SCIENCE AND TECH

India launched third-line drug therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS and extended free anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to more of them by revising the eligibility norm.

The third-line therapy, sometimes called salvage or rescue therapy, is prescribed for people who have limited drug options left after the failure of at least two drug regimens and with evidence of HIV resistance to at least one drug in each line. The highly expensive therapy will be provided free. Announcement of these measures at the launch of the National AIDS Control Programme Phase IV (2012-2017) .For receiving free ART, the minimum CD4-count limit had been reduced from 500 to 350. The count is a measure of the viral load.

Bill in Rajya SabhaMeanwhile, the government tabled the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014, in the Rajya Sabha. It seeks to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and protect the human rights of people living with it.

At present, India is estimated to have 2.39 million people living with HIV/AIDS. The Bill seeks to prohibit any kind of discrimination against the infected person for instance, denial or termination of employment or occupation, unfair treatment, denial of access to any sector and forcible HIV testing.Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna scheme will address the health concerns of auto rickshaw drivers and taxi driver, says Oscar Fernandes

The government extended health insurance support to auto and taxi drivers by committing to pay half of the premium amount under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, which provides smart-card based cashless health insurance cover.

Under the scheme, auto and taxi drivers have to contribute 50 per cent of premium for the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, as applicable in that district, in addition to Rs 30 as registration fee.The balance 50 per cent of premium would be shared by the Central and State Government i.e. 25 per cent each.

Indian science shouldembrace aninterdisciplinary approach

Dr. Rao is right now working on making hydrogen using artificial photosynthesis.Veteran chemist and head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister,C.N.R. Rao, who was recently conferred the Bharat Ratna, tellsDivya Gandhiabout why he thinks little labs, not mission-oriented agencies, are the true crucibles of Indian science; on the industrys duty towards supporting research; and about the unlikely research problem that preoccupies him today. Excerpts:With about 1,500 papers to your credit, you have been described as one of the most prolific scientists who has dealt in diverse fields as liquid nitrogen, nano materials, superconductivity, and more recently with artificial photosynthesis and carbon sequestering. How flexible is science in India in allowing scientists to research in areas unconnected with their field of specilaisation?At one time it was difficult to get funding for diverse areas of interest that a person may have had. Today, if a scientist has clear cut ideas in any field, he can get reasonable support. Generally, grants are given by subject committees, making them highly discipline-oriented. However, there are means of getting interdisciplinary grants through the new Science and Engineering Research Board that was created recently.

What then would you say enabled you to carry out interdisciplinary research at a time when there was little systemic encouragement?First, you have to be able to think in an interdisciplinary way, approach a problem in an interdisciplinary way. I am an interdisciplinary scientist. I am for instance working now on a major paper that deals with physics. Yes, for years disciplines were kept apart. But fortunately today most subjects are themselves becoming interdisciplinary. The frontiers of biology now deal with physics and computational science. Some of the greatest works in medical science today borrow from chemical engineering and nanotechnology. If India has to make it to the cutting edge of science, it will have to embrace an interdisciplinary approach.

Is your most recent area of research perhaps your biggest such departure from your original specialisations in solid state chemistry?Over the last two years I have been working on something that I believed was of direct use to humankind, related to energy. I have been working on artificial photosynthesis to produce hydrogen. I didnt initially want to work on it I thought I was too old to start something so new.

But I have had a grand time and one major result has just come out in the Proceedings of National Academy of Science. I am right now writing about how we can produce hydrogen using very simple semiconductor hetero-structures that we make in the lab using artificial photosynthesis.

If I can find a way to make hydrogen easily using solar energy and a way to store it, it would be a phenomenal contribution. Water can eventually be decomposed to hydrogen and oxygen. But that needs extremely high temperatures. Now, if I can somehow bring that down to ordinary temperatures, that would be truly wonderful.

Science funding is nowhere near being two per cent of the GDP as you have recommended. Is the space programme getting greater prominence in terms of scientific activity in India, and a larger share of funding?But that [space programme] has nothing to do with science. Often when we talk about the science budget, we are told about space and atomic energy. But that has nothing to with science. Most of it is about technology. There is very little new science in space technology. It is all known science. So they should not be included in science funding. Science funding is about funding required by little people like me.

Right now, our total science funding, including space and atomic energy, is still less than one per cent of the GDP. We have been promised by the Prime Minister that it will be two per cent.

But for that, the industry has to contribute and directly support research. If I were in America, half of my research money would have been granted by industrial support.

