1. ISRO launches first satellite of the 2022
Tags: Popular Science and Technology National News
The Indian Space Research Organisation- (ISRO) successfully launched a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle -C52(PSLV-C52) on 14 February 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The PSLV-C52 rocket carried three satellites EOS-04 ,INSPIR Esat-1and INS-2TD)
Satellites carried by PSLV-C52
ESO-04 Satellite
It is a Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as Agriculture, Forestry and Plantations, Soil Moisture and Hydrology and Flood mapping.
It is a 1,710 kg satellite which was built at the UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru.
It will be deployed into a sun synchronous polar orbit of 529 km.
INSPIREsat-1
It is a micro satellite made by students of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology ,Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in association with Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder, Nanyang Technology University (NTU), Singapore and National Central University(NCU),, Taiwan.
INS-2TD
It is a technology demonstrator satellite which is a forerunner to the India-Bhutan satellite INS 2-B
Fact about ISRO PSLV Mission
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is a four stage rocket of ISRO which was launched on 30 September 1993 for the first time .
This was the 80th launch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota;
It was the 54th flight of PSLV;
It was the 23rd flight of PSLV in the XL configuration (6 strap-on motors).
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
ISRO was set up on 15 August 1969
Chairman of ISRO: S Somnath
Headquarters of ISRO : Bengaluru, Karnataka
Space Station from where ISRO launches rockets
Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
Full form for Exam
ISRO: Indian Space Research Organisation
PSLV : Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
EOS : Earth Observation Satellite
SDSC: Satish Dhawan Space Centre
- SHAR :Sriharikota Range
2. Tower of Silence to be fenced
Tags: Science and Technology
The Supreme Court has approved the Parsi(Zoroastrian ) community agreement with the Government of India to fence their Tower of Silence in order to follow Covid protocol regarding the disposal of dead bodies. The dead bodies of the community will be now fenced with a metallic net in their tower of silence .
In the Parsi Dokhamanshini tradition, the dead body is kept on the roof of a structure referred to as the tower of silence, to be eaten by vultures, and the remains are left to decompose under the sun.
The Parsi community approached the court after the Government of India issued a guideline regarding disposal of dead bodies during covid pandemic. The bodies were to be fully covered and were to be either buried or burnt as coronavirus was found to be active on dead bodies for nine days .
The Parsi community argued that it was against their custom of Dokhamanshini.
Now in a compromise the community and the government have agreed to fence the dead body with metallic mesh in the tower of silence , so that it is not eaten by vultures and the spread of coronavirus can be stopped .
According to the 2011 census the total population of Parsis in India was 57,624.
3. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
Tags: Science and Technology International News
The Prime Minister inaugurated the 50th Anniversary celebrations of ICRISAT.
He inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility.
These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Prime Minister also unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion.
ABOUT ICRISAT
ICRISAT is a non-profit international organisation founded by renowned agricultural scientists M.S.Swaminathan,C.Fred Bently and Ralph Cummins in 1972 at Patancheru, Hyderabad.
It was set up to conduct agricultural research for development in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Its mission is to empower these poor people to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agriculture.
It helps farmers by providing improved crop varieties and hybrids and also helps smallholder farmers in the drylands fight climate change.
It has two regional hubs at Nairobi( Kenya) and Bamako( Mali). It has country offices in Niger, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
4. ISRO will launch Chandrayaan 3 in August 2022
Tags: Science and Technology
Union Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy of India Dr. Jitendra Singh on 3rd February 2022 informed the Lok Sabha that the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled for launch in August 2022.
- The Chandrayaan-1 mission was launched on 22nd October 2008 using the PSLV-C11. The major discovery of the Chandrayaan-1 mission is the detection of water (H2O) and hydroxyl (OH) on the lunar surface.
- The Chandrayaan-2 mission was launched on 22nd July 2019. It comprised an Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) sent aboard the country’s most powerful geosynchronous launch vehicle the GSLV-Mk3 However, lander Vikram which to land on the moon’s South Pole, instead of a controlled landing, ended up crash-landing on September 7, 2019. It still has a fully operational orbiter.
- Chandrayaan-3 will be the follow-up mission of Chandrayaan-2. It will only include Lander and Rover.
- Other major projects of ISRO such as first manned mission Gaganyaan and mission to Sun, Aditya Solar Mission are also in the pipeline for this year.
- The number of missions planned by the ISRO from January 2022 to December 2022 are 19.
Some of the important mission are::
- RISAT-1A PSLV C5-2 Satellite (scheduled for launch in mid-February 2022).
- OCEANSAT-3 and INS 2B ANAND on PSLV C-53 (scheduled for launch in March 2022).
- SSLV-D1 Micro SAT (scheduled for launch in April 2022).
- GSAT-24 through the Ariane 5 rocket owned by Arianespace (scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2022).
Note
RISAT:- Radar Imaging Satellite
PSLV:- Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
SSLV:- Small Satellite Launch Vehicle
5. Atal Innovation Mission declares results for Space Challenge 2021
Tags: Science and Technology
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Ayog on 12th January 2022 announced the results of the “ATL Space Challenge 2021” which was launched in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on September 6th, 2021.
- Mission Director, AIM, Dr. Chintan Vaishnav unveils the winners through a virtual event.
