WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Can Space Missions Teach Us About Ourselves?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren Bogelbaum, and today's episode is another classic from

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<v Speaker 1>our former host, Christian Sagar. In this one, we pay

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<v Speaker 1>tribute to NASA's Cassini mission and talk about how exploring

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<v Speaker 1>space can help us learn about the universe and our

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<v Speaker 1>own planet. Hey brain Stuff, it's Christian Sager here. Before

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<v Speaker 1>meeting its fiery demise in Saturn's atmosphere on Friday September.

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<v Speaker 1>NASA's groundbreaking Cassini mission to Saturn had spent thirteen years

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<v Speaker 1>redefining our view of the beautiful ringed gas giant, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's discoveries went well beyond pure science. Like the long

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<v Speaker 1>duration space missions that came before it, the Galileo mission

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<v Speaker 1>to Jupiter, the Twin Voyager probes, and more recently, the

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<v Speaker 1>European Rosetta mission, Cassini irrevocably changed our perspectives, but coming

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<v Speaker 1>ingrained in the lives of the people who worked with

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<v Speaker 1>the mission and had tangible impacts on society. Cassini's scientific

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<v Speaker 1>accolades are nothing short of revolutionary. With the help of

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<v Speaker 1>the European High Gen's lander, it explored the stunningly dynamic

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<v Speaker 1>atmosphere of Titan, discovering vast lakes of liquid methane and

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<v Speaker 1>uncovering a vast subsurface ocean of liquid water. Close up

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<v Speaker 1>examinations of the planet's rings revealed stunning detail and the

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<v Speaker 1>intricate relationship with its moons. Cassini tracked changes in Saturn's

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<v Speaker 1>atmosphere as its seasons progressed, a feat that could only

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<v Speaker 1>be achieved by putting a long duration probe in orbit

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<v Speaker 1>about the planet for more than a decade. And then

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<v Speaker 1>there's en Celaduce, a small icy moon that, until Cassini

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<v Speaker 1>arrived in two thousand four, hit a secret and ocean

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<v Speaker 1>with the potential for life. Thanks to end Celluduce, it

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't look as if you need a planet with liquid

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<v Speaker 1>water on its surface like Earth. Unlike our world, moons

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<v Speaker 1>like Enceladuce, Titan, possibly Dione, Jupiter's Europa, and Neptune's Triton

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<v Speaker 1>hide their liquid water underneath their surfaces, and these moons

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<v Speaker 1>are abundant dynamic places in our Solar system. Io has

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<v Speaker 1>volcanic plumes and Europa has a liquid ocean with seas, rain, rivers,

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<v Speaker 1>and volcanoes. Geysers come out of Neptune's moon Titan. Though

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<v Speaker 1>these places are extremely cold and water cannot exist as

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<v Speaker 1>a liquid. Other chemicals with lower freezing points step in

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<v Speaker 1>to become their lubricants, and in the case of Titan,

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<v Speaker 1>it's methane and all kinds of hydrocarbons. In the case

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<v Speaker 1>of Inseladuce, it's liquid water heated by tides all the

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<v Speaker 1>way out to nept Tune, where the lubricant is nitrogen.

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<v Speaker 1>This could mean that we might discover a similar rich

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<v Speaker 1>diversity in other star systems. Space exploration has a knack

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<v Speaker 1>for putting our place in the universe into perspective, but

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<v Speaker 1>this goes beyond the science. It has an impact on society.

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<v Speaker 1>Like the famous pale blue dot photograph of a distant

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<v Speaker 1>Earth captured by the Voyager one spacecraft as it was

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<v Speaker 1>speeding into the unknown frontiers of our Solar system two

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<v Speaker 1>Cassini's own portrait of Earth during the Wave at Saturn event.

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<v Speaker 1>Space exploration can give the world a sense of togetherness.

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<v Speaker 1>These images from space also act as a catalyst to

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<v Speaker 1>give people optimism, considering beauty beyond the strife here on Earth.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Ian O'Neill and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tristan mcne and Tyler Klang. For more in this lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other far out topics, visit how stuff works dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio. For more

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