Artemis II Astronauts Approaching Moon & Sungrazing Comet C/2026 A1 At Perihelion - Space News (Apr 4, 2026)

Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - KrispCall: Agentic Cloud Telephony - https://try.krispcall.com/tad - Discover the Future of AI Audio with ElevenLabs - https://try.elevenlabs.io/tad - Lindy is your ultimate AI assistant that proactively manages your inbox - https://try.lindy.ai/tad Support The Automated Daily directly: Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/theautomateddaily Today's topics: Artemis II Astronauts Approaching Moon - NASA's Artemis II crew crossed a major milestone on April 4th, becoming closer to the Moon than to Earth. The four astronauts aboard Orion will complete their lunar flyby on Monday before returning to Earth. Sungrazing Comet C/2026 A1 At Perihelion - Comet C/2026 A1 MAPS made its closest approach to the Sun today, passing just over 101,000 miles from the solar surface. This rare sungrazer comet may be visible through specialized space telescopes if it survives its extreme encounter. Amazon Leo Satellite Constellation Grows - United Launch Alliance successfully launched 29 Amazon Leo satellites aboard an Atlas V rocket, marking the heaviest payload ever flown on the vehicle. This deployment brings the broadband constellation closer to global coverage. Mercury Reaches Greatest Elongation - Mercury reached its greatest western elongation on April 3rd, making it visible in the pre-dawn sky. This is the best viewing opportunity for the elusive planet this year, visible low on the eastern horizon before sunrise. Episode Transcript Artemis II Astronauts Approaching Moon Let's start with our top story. The Artemis II crew has officially reached a historic milestone. At around midnight on April 4th, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen crossed an invisible boundary in space. They're now closer to the Moon than they are to Earth. That might sound like just a number, but it represents something profound: for the first time in over 50 years, humans have ventured this far from home. The crew is heading toward their lunar flyby, scheduled for Monday, April 6th, where they'll loop around the far side of the Moon and take observations that have never been captured directly by humans before. By the way, during their journey, the team did report a burning smell coming from the Orion spacecraft's toilet system on April 4th. NASA investigated and resolved the issue, so no need for concern there. Sungrazing Comet C/2026 A1 At Perihelion Switching to the cosmos now. Today, April 4th, marks a dramatic moment for Comet C/2026 A1, nicknamed MAPS. This comet just made its closest approach to the Sun, passing a mere 101,100 miles from the solar surface. To put that in perspective, the Sun's outer atmosphere extends much further. This is what astronomers call a sungrazer comet, and it's an extreme journey. The comet may have been vaporized by the intense heat, or it might have survived and could now be visible through space-based instruments like the LASCO coronagraph. Scientists expect to catch views of the comet as it emerges from behind the Sun's glare starting tomorrow. Amazon Leo Satellite Constellation Grows In satellite news, United Launch Alliance successfully deployed 29 Amazon Leo broadband satellites to orbit this morning from Cape Canaveral. This mission, called LA-05, marked the heaviest payload ever flown on an Atlas V rocket, weighing 18 tons. Amazon continues its aggressive pace to build out its global broadband constellation, competing directly with Starlink. This batch brings the total number of Amazon Leo satellites in orbit to over 240, with more launches planned for the coming weeks. Mercury Reaches Greatest Elongation And for skywatchers, if you managed to catch the pre-dawn sky yesterday on April 3rd, you had the best view of Mercury for the entire year. The planet reached its greatest western elongation, meaning it was at its maximum distance from the Sun as seen from Earth. This made Mercury visible in the pre-dawn hours, though just barely, sitting very low on the eastern horizon. Mercury will linger in the morning sky for a few more days if you missed it. Subscribe to edition specific feeds: - Space news * Apple Podcast English * Spotify English * RSS English Spanish French - Top news * Apple Podcast English Spanish French * Spotify English Spanish French * RSS English Spanish French - Tech news * Apple Podcast English Spanish French * Spotify English Spanish Spanish * RSS English Spanish French - Hacker news * Apple Podcast English Spanish French * Spotify English Spanish French * RSS English Spanish French - AI news * Apple Podcast English Spanish French * Spotify English Spanish French * RSS English Spanish French Visit our website at https://theautomateddaily.com/ Send feedback to [email protected] Youtube LinkedIn X (Twitter)