In the U.S. and in South Korea, for instance, nearly 45-50 per cent of research is industry funded. In India, their contribution towards scientific activity is less than 10 per cent.

So we really need industry support. They should support both long-term and short-term research. They will after all benefit from it in the future.

Why do you believe the space programme and atomic energy have very little new science to offer?Both these mission-oriented agencies are involved in developing technology such as reactors, rockets and so on. These are important things. However, progress in real science occurs through small science done in little laboratories by individual scientists. For example, progress in biology, chemistry or physics, is not because of the work of big agencies or mission-oriented programmes.

They may support basic science in some of their institutions, but their own mission, where much expenditure is incurred, is not related to fundamental science.

If we want to be world leaders in science, it will have to be by supporting the little science of people in educational and research institutions.

Duplication of images in stem cell papers spotted

After Hwang Woo Suk of Seoul National University plunged into ignominy for duplicating images and for other unethical practices in the June 2005 paper on stem cell study in theSciencejournal, image duplication has been quite regularly spotted in many other studies, particularly in stem cell research.

After a few years of hiatus, instances of image duplications have now come to light. Surprisingly, it is again in the area of stem cell research.

Less than three weeks after two papers on a path-breaking study on reversing adults mice cells into pluripotent cells by using stress acidic conditions were published inNatureon January 30, 2014, many scientists across the world have pointed out the use of duplicated images in both the papers. Two instances of image duplication have also been found in the 2011 paper authored by the same researchers.

Also, other scientists have not succeeded in reproducing the results in their labs. According to a news item inNature, not one of the ten scientists contacted by the journal was able to reproduce the results. Interestingly, Teruhiko Wakayama from Yamanashi University and a coauthor of the paper has not been able to reproduce the results himself despite replicating it prior to publishing the paper.

Reproducibility is one of the criteria to ascertain that a new experiment/procedure reported is indeed valid. Also, the novel procedure has relevance only when it can be reproduced by others in their labs. However, most of those attempts did not use the same types of cells as used by the authors of the two papers, notes the news item.

The study was carried out in the Laboratory for Cellular Reprogramming, RIKEN Centre for Developmental Biology, Kobe, Japan and Dr. Haruko Obokata is the lead author of the two papers and also the Corresponding author.RIKEN centre has already started investigating the study. Nature Group has also started its own investigation. A spokesperson for Nature Publishing Group was quoted as saying that the matter has been brought toNatures attention and we are investigating.Honest mistake

Charles Vacanti, an anaesthesiologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and the second corresponding author of the latest study had told the journal that the case of image duplication was just a mix up of some panels.

He has already requested the journal to carry a correction. It certainly appears to have been an honest mistake [that] did not affect any of the data, the conclusions or any other component of the paper, Vacanti was quoted as saying inNature.

Dr. Wakayama, while admitting that the two images look similar, feels that it may be a case of simple confusion.

The results of their work were reported inThe Hinduon January 30. The authors were able to reprograme adult mice cells to make them pluripotent cells (capable of becoming any of the over 250 specialised cell types) without even using any of the four transcription factors.

But the most important finding was that unlike even embryonic stem cells, the reprogrammed adult cells were able to contribute to both embryonic and placental tissue formation.

Embryonic stem cells can only contribute to the formation of the embryo and not the placental tissue

Updated: February 20, 2014 17:06 IST

Cabinet approves continuation of nano-science mission

The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its clearance for the continuation of the National Mission on nano-science and technology in its second phase in the 12thplan period at a cost of Rs. 650 crores.Launched in May 2007, the mission has been working to help scientists, institutions and the industry in terms of promoting basic research, development of adequate manpower resources, augmentation the infrastructure for research and generation of socially useful products.

Announcing the Cabinet decision, an official statement noted that as a result of the efforts led by the mission, India has moved from the fourth position to the third in the world in terms of scientific publications in nano-science and technology.

It also noted that Indian scientists now have access to global state-of-the-art facilities like the photon factory at Tsukuba, Japan and Petra III in Hamburg, Germany and that the mission has created a platform for a national dialogue towards development of standards for nanotechnology and for laying down a regulatory framework roadmap for the cutting edge technology.

Vizag zoo to get countrys first wild dog breeding centre

Dholes are classified as an endangered species by the IUCN

In about two to three months time, the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) will be the first zoo in the country to have a conservation breeding centre for the endangered wild dog or dhole.

