DTR Bill referred to PSC
The DNA Technology Regulation (DTR) Bill, which seeks to control the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of a person, has been referred to a parliamentary standing committee (PSC) for examination, the Lok Sabha secretariat has said.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21743-dtr-bill-referred-to-psc.html
#DTRBill #PSC #deoxyribonucleicacid #MVenkaiahNaidu


DRDO signs pacts on ToT
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed 30 licensing agreements for Transfer of Technology (ToT) with 16 Indian companies, including three start-ups.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21742-drdo-signs-pacts-on-tot.html
#DRDO #ToT #Indiancompanies #GoaUniversity #DRDOsigns


Interpol to hold General Assembly in India
The Interpol will hold its General Assembly in India in 2022 to coincide with the 75th year of the country’s independence.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21741-interpol-to-hold-general-assembly-in-india.html
#Interpol #GeneralAssembly #AmitShah #GeneralJürgenStock


World's first female spacewalking team
The world’s first female spacewalking team made history high above Earth on 18 October 2019, floating out of the International Space Station to fix a broken part of the power network.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21740-world-s-first-female-spacewalking-team.html
#femalespacewalking #Earth #JessicaMeir #NASAastronauts


Mars had salt lakes similar to Earth
Mars once had salt lakes that went through wet and dry phases similar to those on the Earth, according to a study which indicates that the red planet’s climate ‘dried out’ over a long time.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21739-mars-had-salt-lakes-similar-to-earth.html
#Mars #Earth #driedout #GaleCrater #saltlakes

India, Saudi ink several pacts
India and Saudi Arabia inked over a dozen agreements in several key sectors including oil and gas, defence and civil aviation to bolster their ties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with the Kingdom's top leadership during which a Strategic Partnership Council was established to coordinate on important issues.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21838-india-saudi-ink-several-pacts.html
#India #NarendraModi #ISPRL #SaudiArabia #MasterCard

Miyawaki method for tree planting
West Bengal government's panchayat & rural development department has decided to create forests across the state using the Miyawaki method, a Japanese method of tree planting that helps in building dense, native forests.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21837-miyawaki-method-for-tree-planting.html
#Miyawaki #blackberry #Shibganj #ShyampurI

Hygiea in solar system
Space scientists have discovered a new celestial body which might be the smallest such planet to exist in our solar system.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21836-hygiea-in-solar-system.html
#Hygiea #ESO #IAU #SPHERE #solarsystem #Mars

'severe’ Air quality
Pollution levels continued to be in the ‘severe’ category on 30 October 2019 as a blanket of smog wrapped Delhi. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quantity index was 416 at 11 a.m.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21835-severe-air-quality.html
#severe #Airquality #AQI #CPCB #NAMP #Protection

ICAR sign deal with Nabard
With a view to promote sustainable agriculture and climate resilient farming systems the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Board of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to facilitate the action research (the research carried out with the active participation of farmers to provide solutions for the challenges) and up-scaling of the various technologies and innovative farmer models developed by the ICAR that includes the successful climate resilient practices, models and integrated and hi-tech farming practices in a participatory model through adoptive research on watershed platform.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22338-icar-sign-deal-with-nabard.html
#ICAR #MoU #Nabard #NABARD #HRD #Agriculture

No significant progress made in COP25
Unable to make any significant progress on main agenda issues such as the creation of new carbon markets, as was expected, discussions on contentious issues at the Madrid climate talks are set to be postponed to next year.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22337-no-significant-progress-made-in-cop25.html
#COP25 #India #supervisorybody #KyotoProtocol #humanrights

China, U.S. announce trade deal
The United States and China cooled their trade war on 13 December 2019, announcing a “phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of American farm goods.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22336-china-u-s-announce-trade-deal.html
#China #DonaldTrump #WhiteHouse #UnitedStates #USTR

National Ganga Council meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 December 2019 chaired the first meeting of National Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga Council (National Ganga Council) at Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology in Kanpur.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22335-national-ganga-council-meeting.html
#NGC #NarendraModi #Kanpur #NationalGangaCouncil #CETP #NMCG

