Pact sign for 5G in India
Optical fibre maker Sterlite Technologies on 10 December 2019 said it has entered into a pact with Indian Institute of Technology Madras for research and advancements in 5G communications technology in the country.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22308-pact-sign-for-5g-in-india.html
#STL #MoU #UCL #5G #IITMadras #AJPaulraj
Paris summit results in ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky met face to face at a Paris summit. Mr Zelensky was downbeat, saying little had been achieved at the meeting and he had wanted to see more resolved.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22307-paris-summit-results-in-ceasefire.html
#Parissummit #VladimirPutin #Zelensky #Ukrainianforces
World’s oceans are losing oxygen rapidly
The world’s oceans are gasping for breath, a report issued at the annual global climate talks in Madrid has concluded.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22306-world-s-oceans-are-losing-oxygen-rapidly.html
#oxygen #Worldsoceans #oceans #Nature
Social Security Code Bill 2019
Millions of organised sector employees may soon have the option of reducing their provident fund contribution — currently at 12% of basic salary — and therefore increase their take home pay.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22305-social-security-code-bill-2019.html
#SocialSecurity #CodeBill #SocialSecurityCode #SecurityCodeBill
Russia banned from Olympics for four years
Russia was banned from the Olympics and world championships in a range of sports for four years on 9 December 2019 after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ruled to punish it for manipulating laboratory data, a WADA spokesman said.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22304-russia-banned-from-olympics-for-four-years.html
#Russiabanned #Olympics #WADA #worldchampionships
Black holes have weaker magnetic fields
Black holes, known for their intense gravitational pull capable of gobbling up entire stars, may have significantly weaker magnetic fields than previously thought, a study has found.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22303-black-holes-have-weaker-magnetic-fields-2.html
#Blackholes #weakermagnetic #magneticfields #UF
Optical fibre maker Sterlite Technologies on 10 December 2019 said it has entered into a pact with Indian Institute of Technology Madras for research and advancements in 5G communications technology in the country.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22308-pact-sign-for-5g-in-india.html
#STL #MoU #UCL #5G #IITMadras #AJPaulraj
Paris summit results in ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky met face to face at a Paris summit. Mr Zelensky was downbeat, saying little had been achieved at the meeting and he had wanted to see more resolved.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22307-paris-summit-results-in-ceasefire.html
#Parissummit #VladimirPutin #Zelensky #Ukrainianforces
World’s oceans are losing oxygen rapidly
The world’s oceans are gasping for breath, a report issued at the annual global climate talks in Madrid has concluded.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22306-world-s-oceans-are-losing-oxygen-rapidly.html
#oxygen #Worldsoceans #oceans #Nature
Social Security Code Bill 2019
Millions of organised sector employees may soon have the option of reducing their provident fund contribution — currently at 12% of basic salary — and therefore increase their take home pay.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22305-social-security-code-bill-2019.html
#SocialSecurity #CodeBill #SocialSecurityCode #SecurityCodeBill
Russia banned from Olympics for four years
Russia was banned from the Olympics and world championships in a range of sports for four years on 9 December 2019 after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ruled to punish it for manipulating laboratory data, a WADA spokesman said.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22304-russia-banned-from-olympics-for-four-years.html
#Russiabanned #Olympics #WADA #worldchampionships
Black holes have weaker magnetic fields
Black holes, known for their intense gravitational pull capable of gobbling up entire stars, may have significantly weaker magnetic fields than previously thought, a study has found.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22303-black-holes-have-weaker-magnetic-fields-2.html
#Blackholes #weakermagnetic #magneticfields #UF
Ksgindia
Pact sign for 5G in India | KSG India | Khan Study Group
Optical fibre maker Sterlite Technologies on 10 December 2019 said it has entered into a pact with Indian Institute of Technology Madras for research and advancements in 5G communications technology i
Watach: KSG DYK - Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a standard criteria for #SHORTS #biochemicaloxygen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgiMrYRERQ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgiMrYRERQ8
YouTube
KSG DYK - Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a standard criteria for #SHORTS #biochemicaloxygen
#upsc #biochemical #biochemicaloxygen #oxygendemand #biologicaloxygen #upscnotification #oxygen #biochemicaloxygenupsc #upscmcq #demandoxygen #iascoaching
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a standard criteria for
a) Measuring oxygen level in blood
b) Computing…
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a standard criteria for
a) Measuring oxygen level in blood
b) Computing…
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
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 - 12 August 2023
Russia’s Luna-25 mission
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
As the Chandrayaan-3 mission tightens its orbit around the Moon, Russia was launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on 11 August 2023. The Luna-25 mission is scheduled to land on the Moon on 23 August 2023, the same day as Chandrayaan-3’s planned landing.