Selected by the Central Zoo Authority to carry out this project at a cost of Rs. 50 lakh, the zoo authorities have earmarked an area on the premises for the centre.

Rise in numbers

After a series of successful in-breeding of wild dogs in the zoo, its population witnessed a massive increase within the protected area from just two to 22, the highest number of wild dogs in captivity in the country, according to current records.

Recently, two more litter of wild dogs were spotted at the wild dog enclosure, which is now being monitored to prevent disturbances. However, the number and gender of the litter are yet to be ascertained.

Similar in-breeding of wild dogs was carried out in zoos in Chennai and Mysore without much success.

Classified as endangered by the IUCN, wild dogs or dholes are dwindling in numbers due to habitat loss, depletion of prey base, and destruction of forest corridors leading to fights with other predators and diseases from domestic and feral dogs.

Genetic profiling

The conservation centre in IGZP is expected to help in recovering the population of the endangered animals.

To start with, a genetic profiling of the existing animals in the zoo will be done. Once the strong genes among them are identified, the conservation breeding process will be started through a series of measured steps.

The idea is to re-introduce the species in the wild later, IGZP curator G. Ramalingam toldThe Hindu.

Tenders have been called for the project. We have also issued circulars to hire a biologist for the project, which will be finalised soon, he added.

Cause of decline in wild bumblebee populations identified

Is there a connection between the declining population of honeybees (which is tackled by active management by beekeepers) and bumblebees, which are wild pollinators?

A study published today (February 20) inNaturehas found not only a global decline of bumblebees but also evidence to prove that the pathogens that infect honeybees have started infecting the wild pollinators.

M.A. Frst, the lead author of the study from the Royal Holloway University of London, and others used a combination of field data and laboratory experiments to clearly demonstrate that emerging infectious diseases (EID) affecting honeybees are indeed affecting wild bumblebees as well.

They found the prevalence of deformed wing virus andNosema ceranaein honeybees and bumblebees were indeed linked. [Honeybees] is the likely source of at least one major EID in wild pollinators [bumblebees], they note. Deformed wing virus (DWV) andN. ceranaeare the major culprits in causing a decline in honeybee populations

The ability of the pathogens to jump from one pollinator species to another is a major concern as these insects play a vital role in agriculture. The ability to jump interspecies is simple as both pollinators share diverse foraging sites. The same is the reason for pathogens to move laterally from commercial bumblebees to wild bumblebees.

Analysis of genetic variation in the virus showed that bees collected at the same site shared more closely related virus strains than bees from different sites, indicating on-going disease transmission.

The transfer of emerging infectious diseases from honeybees to bumblebees is a major cause of mortality of bumblebees wherever managed bees are maintained, they note.

In controlled inoculation experiments carried out by the researchers, they found of the two pathogens (DWV andN. ceranae), the DWV was infective in just 21 days compared with controls. Also, the deformed wing virus, as the name suggests, causes the typical problems in bumblebees as they do in honeybees.

The overtly infected bumblebees produce non-viable offspring and suffer from reduced longevity. Both these factors combined result in rapid decline in their population.

That field estimates showed conservative prevalence should not be surprising considering that insects with deformed wings would not be able to fly and hence not captured.

Controlling the spread is a big challenge as there is a global trade of both honeybees and commercial bumblebees. Though monitroring and controlling EIDs is another big challenge, the need to do it is imperative.

Flock tales from Sivarakottai

Sivarakottai village buzzed with activity as bird-watchers documented over 30 varieties of birds during The Great Backyard Bird Counting Week

The Great Backyard Bird Counting Week (February 14 to 19). Sivarakottai lies off the Thirumangalam-Virudhunagar Highway. Eurasian Marsh Harrier and Brown Shrike were the only raptors spotted during the documentation. Sivarakottai also has a patch of marsh land called 'Malai oorani' spread over 15 acres, where birds such as the Munia, Indian Pond Heron, Egrets and White Throated Kingfisher are found. Naatu Karuvel trees that flank the agricultural fields provide shelter to a variety of sun birds, palm swifts and bee-eaters.The Little Rann of Kutch offers wildlife enthusiasts and tourists an experience to cherish

LRK, set up in 1973 in Kutch district of Gujarat in an area of 4,953 square kilometres. It is the abode of a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and plants and the last refuge of the wild ass. The Greater Flamingo, the State bird of Gujarat

Millet breakfast reduces blood sugar: study

Low glycemic index helps bring down glucose levels better than rice dishe

A pilot study undertaken by M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram, to understand the impact of millets in the diet has thrown up interesting findings.

