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Transcript/ScriptTHE WEEK IN SPACE (TV)
HEADLINE: Ancient Asteroid May Hold Clues on Water's Origin on Earth
TEASER: After a journey spanning more than 96 million kilometers, scientists now study fragments of an ancient asteroid that may explain water’s origins on our home planet
PUBLISHED AT: 11/30/23, 3:17p
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: REUTERS/ AP/ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM/ NASA’S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER/ NASA/ NASA
SCRIPT EDITORS: AR, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): REUTERS/ AP/ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM/ NASA’S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER/ NASA/ NASA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 2:53
NOTE:
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO))
[[NASA collected samples of an ancient asteroid in space that took years to reach us back on Earth. Scientists expect this to be a long research process, but some theories so far suggest asteroids like this one brought water to our home planet. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.]]
((NARRATOR))
We begin this week with what could be the future for sustainable farming on Earth and in space. Paris- and Los Angeles-based biotech company Interstellar Lab designed the BioPod. The company’s founder says BioPod allows farmers to localize the production of common crops that would otherwise require global supply chains and therefore reduce greenhouse gases that come with long journeys.
[RADIO TRACK: Interstellar Lab founder Barbara Belvisi speaking with Reuters]
((Barbara Belvisi, Interstellar Lab Founder))
“Growing vanilla, for instance, here, then, this is where the BioPod makes a lot of sense. And so, it’s reduced the CO2 impact of making the travel of the ingredients from one country to another. We optimize the consumption of water, so compared to traditional agriculture (this) is like 99 percent of the water is recycled and reused. We take CO2 from the atmosphere to enrich the level of CO2 inside the bubble.
((NARRATOR))
By stacking the units, Interstellar Lab says it can reduce the footprint for growers while providing a more efficient space to grow crops in units that go up instead of out. In collaboration with NASA, a space-based version of BioPod is scheduled for use on the moon by 2027.
The Reuters News Agency reporting Interstellar Lab founder Barbara Belvisi ((bell-VEE-zee)) will attend the COP28 climate conference to raise interest and money for the project. When commercial production begins, each unit will sell for 350-thousand dollars.
((mandatory cg NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM))
((NARRATOR))
In other news, the dust and fragments in these still images come from the four-and-a-half-billion-year-old asteroid, Bennu ((ben-oo)).
((mandatory cg NASA’S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER))
((NARRATOR))
NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected the samples in October 2020. After a journey of more than 7 years
((mandatory cg NASA))
((NARRATOR))
…it landed at the Utah Test and Training Range-military facility. Researchers say they found water trapped in the fragment, which may be a clue as to how water came to Earth.
[RADIO TRACK: At the Natural History Museum in London, Planetary Science Researcher Sara Russell spoke on a video call with the Associated Press]
((Sara Russell, Planetary Science Researcher))
“When the Earth formed, it probably formed really, really hot, and most of the water would have evaporated, so it could be that the Earth got its water because it was pummeled by asteroids like Bennu that provided this water to the Earth’s surface.”
((mandatory cg NASA))
((NARRATOR))
Russell added that Bennu is perhaps the most-hazardous threat to Earth in our solar system, so part of the research is to better understand its orbit and composition if scientists ever had to find a way to deflect it.
Regardless, Russel says, it will take months and years to unlock the many questions scientists have about this ancient asteroid.
((mandatory cg NASA))
((NARRATOR))
Finally, this week, if you’ve ever had a rough day at the office, try losing your tool bag in Earth’s orbit outside the International Space Station. That’s what happened in early November when NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara lost theirs. The bag was visible with just binoculars and joined a long list of space junk orbiting our planet.
Arash Arabasadi, VOA News.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
in Washington D. C.
Embargo DateNovember 30, 2023 16:35 EST
Byline
Arash Arabasadi, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
