Odisha rasagola gets GI tag
A year after West Bengal walked away with geographical indication (GI) tag recognition for rasgulla, the Odisha government reopened the battle for ownership of the delicacy and won the rights over ‘Odisha rasagola’.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21079-odisha-rasagola-gets-gi-tag
#Odisha #GItag #rasagola #OSIC #NiladriBije #WTO #TRIPS #WestBengal

4th cycle of All India Tiger Estimation
On the occasion of International Tiger Day (29 July 2019), Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the results of the fourth cycle of All India Tiger Estimation - 2018 at Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi on 29 July 2019. The count of tigers in India has risen to 2967, in 2018, according to this census.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21078-4th-cycle-of-all-india-tiger-estimation
#India #Tiger #NarendraModi #historic #NTCA #MSTrIPES #MEETR

A bill to curb ponzi schemes passed
Parliament on 29 July 2019 unanimously passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019, which seeks to put in place a mechanism by which poor depositors will get back their hard earned money. The Rajya Sabha passed with voice vote the bill which would save gullible investors from ponzi schemes.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21077-a-bill-to-curb-ponzi-schemes-passed
#RajyaSabha #curb #ponzischemes #LokSabha #Ordinance #recommendations

Atomic restrictions imposed by the Iran
Iran produced tonnes before the deal. Any excess enriched uranium was either down blended to the level of natural uranium or shipped out of the country in exchange for natural uranium.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21076-atomic-restrictions-imposed-by-the-iran
#Iran #JCPOA #IAEA #UnitedStates #Atomic #restrictions

Third orbit-raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan 2
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) performed the third orbit raising manoeuvre of its Lunar craft Chandrayaan 2 on 29 July 2019 at 3:12 PM. This was done using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 989 seconds.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21075-third-orbit-raising-manoeuvre-of-chandrayaan-2
#Chandrayaan2 #ISRO #Moon #Russia #solar #Vikram #orbit #spacecraft

Co-origination pact lend to MSMEs
The troubled shadow banks are not yet out of the woods and the largest lender SBI has stitched a co-origination agreement to finance small businesses--which used to be a major customer-base for the crippled financiers.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21275-co-origination-pact-lend-to-msmes
#MSMEs #SBI #RBI #NBFCs #ReserveBank #agreement

DRDO hands over design of MMR
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over the design of Mobile Metallic Ramp (MMR) to the Indian Army at a ceremony held at DRDO Bhawan. With load bearing capacity of 70 metric ton (MT), the MMR has been designed and developed by DRDO’s premier research laboratory.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21274-drdo-hands-over-design-of-mmr
#DRDO #MMR #MT #CFEES #TDEs #DSO #DTDP #Bhawan #IndianArmy

Chandrayaan-2 enters 2nd Lunar orbit
The second Lunar orbit manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was successfully completed on 21 August 2019, said India Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
According to ISRO, the orbit manoeuvre began at 12.50 p.m. and took 1,228 seconds to complete. The orbit achieved is 118 km X 4,412 km. All spacecraft parameters are normal.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21273-chandrayaan-2-enters-2nd-lunar-orbit
#Chandrayaan2 #spacecraft #ISRO #Vikram #GSLVMkIII #Lunar #orbit

Compliance report to FATF
Pakistan has submitted compliance report on its 27-point action plan to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as three separate evaluations currently in progress will determine the country's possible exit from the grey list of the anti-money laundering watchdog by October.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21272-compliance-report-to-fatf
#FATF #Australia #APG #Pakistan #BaqirReza #Bangkok #ImranKhan

Rocky exoplanet of Moon or Mercury
Scientists at NASA have achieved to get a rare glimpse of the conditions on the surface of a rocky exoplanet orbiting a star beyond the Sun. Using the data of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have detected the light from the planet LHS 3844b, which is located 48.6 lightyears away from the Earth.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21271-rocky-exoplanet-of-moon-or-mercury
#Moon #Mercury #NASA #JPL #TESS #LHS #Mdwarf #planet

