General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - May 2015

May 2015

Dec 04, 2018

Russia's First Manned Voyage to ISS

A Russian-made Soyuz rocket blasted a three-man crew into orbit, beginning the first manned voyage to the International Space Station since a mission in October was aborted mid-air because of a rocket malfunction.
The Soyuz MS-11 flight lifted off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Anne McClain and the Canadian Space Agency's David Saint-Jacques.
The Soyuz is the only means of reaching the ISS since the United States retired the space shuttle in 2011.
Saint-Jacques will be the first Canadian astronaut to visit the space station since Chris Hadfield, who recorded a version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on board in 2013.

Material to Help Soldiers Avoid Detection by Enemy Developed

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) have developed textile-based meta-materials that can help defence personnel and vehicles avoid being detected by enemy radars.
The project was supported by the Defence Research Development Organisation, the department of science and technology, and IIT-K.
It was carried out by Kumar Vaibhav Srivastava of the electrical engineering department and J. Ramkumar of the mechanical engineering department of the institute.
The material can be used as uniforms for personnel and skirting or covering ground vehicles to avoid their detection by the enemy's advanced battlefield radars, motion-detecting ground sensors and thermal imaging systems.
The material is flexible and can be customised for different climates.

Dec 03, 2018

First Locomotive-less Train Breaches 180 kmph Speed Limit

India's first locomotive- less train, known as Train 18, breached the 180 kmph speed limit during a test run. When this 100-crore indigenously designed train is made operational, it will become the country's fastest train.
The train breached the 180 kmph speed in the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section.

Dec 01, 2018

World's Biggest Gene Bank of Medicinal Plants

Indian mint, Iranian saffron, Sri Lankan black pepper and mace from Indonesia, along with over 300 other spices and medicinal plants will have their genetic information profiled and saved at CSIR-CIMAP(Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants), Lucknow.
Once established, it will be the biggest gene bank of medicinal and aromatic plants in the world.
These plants are native to the 23 countries bordering the Indian Ocean. The countries are represented by their consortium Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
Genetic bank refers to a collection of genetic information that is unique for all living species.
The programme titled, 'Diversity, documentation, gene banking and database for medicinal plants' is being attended by representatives of 11 IORA member countries.
The programme is being organised by the science and technology transfer wing of IORA. The wing has chosen the CIMAP as one of its regional centres for science and technology transfer.
The programme is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The members include countries of the gulf-Iran, Oman, UAE, Yemen- African sub continent, South Africa, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya- other south east Asian countries and Australia.

Nov 30, 2018

Research in Artificial Intelligence

The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has decided to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to promote research in the technology and offer solutions to complex problems in fields such as medicine, finance and customer support.
The centre is expected to come up on the campus in the next six months.
The Institute currently offers courses in artificial intelligence at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. With this centre for excellence, the IIT-D is planning to bring researchers from all the departments, to inculcate AI in their respective disciplines and find solutions for various problems.

ISRO PSLV C43 Launch

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched an earth observation satellite, along with 30 micro and nano-satellites of eight other countries, after a 16-hour countdown.
The 31 satellites were launched in two different orbits by India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C43) in its 45th flight.
According to ISRO, the Indian satellite, Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS), will help in monitoring pollution from industries. It will also have other applications in agriculture, forestry, geology, coastal zone study and inland water studies.

Nov 28, 2018

NASA Lands InSight Robot

The US space agency NASA has landed a new robot on Mars after a dramatic seven-minute plunge to the surface of the Red Planet.

The InSight probe aims to study the world's deep interior, and make it the only planet - apart from Earth - that has been examined in this way.

InSight is now sitting on a vast, flat plain known as Elysium Planitia, close to the Red Planet's equator.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Rising

According to the UN, Global efforts to tackle climate change are way off track as it details the first rise in CO2 emissions in four years.

The emissions gap report says that economic growth is responsible for a rise in 2017 while national efforts to cut carbon have faltered.

To meet the goals of the Paris climate pact, the study says it's crucial that global emissions peak by 2020.

But the analysis says that this is now not likely even by 2030.

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