Cleared for Launch: Crew-12, Mars Organics, and an Interstellar Farewell

## In Today's Episode:- **FAA clears Falcon 9 — Crew-12 launch set for February 11** — The four-day grounding ends after SpaceX identifies and addresses the upper stage engine ignition failure. Fourth upper stage issue in 19 months.- **NASA study: Non-biological sources can't fully explain Mars organics** — Researchers find that known non-biological processes don't account for the abundance of organic compounds discovered by Curiosity in Gale Crater. The team modelled 80 million years of cosmic radiation exposure.- **Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS flares while exiting the solar system** — NASA's SPHEREx captures the comet dramatically brightening, releasing water vapour, CO₂, methane, methanol, and organic compounds from beneath its cosmic-ray-hardened crust.- **UK proposes 30% cut to astronomy and physics research** — The deepest funding cut in a generation threatens early-career researchers and the UK's role in major international projects including the Square Kilometre Array and ESO.- **New Glenn second stage reuse debate reignites** — Blue Origin's Project Jarvis faces the question: can a reusable upper stage beat expendable manufacturing costs? Bezos calls it a "horse race."- **Fraggles land at Kennedy Space Center** — Jim Henson's beloved characters star in "Fraggle Rock: A Space-y Adventure," a new live show blending comedy, music, and NASA science.---## Links & Sources:- space.com — FAA clears Falcon 9, Crew-12 launch confirmed- science.nasa.gov — NASA study on Mars organics- space.com — SPHEREx observations of comet 3I/ATLAS- space.com — UK astronomy funding cuts- arstechnica.com — New Glenn second stage reuse debate- arstechnica.com / kennedyspacecenter.com — Fraggle Rock: A Space-y Adventure---## Connect With Us:🌐 Website: https://astronomydaily.io📱 Social: @AstroDailyPod (all platforms)⭐ Subscribe and leave a review to help other space fans find us!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-latest-space-news--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.astronomydaily.io/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Get the best secure and private email on the planet. Stop your Government, google and who knows who else spying on every email you write. Do what we did and use ProtonMail. They beleive in privacy and there are no ads in their business model...yet they still provide a free forever service. Check them out and get out special deal at www.astronomydaily.io/protonmailBecome a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.