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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Aug 30, 2025

PM Modi Welcomes ISRO-JAXA Collaboration for Chandrayaan-5 LUPEX Mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the agreement between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the Chandrayaan-5 mission under the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) programme.
The LUPEX mission, jointly developed by ISRO and JAXA, aims to explore the moon's south pole and study its hidden resources, including water ice. Chandrayaan-5 will mark the fifth mission in India's Chandrayaan series.
Under LUPEX, the mission will be launched onboard JAXA's H3-24L rocket, carrying an ISRO-built lunar lander equipped with a Japanese rover. ISRO will also provide several scientific instruments for the mission.
Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX is expected to be a major milestone in India's long-term lunar roadmap, which envisions Indian astronauts landing on the Moon by 2040.

Aug 29, 2025

ISRO to Commence Construction of Launchpad at Second Spaceport

The Indian Space agency ISRO is all set to commence construction of a rocket launchpad at the country's upcoming second spaceport, close to the southern tip of the country. ISRO Chief V. Narayanan and top officials participated in the 'Bhoomi Puja', a pre-construction ritual, at the proposed launchpad site in Kulasekarapattinam, Tamil Nadu.
Currently, India's only spaceport is the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, located along the southeast coast of the country. The Kulasekarapattinam launch facility, which is expected to become operational in a few years, is about 650 kilometres south of the Sriharikota spaceport.
ISRO Chief V. Narayanan said that the new spaceport, spread across 2,300 acres, is meant to launch the ISRO-developed Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and the space faring rockets being built by Indian start-ups.
The construction of the country's second launch complex is expected to be completed by December 2026.

Aug 28, 2025

Pixxel's Firefly Satellites, Dhruva Space's LEAP-1 Placed in Orbit

Three hyperspectral imaging satellites developed by the Indian start-up Pixxel were successfully placed in orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. The launch of the three satellites, along with the three launched earlier in January (2025), marked the completion of the first phase of the Firefly constellation.

Aug 27, 2025

China Launches Juno, the World's Most Powerful Detector for 'Ghost Particles'

China officially launched the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (Juno), now the world's most powerful and advanced facility for detecting neutrinos, tiny, elusive particles often called 'ghost particles'. Located in Guangdong province, the observatory has begun collecting data to better understand these mysterious particles, which have no electric charge, almost no mass, and travel at nearly the speed of light.
The observatory is led by the Institute of High Energy Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Aug 25, 2025

India Wins Four Gold, One Silver at International Astronomy Olympiad, Ranks 1

India shone bright on the global stage, bagging four gold medals and one silver at the 18th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA), held for the first time in the country. It was held in Mumbai from August 12 to 21.
The Indian contingent, trained under the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), competed against nearly 300 students from 64 countries. Twelve nations participated in the Olympiad for the first time, making the achievement even more noteworthy.
Established in 2007, the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics is a premier global platform for high-school students passionate about astronomy and astrophysics.

Gaganyaan Crew Module Passes Crucial Re-entry Test

In a major milestone for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully completed an Integrated Air Drop Test, simulating the re-entry of the crew module, deployment of all parachutes, and recovery of the crew module.
For the test, a Chinook helicopter carried the dummy crew module to a height of around 3 kilometres, 40 kilometres off the seacoast, from the country's only spaceport Sriharikota.
Three main parachutes were deployed to slow down the crew module before it hit the sea. All the parachutes worked as expected and the velocity was reduced to limits safe for human beings. The module was recovered by the navy and handed over to ISRO.

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