General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - August 2016

Aug 2016

Apr 17, 2023

Juice mission launches to explore Jupiter's icy ocean worlds

The European Space Agency has sent a spacecraft to explore Jupiter and three of its largest and most intriguing moons.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or Juice, launched Friday at 8:14 a.m. ET aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The spacecraft separated from the Ariane 5 rocket 28 minutes after launch, and ESA received a signal from Juice about an hour after liftoff, confirming that Earth-based mission control is able to "talk" to the vehicle.
Over the course of the next 17 days, Juice will deploy its solar arrays, antennas and other instruments, followed by three months of testing and preparing the instruments.
Juice will take eight years to reach Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. During its lengthy cruise, the spacecraft will utilize some gravitational slingshots as it flies by Earth, our moon and Venus to help with the journey.

Europe's most powerful nuclear reactor kicks off in Finland

The turbine hall of the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto 3 'OL3' is pictured under construction in Eurajoki, south-western Finland, March 23, 2011. The Olkiluoto 3 reactor, which has 1,600-megawatt capacity, was connected into the Finnish national power grid in March 2022 and kicked off regular production on Sunday, April 16, 2023.
Finland's much-delayed and costly new nuclear reactor, Europe's most powerful by production capacity, has completed a test phase lasting over a year and started regular output, boosting the Nordic country's electricity self-sufficiency significantly.
The Olkiluoto 3 reactor, which has 1,600-megawatt capacity, was connected into the Finnish national power grid in March 2022 and kicked off regular production on Sunday.
Operator Teollisuuden Voima, or TVO, tweeted that "Olkiluoto 3 is now ready" after a delay of 14 years from the original plan.
It will help Finland to achieve its carbon neutrality targets and increase energy security at a time when European countries have cut oil, gas and other power supplies from Russia, Finland's neighbour.

Apr 16, 2023

European Space Agency Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moons Postponed

After weather experts warned of the potential for lightning strikes at the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana, the JUICE spacecraft's scheduled launch for an eight-year trip was postponed.
Mission controllers scrapped the launch about 10 minutes before the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, spacecraft was due to blast off on an eight-year voyage to survey a trio of Jovian moons where life may once have gained a foothold.

Apr 15, 2023

IIT-Bombay and UIDAI Join Hands to Develop Touchless Biometric System

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay), to develop a touchless biometric capture system for easier use, anytime and anywhere.
Under the MoU, UIDAI and IIT Bombay will carry out joint research to build a mobile capture system for fingerprints along with liveness model integrated with the capture system.
Once developed and operational, the touchless biometric capture system will allow fingerprint authentication from home, akin to face authentication. The new system is expected to capture multiple fingerprints at one go and improve the authentication success rate. Once in place, it will be an addition to the existing facilities available in the Aadhaar ecosystem.

Apr 14, 2023

WhatsApp Launches 'Stay Safe' Campaign to Educate Users

WhatsApp announced a new campaign called "Stay Safe with WhatsApp," which highlights the several safety features that are pre-built on the messaging app. The campaign will run for a total of three months with a focus on several safety-centric features like 'Block and Report,' 'Two-Step Verification,' and 'Privacy and group settings.'
The campaign highlights why it is important to add two-step verification to WhatsApp, which requires a six-digit pin and an OTP to authenticate a user. This will be helpful if the smartphone is lost, as the miscreant will not be able to access WhatsApp without the security pin.

Apr 13, 2023

UAE's Rashid Rover to Land on Moon on April 25

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), a Dubai government organisation working on the UAE space programme, announced that the Rashid Rover, onboard the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander, is scheduled to land on the Moon on April 25.
The landing date is subject to change depending on operational conditions.
During the landing sequence, the lander will perform a braking burn, firing its main propulsion system to decelerate from orbit. Utilising a series of pre-set commands, the lander will adjust its altitude and reduce velocity to make a soft landing on the confirmed site of Atlas Crater in the Mare Frigoris.

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