General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - January 2017

Jan 2017

Aug 24, 2023

India Scripts History with Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Touchdown

India scripted history by becoming the first country in the world to reach the uncharted territory of the Moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation's spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar South Pole, making India the first country to land on the Moon's unexplored surface. With this monumental moment, India also became the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the Moon after the United States, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
One of the key functionaries in the Chandrayaan-3 mission is ISRO chief S. Somanath. Somnath guided the Chandrayaan-3 team, which had P .Veeramuthuvel as Project Director, K. Kalpana as Associate Project Director, and M. Srikanth as Mission Operations Director.
The lunar South Pole is of particular interest as the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain water. The frozen water in the rocks could be transformed by future explorers into air and rocket fuel.
The lander is named Vikram, after the father of India's space program, Vikram Sarabhai. The rover is named Pragyan, which means 'wisdom' in Sanskrit.

China Launches Gaofen Earth-observation Satellite

China sent a new Earth observation satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
The satellite, Gaofen-12 04, was launched by a Long March-4C carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully.
It will be used in a variety of fields, including land surveys, urban planning, road network design, crop yield estimation and disaster relief.
The launch marked the 484th flight mission of the Long March series carrier rockets.

Aug 22, 2023

TN CM Stalin Lays Foundation Stone for South-East Asia's Largest Desalination Plant

In a significant stride towards resolving the water crisis gripping Chennai city, Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister, M. K. Stalin, laid the foundation stone for what is set to become South East Asia's largest water desalination project.
Spearheaded by VA Tech Wabag, a renowned pure-play water technology Indian Multinational Group based in Chennai, this project is poised to revolutionize the region's water supply. With an ambitious investment of Rs. 4,400 crore, this initiative holds the potential to alleviate Chennai's water scarcity concerns and elevate the city's status as a water-sustainable urban centre.
The goal of the project is to establish a Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination facility with the capacity to generate an impressive 400 million liters per day (MLD) of clean, drinkable water. The financial backing for this project is being extended by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), exemplifying a collaborative endeavor aimed at tackling a critical regional concern.

Aug 21, 2023

Russia's Luna-25 Mission Ends in Failure

Russia's eagerly anticipated lunar mission, the Luna-25, suffered a significant setback as the spacecraft veered out of control and crashed onto the Moon surface. The failure is a poignant reminder of the unpredictable challenges inherent in space exploration, emphasizing that even the most advanced technology is susceptible to failure.
The Luna-25 mission was an ambitious undertaking by Russia, aimed at landing a spacecraft on the Moon's south pole. This region garnered intense scientific interest due to its potential to contain water ice, a precious resource for future lunar endeavours. Beyond its scientific objectives, the Luna-25 also served as a preliminary step towards more advanced lunar missions, setting the stage for future missions that would gather and return lunar soil samples to Earth.
The last successful landing of a Russian spacecraft on the Moon occurred in 1976, marking a substantial gap in the country's lunar exploration endeavours.
Despite the disappointing outcome of the Luna-25 mission, Russia remains undeterred in its commitment to lunar exploration. The country's space agency is poised to launch the Luna-26 and Luna-27 missions in the coming years.

Aug 19, 2023

'Pibot,' the Humanoid Robot that Can Safely Pilot an Airplane

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) made groundbreaking advancements in aviation with the development of 'Pibot', a humanoid robot designed to fly aircraft using its own dexterity and advanced AI capabilities. Pibot's ability to manipulate flight instruments, understand complex manuals, and react quickly to emergency situations showcases its potential to transform aviation and other industries.
Pibot represents a groundbreaking innovation with the objective of enabling autonomous flight in existing aircraft without requiring any cockpit modifications. Through emulating human pilot actions and choices, Pibot envisions a revolutionary phase of automated aviation.
Pibot boasts state-of-the-art robotic arms and fingers integrated with cutting-edge high-precision control mechanisms. This enables Pibot to adeptly handle flight instruments and oversee cockpit switches, even when faced with challenging conditions such as intense vibrations.

Aug 18, 2023

Chandrayaan-3: Vikram Lander Successfully Separates from Propulsion Module

Chandrayaan-3 begins its final countdown to a successful Moon landing. The Indian spacecraft performed a successful separation of the Vikram lander module from the propulsion module, ISRO informed. Now, only a few days are left before the lander module will make an attempt to do a soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon on 23 August. If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds, India will become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing by a robotic lunar rover on the Moon's surface after the US, China, and the former Soviet Union.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

July GK, June GK, May GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26