The Year in Space and Physics
A look back at the biggest stories of 2023
As has become tradition by now, at the end of each year I like to look back at the stories covered by The Quantum Cat. This year has offered no shortage of interesting topics. Researchers have explored everything from the details of the Earth’s core to the echoes of the largest explosion ever recorded by humanity. Below, however, I’ve picked some of the largest trends, and, perhaps, some that will prove to be the most consequential developments of the year.
Before that, however, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for subscribing and for reading The Quantum Cat. I’ve enjoyed writing every edition, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them. I can’t thank you enough for your continued support.
Exploring the Ancient Universe
A year ago the work of the James Webb Space Telescope had barely started. After its launch, on Christmas Day 2021, operators took six months to unfurl its mirrors, calibrate its instruments and prepare it to peer deep into the cosmos. Its first public images, unveiled in July 2022, were staggering not just for their beauty, but also for the promise they held of profound discoveries to come.
Over the past year astronomers have started to realise that promise. Much of their work has focused on the early universe, an effort that takes full advantage of the Webb’s ability to look deeper into space, and further back in time, than any other telescope yet built. They have spied ancient galaxies, enormous black holes and spotted hints of the first stars.
Yet those findings have also puzzled astronomers. The galaxies seen by the Webb are larger and better formed than expected, throwing our theories of cosmic evolution into doubt. In time these discoveries will reshape our understanding of the early universe. They may, too, help resolve the conundrums of dark matter and dark energy.
In another way, however, the telescope is also beginning to reshape our place in the cosmos. The James Webb has started to examine planets circling distant stars. In some cases it has unveiled bizarre weather systems, revealing a diversity of worlds unimaginable a few decades ago. In others it has hinted at the possibility of spotting alien life - or, at least, the chemical signatures that may point to its presence.
The next year is sure to bring more news on both fronts. Indeed, there is plenty more to come from the James Webb. Thanks to the precision of its launch, the telescope is expected to keep running for at least another two decades.
Asteroids, the Moon and Beyond
Three nations targeted the Moon this year. First up was Russia, who launched their Luna 25 in early August. Nine days later the attempt came to an abrupt ending - the probe smashed into the Moon at high speed, probably because of a failed manoeuvre as it descended towards the surface.
A few days later came the turn of India’s Chandrayaan-3. This time things went to plan: the probe’s Vikram lander touched down on the Moon on August 23, making India only the fourth nation to reach the lunar surface. For a little under two weeks the lander sent back data, and even deployed a small rover to explore its surroundings.
Japan - the third nation to try - has taken things rather more slowly. In September they launched SLIM, a mission designed to demonstrate precision landing techniques on distant worlds. SLIM has since followed a long, fuel efficient route to reaching the Moon, which it finally did so on December 25. A landing attempt should come in January next year.
In America the focus last year was on asteroids, rather than the Moon. Perhaps most exciting was the return of OSIRIS-REx, a probe that visited the asteroid Bennu in 2020. After a high speed landing in the deserts of Utah, NASA successfully retrieved a sample the probe sent back. Oddly, however, engineers have not yet managed to open the box it came in - leaving its contents still somewhat mysterious.
NASA also launched the aptly named Psyche in October, a probe that will visit the asteroid Psyche by the end of the decade. This, one of the largest known asteroids, may be the exposed core of a protoplanet; one that formed during the early solar system but was somehow later destroyed. Lucy, another probe, flew past the asteroid Dinkinesh in November, finding it to be a twin asteroid.
Europe’s efforts, by contrast, looked further afield. The continent’s space agency, ESA, launched JUICE towards Jupiter in April. Over the next eight years the probe will travel across the Solar System, before it reaches the giant planet around the end of the decade. In July they also launched Euclid, an advanced space telescope designed to uncover the fingerprints of dark matter and dark energy.
Sketchy Superconductors
In July the news of LK99 dramatically burst over the internet. A pair of papers, published by a South Korean university, claimed the material was a room temperature superconductor. If true that was big news: such a material has been long sought, not least for the astonishing electrical properties it would offer.
On social media speculation went wild. Videos emerged of purported tests, in which people claimed to confirm LK99’s superconducting properties. Amateurs and experts weighed in alike, pushing theories and discussing how soon the new material would revolutionise the world.
Sadly, the hype proved to be an illusion. Laboratories around the world failed to find signs of superconductivity. Other explanations soon emerged for its properties; and now, six months later, LK99 is no longer considered to be a potential superconductor. The revolution, clearly, will have to wait.
Beyond emphasising the need for extraordinary evidence when making extraordinary claims, the story of LK99 does highlight the attention superconductors are now drawing. Teams of researchers around the world are actively researching them, dreaming of finding one that really does work at room temperature.
Indeed, many think this is more a materials problem than a physics one. The rules behind superconductors are well known - and many have been found that work at low temperatures or under enormous pressure. There may well be a certain combination of atoms and electrons that enables superconductivity at room temperature - the only question, really, is whether we can find it.
This is a problem that AI may well be able to help with. Recently researchers put an AI to work identifying possible crystal structures. It found over two million candidates - roughly fifty times the number of previously known crystals. Among these new materials could be some, or even many, that act as superconductors.
Rockets and Starships
SpaceX’s Starship finally got off the ground in April. The first launch, though spectacular, revealed many problems with the mammoth rocket - resulting, a few minutes after lift-off, in a dramatic explosion. A second attempt in November flew far more smoothly and, for a few minutes at least, actually reached space.
Though more work is undoubtedly needed to solve the remaining problems and challenges, the two flights over the past year suggest Starship has an exciting future. If things go well, we should expect to see several launches of the giant rocket over the next year, each of which will push the technology a little bit further.
Look beyond Starship, however, and the true scale of SpaceX’s dominance becomes clear. In 2023 the company launched ninety-seven Falcon rockets, including five of the Falcon Heavy. SpaceX thus accounted for nine out of every ten American launches, and for close to half of all launches worldwide. Next year, reports say, the company is aiming for almost one hundred and fifty launches.
That should be enough to maintain the company’s dominance. In the long run, however, the global rocket industry appears to be going through a transition period. SpaceX pioneered the use of reusable rockets, thus slashing the cost to put stuff in space. Others are now trying to keep up - and rivals, from China to Europe, are rapidly developing rockets of their own.
The next year should see many of these rivals attempt launches. That alone will not be enough to challenge SpaceX - but the story of the next decade should be one in which a new set of players drive competition and innovation in space exploration.
Loved your roundup on James Webb this year--well done and happy 2024 to you!