More about Luna-25
Luna-25 was launched from the Vosthochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East less than a month after Chandrayaan-3 launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
The Russian mission will try to land on the lunar South Pole just like the Indian mission, aiming for a prized destination that may hold significant quantities of ice that could be used to extract oxygen and fuel in the future.
If either of the missions succeeds before the other, it will be the first one to land on the lunar South Pole in human history.
Roscosmos, Russia’s ISRO counterparts said that Luna-25 will practice soft-landing, analyse soil samples and conduct long-term scientific research on the Moon’s surface.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is carrying an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The lander and rover are carrying many scientific payloads.
This is Russia’s first lunar mission since 1976 when the country was part of the Soviet Union and it will be completed without equipment from the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA ended its cooperation with Roscosmos after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Luna-25 has a mass of 1.8 tons and carries 31 kilograms of scientific equipment, including some that it will use to take rock samples from up to a depth of 15 centimetres to test for the presence of water that could be used to support future crewed missions to the Moon.
The mission was originally scheduled to launch in October 2021 but was marred by many delays.
The Russian mission will take a lot less time to reach the Moon than Chandrayaan-3 because the latter is taking a longer route that takes advantage of the gravities of the Earth and the Moon to use a lot less fuel.
Russia willevacuate villagers from a village near the launch site due to a “one in a million chance” that one of the rocket stages that launches could fall to the Earth there.
#upsc #news #headline #russia #luna #mission #space #technology #chandrayaan #moon #spacecraft #vosthochny #cosmodrome #lunar #southpole #indianmission #oxygen #soil #history #land #human #orbiter #ESA #launch #gravaities #earth #october #rover #ISRO #fuel
Russia’s Luna-25 mission
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
As the Chandrayaan-3 mission tightens its orbit around the Moon, Russia was launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on 11 August 2023. The Luna-25 mission is scheduled to land on the Moon on 23 August 2023, the same day as Chandrayaan-3’s planned landing.
More about Luna-25
Luna-25 was launched from the Vosthochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East less than a month after Chandrayaan-3 launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
The Russian mission will try to land on the lunar South Pole just like the Indian mission, aiming for a prized destination that may hold significant quantities of ice that could be used to extract oxygen and fuel in the future.
If either of the missions succeeds before the other, it will be the first one to land on the lunar South Pole in human history.
Roscosmos, Russia’s ISRO counterparts said that Luna-25 will practice soft-landing, analyse soil samples and conduct long-term scientific research on the Moon’s surface.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is carrying an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The lander and rover are carrying many scientific payloads.
This is Russia’s first lunar mission since 1976 when the country was part of the Soviet Union and it will be completed without equipment from the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA ended its cooperation with Roscosmos after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Luna-25 has a mass of 1.8 tons and carries 31 kilograms of scientific equipment, including some that it will use to take rock samples from up to a depth of 15 centimetres to test for the presence of water that could be used to support future crewed missions to the Moon.
The mission was originally scheduled to launch in October 2021 but was marred by many delays.
The Russian mission will take a lot less time to reach the Moon than Chandrayaan-3 because the latter is taking a longer route that takes advantage of the gravities of the Earth and the Moon to use a lot less fuel.
Russia willevacuate villagers from a village near the launch site due to a “one in a million chance” that one of the rocket stages that launches could fall to the Earth there.
#upsc #news #headline #russia #luna #mission #space #technology #chandrayaan #moon #spacecraft #vosthochny #cosmodrome #lunar #southpole #indianmission #oxygen #soil #history #land #human #orbiter #ESA #launch #gravaities #earth #october #rover #ISRO #fuel
Today's Headlines - 22 August 2023
Extreme heat mean for the Mediterranean Sea
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)
Frequent heat waves cause huge damage to underwater ecosystems and researchers expect more of them in the future.
What are the solutions to heat stress?
Extreme heat has plagued the Mediterranean for weeks. Wildfires raged across at least nine countries in the region from Algeria to Greece.
But the soaring temperatures are not only a danger for people and ecosystems on land; they’re also harming marine life.
Without a doubt global climate change is the main reason for the heat waves in the sea. It’s causing the ocean to warm.
Why are high sea temperatures a problem?
In a warming world, marine creatures are in danger of suffocating. Gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide dissolve better at colder temperatures, so that means the warmer the water; the less oxygen is available to breathe.
Conversely, higher temperatures also cause an increase in metabolism, which in turn means animals have to breathe even more than usual). That combination also heightens the risk of death by starvation for marine life.
The rise in temperature accelerates metabolism, and the organisms need more food to maintain this metabolic rate.
Algal blooms are more common in hotter waters too. Such blooms can further deplete oxygen levels and produce toxins harmful for fish, marine mammals and birds, for instance.
What species and ecosystems are worst hit by marine heat waves?