India to host Interpol general assembly
India on 1 September 2019 proposed to host the Interpol general assembly in 2022, as part of the 75th-anniversary celebrations of the country’s Independence.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21360-india-to-host-interpol-general-assembly
#India #AmitShah #INTERPOL #75thAnniversary #Independence

Fifth lunar orbit manoeuvre
India’s Chandrayaan-2 successfully completed its fifth and final lunar-bound orbit maneuver on 1 September 2019. The final and fifth Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully on September 01, 2019 at 1821 hrs IST.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21359-fifth-lunar-orbit-manoeuvre
#orbit #Chandrayaan2 #India #IST #spacecraft #ISRO #SatishDhawan

Fingerprint of Earth’s atmosphere
Astronomers at Canada’s McGill University have made a “fingerprint” for the Earth, which could be used to identify a potentially life sustaining planet beyond the solar system.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21358-fingerprint-of-earth-s-atmosphere
#Fingerprint #Earth #McGillUniversity #SCISAT #JWST #TRAPPIST1

Evolution of antibiotic resistance in E. coli
It is well known that low concentrations of antibiotics can cause resistance to evolve among bacteria. Now, a group of researchers from IISER Pune has taken this further to explore how exactly this happens.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21357-evolution-of-antibiotic-resistance-in-e-coli
#Ecoli #IISER #Pune #antibiotic #Evolution #bacteria

India to host Interpol general assembly
India on 1 September 2019 proposed to host the Interpol general assembly in 2022, as part of the 75th-anniversary celebrations of the country’s Independence.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21360-india-to-host-interpol-general-assembly
#India #AmitShah #INTERPOL #75thAnniversary #Independence

Fifth lunar orbit manoeuvre
India’s Chandrayaan-2 successfully completed its fifth and final lunar-bound orbit maneuver on 1 September 2019. The final and fifth Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully on September 01, 2019 at 1821 hrs IST.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21359-fifth-lunar-orbit-manoeuvre
#orbit #Chandrayaan2 #India #IST #spacecraft #ISRO #SatishDhawan

Fingerprint of Earth’s atmosphere
Astronomers at Canada’s McGill University have made a “fingerprint” for the Earth, which could be used to identify a potentially life sustaining planet beyond the solar system.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21358-fingerprint-of-earth-s-atmosphere
#Fingerprint #Earth #McGillUniversity #SCISAT #JWST #TRAPPIST1

Evolution of antibiotic resistance in E. coli
It is well known that low concentrations of antibiotics can cause resistance to evolve among bacteria. Now, a group of researchers from IISER Pune has taken this further to explore how exactly this happens.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21357-evolution-of-antibiotic-resistance-in-e-coli
#Ecoli #IISER #Pune #antibiotic #Evolution #bacteria

Vikram undergoes de-orbit manoeuvre
Chandrayaan 2’s moon lander Vikram underwent the first of two ‘de-orbiting’ manoeuvres on 3 September 2019 morning. The four-second operation performed from ISRO’s Bengaluru control centre has slightly trimmed the lander’s orbit towards its destination.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21382-vikram-undergoes-de-orbit-manoeuvre
#Vikram #Chandrayaan2 #OHRC #DEM #ISRO #Forging #orbit

Pakistan skips UN summit in India
A 12-day UN meet on combating desertification, land degradation and drought opened at Greater Noida on 2 September 2019 with India taking over presidency of the Conference of Parties (COP) from China for next two years while its neighbour Pakistan skipped it despite being invited by the global body.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21381-pakistan-skips-un-summit-in-india
#Pakistan #COP #UNCCD #ISRO #Pakistani #India

Caused of mass extinctions found
Around 420 million years ago, a devastating mass extinction event, known as Lau/Kozlowskii extinction, wiped around 23 per cent of all marine animals from the Earth in the late prehistoric Silurian Period.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21380-caused-of-mass-extinctions-found
#FSU #Kozlowskii #Earth #mass #extinctions

