General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - August 2019

Aug 2019

Jul 25, 2020

Space Start-up Digantara Selected for SID Incubation Program by IISc

A Space start-up namely Digantara Research and Technology (DRT) which developed India's first in-orbit space debris monitoring and tracking system that works on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology has been selected by SID (Society for Innovation and Development) incubation program at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore. In this regard, the start-up has received a grant of Rs. 25 lakh which will be used to develop space debris monitoring systems and the company's expansion.
The In-orbit Space Debris Monitoring and tracking system provides global real-time earth coverage by deploying a constellation of cost-efficient nanosatellites in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) and a space-based air surveillance payload for accurate tracking of both aircraft and space objects.
Digantara will also help international space agencies to track and map the space debris and minimise the major threat to the future of space exploration.
The startup is planning to establish a small satellite assembly line and production unit to develop small satellites to build a satellite constellation which in turn will help India to achieve indigenous space surveillance system as a part of self-reliant India (Atma Nirbhar Bharat).
It is founded by Anirudh Sharma and Rahul Rawat.
Headquarters are in Kotdwara, Uttarakhand.

Jul 24, 2020

Facebook Rolls Out 'App Lock' for Messenger to Protect Users' Privacy

Facebook announced new privacy and security features for Messenger including App lock, which enables users to add another layer of security.
With App lock, users can lock Messenger and it will require an authentication method like Face ID or Touch ID to open it.
App Lock uses your device's privacy settings like fingerprint or face authentication to unlock the Messenger app, and your touch or face ID is not transmitted to or stored by Facebook," Sullivan added.
As of now, the feature is only available on iPhone and iPad. It will come to Android in the next few months.

Jul 23, 2020

China's Tianwen-1 Mars Rover Rockets Away from Earth

China launched its first rover mission to Mars.
The six-wheeled robot, encapsulated in a protective probe, was lifted off Earth by a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang spaceport on Hainan Island.
It should arrive in orbit around the Red Planet in February.
Called Tianwen-1, or "Questions to Heaven", the rover won't actually try to land on the surface for a further two to three months.
This wait-and-see strategy was used successfully by the American Viking landers in the 1970s. It will allow engineers to assess the atmospheric conditions on Mars before attempting what will be a hazardous descent.
Tianwen-1 is one of three missions setting off to Mars in the space of 11 days.
On Monday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched its Hope satellite towards the Red Planet. And in a week from now, the US space agency (NASA) aims to despatch its next-generation rover, Perseverance.

Jul 22, 2020

South Korea Launches 1st Military Communications Satellite, ANASIS-II

South Korea launched its first military communications satellite, Army/Navy/Air Force Satellite Information System II (ANASIS-II). The satellite was deployed into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) by a Falcon 9 rocket developed by US space firm SpaceX. It lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US state of Florida.
With this launch South Korea has become the 10th country to own a military-only communications satellite, which will provide permanent and secured military communications.
ANASIS-II is SpaceX's 1st geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) mission of 2020.

Jul 20, 2020

UAE Launches 'Hope' Mission to Mars

The United Arab Emirates launched its first-ever interplanetary 'Hope' probe mission to Mars from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre.
The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars orbit in about 200 days from now and then begin its mission to study the Red Planet`s atmosphere. Once it enters Mars` orbit in the first quarter of 2021, the Hope probe will mark the UAE`s 50th anniversary.
The Hope probe will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles.

ICAT Launches Automotive Technology E-portal ASPIRE

The International Centre of Automotive Technology (ICAT) launched an automotive technology e-portal, Automotive Solutions Portal for Industry, Research and Education (ASPIRE). The key objective of this portal is to enhance the technological capability of Indian automotive sector through exchange of knowledge and expertise.
It was launched to facilitate the initiative of the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), Govt. of India to promote, R&D and product development in India for various sectors.
In Regard to this, 5 other portals are being developed for specific sectors by different organisations namely:
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for power sector equipment, HMT (formerly Hindustan Machine Tools Limited) for machine tools, CMFTI for manufacturing technology, ICAT and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for the automotive sector.

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