General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - June 2015

Jun 2015

Jun 06, 2024

Russian Cosmonaut Becomes First Person to Spend 1,000 Days in Space

A 59-year-old Russian cosmonaut became the first person to spend 1,000 days in space, Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
Oleg Kononenko achieved the milestone, having made five journeys to the International Space Station dating back to 2008.
His current trip to the ISS began September 15, 2023, when he launched alongside NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and compatriot Nikolai Chub.

ISRO Develops PraVaHa Software for Aerodynamic Design and Analysis

ISRO, through its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), introduced the PraVaHa software, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool aimed at facilitating aerodynamic design and analysis for aerospace vehicles.
PraVaHa, acronym for 'Parallel RANS Solver for Aerospace Vehicle Aero-thermo-dynamic Analysis', is tailored to simulate both external and internal flows on various types of vehicles, including launch vehicles, winged, and non-winged re-entry vehicles.
PraVaHa leverages advancements in CFD technology, offering accurate predictions for complex aerodynamic flows and faster simulation turnaround times, particularly on High-Performance Computing Clusters. Its versatility extends to CPU and GPU architectures, making it adaptable to current and upcoming supercomputing facilities.

South Korea Establishes National Space Agency, KASA

South Korea officially launched its space agency, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), to lead policy and industrial development in its aerospace sector. The establishment was made possible after the country's national assembly passed a special law in January to unify government organizations in charge of space policy and projects. The new agency is based in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, with an annual budget of 758.9 billion won ($556 million).
South Korea became the seventh country to own an indigenous space launch vehicle and satellite development technology with the launch of the Nuri rocket in May 2023 that put a commercial grade satellite in orbit.

Jun 05, 2024

Nokia and Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya Collaborate on 5G/6G Research

Finnish telecom giant Nokia and Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore advancements in 5G and 6G communications, specifically targeting transportation and logistics sectors. The agreement, signed in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Chancellor of GSV, aims to leverage Nokia's expertise in telecommunications to enhance various aspects of transportation and logistics.
Under the collaboration, Nokia and GSV will focus on several key areas:
Transportation Use Cases: Researching applications of 5G/6G in air, land, and sea transportation.
Standards Development: Contributing to the development of industry standards in telecommunications for the transportation sector.
Smart Factory and Automation: Exploring opportunities for automation and smart factory solutions enabled by advanced communication technologies.
AI and GenAI Labs: Investigating the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) in transportation and logistics operations.

Jun 04, 2024

NASA, ESA Develop Standardized Lunar Time System

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are collaborating to develop a standardized time system for the moon as part of the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface. The initiative addresses the need for a unified timekeeping system to coordinate missions from different countries and private entities.
With many lunar missions planned, including those by China, India, and private companies, the absence of a standardized time zone on the moon poses logistical challenges. A common lunar time system is essential for ensuring the successful operation and coordination of these missions.
The moon's day-night cycle, lasting about 29.5 Earth days, complicates timekeeping. Unlike Earth's 24-hour day, this prolonged cycle necessitates a different approach to maintaining a consistent time reference.

ISRO and Wipro 3D Collaborate on 3D-Printed Rocket Engine

In a landmark achievement for sustainable space exploration, Wipro 3D and ISRO jointly developed and successfully tested a 3D-printed rocket engine for India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The engine, designed for the fourth stage (PS4), marks a significant advancement in additive manufacturing technology within India's space program.
ISRO implemented Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) techniques to redesign the conventionally manufactured PS4 engine. By utilizing Laser Powder Bed Fusion, the number of engine components was reduced from 14 to a single piece, eliminating 19 weld joints. This streamlined design drastically reduced raw material usage and production time, enhancing efficiency and performance.

Jun 03, 2024

Assam Gets Northeast's 1st AI Teacher 'Iris'

Draped in a traditional 'Mekhela Chador' and jewellery, Assam and northeast India's first artificially intelligent (AI) teacher 'Iris' promptly answered all questions of students of a private school in Guwahati.
The humanoid listened to the question - what is haemoglobin? - and replied to the student with all the details.
'Iris' has a voice-controlled assistant which helps it respond to student queries and provides detailed explanations.
The robot has been developed in collaboration with Makerlabs Edu-tech under the Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) project initiated by NITI Aayog.

China Lands on Moon's Far Side in Historic Sample-retrieval Mission

China landed an uncrewed spacecraft on the far side of the moon, overcoming a key hurdle in its landmark mission to retrieve the world's first rock and soil samples from the dark lunar hemisphere.
The landing elevates China's space power status in a global rush to the moon, where countries including the United States are hoping to exploit lunar minerals to sustain long-term astronaut missions and moon bases within the next decade.
The Chang'e-6 craft, equipped with an array of tools and its own launcher, touched down in a gigantic impact crater called the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon's space-facing side.
The successful mission is China's second on the far side of the moon, a region no other country has reached. The side of the moon perpetually facing away from the Earth is dotted with deep and dark craters, making communications and robotic landing operations more challenging.

Jun 02, 2024

James Webb Telescope Finds Record-breaking Distant Galaxy (02)

The James Webb Space Telescope discovered what appears to be a new record-holder for the most distant known galaxy, a remarkably bright star system that existed just 290 million years after the Big Bang, according to NASA.
The galaxy has been named JADES-GS-z14-0.
In addition to JADES-GS-z14-0, NASA also discovered another distant galaxy JADES-GS-z14-1, that is almost equally far away. This takes second spot in the ranking of the earliest galaxies ever observed by humans so far.

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