The Union Cabinet approved the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the National Space Research and Development agency of Nigeria.
The agreements were signed in June 2020 at Bengaluru and in August 2020 at Abuja Nigeria. The agreements enable cooperation between the countries in the areas such as
1. Satellite communication
2. Satellite based navigation
3. Remote Sensing of the earth
4. Space systems and ground systems
5. Practical applications of space technology
Under the agreement a joint working group is to be set up by drawing members from the national space research and development agency of Nigeria and the ISRO.
The agreement will provide impetus to explore new research activities. It will also help to explore possible applications in the field of remote sensing of the earth satellite, Navigation satellite, communication space science and Exploration of outer space.
Oct 21, 2020
OSIRIS-Rex Probe to Collect Samples from Asteroid Benu
The United States-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched OSIRIS-REx to the asteroid Bennu in 2016. The mission aimed to study Asteroid Bennu and return at least 60 grams of the sample.
After two years of circling, the satellite is to touch the asteroid. The spacecraft has three bottles of nitrogen. This means that it can touch down the asteroid thrice.
The asteroid Bennu is a potentially hazardous object which has a 1 in 2700 chance of hitting the Earth in the year 2175 and 2199.
The asteroid has a mean diameter of 492 meters, has a roughly round shape and is under continuous observation by the various observatories of the Earth.
The impact of Bennu on Earth is likely to cause widespread death in the side facing the impact and destruction all over the Earth with potentially human-extinction level incidents.
The OSIRIS-REx (short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is a spacecraft which was launched by NASA aboard an Atlas V rocket.
NATO to Set Up New Space Centre
The North Atlantic Treaty organisation is to setup a new Space Centre in Ramstein, Germany. The centre is to serve as a co-ordination Centre for space observation.
The new Centre will gather information about possible threats to satellites. The centre is to be developed into a command centre of defensive measures in near future. The centre is being setup based on Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty organisation.
The article empowers the organisation to take collective defence action. It provides criteria under which NATO can take defensive measures.
Article 5 has been invoked by NATO in situations such as Syrian crisis, Russia-Ukraine crisis and 26/11 attack on US.
Oct 19, 2020
Prithvi-2 Missile Blasts off from Odisha in User Trial
India successfully conducted another night trial of its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile as part of a user trial for the armed forces from a test range in Odisha coast. User trial was carried out by the Strategic Force Command.
The liquid-propelled Prithvi-2 has a range of 250 km and can carry a 1 tonne warhead. The 9-metre tall missile is the first to have been developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. It is India's first indigenous surface-to-surface strategic missile.
The trajectory of the missiles was tracked by a battery of long-range, multi-function radars and electro-optic telemetry stations at different locations.
Soyuz Rocket Departs for the International Space Station in Historic Final U.S.-Russian Flight
Since the launch of Sputnik and Yury Gagarin from the desert of Kazakhstan over 60 years ago, the history of spaceflight has been measured in milestones.
The first satellite, the first human in space, the first to the Moon. But the launch of Soyuz MS-17 was a different kind of milestone: the end of an era.
A Soyuz rocket blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russia's sprawling and remote space launch facility in Kazakhstan, to the International Space Station.
It was the last time NASA paid for an American astronaut to fly with the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, on such a flight. Next year, for the first time since the start of the ISS program 20 years ago, Russia will fly all-Russian crews on Soyuz.
Oct 18, 2020
BepiComlombo Spacecraft Reaches Mercury in its Journey Towards Venus
The BepiColombo Spacecraft was launched jointly by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and European Space Agency to planet Mercury. The space craft has now crossed Venus on its way to Mercury.
The mission BepiColombo consists of two satellites launched together. They are Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Mercury Magentospheric Orbiter. The two satellites will separate on arriving Mercury.
The mission will perform study of mercury. This will include characterisation of magnetosphere, magnetic field in both interior and on the surface of the mercury.
The spacecraft Bepicolombo was launched on Ariane 5 rocket.
It will arrive Mercury in 2025.
The Mission is a part of the Horizon 2000+ Programme of European Space Agency and was the last mission of the programme.
BepiColombo characterises the solid and liquid cores of mercury. It will also perform magnetic and gravitational field mappings. Using the Gamma ray and neutron spectrometers provided by Russia, the mission will verify existence of water in the polar craters of Mercury. These craters are in permanent shadow from the sun's rays.
Objectives of the Mission
To study the origin and evolution of Mercury
To investigate the exosphere of Mercury, its composition, dynamics
To study the magnetosphere of mercury
To verify Relativity Theory of Einstein
The BepiColombo was named after the scientist Giuseppe Bepi Colombo. He was an engineer, mathematician and scientist from Italy. He proposed the Interplanetary Gravity Assist. It was first used in 1974 on Mariner 10 mission. The technique is now frequently used by planetary space crafts.
Europe Steps up Contributions to Artemis Moon Plan
Thales Alenia Space in Italy will produce Europe's two major contributions to the Lunar Gateway, a US-led space station around the Moon.
TAS will build two pressurised sections: one where astronauts can live, and the other on which refuelling and telecoms equipment can be mounted.
The UK-arm of TAS will provide the refuelling hardware.
The Gateway is intended as a staging post for astronauts as they shuttle back and forth to the Moon's surface.
At 40 tonnes, the station is a key part of the American space agency NASA's Artemis project, which is targeting a human return to the lunar environment 50 years after Apollo.
The first landing is envisaged for 2024, although it will be later in the decade before all the sections of the Gateway are in place.
TAS's iHab and Esprit modules will most likely be launched on separate Falcon Heavy rockets from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Oct 15, 2020
Russian-US Crew Launches on Fast Track to Space Station
A trio of space travellers has been launched successfully to the International Space Station, for the first time using a fast-track maneuver to reach the orbiting outpost in just three hours.
NASA's Kate Rubins along with Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos lifted off as scheduled from the Russia-leased Baikonur space launch facility in Kazakhstan for a six-month stint on the station.
For the first time, they are trying a two-orbit, three-hour approach to the orbiting space outpost. Previously it took twice as long for the crews to reach the station.
NASA to Launch Nano Satellite Developed by Three Tamil Nadu Students
An experimental satellite by three students from Tamil Nadu's Karur district will be launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency into the sub orbit in June, next on NASA's sounding rocket 7.
The three students M. Adnaan of Thanthonrimalai, M. Kesavan of Nagampalli and V. Arun of Thennilai — started with their experimental model when they were in their high school. Mentored by Chennai-based Space Kids India, the satellite model has outnumbered many other satellites designed as part of the global competition conducted by the Cubes in Space, a programme of Idoodledu Inc in association with NASA.
Their innovation, India Sat, which took more than two years of extensive research, has been deemed world's smallest and lightest satellite, made with reinforced graphene polymer is 3 cm in size and weighs 64 gm.
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