Beneath Mars’ surface uncovered
The Rice University seismologists have made a major breakthrough using NASA’s Insight Lander on Mars. They have made the first direct measurements of three subsurface boundaries from the crust to the core of Mars.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/24958-beneath-mars-surface-uncovered.html
#BeneathMars #surface #NASAs #InSightLander #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses
The Rice University seismologists have made a major breakthrough using NASA’s Insight Lander on Mars. They have made the first direct measurements of three subsurface boundaries from the crust to the core of Mars.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/24958-beneath-mars-surface-uncovered.html
#BeneathMars #surface #NASAs #InSightLander #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses
Ksgindia
Beneath Mars’ surface uncovered | KSG India | Khan Study Group
The Rice University seismologists have made a major breakthrough using NASA’s InSight Lander on Mars. They have made the first direct measurements of three subsurface boundaries from the crust to t
Today's Headlines - 16 August 2023
Isro’s space probe to study the Sun
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) released images of the Aditya-L1 mission — the space agency’s first attempt to study the Sun. The satellite has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, for its integration with the launch vehicle, PSLV.
What is the Aditya-L1 mission?
The Aditya-L1 will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field.
It’s equipped with seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
Why is studying the Sun important?
Every planet, including Earth and the exoplanets beyond the Solar System, evolves — and this evolution is governed by its parent star.
The solar weather and environment affect the weather of the entire system. Variations in this weather can change the orbits of satellites or shorten their lives, interfere with or damage onboard electronics, and cause power blackouts and other disturbances on Earth. Knowledge of solar events is key to understanding space weather.
To learn about and track Earth-directed storms, and to predict their impact, continuous solar observations are needed.
Every storm that emerges from the Sun and heads towards Earth passes through L1, and a satellite placed in the halo orbit around L1 of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses.
L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system. Lagrange Points, named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system (like the Sun and the Earth) produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. The L1 point is home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO), an international collaboration project of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from Earth, or about one-hundredth of the way to the Sun. Aditya L1 will perform continuous observations looking directly at the Sun.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has already gone far closer — but it will be looking away from the Sun.
The earlier Helios 2 solar probe, a joint venture between NASA and the space agency of erstwhile West Germany, went within 43 million km of the Sun’s surface in 1976.
#upsc #news #headline #ISRO #study #sun #space #technology #india #space #research #technology #aditya #mission #SDSC #satishdhawanspacecenter #srihorikota #andhrapradesh #PSLV #distance #magnetic #corona #solar #planet #weather #earth #repulsion #gravitational #forces #fuel #SOHO #NASA #germany #surface
Isro’s space probe to study the Sun
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) released images of the Aditya-L1 mission — the space agency’s first attempt to study the Sun. The satellite has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, for its integration with the launch vehicle, PSLV.
What is the Aditya-L1 mission?
The Aditya-L1 will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field.
It’s equipped with seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
Why is studying the Sun important?
Every planet, including Earth and the exoplanets beyond the Solar System, evolves — and this evolution is governed by its parent star.
The solar weather and environment affect the weather of the entire system. Variations in this weather can change the orbits of satellites or shorten their lives, interfere with or damage onboard electronics, and cause power blackouts and other disturbances on Earth. Knowledge of solar events is key to understanding space weather.
To learn about and track Earth-directed storms, and to predict their impact, continuous solar observations are needed.
Every storm that emerges from the Sun and heads towards Earth passes through L1, and a satellite placed in the halo orbit around L1 of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses.
L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system. Lagrange Points, named after Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system (like the Sun and the Earth) produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. The L1 point is home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO), an international collaboration project of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from Earth, or about one-hundredth of the way to the Sun. Aditya L1 will perform continuous observations looking directly at the Sun.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has already gone far closer — but it will be looking away from the Sun.
The earlier Helios 2 solar probe, a joint venture between NASA and the space agency of erstwhile West Germany, went within 43 million km of the Sun’s surface in 1976.
