General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Jan 19, 2023

ISRO 'Shukrayaan' Mission to Planet Venus Shifted to 2031

P. Sreekumar, the Satish Dhawan Professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and advisor to its space science programme, stated that the organisation has not yet received approval from the Indian government for the Venus mission and that, as a result, the mission may be delayed until 2031. Shukrayaan I, the ISRO Venus mission, was scheduled to launch in December 2024. The concept was conceived in 2012; five years later, after the Department of Space got a 23% increase in the 2017–2018 budget, ISRO started preliminary investigations. In April 2017, the organisation requested payload proposals from research institutions.
Shukrayaan-I will be a mission for an orbiter. A high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and a ground-penetrating radar are two of its current scientific payloads. From an elliptical orbit, the mission will likely research Venus's geological and volcanic activities, emissions on the surface, wind speed, cloud cover, and other planetary features.

Jan 18, 2023

IISc and McGill University Detect Radio Signals

Astronomers from McGill University in Canada and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru used data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune to detect a radio signal originating from atomic hydrogen in an extremely distant galaxy.
According to an IISc, the astronomical distance over which such a signal has been picked up is the largest so far by a large margin. This is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy.

Jan 16, 2023

J&K Gets Third X-Band Doppler Weather Radar for Better, Timely Forecasts

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Minister Jitendra Singh virtually inaugurated X-Band Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Banihal Top along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
The DWR with a range of 100 kilometres is the third such facility installed in Jammu and Kashmir by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to provide better and improved weather services for timely forecasts, warnings and various weather data.
The event, which marked the 148th foundation day celebrations of the IMD, was attended virtually by Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh. On the occasion, DWR systems for Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh were also inaugurated.

EU Inaugurated First Mainland Satellite Launch Port

The European Union wants to bolster its capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden.
European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU's first mainland orbital launch complex during a visit to Sweden by members of the European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc's executive arm.
The new facility at Esrange Space Center near the city of Kiruna should complement the EU's current launching capabilities in French Guiana.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said small satellites are crucial to track natural disasters in real time and, in the light of Russia's war in Ukraine, to help guarantee global security.

US, Japan Sign Pact at NASA Headquarters for Deep Space Exploration

The US space agency and Japan signed an agreement that builds on a long history of collaboration in space exploration between the two nations.
From low-Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond, Japan is one of NASA's most significant international partners.
This latest framework agreement will allow us to further collaborate across our agencies' broad portfolios in exploration, science, and research.
US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa signed the agreement at the NASA headquarters

Jan 12, 2023

Scientists Discover Earth-Sized Planet in the Habitable Zone

Scientists from NASA discovered an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone, where liquid water could potentially exist on its surfaces. The scientists used NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and identified an Earth-size world, called TOI 700 e. The world is 95 per cent Earth's size and likely rocky.
Astronomers previously discovered three planets in this system, called TOI 700 b, c, and d. Planet d also orbits in the habitable zone. But scientists needed an additional year of TESS observations to discover TOI 700 e.

Start Me Up UK Space Mission that Failed

The historic space mission 'Start Me Up' that took off from Cornwall ended in bitter disappointment after a rocket carrying the first satellites launched from British soil failed to reach orbit and was lost.
To whoops and cheers from a crowd that had gathered at Spaceport Cornwall to watch the launch, a converted Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl took off and headed out across the Atlantic.
It successfully released its rocket, called LauncherOne, carrying a payload of nine satellites off the south coast of Ireland.
But shortly after Virgin Orbit, which led the mission, announced there had been "an anomaly" and the rocket failed to reach the required altitude.
The rocket and satellites were lost but the UK Space Agency insisted they posed no danger and were expected to burn or break up over the north Atlantic. The 747 returned to Cornwall safely.
The Start Me Up mission was heralded as the start of a new space era for the UK.

Jan 11, 2023

Astronomers Find most Distant Stars in Our Galaxy

Astronomers discovered more than 200 distant variable stars known as RR Lyrae stars in the Milky Way's stellar halo. The most distant of these stars is more than a million light-years from Earth, almost half the distance to our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, which is about 2.5 million light-years away.
The characteristic pulsations and brightness of RR Lyrae stars make them excellent "standard candles" for measuring galactic distances. These new observations allowed the researchers to trace the outer limits of the Milky Way's halo.

Indian-American Replaces another Indian-American as NASA Chief Technologist

An Indian-American aerospace industry expert was appointed as NASA's new chief technologist to serve as principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programmes at the space agency's headquarters.
A. C. Charania joined the space agency in his new role and replaced another Indian-American scientist Bhavya Lal, who served as acting chief technologist prior to the former's appointment.
Mr Charania will align NASA's agencywide technology investments with mission needs across six mission directorates and oversee technology collaboration with other federal agencies, the private sector, and external stakeholders.
Charania is an experienced leader in managing large, rapidly shifting technology portfolios.

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