaker 1: was an area solely taken by the government and you know, 309 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: the public sector, But now private companies are actually building 310 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 1: technologies thanks to the proliferation of satellite technology, the miniaturization 311 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: of satellites. You know, the commercialization of satellites. They are 312 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: the ones that are actually taking the lead and the 313 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: reins on remote sensing as we move forward. Yeah, let's 314 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,680 Speaker 1: talk about that for justice. Second, who's sending these satellites 315 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: up there? You know, NASA has been sending remote sensing 316 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: satellites into orbit for ages now, but we have commercial 317 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: companies like Leo Labs, for instance, and Planet and Spire. 318 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,119 Speaker 1: They're all launching small satellites that can look back on 319 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 1: the Earth and collect data about it as well. I 320 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 1: think the government has understood the benefits of turning those 321 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: satellites back on Earth and looking and being able to 322 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 1: collect data about the world that we live in. One 323 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 1: of those satellites is called SWAT. NASA loves its acronyms. 324 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: Producer Rebecca Chassan talked to a couple experts to learn 325 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: a bit more about what sets this particular remote sensing 326 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,440 Speaker 1: satellite apart. So my name's Tamlin Pavelski. I'm a professor 327 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: at the University of North Carolina, and I'm also the 328 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 1: hydrology science lead for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission. 329 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: My name is parag Vase. I am the SWAT project 330 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:03,399 Speaker 1: manager for NASA's Jepro Welshian Laboratory in Pasadena, California. SWAT 331 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: stands for Surface Water and Ocean Topography. It's NASA's next 332 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: generation satellite mission that is expected to look at all 333 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,120 Speaker 1: of the global surface waters. That means all we might 334 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 1: say freshwater and also our salt water. So let's divide 335 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: earth surface water into kind of two chunks. Right. First, 336 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,439 Speaker 1: we've got the ocean. It's easy to think about the 337 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 1: ocean as a bathtub right where there's like one sea level, 338 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,239 Speaker 1: but in fact, the ocean surface has topography, it has 339 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: higher and lower places. We have a current suite of 340 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: satellite altimeters they're called profiling or nat or altimeters that 341 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: allows us to kind of see features in the ocean 342 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: that are maybe a couple hundred kilometers in size. It 343 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: turns out that most of the ocean energy, like most 344 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: of the circulation in the ocean and the action in 345 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 1: the ocean, it's actually smaller than that two hundred kilometer size. 346 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: And so what is going to provide us that first 347 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: picture of like an order of magnitude smaller if features 348 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: like eddies and whorls and things like that that are 349 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,159 Speaker 1: down to maybe more like twenty kilometers rather than two hundred. 350 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: One of the things that we know is that sea 351 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: level it's rising everywhere, of course, or almost everywhere, but 352 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 1: it's rising at different amountains in different places. But our 353 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: current set of satellites don't give us very good data 354 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,679 Speaker 1: right near the coast. So what we're left with is 355 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,439 Speaker 1: we have to use tide gages, and we have some 356 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 1: of them, but they're you know, they're not evenly spaced 357 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: around the world's coasts, and there's big spaces, big gaps 358 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 1: in between them. SWAT is actually going to be able 359 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: to see pretty much right up to the coast, and 360 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: so we're going to be able to use it to 361 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: better understand sort of how sea level rise might affect 362 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 1: coastal communities. If you are going to want to think 363 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: about what matters to you, you know, when you're trying 364 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:57,280 Speaker 1: to predict a flood, right if you're a homeowner, you 365 00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:00,359 Speaker 1: probably care where is the floodwater going to be and 366 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: how high is it going to get? And SWAT observes 367 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: both of those things simultaneously. So with the standard altimeters 368 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,840 Speaker 1: of the past, how close to the coast could you 369 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 1: get with those measurements? Yeah, so we could get to 370 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:20,359 Speaker 1: something like seventy kilometers and how close we'll swap be 371 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 1: able to get into the coast. So we think we're 372 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: going to get to something like ten to fifteen kilometers, 373 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,679 Speaker 1: so still not right up to the coast, but pretty 374 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: darn clothes, and at much higher resolutions. As I said, 375 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: so you know, it's like saying pixels. Everybody knows about 376 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:39,199 Speaker 1: pixels and their monitors, right, So it's like saying, Okay, 377 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:41,439 Speaker 1: I saw a few pixels on my screen, but now 378 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I'm able to multiply the number 379 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,880 Speaker 1: of pixels I have by tenfold or one hundredfold. Well, 380 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 1: I'm going to see a much better picture, much more 381 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 1: clearly than what I saw before. And so the goal 382 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: is to not only measure the height of the water, 383 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 1: but also because we're taking these repeating measurements, it gives 384 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: us a measurement of how that is changing. That is 385 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 1: certainly something we can do very precisely with the measurement 386 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: that I've mentioned to you. And what I mean very 387 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: very precisely, I mean within a few centimeters, So sort 388 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,680 Speaker 1: of the distance you know, the size of a quarter, 389 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,200 Speaker 1: tell me about what kind of picture we have right 390 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: now of Earth surface water. How much do we know 391 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 1: right now? We kind of monitor a few lakes, like 392 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: the really big ones mostly and then a smattering of 393 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,919 Speaker 1: smaller ones, but maybe ten twenty thousand something like that 394 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:41,640 Speaker 1: around the