#upsc #news #headline #ISRO #study #sun #space #technology #india #space #research #technology #aditya #mission #SDSC #satishdhawanspacecenter #srihorikota #andhrapradesh #PSLV #distance #magnetic #corona #solar #planet #weather #earth #repulsion #gravitational #forces #fuel #SOHO #NASA #germany #surface
Today's Headlines - 24 August 2023
Naval wargame Exercise Malabar concludes
The 27th edition of Exercise Malabar concluded on the east coast of Australia, off Sydney. The four-nation exercise witnessed the participation of ships, submarines, and aircraft from the Indian Navy, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and the US Navy (USN).
More about the Exercise
The exercise was conducted in two phases – a harbour (or planning) phase from 11 to 15 August, and a sea phase from 16 – 21 August, which saw the four navies actually implementing the plans that they had made.
The Indian Navy was represented by the indigenously built guided missile destroyer, INS Kolkata, the multi-role stealth frigate INS Sahyadri, and P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
There was a strong aircraft presence, including fighter aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft and shipborne helicopters.
The sea phase of Exercise Malabar witnessed complex and high intensity exercises in air, surface and undersea domains, weapon firings and cross deck helicopter operations.
The joint exercises at sea honed the war-fighting skills and enhanced interoperability between the four navies to undertake advanced maritime operations.
The seamless integration of air assets also showcased the exceptional coordination and interoperability between the Indian, Australian, and US maritime patrol aircraft units.
Exercise Malabar reaffirmed the ability of the four navies to operate together as an integrated force, while also highlighting their shared commitment to maritime security and regional stability through collaborative training and mutual understanding.
Flashback
At the culmination of five days of multifarious exercises, Exercise Malabar vividly showcased the strong cooperation, shared values, and the collective ability of the four participating nations to ensure a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, promoting peace and security for all.
China has made it clear to the four participating countries that it sees Malabar as an inimical military grouping.
After Malabar 2007, China conveyed its displeasure in writing, seeking to know whom the exercise was directed against. Since then, the number of participating navies has doubled from two to four.
#upsc #news #headline #navalwargame #excercise #malabarconcludes #eastcoast #australia #sydney #fournation #submarines #aircraft #indiannavy #RAN #JMSDF #usnavy #USN #ships #seaphase #INS #Kolkata #sahyadri #patrol #fighter #helicopters #warfighting #air #surface #interoperability #integratedforce #indianaustralian #malabarchina #pacific #cooperation #multifarious #guidedmissile
Naval wargame Exercise Malabar concludes
The 27th edition of Exercise Malabar concluded on the east coast of Australia, off Sydney. The four-nation exercise witnessed the participation of ships, submarines, and aircraft from the Indian Navy, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and the US Navy (USN).
More about the Exercise
The exercise was conducted in two phases – a harbour (or planning) phase from 11 to 15 August, and a sea phase from 16 – 21 August, which saw the four navies actually implementing the plans that they had made.
The Indian Navy was represented by the indigenously built guided missile destroyer, INS Kolkata, the multi-role stealth frigate INS Sahyadri, and P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
There was a strong aircraft presence, including fighter aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft and shipborne helicopters.
The sea phase of Exercise Malabar witnessed complex and high intensity exercises in air, surface and undersea domains, weapon firings and cross deck helicopter operations.
The joint exercises at sea honed the war-fighting skills and enhanced interoperability between the four navies to undertake advanced maritime operations.
The seamless integration of air assets also showcased the exceptional coordination and interoperability between the Indian, Australian, and US maritime patrol aircraft units.
Exercise Malabar reaffirmed the ability of the four navies to operate together as an integrated force, while also highlighting their shared commitment to maritime security and regional stability through collaborative training and mutual understanding.
Flashback
At the culmination of five days of multifarious exercises, Exercise Malabar vividly showcased the strong cooperation, shared values, and the collective ability of the four participating nations to ensure a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, promoting peace and security for all.
China has made it clear to the four participating countries that it sees Malabar as an inimical military grouping.
After Malabar 2007, China conveyed its displeasure in writing, seeking to know whom the exercise was directed against. Since then, the number of participating navies has doubled from two to four.