Apache AH-64E inducted in IAF
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has formally inducted eight of the 22 AH-64E Apache helicopters at the Air Force Station, Pathankot. The Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters, which are expected to improve battlefield attack capabilities for the IAF, were inducted by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21379-apache-ah-64e-inducted-in-iaf
#IAF #AH64E #Pathankot #AirForceStation #BSDhanoa #helicopters #MoD

CIMON returns to Earth
The Crew Interactive Mobile CompaniON (CIMON), which is the first artificial intelligence (AI)-based astronaut assistance system returned to Earth after spending over a year on the International Space Station (ISS).
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21378-cimon-returns-to-earth
#CIMON #ISS #DLR #ESA #Germany #artificialintelligence #IBM

Mithali Raj retired from T20
Former captain Mithali Raj announced her retirement from the shortest format of the game on 3 September 2019 after having led the Indian women’s cricket team in 32 T20 matches including three World Cups in 2012 (Sri Lanka), 2014 (Bangladesh) and 2016 (India).
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21377-mithali-raj-retired-from-t20
#MithaliRaj #T20 #ECB #Bangladesh #Indianwomen #CricketTeam

Zonal committees of land resources department
Ministry of rural development has set up four zonal monitoring committees, headed by a joint secretary level officer, to undertake comprehensive monitoring and impact assessment of key programmes of department of land resources under the ministry as progress under the schemes remains slow.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21970-zonal-committees-of-land-resources-department.html
#DILRMP #MinistryofRuralDevelopment #PMKSY #NCT #Uttarakhand #UT

Brown to Green Report 2019
Extreme weather events led to around 16,000 deaths and economic losses of $142 billion in G20 nations on average every year during 1998-2017 with India reporting the highest number of deaths among them and figuring in the list of top five countries in terms of economic losses during the period, said a global report that analysed the climate action track records of the global economic power group.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21969-brown-to-green-report-2019.html
#GreenReport2019 #G20 #NDC #CO2 #NGOs

Panel for Dal Lake
The Jammu and Kashmir government has set up a ten-member committee to declare Srinagar's famous Dal Lake and its surrounding areas as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), following concerns over its shrinking size.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21968-panel-for-dal-lake.html
#DalLake #DCI #ESZ #SMC #MoEFCC #WildlifeSanctuaries #Srinagar

IOA rejects draft National Sports Code
India will incur the International Olympic Committee’s wrath and may even be suspended if it goes ahead with administrative reforms suggested in the draft National Sports Code 2017, the Indian Olympic Association has warned, rejecting the proposed document completely.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21967-ioa-rejects-draft-national-sports-code.html
#IOA #NationalSportsCode #KirenRijiju #GOI #MYAS #NSFs #CEOs

SpaceX launches 60 more mini satellites
SpaceX launched 60 mini satellites, the second batch of an orbiting network meant to provide global internet coverage. The Falcon rocket blasted into the morning sky, marking the unprecedented fourth flight of a booster for SpaceX.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21966-spacex-launches-60-more-mini-satellites.html
#SpaceXlaunches60 #satellites #Starlink #ElonMusk #orbit


How old is Nile river
The Nile river flowing through Egypt could be six times as old as previously thought, according to a study which estimated it to have originated at least 30 million years ago.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21965-how-old-is-nile-river.html
#Nileriver #UT #Earth #NatureGeoscience #Yangtze

X-ray burst detected
NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER)telescope on the International Space Station (ISS) has detected the brightest X-ray burst so far that was caused by a massive thermonuclear flash on the surface of a pulsar.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21964-x-ray-burst-detected.html
#Xray #NICER #ISS #NASA #J1808 #NeutronStar

SEZs deemed to be multi-sector SEZs
The central government has notified that all notified and existing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) shall be deemed to be multi-sector economic zones. This would release land parcels in single commodity SEZs for other sectors.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22400-sezs-deemed-to-be-multi-sector-sezs.html
#SEZs #EPZ #amendment #Asia #TamilNadu #manufacturing