Wind flow pattern on Mars
NASA scientists have mapped the global wind circulation patterns in the upper atmosphere of Mars- 120 to 300 kilometers above the Red Planet's surface.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22334-wind-flow-pattern-on-mars.html
#Mars #NASA #UMBC #MAVEN #NGIMS #RedPlanet

Gender Social Norms Index
Nine in 10 people are prejudiced against women, such as thinking university education is more important for men or that men deserve jobs more if work is scarce, the United Nations said on 5 March 2020.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23039-gender-social-norms-index.html
#GSNI #UNDP #NewZealand #InternationalWomensDay

Inclusive Internet Index 2020
India has been ranked 40th out of 100 countries on the inclusive internet index 2020 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In South Asia, Pakistan ranked the lowest (76th), India at 40th, Sri Lanka at 56 and Bangladesh on the 70th spot.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23038-inclusive-internet-index-2020.html
#III2020 #EIU #GDP #Bangladesh #InclusiveInternetIndex

CPPP to merge with GeM
India plans to integrate its central public procurement portal (CPPP) with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to further improve buying and selling process for ministries, departments and other agencies.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23037-cppp-to-merge-with-gem.html
#CPPP #GeM #TalleenKumar #GFR #POC

CIC appointed
Information Commissioner Bimal Julka was appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on 6 March 2020, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23036-cic-appointed.html
#CIC #BimalJulka #RashtrapatiBhavan #CPA #RamNathKovind

NASA’s Mars rover named
NASA’s Mars rover for the 2020 mission finally has an official name: Perseverance. Alexander Mather, a seventh-standard student, submitted the winning entry to NASA’s “Name the Rover” essay contest.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23035-nasa-s-mars-rover-named.html
#NASA #Mars #Earth #JPL #planet #Perseverance

'Hope' mission delayed
The United Arab Emirates plans to make history on 15 July 2020 with the scheduled launch of the "Hope" mission, which will make it the first Arab nation to send a probe to Mars.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/24380-hope-mission-delayed.html
#Hope #mission #Mars #firstArabnation #UnitedArabEmirates

'Al Amal' towards Mars
The UAE made history on 20 July 2020 by successfully launching its spacecraft "Al Amal" towards Mars from a Japanese launch centre, marking the Arab world's first interplanetary mission.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/24542-al-amal-towards-mars.html
#AlAmal #Mars #H2Arocket #UAE #DubaisAlKhawaneej

Mars test rocket makes 1st flight
SpaceX launched a prototype of its Mars rocketship hundreds of feet into the air, then landed it upright in a successful test flight.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/24878-mars-test-rocket-makes-1st-flight.html
#Mars #testrocket #1stflight #SpaceXlaunched #Marsrocketship

Lava tubes on Moon and Mars
Planet Earth have several lava tubes, also called volcanic caves that act as “channels of rivers of lava that at some earlier time flowed downslope from a volcanic vent or fissure”.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/25058-lava-tubes-on-moon-and-mars.html
#Lavatubes #PlanetEarth #Moon #Mars #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Signs of water in the lakes of Mars
The most intriguing notion of humankind of being alone in the universe might just have busted as scientists once again discovered substantial signs of water present in Mars, where a rigorous research is going on to find life-supporting evidence.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/26340-signs-of-water-in-the-lakes-of-mars.html
#Signs #lakes #Mars #water #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

New study reveals presence of water on Mars
New evidence that suggests that Mars may have had water much earlier than anticipated. Scientists came to this conclusion after two meteorites, NWA 7034 and NWA 7533, which originated from Mars and landed in the Sahara Desert, were found to have oxidised minerals in the Martian crust present on them, suggesting the presence of H2O.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/26992-new-study-reveals-presence-of-water-on-mars.html
#water #Mars #Earth #BlackBeauty #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Ancient megafloods on Mars
Giant flash floods once washed through Gale Crater on Mars' equator around four billion years ago, according to a study which hints at the possibility that life may have existed on the Red Planet.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/27243-ancient-megafloods-on-mars.html
#Ancientmegafloods #Mars #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses #ksgnews

