General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - December 2018

Dec 2018

May 21, 2022

Blue Origin Delays May 20 Space Tourist Launch

Jeff Bezos space venture Blue Origin delayed its fifth tourist flight to space. The company in a statement said its NS-21 faced some vehicle issues. The company has not announced the new target launch date. NS-21 is expected to fly six customer astronauts. Echazarreta will become the first Mexican-born woman and youngest American woman to fly to space, while Hespanha will be the second Brazilian to fly to space.
The typical 11-minute flight aims to carry the crew members far above the Karman line -- an internationally recognised boundary of space that lies 62 miles (100 km) above the Earth's surface. The company conducted its fourth human flight to the edge of space with six people in March 2022.

May 19, 2022

Full Lunar Eclipse Creates Rare Super Blood Moon

Millions of people across the world were able to see the reddish glow of a rare and spectacular show in the sky — a lunar eclipse known as a "super flower blood moon." This rare event happens only when a series of conditions are at play. Along with there being a total lunar eclipse — when Earth is directly between the moon and the sun — the full moon must also be at its closest point to Earth, known as a "super moon." The full moon in May is sometimes known as the flower moon since spring is in bloom in the Northern Hemisphere. The moon appears "blood red" when the eclipse reaches totality.
While only parts of the world were able to see the dazzling astronomical event, it was a sight to remember.

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites from California

A SpaceX rocket carried 53 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation into orbit after blasting off from California. The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base and minutes later the first stage landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean while the second stage continued toward low Earth orbit. SpaceX later tweeted that the satellites were successfully deployed.
Starlink is a space-based system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world. Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX has hundreds of Starlink satellites orbiting Earth at an altitude of 340 miles (550 kilometres).

May 18, 2022

Scientists Grow Plants in Soil from Moon

For the first time, scientists have grown plants in lunar soil brought back by astronauts in the Apollo missions. It is a step towards producing food and oxygen on the Moon. Researchers designed a simple experiment: plant seeds in lunar soil, add water, nutrients and light, and record the results.
Researchers had no idea whether anything would sprout in the harsh moon dirt and wanted to see whether it could be used to grow food by the next generation of lunar explorers. The results stunned them.

Ransomware Gang Threatens to overthrow Costa Rica Government

A ransomware gang that infiltrated some Costa Rican government computer systems upped its threat, saying its goal is now to overthrow the government. The Russian-speaking Conti gang attacked Costa Rica in April 2022, accessing multiple critical systems in the finance ministry, including customs and tax collection.
Other government systems were also affected and not all are fully functioning. President Rodrigo Chaves declared a state of emergency over the attack as soon as he was sworn in May 2022. The US state department offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification or location of Conti leaders. Conti responded by writing, "We are determined to overthrow the government by means of a cyber attack, we have already shown you all the strength and power, you have introduced an emergency. " The gang also said it was raising the ransom demand to $20 million. It called on Costa Ricans to pressure their government to pay.

May 17, 2022

ISRO Successfully Tests Human-rated HS200 Solid Rocket for Gaganyaan

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed the static test of the human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota The test was for ISRO's Gaganyaan programme. The booster engine is part of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII (GSLV Mk III) rocket that will carry Indian astronauts to space. The GSLV MK III rocket is a three-staged vehicle. The first stage is powered by solid fuel, the second by liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic stage powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
India's first manned space flight mission - 'Gaganyaan' - is expected to launch in 2023.

May 16, 2022

Scientists discover almost 35 million years old rare snake fossil from Ladakh

Scientists have discovered the fossil of a Madtsoiidae snake in the Himalayan mountains in Ladakh, which sheds fresh light on the prevalence and existence of this rare serpent species in the Indian subcontinent. Madtsoiidae is an extinct group of medium-sized to gigantic snakes, firstly appeared during the later part of the Cretaceous period, that began 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago. They are thought to grow up to 30 feet in length.
Madtsoiidae were mostly found in the Gondwanan landmasses, an ancient supercontinent that broke up about 180 million years ago and eventually split into landmasses that are today known as Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula.
- The study was undertaken by researchers from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar and Comenius University, Slovakia. The newly discovered specimen has been housed in the repository of Wadia Institute.

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