Threat to outer space security
Rising space power China on 23 December 2019 attacked the newly created US Space Force as a "direct threat to outer space peace and security". Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that China is "deeply concerned about it and resolutely opposed to it".
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22399-threat-to-outer-space-security.html
#SpaceForce #DRDO #satellite #orbit #OST #BNSS

What is Wi-Fi calling?
Wi-Fi calling is the buzz word in the Indian telecom industry right now. Airtel has already launched its Wi-Fi calling service in the country (available only in some areas for now), while Reliance Jio is still testing it in some circles and is expected to announce it very soon.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22398-what-is-wi-fi-calling.html
#WiFiCalling #RelianceJio #TamilNadu #telecom #Indiantelecom

China, South Korea, Japan meet
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea are holding a trilateral summit in China this week amid feuds over trade, military maneuverings and historical animosities. Most striking has been a complex dispute between Seoul and Tokyo, while Beijing has recently sought to tone down its disagreements with its two neighbors.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22397-china-south-korea-japan-meet.html
#China #THAAD #Asiantroika #ShinzoAbe #Japan #nuclear

Good Governance Index launched
A good governance index (GGI) was launched on 25 December 2019 by the central government to assess the state of governance in the country, according to a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22412-good-governance-index-launched.html
#GGI #DoPT #GoodGovernanceIndex #UTs #CSMOP #AtalBihariVajpayee

Depleting groundwater
Nearly 1,100 scientists, practitioners and experts in groundwater and related fields from 92 countries have called on the governments and non-governmental agencies to “act now” to ensure global groundwater sustainability.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22411-depleting-groundwater.html
#Depleting #groundwater #SDGs #Earth #IIT #SDGs

Govt breaks 150-year tradition
The Union Cabinet on 24 December 2019 gave approval to restructuring of the Railway board through merger of its existing eight Group A services into a central service called the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS).
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22410-govt-breaks-150-year-tradition.html
#UnionCabinet #IRMS #IRHS #HR #PiyushGoyal #Railway

India, Oman sign maritime pact
India and Oman signed a Maritime Transport Agreement during the visit of foreign minister S Jaishankar to the Sultanate. The pact – the first with any Gulf country – enables India to expand its footprint in the western Indian Ocean,
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22409-india-oman-sign-maritime-pact.html
#India #IndianOcean #MTA #PersianGulf #SJaishankar

Space Junk identification systems
Researchers in China have improved the accuracy of detecting space junk in the Earth's orbit, providing a more effective way to plot safe routes for spacecraft maneuvers.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22408-space-junk-identification-systems.html
#SpaceJunk #Earth #orbit #telescopes #Marquardt

SC land acquisition case
Dealing with two conflicting judgments of the Supreme Court on the interpretation of Section 24 (2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, a five-judge Constitution Bench on 7 March 2020 ruled that proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 will not lapseif the compensation payable to the land owner is tendered by depositing it in the treasury even if the land owner refuses to accept it.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23046-sc-land-acquisition-case.html
#SC #ArunMishra #LAA #AKGoel #acquisition

International Women’s Day 2020
The International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year to remind ourselves of the sacrifices they have made as well as the efforts they have put in to shape our lives for the better.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23045-international-women-s-day-2020.html
#IWD2020 #UN #InternationalWomensDay #SDG #FWC

‘Social Network’ in early animals
Some of the first animals on Earth were connected by networks of thread-like filaments which may have been used for nutrition, communication or reproduction, the earliest evidence yet found of life being connected in this way, according to a study.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23044-social-network-in-early-animals.html
#SocialNetwork #Earth #animals #AlexLiu

Three space tourists to ISS
Elon Musk-led private space launch company SpaceX plans to send three tourists to the International Space Station (ISS). The 10-day long space voyage would take place sometime around the end of 2021.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23043-three-space-tourists-to-iss.html
#ISS #SpaceX #AxiomSpace #orbit

