# Cosmic Secrets in Ocean Rocks, Record-Breaking Ariane Launch, and a Salty Pink World Revealed

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates-5658676/cosmic-secrets-in-ocean-rocks-record-breaking-ariane-launch-and-a-salty-pink-world-revealed
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates-5658676/cosmic-secrets-in-ocean-rocks-record-breaking-ariane-launch-and-a-salty-pink-world-revealed.md
Podcast: [Astronomy Daily: Latest Space News](https://stenobird.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates-5658676)
Published: 2026-06-21T04:32:52+00:00
Episode link: http://astronomydaily.io
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/track/op3.dev/e/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72616742/cosmic_secrets_in_ocean_rocks_record_breaking_ariane_launch_and_a_salty_pink_world_revealed.mp3
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Duration seconds: 782

## Resource

This weekend's Astronomy Daily wraps up the biggest stories from across the cosmos, starting with two completely fresh discoveries — a 1976 ocean rock that's turned out to hold atomic-scale proof of an ancient neutron star collision, and a record-breaking rocket launch from Europe's Ariane 6. Then we wind back through the week for our four biggest headlines: a new crew for Artemis III, JWST's salty 'Pink Planet' discovery, an update on the daring Swift Observatory rescue mission, and China's Tianwen-2 closing in on its target asteroid. Story 1: A Kilonova's Fingerprint, Found in a 1976 Ocean Rock • A rock sample dredged from the Pacific seafloor in 1976 has been found to contain a few hundred atoms of plutonium radioisotopes. • The plutonium originated from a kilonova — a collision between two neutron stars — that occurred over 100 million years ago. • Stellar debris from the merger settled to Earth and was slowly incorporated into a ferromanganese crust on the ocean floor. • Isotope ratios provide the strongest physical clues yet to what created the elements and roughly when the merger occurred. • Study published 18 June 2026. Story 2: Ariane 6 Smashes Its Own Heaviest-Payload Record • On 17 June 2026, an Ariane 64 rocket launched 36 Amazon Leo satellites from French Guiana (mission VA269 / LE-03). • First flight of new P160C solid boosters — about a metre longer than the previous P120C, holding up to 156 tonnes of propellant each. • Boosters deliver roughly a 10% performance increase, raising Ariane 64's LEO capacity to approximately 22 tonnes. • The mission broke the 13-year record for heaviest payload ever launched by an Ariane rocket, previously held by the 2013 ATV 'Albert Einstein' resupply flight. • Eighth Ariane 6 launch overall; 100th Amazon Leo satellite dep…

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