KSG Podcast - Perseverance Mission on Mars | Short Crisp Concise and Exam Oriented Edited Editorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBwA-MfQmp8&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=4
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - NASA's Curiosity rover | best daily editorial analysis for upsc #newsanalysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpqmCwmsmOU
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Perseverance Mission on Mars | Short Crisp Concise and Exam Oriented Edited Editorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBwA-MfQmp8&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=52
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - NASA's Curiosity rover | best daily editorial analysis for upsc #newsanalysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpqmCwmsmOU&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=56
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG PODCAST | What is a ‘marsquake’? #upsc #editorial #theindianexpress #ksgindia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfLl5PQQi9g&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=76
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG PODCAST | What is a ‘marsquake’? #upsc #editorial #theindianexpress #ksgindia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfLl5PQQi9g&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=193
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Today's Headlines - 09 August 2023
Nuclear-powered rocket cut travel time to Mars
GS Paper - 3 (Energy)

In less than three years, NASA could be testing a nuclear rocket in space. The space agency and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, announced that Lockheed Martin had been selected to design, build and test a propulsion system that could one day speed astronauts on a trip to Mars. The program is named DRACO, short for the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations.

What if a spacecraft could get to Mars in half the time it currently takes?

Every 26 months or so, Mars and Earth are close enough for a shorter journey between the worlds. But even then it is a pretty long trip, lasting seven to nine months. For most of the time, the spacecraft is just coasting through space.
But if the spacecraft could continue accelerating through the first half of the journey and then start slowing down again, the travel time could be slashed.
Current rocket engines, which typically rely on the combustion of a fuel like hydrogen or methane with oxygen, are not efficient enough to accomplish that; there is not enough room in the spacecraft to carry that much propellant.
But nuclear reactions, generating energy from the splitting of uranium atoms, are much more efficient.
The DRACO engine would consist of a nuclear reactor that would heat hydrogen from a chilly minus 420 degrees Fahrenheit to a toasty 4,400 degrees, with the hot gas shooting from a nozzle to generate thrust. Greater fuel efficiency could speed up journeys to Mars, reducing the amount of time astronauts spend exposed to the treacherous environment of deep space.
Nuclear propulsion could also have uses closer to home, which is why DARPA is investing in the project. The technology may allow rapid maneuvers of military satellites in orbit around Earth.

Flashback

Nuclear propulsion for space is not a new idea. In the 1950s and 1960s, Project Orion — financed by NASA, the Air Force and the Advanced Research Projects Agency — contemplated using the explosions of atomic bombs to accelerate spacecraft.
At the same time, NASA and other agencies also undertook Project Rover and Project NERVA, efforts that aimed to develop nuclear-thermal engines similar in concept to those now being pursued by the DRACO program.
A series of 23 reactors were built and tested, but none were ever launched to space. Until the end of this program in 1973, NASA had contemplated using nuclear reactors to propel space probes to Jupiter, Saturn and beyond, as well as to provide power at a lunar base.
The technical capabilities, including early safety protocols, remain viable today, Tabitha Dodson, the DRACO project manager, said in a news briefing on 2 August 2023.
A key difference between NERVA and DRACO is that NERVA used weapons-grade uranium for its reactors, while DRACO will use a less-enriched form of uranium. The reactor would not be turned on until it reached space, part of the precautions to minimize the possibility of a radioactive accident on Earth.

#upsc #news #headline #nuclear #rocket #travel #mars #energy #space #propulsion #system #trip #darpa #astronauts #DRACO #demonstration #agile #cislunar #spacecraft #earth #journey #engines #hydrogen #methane #fuel #oxygen #uranium #DARPA #technology #NERVA

Today's Headlines - 09 August 2023
The legacy of the Voyager mission
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) lost communication with Earth’s longest-running space probe, Voyager 2, the space agency detected a “heartbeat” signal from the spacecraft. Although too faint for extraction of data, the detected signal confirms that Voyager 2, which is about 19.9 billion kilometres away from Earth, is still operating.

Why were the Voyager spacecraft sent into space?