KSG Podcast - Earth has a second ‘Trojan’ asteroid | daily editorial analysis for upsc aspirants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4mXDvZOqbU
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Watch: Chandrayaan-2 makes first observation of global distribution of Argon-40 in lunar exosphere #isro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIfTyQNY4VE

Watch: Chandrayaan-2 makes first observation of global distribution of Argon-40 in lunar exosphere #isro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIfTyQNY4VE&list=PLCUwtp5IghZlGtWhDAkuXVFs8MLdVey75&index=58
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Earth has a second ‘Trojan’ asteroid | daily editorial analysis for upsc aspirants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4mXDvZOqbU&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=62
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Today's Headlines - 08 August 2023
Chandrayaan enters moon orbit
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

TWENTY-THREE days after it left earth, Chandrayaan-3, aiming to become the first Indian spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon, entered lunar orbit, completing another milestone in its journey. This means that the spacecraft which had been moving towards the moon for the last five days — since it emerged out of its earth-bound orbit — has now begun to circle around the moon.

More about the Mission

MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity, said ISRO, putting words to what must only be an electronic signal from the spacecraft to the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).
As of now, the spacecraft is in an elliptical orbit around the moon, that is 18,074 km from the lunar surface at its farthest and 164 km at the nearest.
This orbit altitude would be lowered progressively over the next few days, ultimately achieving a circular orbit of 100 km x 100 km, from which a final descent on the lunar surface is planned around 23 August 2023.
This is the third time that an Indian spacecraft has entered lunar orbit. The previous two Chandrayaan missions had also reached this phase.

Flashback

Chandrayaan-1 was only meant to be an orbiter, it did send out an instrument called Moon Impact Probe to crash land on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-2 was supposed to make a soft landing but could not, faltering in the last few seconds of its journey.
Chandrayaan-3 has taken slightly less time to reach the lunar orbit compared to Chandrayaan-2, which reached this destination in 30 days. But Chandrayaan-3 will spend more time in the lunar orbit, before attempting the soft landing.
If the soft landing is successful, it will make India the fourth country in the world to do so after the US, Russia and China.
Chandrayaan-3 is attempting to become the first mission to land near the lunar south pole. Other missions have so far landed close to the moon’s equator.

#upsc #news #headline #chandrayaan #moon #orbit #space #technology #indian #spacecraft #softlanding #milestone #mission #ISRO #MOX #telemetry #tacking #network #ISTRAC #lunar

Today's Headlines - 13 August 2023
Fifth Force of Nature discovered
GS Paper - 3 (Science and Technology)

Scientists at the Fermilab situated near Chicago have claimed to have discovered a new force or the fifth force of nature. If proven, this may be the beginning of a new revolution in physics and could prove to be the most significant discovery after Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

What is the Fifth Force of Nature?

The entire universe is governed by four forces- gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force. Now, scientists claim to have found a new force or the fifth force.
How was the Fifth Force of Nature discovered?

In an experiment called ‘g-2’ or ‘g minus 2’ at Fermilab, the researchers accelerated sub-atomic particles called muons through a 50-meter diameter ring and circulated these particles 1,000 times at near light speed and found that these particles did not behave the way they should.
Their behaviour cannot be explained by the current theory called the Standard Model because these particles were under the influence of a new force.
Muons are electron-like sub-atomic particles that orbit atoms, but they are 200 times bigger.
In the experiment, they were made to wobble using superconducting magnets. But they wobbled faster than predicted by the Standard Model. This might be caused by a new force or the fifth force.
The scientists at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider are also trying to find flaws in the Standard Model.
Dr. Mitesh Patel from Imperial College London is one of those thousands of scientists who are working at the LHC, trying to find experimental results showing the flaws in the Standard Model.
The measuring behaviour that does not comply with the Standard Model is the holy grail of particle physics and it may trigger a revolution that may begin a new understanding of physics.

