General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Dec 20, 2021

ISRO Signs Six Agreements with Four Countries for Launching Foreign Satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites during 2021-2023. About 132 million Euros would be earned through the launching of these foreign satellites on a commercial basis. ISRO has launched a total of 342 satellites from 34 countries since 1999.
ISRO through its commercial arm, New Space India Limited (NSIL), has been launching satellites which belong to other countries from Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Total 124 indigenous satellites have been put into Earth's orbit including 12 student satellites.

SpaceX Launches 52 Starlink Satellites

SpaceX successfully lifted off of 52 Starlink communication satellites into the Earth orbit.
Earlier the US space company launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Later, its first stage successfully landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship.

Dec 18, 2021

ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter Finds Water in Martian Canyon System

Planetary researchers using the Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND) instrument onboard European Space Agency's (ESA's) Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) have found evidence for very high content of hydrogen in the soil — the mean water equivalent hydrogen value as large as 40.3 wt% — in Candor Chaos, central part of Valles Marineris.
TGO can look down to one meter below this dusty layer and see what's really going on below Mars' surface, and locate water-rich 'oases' that couldn't be detected with previous instruments.

Dec 16, 2021

NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Finds its 'Baseline' Rocks

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance identified what are probably the oldest rocks at its crater landing site.
They are volcanic in origin, perhaps the product of some ancient lava flow.
It's an important milestone for the mission because it means that when samples of these rocks are returned to Earth next decade, they can be dated.
This will tighten our understanding of the history of not only the touch-down location but of Mars generally and the wider Solar System beyond.

Dec 15, 2021

NASA's Spacecraft Parker Solar Probe Enters Sun's Corona, First Time in History

For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the Sun. NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew through the Sun's upper atmosphere – the corona – and sampled particles and magnetic fields there.
The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the Moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching the very stuff the Sun is made of will help scientists uncover critical information about our closest star and its influence on the solar system.
Flying so close to the Sun, Parker Solar Probe now senses conditions in the magnetically dominated layer of the solar atmosphere – the corona – that we never could before.
Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 to explore the mysteries of the Sun by traveling closer to it than any spacecraft before. Three years after launch and decades after first conception, Parker has finally arrived.

Dec 13, 2021

Using Ostrich Cells, Scientists Make Masks that Glow in Contact with Coronavirus

Japanese researchers have developed masks that use ostrich antibodies to detect Covid-19 by glowing under ultraviolet light.
The discovery by Yasuhiro Tsukamoto and his team at Kyoto Prefectural University in western Japan could provide for low-cost testing of the virus at home.
The scientists started by creating a mask filter coated with ostrich antibodies targeting the novel coronavirus, based on previous research showing the birds have strong resistance to disease.
In a small study, test subjects wore the masks, and after eight hours, the filters were removed and sprayed with a chemical that glows under ultraviolet light if the virus is present. The filters worn by people infected with Covid-19 glowed around the nose and mouth areas.
The team hopes to further develop the masks so that they will glow automatically, without special lighting, if the virus is detected.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

August GK, July GK, June GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26