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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - January 2019

Jan 2019

Mar 20, 2021

ISRO to Set Up 'Space Technology Incubation Centre' at NIT Rourkela

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will establish a 'Space Technology Incubation Centre' (S-TIC) at the National Institute of Technology in Rourkela to carry out research and product development in space technology and applications.
The ISRO and NIT signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up the centre which will enable start-ups to build applications and products that could be used in future space missions.
Space technology-related research and the products from the S-TIC will be utilised in future space missions and will help nation building through Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' in space technology and applications domain.

NASA Successfully Tests its most Powerful Rocket for Artemis Mission

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully completed Green Run testing of the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the largest rocket element it has ever built.
The test known as hot fire is a milestone for the space agency's Artemis I mission that will send an uncrewed spacecraft on a test flight around the moon and back to Earth for future missions with astronauts.
SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the moon on a single mission, claims the agency.

Mar 19, 2021

ISRO Gaganyaan

Data Patterns, a Chennai-based firm delivered a crucial component that is meant to be used in Gaganyaan, which is India's ambitious human spaceflight programme. The checkout system, which was delivered to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is meant to perform health checks of the various cable harness assemblies used in the Crew Module, which houses the astronauts.
The handing over ceremony took place at Data Patterns' facility near Chennai, in the presence of Dr. S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) among others. According to the private firm, the component was delivered within four months, against the typical schedule of twelve months.
During its three decade-long association with ISRO, Data Patterns has supplied the 14000 point countdown checkout system for the second launch pad, upgraded the launch vehicle tracking radars, supplied the X-Band and C-Band weather radars.

India Top Country in World in Use of Mobile Apps

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the Rajya Sabha that India has become the top country in the world in the use of mobile applications and the government is encouraging and promoting Indian innovators to create apps.
Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, he said that the Digital India programme coupled with encouragement being given by the government to promote Indian innovators to create apps has of late become a big movement.

A Gargantuan Supernova Remnant Looks 40 Times as Big as the Full Moon

A cloud of expanding gas in space is the largest supernova remnant ever seen in the sky, a new study confirms.
The Milky Way has some 300 known supernova remnants, each made of debris from an exploded star mixed with interstellar material swept up by the blast.
This supersized one, located in the constellation Antlia, is not necessarily the biggest of all physically, but thanks to its proximity to us, it looks the biggest. As seen from Earth, it spans a region of sky more than 40 times the size of a full moon. The Antlia remnant appears about three times as large as the previous champion, the Vela supernova remnant.
The star that created the Antlia supernova remnant exploded roughly 100,000 years ago.

Mar 18, 2021

Mars May Hide Oceans of Water Beneath its Crust

A new study finds oceans' worth of water may remain buried in the crust of Mars, and not lost to space as previously long thought.
Prior work found Mars was once wet enough to cover its entire surface with an ocean of water about 330 to 4,920 feet (100 to 1,500 meters) deep, containing about half as much water as Earth's Atlantic Ocean, NASA said in a statement.
Since there is life virtually everywhere on Earth where there is water, this history of water on Mars raises the possibility that Mars was once home to life — and might host it still.
However, Mars is now cold and dry. Previously, scientists thought that after the Red Planet lost its protective magnetic field, solar radiation and the solar wind stripped it of much of its air and water. The amount of water Mars still possesses in its atmosphere and ice would only cover it with a global layer of water about 65 to 130 feet (20 to 40 m) thick.

Mar 16, 2021

Second Atmosphere Forming on Earth-like Exoplanet

A first outside our solar system, an exoplanet named GJ 1132 b has gained a second atmosphere through volcanic activity after losing its original atmosphere.
The Earth-sized rocky exoplanet located 41 light-years away from our Earth orbits a dwarf star and was believed to have hydrogen and helium gases in its atmosphere before losing it to the intense radiation of the young hot star it orbits.
The evidence of a new atmosphere was found using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Hubble telescope.
Astronomers were surprised by the new findings as the new atmosphere contains a toxic mix of hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen cyanide. In addition, it also contains an aerosol haze similar to Earth which is a result of photochemically produced hydrocarbons.

Mar 15, 2021

China Wants Astronauts to Stay on Moon for Long Periods

Once China establishes a lunar research station, its astronauts will stay on the moon for long periods of time as they conduct scientific studies, citing the architect of China's lunar programme.
China has mapped out a series of uncrewed missions this decade, including the setting up of a robotic base to explore the moon's south polar region, ahead of manned landings.
"If the lunar research station project is successfully implemented, China will not be far away from achieving manned landings."

Scientists Unlock Mysteries of World's Oldest Computer

A 2,000-year-old device often referred to as the world's oldest "computer" has been recreated by scientists trying to understand how it worked.
The Antikythera Mechanism has baffled experts since it was found on a Roman-era shipwreck in Greece in 1901.
The hand-powered Ancient Greek device is thought to have been used to predict eclipses and other astronomical events.
But only a third of the device survived, leaving researchers pondering how it worked and what it looked like.
The back of the mechanism was solved by earlier studies, but the nature of its complex gearing system at the front has remained a mystery.
Scientists from University College London (UCL) believe they have finally cracked the puzzle using 3D computer modelling. They have recreated the entire front panel, and now hope to build a full-scale replica of the Antikythera using modern materials.

World's Most Powerful Supercomputer Fugaku is Ready for Use

The Japanese scientific research institute called RIKEN and Fujitsu started developing the "Fugaku" six years ago. It is the world's most powerful supercomputers. Fugaku has been named after an alternative name for Mount Fuji. Now, this supercomputer is fully ready and developed in Japan and is now available for research use. This supercomputer has been developed with the aim of making the device core of the computing infrastructure of Japan.
The supercomputer was tested for the particular projects in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.
Now the Fugaku is fully open and available for shared use. The Research Organization for the Information Science and Technology (RIST) of Japan has selected some 74 projects which will use this supercomputer in the financial year 2021.
RIST has also proposed for the development of the new projects in several categories and has invited the researchers who are interested to apply for the same.

ISRO Launches Rocket to Study Attitudinal Variations

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched a sounding rocket to study attitudinal variations in the neutral winds and plasma dynamics from Sriharikota spaceport.
ISRO has developed a series of sounding rockets called Rohini series, important among them being RH-200, RH-300 and RH-560, number in the name indicating the diameter of the rocket in mm, according to the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency.
Sounding rockets are one or two stage solid propellant rockets used for probing the upper atmospheric regions and for space research.

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