General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Jun 25, 2020

Cabinet Nod for Private Sector in Space

The Union cabinet approved the formation of a new organization, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), seeking to open up space infrastructure to the private sector.
IN-SPACe will provide a level playing field for private sector companies to use Indian space infrastructure, he said. "It will also hand-hold, promote and guide the private industries in space activities.
The far-reaching reforms in the space sector are aimed at boosting the private sector's participation in the entire range of space activities. "This will unlock India's potential in the space sector.
The new organisation will play a supplementary role to the Indian Space Research Organisation, formed in 1969, to harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.
The public sector New Space India Limited (NSIL) will endeavour to reorient space activities from a supply-driven to a demand-driven model, thereby ensuring optimum use of space assets.
The proposed reforms will enhance the socio-economic use of space assets and activities, including through improved access to space assets, data and facilities.

Jun 23, 2020

China Launches Final Satellite in Challenge to GPS

China successfully put into orbit the final satellite in its BeiDou-3 navigation system, further advancing the country as a major power in space.
This launch allows China to no longer rely on the US government-owned Global Positioning System (GPS).
The $10bn (£8bn) network is made up of 35 satellites and provides global navigation coverage.
It comes as tensions between Beijing and Washington are increasing over the coronavirus, trade and Hong Kong.
The launch had been scheduled for last week but was delayed after technical problems were found with the rocket in pre-launch tests.
The third version of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) offers an alternative to Russia's GLONASS and the European Galileo systems, as well as America's GPS.
Future plans promise to support a more accessible and integrated system scheduled to come online by 2035 with BDS at its core.

IIT-Bombay Develops 'Dhruva', Indian Receiver Chip for NAVIC, GPS Satellites

IIT-Bombay has developed a homegrown receiver chip - Dhruva – that can be used in smartphones and navigation devices to find locations and routes within the country. Dhruva will receive signals from India's NAVIC group of navigation satellites as well as the US Global Positioning System-based satellites to determine these accurately under all weather conditions.
The radio frequency receiver chip was designed in 18 months by students and researchers at IIT Bombay. It can receive in multiple frequency bands and handle weak signals.

Jun 21, 2020

Meteorite-like Object Falls from Sky in Rajasthan

A meteorite-like object weighing around 2.8 kg fell from the sky in Sanchore town of Rajasthan's Jalore district. The mysterious object, which is believed to be worth crores of rupees, created a one-foot-deep crater in the ground.
The object was hot when local government officials went to check it.
The mysterious object was tested in a private lab located at the jeweller's shop in Sanchore and after testing it was found that the piece had metallic properties of Germanium, Platinium, Nickel and Iron.
Geologists in the Geographical Survey of India's Ahmedabad and Jaipur office have been called to test the object.

IIT Mandi Develops Herbal Infusion Technology to Help Farmers

Researchers of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi have developed a herbal infusion technology, as a source of income for local marginal farmers in the mid-Himalayas.
The Researchers from the institute's Botanical Garden and Medicinal Plant Lab have analysed a variety of herbs growing in the mid-Himalayan region in & around the villages around IIT Mandi, Kamand region to create value added products in the form of herbal infusions known for their health benefits (mainly rich in antioxidants).
The technology is ready to license industries interested in working with Enabling Women of Kamand(EWOK)- a rural incubator at IIT Mandi, in the interest of empowering the Kamand Valley farmers.
At present the researchers have successfully formulated 9 different herbal infusions with constituents such as tulsi, mint, rose, amla, bayleaf, turmeric, rhododendron and lemongrass.

Jun 20, 2020

Astronomers Discover 240-year-old Neutron Star 'Swift J1818.0�'1607'

Astronomers at the US (United Sates) based space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) have discovered the youngest known magnetar (a type of neutron star) named "Swift J1818.0-1607" about 16,000 light years away from Earth.
It is estimated to be about 240 years old, making it quite new and young by cosmic standards. It has a magnetic field up to 1,000 times stronger than a typical neutron star and about 100 million times stronger than the most powerful magnets made by humans.
It was first discovered back on March 12 by NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory when when a large amount of X-rays were emitted by it. The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory and NASA's NuSTAR telescope, then studied this magnetar and found that it was the youngest one.
Over 3,000 known neutron stars are there.

Jun 16, 2020

Central Railway Launches Robotic 'CAPTAIN ARJUN'

The Railway Protection Force of Central Railway (CR), Pune division, Maharashtra launched a Robotic 'Captain Arjun' (Always be Responsible and Just Use to be Nice) to intensify the screening and surveillance of passengers. It was launched online by Arun Kumar, Director General (RPF), Railway Board in the presence of Sanjeev Mittal, General Manager, Central Railway, among others
The brainchild behind this innovation is Alok Bohra DIG/RPF, Central Railway.

Scientist Identify Green Glow on Mars

Scientists have identified a green light in the atmosphere of Mars.
A similar glow is sometimes seen by astronauts on the space station when they look to the Earth's limb.
The glow comes from oxygen atoms when they are excited by sunlight.
The phenomenon has long been predicted to occur on other planets, but the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) - a joint European-Russian satellite at Mars - is the first to make the observation beyond Earth.

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