Retail sale of controversial hormone drug Oxytocin banned, Feb 09

The government has banned the retail sale of the controversial hormone drug Oxytocin by pharmacies to curb its misuse by dairy owners and farmers who use it boost milk production and plump up the size of vegetables and fruits. It is believed that those consuming such dairy products and vegetables and fruits are hit by irreversible hormonal imbalance.

The ban restricts the Oxytocin bulk drug manufacturers from selling it to only those with licences to make the drug formulations. The drug makers on the other hand can supply it directly only to veterinary hospitals.

Under Schedule H of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1954, the drug can be distributed on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner only. Further, to avoid its bulk sale, Oxytocin injections are packed only in single unit blister packs. The alleged abundant availability of the drug through traders and use of drugs by dairy owners, in a clandestine way, has been a matter of great concern for public health, officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The State drug authorities can now also conduct raids in stores selling the drug without authorisation. Oxytocin is available not only in the licensed pharmacies but also sold off the shelves by general grocery shops in many parts of the country.

Behind Bangalore polices Sugama Savaari initiative

Sugama Savaari or Happy Auto, a Bangalore traffic police initiative, announced in December last, that rates autorickshaw services in the city.Valve corps STEAM MACHINES

Of all the press conferences at this years Consumer Electronics Show, Valve Corps unveiling of third-party Steam Machines was probably the strangest (given that historically, Valve has been a software company). Every Steam Machine will run Steam OS, a free operating system based on Linux architecture developed by Valve.Right now, the Steam store features only 480 Linux games (thats less than half of their Mac catalogue!), of which a mere 75 are multiplayer games. Apart from Valve-developed games such as Left 4 Dead 2, Dota 2, and the odd exception of a third-party heavyweight like Metro. Steam OS allows streaming over your home network.Oussudu Lake as a bird sanctuary

In 2008, the Puducherry government declared the Oussudu Lake as a bird sanctuary. Five years down the line, the conservation efforts taken up by the forest department have all been nullified. Not for lack of effort or initiative but because the Tamil Nadu forest department is yet to declare the other half of the lake as a bird sanctuary.STUXNET

-Stuxnet was a worm aimed at interfering with Irans attempts to enrich uranium to build nuclear weapons. So, from an American perspective, the stakes were very high. The worm itself remained hidden for nearly 17 months, which means its stealth was high and persistence was low. According to the model, US and Israel should have attacked as soon as Stuxnet was ready. And indeedthat is what seems to have happened.

Iran responded to this attack by targeting the workstations of Aramco, an oil company in Saudi Arabia that supplied oil to the US.

BUNK MONITOR, APP TO KEEP TAB ON ATTENDANCE

Bunk Monitor, an app developed by a team of students at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), and which will be made available to all scholars, promises to help them keep tabs on their attendance.Thiruvananthapuram-based Technocuz Software Solutions has developed an app for the State School Arts Festival

Just about every event these days has an app. So too does the State School Arts Festival for the first time in its 54-year history. The fete is currently underway in Palakkad.

The free mobile app, titled School Kalolsavam, has been developed by Technopark-based start-up Technocuz Software Solutions.

School Kalolsavam app has several features, divided under the broad categories of HS General, HS Sanskrit, HS Arabic and HSS General, based on the streams of education in Government schools in the State. It features live updates from all of the 18 venues of the fete. Users can get leader board updates, district-wise results, school-wise results, update and status of each event and so on, besides information on status/ results of each participant, if one keys in their unique identification number.

The app at present only for Android phones was developed in conjunction with IT@School project, under the Department of General Education, Government of Kerala,SRS MICROSCOPY FOR LASER SURGERY

West has now pioneered an advanced form of laser surgery to remove brain tumour based on a new technology called SRS microscopy that allows them to see the minutest portions of brain tissue. And SRS stands for Stimulated Raman Scattering, named after Sir C V Raman. So there's an Indian influence there as well.154 Olive Ridley turtles dead in 1 month

As many as 154 Olive Ridley turtles were found dead in Nagapattinam shores in the past month, according to Tree Foundation, an NGO engaged in sea turtle conservation. In the shores of neighbouring Puducherry, carcasses of 21 turtles were washed ashore during the same period. The 154-km coastline in Nagapattinam provides a favourable nesting habitat for Olive Ridley turtles that arrive here from December to March. Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles that need come up every 40-45 minutes. When entangled in trawl nets, they are dragged for over 1 to 3 hours. Always, their heads are bludgeoned, flippers are chopped to remove them from the nets, she said. Intense bottom trawling and mid-level trawling has increased the number of casualties.