world. There's something like six million lakes larger 395 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,160 Speaker 1: than one hundred meters by one hundred meters in the world, 396 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 1: and most of those we have no idea what's going 397 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: on in terms of the amount of water that's being 398 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,639 Speaker 1: stored in them, and spat's really going to help us 399 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:52,879 Speaker 1: with that. Lakes are these sort of sentinels of the 400 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: water cycle. If you want to understand what's going on 401 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: in terms of the overall water cycle in that whole 402 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 1: area that drains into that lake, look at how the 403 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: water level in the lake is changing. It's kind of 404 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:06,760 Speaker 1: integrating and this data will it be publicly available? Who 405 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: gets it absolutely. That's one of the cool things about 406 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: NASA is they're almost kind of radically open. So as 407 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,359 Speaker 1: a matter of fact, the only people who get to 408 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: see this data before it becomes completely free and open 409 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: are a handful of people who are working on doing 410 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,680 Speaker 1: some of the first validation work. Right where we're saying, okay, 411 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: is this like, is it basically Okay? Water is to 412 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: me and what makes me personally excited is the closest 413 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,639 Speaker 1: we get to life. People talk about exploring Mars, what 414 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,000 Speaker 1: are they looking for water? So I think that is 415 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,680 Speaker 1: going to be something that having the best and most 416 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: expensive information on our home planet is going to make 417 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: a difference in people's everyday lives. So maybe not in 418 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: my lifetime, but I'm convinced it will make a difference. 419 00:24:56,280 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 1: So it's something that is not just an academic exercise. 420 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:05,560 Speaker 1: I think it's really going to impact and inform people's lives, 421 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: and that's really what SWAT is all about. A lot 422 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,919 Speaker 1: of the impact of SWAT will be felt by coastal communities. 423 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: Rebecca went out to find out what that looks like. 424 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,919 Speaker 1: My name is Barbara Launder, first and four Minister. I'm 425 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: an associate professor of Natural Sciences at Flagwick College and 426 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: the new job for me is a city commissioner with 427 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:31,439 Speaker 1: the City of Saint Augustine in Florida. We have a 428 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:36,280 Speaker 1: tidal gauge that is one of the National Water Level 429 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:42,640 Speaker 1: Observation Network gauges that's in Mayport Jacksonville area, and that's 430 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 1: the one to the north of US and to the 431 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: south of US. There's another one at Cape Canaveral. The 432 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: distance between the two title gauges is one hundred and 433 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,880 Speaker 1: sixty six miles as the growth flies, which is a 434 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: pretty significant gap if you're looking at developing local models 435 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:04,639 Speaker 1: for resilience planning. So we're working with what would be 436 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: limited data sets to begin with that we're extrapolating from, 437 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: and then those extra relations are also affected by the 438 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: fact that we sit pretty much smack in the middle 439 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:21,040 Speaker 1: of the two tidal gages, and so it seems to 440 00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 1: us that SWAT would really help to fill that gap. 441 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,399 Speaker 1: Can you tell me a little bit about what a 442 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,440 Speaker 1: resilience plan looks like and why these models would be 443 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 1: important for it. We have a number of different plans. 444 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,720 Speaker 1: We have storm water plans, we have a resilience plan, 445 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 1: we have coastal vulnerability assessments. All of these help us 446 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 1: develop a picture of what our current state is and 447 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,920 Speaker 1: what we should be planning for. For example, our wastewater 448 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: treatment plant is at sea level. Practically, it's it's just 449 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,640 Speaker 1: a few feet above sea level, and so how long 450 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:00,400 Speaker 1: will we be able to operate that plant? What can 451 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: we do to protect it? From storm search and saltwater 452 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: intrusion and accidental releases of wastewater. I'm curious you said 453 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 1: that SWAT hadn't really crossed your radars, so to speak. 454 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,680 Speaker 1: What was your reaction when you saw what it would 455 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 1: be doing? Frankly, I amsolutely excited about it, Lauren. As 456 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 1: fast as this technology is advancing, where do you see 457 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: this heading? If you look forward a few years or 458 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 1: even more than that, what do you think we're looking at? 459 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: I mean, I think we're looking at a future when 460 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: maybe even an average citizen, if they want to find, 461 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: you know, high fidelity imagery or data about a certain 462 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,359 Speaker 1: point on Earth, they'll be able to go and buy 463 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,680 Speaker 1: that data for their purposes because there are going to 464 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,400 Speaker 1: be so many companies that are selling this and making 465 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,639 Speaker 1: it more readily available as costs to launch come down, 466 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: and as more people understand the value of having this data. 467 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 1: So I think it's only going to get better and 468 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,880 Speaker 1: sharper and easier to accesus. Lauren Brush, thanks for coming 469 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,439 Speaker 1: on the show. Thanks so much. Thanks for listening to us. 470 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: Here at the Big Take. It's a daily podcast from 471 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:16,160 Speaker 1: Bloomberg and iHeartRadio. For more shows from my Heart Radio, 472 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen, 473 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,679 Speaker 1: and we'd love to hear from you. Email us questions 474 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: or comments to Big Take at Bloomberg dot Net. The 475 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 1: supervising producer of The Big Take is Vicki Burgolina. Our 476 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,119 Speaker 1: senior producer and one of the producers of this episode 477 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 1: is Katherine Fink. Our producer is Rebecca Shassan. Raphael M. 478 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 1: Seeley is our engineer. Our original music was composed by 479 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:48,280 Speaker 1: Leo Sidrin. I'm West Kasova. We'll be back tomorrow with 480 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: another Big Take.