#upsc #news #headline #fifth #force #nature #discovered #science #technology #fermilab #force #universe #strongforce #europe #imperialcollegelondon #physics #hadron #muons #diameter #eletro #ALBERTEINSTEIN #theory #minus #speed #orbit #atoms #trigger #magnetism #atomic

Today's Headlines - 18 August 2023
Chandrayaan-3 lander separates from propulsion module
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

The Chandrayaan-3 lander, which carries within it the 26kh rover, separated from the propulsion module on 17 August 2023 for its onward journey to the surface of the moon on 23 August 2023. The lander module will descend further down from the current near-circular orbit of 153 x 163 km after a de-boosting manoeuvre.

What is Propulsion module

The propulsion module, meanwhile, will continue orbiting the moon and studying the spectral signatures of Earth using a payload that was tacked on to the mission in addition to the science experiments carried on board its predecessor.
By studying Earth from the moon, the Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) will help scientists understand the markers of life on exoplanets.
Although the planned mission life for the propulsion module – which was added to the mission in place of the orbiter to help carry the lander rover to the moon – was three to six months, it is likely to keep functioning beyond that. Meanwhile, the Propulsion Module continues its journey in the current orbit for months/years.
Since the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2 had functioned normally and the instruments on board carried out all the observations and experiments as intended, there was no need to include an orbiter component to Chandrayaan-3.
More about lander module

However, the lander module still needed to be transported to lunar orbit, and the propulsion module had this limited task to perform.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission has been designed to achieve what Chandrayaan-2 could not – soft landing and roving on the surface of the moon.
After the separation, the instruments on board the lander, including the three scientific payloads, will be activated and tested to check whether everything is functioning normally.
The lander will carry out two orbit-reduction manoeuvres on its own, first getting into the circular 100 x 100 km orbit, and then further closer to the moon in the 100 x 30 km orbit.
This powered descent was described as “fifteen minutes of terror” by the previous Isro chief K Sivan.
Flashback

Chandrayaan-2 had crash-landed just kilometres from its intended landing spot due to flaws in the algorithm of the onboard navigation software.
The software did not provide for an immediate error-correction step when the engines produced a higher-than-intended thrust.
The algorithm was designed to make the corrections after performing a few other urgent tasks. But this allowed the errors to accumulate and become unmanageable.

#upsc #news #headline #chandrayaan #lander #propulsion #module #spacetechnology #moon #journey #signatures #earth #orbit #mission #softlanding #playloads #manoeuvres #terror #crashlanded #kilometres #error #correction #unmanagable

Today's Headlines - 21 August 2023
Russia’s Luna-25 crashes
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

Russia’s Moon mission ended in failure after its spacecraft Luna-25 spun out of control and crashed into the moon, Russian space agency Roscosmos said on 20 August 2023.

What happened to Luna-25?

Luna-25 was supposed to land on the Moon on 21 August 2023, days ahead of India’s Chandrayaan-3. Its intended landing site was close to Chandrayaan-3’s, near the lunar south pole.
The crash was confirmed a day after Roscosmos reported an “abnormal situation” which its specialists were analysing.
The space agency had said on 19 August 2023 that it had lost contact with the aircraft as it was shunted into pre-landing orbit.
On 19 August 2023, in accordance with the flight program of the Luna-25 spacecraft, an impulse was provided for the formation of its pre-landing elliptical orbit.
Communication with the Luna-25 spacecraft was interrupted. The measures taken on 19 and 20 August 2023 to search for the device and get into contact with it did not produce any results. According to the results of the preliminary analysis, due to the deviation of the actual parameters of the impulse from the calculated ones, the device switched to an off-design orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface, Roscosmos said.
The space agency also said, A specially formed interdepartmental commission will deal with the issues of clarifying the reasons for the loss of the Moon [mission].
What was the Luna-25 mission?

