General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Dec 05, 2019

Mars Rover Hopes to Grab a Piece of History

British engineers have begun testing technologies that will be needed to bring samples of Martian rock to Earth.
The Airbus team is training a prototype rover to recognise and pick up small cylinders off the ground.
It's a rehearsal for a key part of a multi-billion-dollar project now being put together by the US and European space agencies - NASA and ESA.
Returning rock and dust materials to Earth laboratories will be the best way to confirm if life exists on Mars.

Dec 04, 2019

Nasa credited Chennai engineer with finding Chandrayaan-2 lander

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) found the impact site ofChandrayaan-2's lander, Vikram, and likely remnants scattered on the lunar surface, bringing closure to the mystery of the spacecraft missing for over two months.
The US space agency credited Chennai-based mechanical engineer Shanmuga Subramanian with the tip, and shared images of the impact crater on the Moon captured by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The prized lander was part of India's second mission to the Moon—Chandrayaan-2 was launched on 22 July from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. However, it went incommunicado two minutes before it was expected to make a soft landing on 7 September. At the time, the lander was believed to have made a hard landing on the Moon. The mission consisted of an orbiter, lander Vikram and rover Pragyan.

Nov 30, 2019

BHEL To Produce And Sell ISRO's Li-ion Cells In India

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has confirmed that it is going to produce space-grade lithium ion cells for sale in the Indian market. In March 2018, BHEL has signed the technology transfer agreement with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) for acquiring the latter's Li-Ion cell production technology.
Accordingly, ISRO has transferred its indigenous technology to BHEL.
BHEL is now in the process of setting up the Li-Ion production facility near Bangalore in Karnataka. This production facility is primarily targeted at meeting Li-ion cell requirements for ISRO and other strategic sectors, which would also include automotive.
BHEL can also produce and sell Li-ion cells for meeting other national / commercial applications by suitably modifying the space-grade cell which can lead to cost reduction.
Various equipment (both indigenous and imported) for setting up the new facility has been procured and is being commissioned. ISRO has already provided all technical documentation for establishing the production plant as well as hands-on training in various production activities for BHEL staff at ISRO's facilities.
As per the technology transfer agreement, space-grade Li-ion cells manufactured by BHEL are meant for meeting India market requirements only.

Govt May Set Up New Rocket Launch Pad Near Kulasekarapattinam In Tamil Nadu

Government is planning to set up a new rocket launch pad in Tamil Nadu. Currently, the Indian Space Research organisation (Isro) has two launch pads at Sriharikotta, Andhra Pradesh.
The development comes on the backdrop of increasing launches from India, both for domestic and international customers.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha said, "Government has proposal to set up rocket launching pad near Kulasekarapattinam in the state of Tamil Nadu".

Nov 29, 2019

Scientists Spot Black Hole

Astronomers discovered a black hole in the Milky Way so huge that it challenges existing models of how stars evolve.
LB-1 is 15,000 light years from Earth and has a mass 70 times greater than the sun.
The Milky Way is estimated to contain 100 million stellar black holes but LB-1 is twice as massive as anything scientists thought possible.
Scientists generally believe that there are two types of black holes.
The more common stellar black holes -- up to 20 times more massive than the sun -- form when the centre of a very big star collapses in on itself.
Supermassive black holes are at least a million times bigger than the sun and their origins are uncertain.

Nov 28, 2019

Researchers Develop Portable Device to Screen Cervical Cancer

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi in collaboration with Bengaluru-based Aindra Systems developed an artificial intelligence-powered point-of-care device to screen for cervical cancer by analysing microscopy images.
The research was undertaken by a team led by Anil Sao and Arnav Bhavsar, professors at IIT Mandi along with research scholars -Srishti Gautam and Krati Gupta. The team, along with the industry collaborators, developed AI-based algorithms that enable the device to undertake automatic screening for cervical cancer.
The difference between a conventional system and Aindra's point-of-care system is that, the latter is portable and can be taken to the potential patients. In the conventional system, the people have to visit the pathology laboratory to get themselves screened.

India's Cartosat-3 and 13 Nano Satellites Put in Orbit

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) rocket carrying advanced earth observation satellite Cartosat-3 and 13 US nano satellites lifted off from the second launch pad.
CARTOSAT-3, which is the ninth in the series, was launched from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. This was the 74th launch vehicle mission from Sriharikota.
CARTOSAT-3 is the highest resolution civilian satellite. ISRO has 13 missions up to March 2020- 6 large vehicle missions and 7 satellite missions.
CARTOSAT-3 is a third-generation agile satellite with high-resolution imaging capabilities.
The satellite will replace the IRS series, according to Isro. The CARTOSAT-3 has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres, which helps it conduct satellite imaging with the highest resolution. The space research organisation said this mission is a huge leap from the previous payloads in the CARTOSAT series.

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