#upsc #news #headline #navalwargame #excercise #malabarconcludes #eastcoast #australia #sydney #fournation #submarines #aircraft #indiannavy #RAN #JMSDF #usnavy #USN #ships #seaphase #INS #Kolkata #sahyadri #patrol #fighter #helicopters #warfighting #air #surface #interoperability #integratedforce #indianaustralian #malabarchina #pacific #cooperation #multifarious #guidedmissile
Today's Headlines - 02 September 2023
Chandrayaan-3 confirms Sulphur in lunar surface
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the Pragyan rover's Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope confirmed the presence of sulphur in the lunar surface near the south pole, through the first-ever in-situ measurements. Pragyan is a lunar rover that forms part of Chandrayaan-3, the lunar mission developed by ISRO.
More about discovery
The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the South Pole.
These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters.
LIBS is a scientific technique that analyses the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses.
A high-energy laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a material, such as a rock or soil. The laser pulse generates extremely hot and localised plasma.
The collected plasma light is spectrally resolved and detected by detectors such as Charge Coupled Devices. Since each element emits a characteristic set of wavelengths of light when it is in a plasma state, the elemental composition of the material is determined.
Chandrayaan-3 successfully executed a soft landing on the moon on 23 August 2023, making India the fourth nation in the world to achieve a successful lunar landing.
India also marked a milestone by becoming the first country to land near the South Pole, an area believed to harbour significant amounts of water ice.
ISRO on 29 August 2023 said preliminary analyses, graphically represented, have unveiled the presence of aluminium (Al), sulphur (S), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), and titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface.
Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O). A thorough investigation regarding the presence of hydrogen is underway.
Flashback
The LIBS instrument is developed at the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS) / ISRO, Bengaluru.
LEOS, situated at Peenya Industrial Estate, Bengaluru, is one of the vital units of ISRO.
It deals with the design, development, and production of attitude sensors for all low Earth orbit (LEO), geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and interplanetary missions.
It develops and delivers optical systems for remote sensing and meteorological payloads.
#upsc #news #headline #chandryaan #sulphur #lunar #surface #spacetechnology #ISRO #pragyan #laser #spectroscope #southpole #situ #measurment #rover #LIBS #elemental #composition #scientific #technique #materials #laserpulse #rock #soil #plasma #wavelengths #light #chargedevices #softlanding #milestone #waterice #aluminium #calcium #iron #chromium #titanium #silicon #oxygen #manganese #hydrogen #LEOS #GEO #peenya
Chandrayaan-3 confirms Sulphur in lunar surface
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the Pragyan rover's Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope confirmed the presence of sulphur in the lunar surface near the south pole, through the first-ever in-situ measurements. Pragyan is a lunar rover that forms part of Chandrayaan-3, the lunar mission developed by ISRO.
More about discovery
The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the South Pole.
These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters.
LIBS is a scientific technique that analyses the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses.
A high-energy laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a material, such as a rock or soil. The laser pulse generates extremely hot and localised plasma.
The collected plasma light is spectrally resolved and detected by detectors such as Charge Coupled Devices. Since each element emits a characteristic set of wavelengths of light when it is in a plasma state, the elemental composition of the material is determined.
Chandrayaan-3 successfully executed a soft landing on the moon on 23 August 2023, making India the fourth nation in the world to achieve a successful lunar landing.
India also marked a milestone by becoming the first country to land near the South Pole, an area believed to harbour significant amounts of water ice.
ISRO on 29 August 2023 said preliminary analyses, graphically represented, have unveiled the presence of aluminium (Al), sulphur (S), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), and titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface.
Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O). A thorough investigation regarding the presence of hydrogen is underway.
Flashback
The LIBS instrument is developed at the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS) / ISRO, Bengaluru.
LEOS, situated at Peenya Industrial Estate, Bengaluru, is one of the vital units of ISRO.
It deals with the design, development, and production of attitude sensors for all low Earth orbit (LEO), geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and interplanetary missions.
It develops and delivers optical systems for remote sensing and meteorological payloads.
#upsc #news #headline #chandryaan #sulphur #lunar #surface #spacetechnology #ISRO #pragyan #laser #spectroscope #southpole #situ #measurment #rover #LIBS #elemental #composition #scientific #technique #materials #laserpulse #rock #soil #plasma #wavelengths #light #chargedevices #softlanding #milestone #waterice #aluminium #calcium #iron #chromium #titanium #silicon #oxygen #manganese #hydrogen #LEOS #GEO #peenya