General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - October 2016

Oct 2016

Nov 26, 2020

NASA 'Megarocket' Assembly Begins in Florida

NASA has started assembling the first Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on a launch platform ahead of its maiden flight next year.
The SLS is the giant rocket that will send US astronauts back to the moon this decade — with the first crewed landing targeted for 2024.
Engineers in Florida have begun stacking the segments that make up the vehicle's two solid rocket boosters.
The rocket is scheduled to make its debut in November 2021.
The SLS consists of a giant, 65 m (212ft) — long core stage with four engines that's flanked by the twin solid fuel boosters.
Together, these produce a massive 8.8 million pounds (39.1 Meganewtons) of thrust that can loft astronauts into orbit; the rocket subsequently hurls them towards the moon.

Nov 25, 2020

Centre Bans 43 Chinese Mobile Apps

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology banned 43 Chinese mobile apps that were reportedly engaged in activities prejudicial to India's sovereignty and integrity.
The order was issued under the section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued the order for blocking the access of these apps by users in India based on the comprehensive reports received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Nov 24, 2020

China Successfully Launches its First Spacecraft to Moon to Collect Samples

China successfully launched its first unmanned space mission to collect samples from the moon's surface and return to earth, the country's maiden attempt to retrieve materials from an extra-terrestrial body.
China has successfully launched the Chang'e-5 lunar probe from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan. The spacecraft was launched by a Long March-5 rocket.
Chang'e-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in China's aerospace history, as well as the world's first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years.
China chose a complicated technological approach including unmanned rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit, which could bring back more samples and lay a technological foundation for manned lunar missions.

ISRO's Venus Mission Attracts International Payload Proposals

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has short-listed 20 space-based experiment proposals, including from France, for its proposed Venus orbiter mission 'Shukrayaan' to study the planet for more than four years.
These include collaborative contributions from Russia, France, Sweden and Germany.
ISRO was earlier eyeing June 2023 for the country's first mission to Venus.
But now ISRO is currently reviewing this mission timeline due to delays arising from the pandemic situation.
Future launch opportunity is either in 2024 or 2026.

Nov 23, 2020

China to Launch Moon Probe, Seeking First Lunar Rock Retrieval since 1970s

China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth's natural satellite since the 1970s.
The Chang'e-5 probe, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the Moon, will seek to collect material that can help scientists understand more about the noon's origins and formation. The mission will test China's ability to remotely acquire samples from space, ahead of more complex missions.
If successful, the mission will make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, following the United States and the Soviet Union decades ago.

Nov 21, 2020

Physicists build an 'Anti-laser' to Charge Your Phone

Scientists have figured out a way to perfectly beam energy across any room, thanks to a sci-fi like device they call an "anti-laser."
The idea is simple: Just like a laser emits light particles, or photons, one after another in a neat and orderly row, an anti-laser sucks up photons one after another in reverse order. Researchers have long speculated that a device like this might make wires and charging cables a thing of the past, allowing people to beam energy invisibly across a room to a laptop or phone and power it without plugging it in.
But though basic anti-lasers have been tested before, the real world is not as neat and orderly as a laser pointed at a fixed receiver in a laboratory. Electronics move around, objects get in the way, walls reflect energy in unexpected ways. The new anti-laser demonstrated in this experiment accounts for all that, and it receives scattered energy beamed around a space in an unpredictable pattern — still receiving 99.996% of the sent power.

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