In 1972, NASA cancelled its plans of exploring the five outer planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) with four highly complex spacecraft — the proposal, estimated to cost $ 1 billion, was scrapped due to budgetary constraints.
Instead, it proposed to send the Voyager probes, initially slated to explore only Jupiter and Saturn. In 1974, however, it was decided that if one spacecraft completes the mission, the other one would be redirected towards Uranus and then Neptune.
Interestingly, the spacecraft were scheduled for a take-off towards the end of the 1970s for a reason.
NASA chose the particular launch window to take advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune that occurs once every 175 years.
The alignment allowed the spacecraft to harness the gravity of each planet and swing from one to the next using relatively minimal amounts of fuel. NASA first demonstrated the technique with its Mariner 10 mission to Venus and Mercury from 1973 to 1975.
Voyager 2 was launched on 20 August 1977, two weeks before the 5 September Voyager 1 takeoff.
This reversal of order took place as the two spacecraft were put on different trajectories — Voyager 1 was set on a path to reach Jupiter and Saturn, ahead of Voyager 2.

What are the most notable achievements of the Voyager spacecraft?

Fifteen months after its launch, Voyager 1 reached its first target planet, Jupiter, on 5 March 1979, and was soon followed by Voyager 2, which arrived there on 9 July.
The most interesting discoveries made by Voyager 1 included the finding that Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, was geologically active.
After the Saturn expedition, as Voyager 1 headed on a trajectory to escape the solar system, Voyager 2 was redirected towards Uranus — both probes had fulfilled their primary mission goals but scientists kept them operational for further exploration.
Voyager 2 arrived at Uranus in 1986, becoming the first human-made object to fly past the aquamarine planet.
The spacecraft took stunning photographs and confirmed that the main constituents of Uranus are hydrogen and helium.
Then, the probe went to Neptune. Becoming the first human-made object to fly by the planet in 1989, Voyager 2 made some more notable discoveries there.
Apart from finding new moons and rings, it discovered that Neptune is more active than previously thought — winds on the planet blow at the speed of 1,100 kph.
After the Neptune encounter, Voyager 2, like Voyager 1, was put on the path to head out of the solar system. While Voyager 1 officially entered interstellar space in August 2012, Voyager 2 made its entry in November 2018.

#upsc #news #headline #voyager #mission #legacy #space #technology #national #aeronautics #spacecraft #data #NASA #planets #jupiter #saturn #uranus #neptune #mars #mercury #solar #moons

Today's Headlines - 29 August 2023
Crew-7 mission to space station
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

Four astronauts from four countries, including the US, Denmark, Japan, and Russia, launched aboard a SpaceX rocket towards the International Space Station (ISS) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first US take-off in which all the astronauts atop the spacecraft belonged to a different country — until now, NASA had always included two or three of its own on its SpaceX flights. The mission has been known as Crew-7.

Why has such a diverse group of astronauts gone to the ISS?

The Crew-7 mission is a result of the ongoing cooperation among different countries in space, especially since the launch of the space station in 1998.
The International Space Station Program involves the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the participating countries of the European Space Agency, and is one of the most ambitious international collaborations ever attempted.
The program “brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launch, operations, training, engineering, and development facilities; communications networks, and the international scientific research community”.
What is the mission?

The Crew-7 is the eighth flight operated by NASA and Elon Musk-owned SpaceX as part of the agency’s commercial crew program, which has been taking astronauts to the ISS since SpaceX’s first crewed mission in 2020.
During their stay at the space station, the Crew-7 astronauts will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The research will include a collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station.
The team will also analyse how sleeping in the microgravity environment differs from Earth by examining astronauts’ brain waves while they sleep.
Yet another experiment will look at the formation of biofilms in wastewater on the space station, which could be key to finding better ways to recycle water for drinking and hygiene while in space (Yes, astronauts have long used recycled sweat and urine to drink and shower on the station).

#upsc #headline #crew #mission #spacestation #spacetechnology #astronauts #internationalspacestation #NASA #denmark #japan #russia #takeoff #earth #brain #microgravity #hygiene #recycle #waves #commercialcrew #biofilms #wastewater #moom #mars #microbial #samples #program #station #cooperation #denmark #rocket