High water temperatures are most harmful for animals living at the bottom of oceans, lakes or rivers.
These benthic species include corals, mussels, sponges, starfish and plants like sea grasses, and are often attached to rock or solid ground. They can’t migrate when it gets too hot.
Scientists observed mass deaths of benthic species along thousands of kilometers of Mediterranean coastline between 2015 and 2019.
Many benthic species are crucial to the marine ecosystem. They filter the water and keep seas, rivers and lakes clean by eating dead organisms.
Some species are an important food source for other creatures or are harvested by humans. Benthics like soft corals, seaweed and seagrasses provide some of the main ocean habitats.
Heat is particularly harmful for Posidonia oceanica or Neptune grass. And the large, slow-growing seagrass is found only in the Mediterranean. Previous heat waves have decimated the species, which is bad news for the climate.
What does extreme heat in the Mediterranean mean for people?
Warming seas are already affecting fishing activities in the area. Fishermen are catching fewer familiar species and instead are finding more invasive fish which they have difficulty selling.
Rabbitfish and lionfish are edible, but other invasive fish aren’t. Some are even poisonous, like the puffer fish.
Habitat loss could also lead to an overall decline in fish populations, while disappearing seagrass means coasts will be more exposed to future storms.
This could also have a knock-on effect for tourism because divers will be less likely to visit an impoverished underwater landscape.
#upsc #news #headline #extreme #mediterranean #sea #enviroment #heat #ecosystem #future #undrwater #wildfires #algeria #greece #global #climate #temperature #ocean #metabolism #algalblooms #birds #marine #oxygen #levels #lakes #rivers #soildground #benthic #mediterranean #coastline #foodsource #organisms #soft #corals #seaweed #rabbitfish #stroms #populations #lionfish #activities #neptunegrass #posidoniaoceanica #toxins #breathe
Extreme heat mean for the Mediterranean Sea
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)
Frequent heat waves cause huge damage to underwater ecosystems and researchers expect more of them in the future.
What are the solutions to heat stress?
Extreme heat has plagued the Mediterranean for weeks. Wildfires raged across at least nine countries in the region from Algeria to Greece.
But the soaring temperatures are not only a danger for people and ecosystems on land; they’re also harming marine life.
Without a doubt global climate change is the main reason for the heat waves in the sea. It’s causing the ocean to warm.
Why are high sea temperatures a problem?
In a warming world, marine creatures are in danger of suffocating. Gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide dissolve better at colder temperatures, so that means the warmer the water; the less oxygen is available to breathe.
Conversely, higher temperatures also cause an increase in metabolism, which in turn means animals have to breathe even more than usual). That combination also heightens the risk of death by starvation for marine life.
The rise in temperature accelerates metabolism, and the organisms need more food to maintain this metabolic rate.
Algal blooms are more common in hotter waters too. Such blooms can further deplete oxygen levels and produce toxins harmful for fish, marine mammals and birds, for instance.
What species and ecosystems are worst hit by marine heat waves?
High water temperatures are most harmful for animals living at the bottom of oceans, lakes or rivers.
These benthic species include corals, mussels, sponges, starfish and plants like sea grasses, and are often attached to rock or solid ground. They can’t migrate when it gets too hot.
Scientists observed mass deaths of benthic species along thousands of kilometers of Mediterranean coastline between 2015 and 2019.
Many benthic species are crucial to the marine ecosystem. They filter the water and keep seas, rivers and lakes clean by eating dead organisms.
Some species are an important food source for other creatures or are harvested by humans. Benthics like soft corals, seaweed and seagrasses provide some of the main ocean habitats.
Heat is particularly harmful for Posidonia oceanica or Neptune grass. And the large, slow-growing seagrass is found only in the Mediterranean. Previous heat waves have decimated the species, which is bad news for the climate.
What does extreme heat in the Mediterranean mean for people?
Warming seas are already affecting fishing activities in the area. Fishermen are catching fewer familiar species and instead are finding more invasive fish which they have difficulty selling.
Rabbitfish and lionfish are edible, but other invasive fish aren’t. Some are even poisonous, like the puffer fish.
Habitat loss could also lead to an overall decline in fish populations, while disappearing seagrass means coasts will be more exposed to future storms.
This could also have a knock-on effect for tourism because divers will be less likely to visit an impoverished underwater landscape.
#upsc #news #headline #extreme #mediterranean #sea #enviroment #heat #ecosystem #future #undrwater #wildfires #algeria #greece #global #climate #temperature #ocean #metabolism #algalblooms #birds #marine #oxygen #levels #lakes #rivers #soildground #benthic #mediterranean #coastline #foodsource #organisms #soft #corals #seaweed #rabbitfish #stroms #populations #lionfish #activities #neptunegrass #posidoniaoceanica #toxins #breathe
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