- The ATL Space Challenge witnessed over 2500 submissions from both ATL and Non-ATL students across the country from which 75 top innovators were selected and announced. ATL Space Challenge 2021 witnessed over 6500 students participating in the challenge from 32 States/ UTs. This Challenge also had a heartening participation of over 35% from girl students.
The ATL Space Challenge 2021 was launched with an objective to enable innovation among young school students to create something in space sector that will not only help them learn about the space but create something that the space programme can use itself. The Challenge is also aligned with the World Space Week 2021, which is observed from 4 to 10 October each year at the global level in order to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology.
6. Pig’s heart in human
Tags: Science and Technology
Surgeons in the United States have transplanted a pig’s heart in a human patient that represents a remarkable first in the world of medical science, one whose success could potentially end the years-long backlog of people waiting to get a healthy organ and open up a new world of opportunities.
- The highly experimental surgery was performed on a 57 year old Maryland resident, David Bennett at the University of Maryland Medicine (UMM) on January 7, 2022.
- Surgeon Dr. Bartley P Griffith conducted the first-in-the-world surgery.
Gene editing by the United States biotech firm Revivicor:
- The transplanted heart was harvested from the pig that had undergone genetic editing.
- The scientists removed the three genes of the pig “that would have led to rejection of an animal's heart by the human body” along with the one that would have led to the excessive growth of pig’s heart tissues.
- Further six human genes that would have facilitated the organ’s acceptance by the human body were inserted into the pig genome, meaning that a total of 10 unique edits were carried out in the pig.
Xenotransplantation:
The process of transplanting or grafting of animal organs is known as Xenotransplantation.
Points to Know:
- The world’s first human-to-human heart transplant was performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa on 3 December 1967.
- In India the first heart transplant was done by Dr. Prafulla Sen on 16 February 1968 in Bombay now Mumbai, however the patient died on the same day
- The first successful heart transplant in India was done by a team of Doctors led by Dr. P. Venugopal at AIIMS, New Delhi on 3 August 1994.
7. India successfully tests advanced “Sea to Sea” variant of BrahMos Missile
Tags: Science and Technology
India on 11th January 2022 successfully tested an advanced sea variant of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile from newly commissioned INS Visakhapatnam.
- Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO said the missile hit the designated target precisely.
- Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh congratulated the team work of DRDO and Indian Navy.
- The Indian Navy tweeted, “Successful test-firing of the extended-range BrahMos Supersonic Cruise missile from INS Visakhapatnam, Indian Navy’s newest indigenously-built guided missile destroyer, represents a twin achievement: Certifies the accuracy of the ship’s combat system and armament complex. Validates a new capability the missile provides the Navy and the Nation.”
Additional Information:
- The Indian Navy began deploying BrahMos, which has the capability to hit sea-based targets beyond radar horizon, on its frontline warships from 2005.
- The BrahMos from ship can be launched as a single unit or in a salvo up to eight in numbers separated by 2.5 second intervals. These salvos can hit and destroy a group of targets having modern missile defence systems. BrahMos as a ‘prime-strike weapon’ for the ships significantly increases their capability of engaging naval-surface targets at long ranges.
A combination of the names of Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, BrahMos missiles are designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture company set up by the DRDO and the Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
8. Orang National Park may see return of Gharial
Tags: Science and Technology
The Assam government had on January 3 issued a preliminary notification for adding 200.32 sq. km to the 78.82 sq. km Orang National Park, the State’s oldest game reserve about 110 km northeast of Guwahati.
- The gharial, wiped out from the Brahmaputra River system in the 1950s, could be the prime beneficiary of a process to expand an Assam tiger reserve.
Orang National Park
- Orang National park is the oldest game reserve on the Northern bank of river Brahmaputra in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam with an area of 78.80 sq. kms and it is an important breeding ground for varieties of Fishes.
- It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a National Park on 13 April 1999. It is also known as the mini Kaziranga National Park.
The park has a rich flora and fauna, including Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros, pygmy hog, elephants, wild buffalo and tigers. It is the only stronghold of rhinoceros on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river
9. A star with a heartbeat & without a magnetic field discovered
Tags: Science and Technology
A group of Indian and international scientists have spotted a peculiar binary star that shows heartbeat but no pulsations contrary to the norm of binary stars. This star is called HD73619 in Praesepe (M44), located in the Cancer constellation, one of the closest open star clusters to the Earth.
- A total of about 180 heartbeat stars are known to date. The name 'Heartbeat' stems from the resemblance of the path of the star to an electrocardiogram of the human heart.
- These are the binary star systems where each star travels in a highly elliptical orbit around the common centre of mass, and the distance between the two stars varies drastically as they orbit each other.
- This is carried out by a team of scientists from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital an autonomous institution under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt of India.
- The discovery is of vital importance for the study of inhomogeneities due to spots in non-magnetic stars and to investigate the origin of the pulsational variability.
This joint work is supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, and the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO), Govt. of Belgium under the Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and Astrophysics (BINA), project.
10. New Variant of Corona virus identified in France
Tags: Science and Technology
The World Health Organization said that ‘IHU’, a coronavirus variant found in France, hasn't become much of a threat since it was first identified in November.
- The variant was identified in 12 people in the southern Alps around the same time that omicron was discovered in South Africa last year.