Although launched on 10 August 2023, almost a month after Chandrayaan-3’s launch on 14 July, Luna-25 rode on a powerful rocket to reach the lunar orbit in just six days.
It was supposed to land on the lunar South Pole before Chandrayaan-3, and its success would have made Russia the first country to do so. Luna-25’s mission life was for one year, and its lift-off mass was 1,750 kg.
It did not carry a rover, but had eight payloads mainly to study the soil composition, dust particles in the polar exosphere, and most importantly detect surface water on the moon.
Significance

The failure of Luna-25 underlines how tricky soft-landings on the Moon are, and echoes India’s heartbreak of 2019.
Since 1976, there has been just one country, China, which has been successful in getting its spacecraft to soft land on the moon.
It has done that twice, with Chang’e 3 and Chang’e 4. All other attempts in the last ten years, by India, Israel, Japan and now Russia, have remained unsuccessful.
If Chandrayaan-3 is able to land successfully, India would become just the fourth country in the world, after the United States, the erstwhile Soviet Union and China, to have landed a spacecraft on moon, and the first-ever to land close to the lunar south pole.

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Today's Headlines - 01 September 2023
Super Blue Moon of Raksha Bandhan
GS Paper - 3 (Science and Technology)

The Raksha Bandhan full moon on 30-31 August was unusual: it was both a “blue moon” and a “super moon” and therefore, a “Super Blue Moon”, a rare trifecta of astronomical events.

What is a supermoon?

The orbit of the moon around the earth is not circular; it is elliptical, that is, an elongated or stretched-out circle. It takes the moon 27.3 days to orbit the earth.
It is 29.5 days from new moon to new moon, though. This is because while the moon is orbiting the earth, both the earth and the moon are also moving around the sun — and it takes additional time for the sun to light up the moon in the same way as it does at the beginning of every revolution around the earth.
The new moon is the opposite of the full moon — it is the darkest part of the moon’s invisible phase, when its illuminated side is facing away from the earth.
The point closest to earth in the moon’s elliptical orbit is called perigee, and the point that is farthest is called apogee.
A super moon happens when the moon is passing through or is close to its perigee, and is also a full moon. (This happens with a new moon as well, just that it is not visible.
A full moon occurs when the moon is directly opposite the sun (as seen from earth), and therefore, has its entire day side lit up. The full moon appears as a brilliant circle in the sky that rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. The moon appears ‘full’ not just on Purnima, but also on the night before and after the full moon night.
What is a blue moon?

Though the expression “once in a blue moon” implies a rare or unusual occurrence, a blue moon is not that rare an astronomical phenomenon.
There are a couple of definitions of a blue moon, but the one that is most commonly understood — and is endorsed by NASA — describes the situation when a full moon is seen twice in a single month.
Because the new moon to new moon cycle lasts 29.5 days, a time comes when the full moon occurs at the beginning of a month, and there are days left still for another full cycle to be completed.
Such a month, in which the full moon is seen on the 1st or 2nd, will have a second full moon on the 30th or 31st. According to NASA, this happens every two or three years.
The first full moon of August 2023 occurred on 1 August. That was also a super moon, but the super moon of 30-31 August will be bigger because the moon is now closer to the perigee.
Will the moon actually appear blue?

No. Sometimes, smoke or dust in the air can scatter red wavelengths of light, as a result of which the moon may, in certain places, appear more blue than usual. But this has nothing to do with the name “blue” moon.
Speaking of colours, you may have noticed that the moon appears more yellow/ orange when it is lower in the sky (closer to the horizon).
This is because moonlight travels for longer through the atmosphere at this stage, and along the way, more of the shorter, bluer wavelengths of light are scattered, leaving more of the longer, redder wavelengths.
NASA points out that dust or pollution can end up deepening the reddish colour of the moon.

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The points can be used as ‘parking spots’ for spacecraft in space to remain in a fixed position with minimal fuel consumption.
They have been named after Italian-French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813), who was the first one to find the positions. So, between the Earth and the Sun, a satellite can occupy any of five Lagrangian points. “Of the five Lagrange points, three are unstable and two are stable. The unstable Lagrange points – labelled L1, L2, and L3 – lie along the line connecting the two large masses. The stable Lagrange points – labelled L4 and L5 – form the apex of two equilateral triangles. The L4 and L5 are also called Trojan points and celestial bodies like asteroids are found here.

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