Sea turtles are breathing reptiles and they need to come to the surface of sea every 45 minutes to take air.India, Australia launch bio robots in Indian Ocean

CSIRO said the new "Bio Argo" floats, to be launched in mid 2014, will enhance the already successful Argo float technology to measure large-scale changes in the chemistry and biology of marine ecosystems below the Indian Ocean's surface.

The Argo floats are a network of 3,600 free-floating sensors, operating in open ocean areas that provide real-time data on ocean temperature and salinity.

The "Bio Argo" floats will include additional sensors for dissolved oxygen, nitrate, chlorophyll, dissolved organic matter, and particle scattering.CSIRO's Nick Hardman-Mountford said the pilot project, led by CSIRO in collaboration with the Indian National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO) and the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services

By studying the Indian Ocean in this detail, we can investigate the origin and impact of marine heatwaves like the one that devastated the coral reefs and fisheries off north Western Australian in 2011 -- and improve our prediction of them in the futureIntegrated rice-fish cultivation for East India

Rice is the major staple food crop of India which is being cultivated in about 41 million hectares.

However, its productivity is poor in India when compared to several other nations like South Korea, China etc.

The scenario is more alarming in Eastern India where farmers end up with very low productivity of rice.

At the same time, the ecological situation of rice fields in Eastern India facilitates the inclusion of fish component especially in saucer shaped lands, lowlands and waterlogged ecosystems.

Huge potential

There exists a huge potential for integrated rice-fish farming which can generate additional net returns to the farmers along with higher crop and water productivity.

Though there is a scope for implementing integrated rice-fish farming in about 23 million hectares, the existing area under this farming system is below 1 million hectares.

There is a need to analyse the reasons for low adoption of this technology and to formulate the management strategies. Integrated rice-fish farming results in mutual benefit to both rice and fish. Rice is benefited in the form of additional nutrients which come from fish excreta.

In addition, the aquatic weeds of rice also get reduced due to fish presence. In turn, fish gets benefit in the form of favourable micro climate due to presence of rice plants. However, rice requires a majority of nutrients in the form of inorganic fertilizers whereas fish needs nutrients in the form of organic form.

Optimum nutrient

Hence, the optimum nutrient schedule of inorganic and organic components is required for obtaining maximum yield of rice and fish. Such fertilizer combinations also help in maintaining a healthy soil and aquatic environment.

Field experiments conducted at Central research farm of Directorate of Water Management (ICAR), Bhubaneswar revealed that the average rice equivalent yield in rice-fish farming system was estimated as 6.57 tonnes per hectare. It can be concluded y that the productivity and income could be augmented by introducing fish in rice field.

What is the powdery material that sticks to the fingers when a butterfly is caught by its wings?Both butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera meaning scaly wings. As the order name Lepidoptera implies, the powdery material found on butterfly wings that sticks to our fingers is a bunch of tiny scales, modified sensory structures called setae. Wings are made of two thin membranes covered with unicellular scales arranged loosely in rows. Thin layers of chitin, a hardened protein make the scales. These scales strengthen and stabilize the wings.

Each scale is plugged into a socket on the wing with grids of high and low ribs and cells. The cells hold the natural pigment molecules such as uric acid (white), carotenoid pigments (yellow, orange), quercetin (red, purple) and melanin (brown). Each pigmented scale produces only one type of pigment. Along with the pigments, the arrangement and spacing of the ribs and cells also contribute to the colour. However, the vivid iridescent colours are the results of reflection and refraction of light by the different size, pattern and spacing of the ribs on the scales.

Besides regulating temperature by either absorbing or reflecting sunlight, the loose attachments and slippery nature of scales prevent butterflies from predators. Some species have androconial scales helping in the dispersal of pheromones to attract the opposite sex.

We now know of a wrist watch computer made by Samsung. Last week Google announced the introduction of a wearable contact lens which would monitor the sugar levels in your tears and let you know if you are a diabetic or not. With this, you no longer need to invade or prick your finger to draw blood and wet it on a litmus-type paper to read your sugar levels. And we all thought that a contact lens is worn to correct your eye sight to normal.

A new study carried out by scientists from the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Germany, found that variations in the gene, MBL2, were responsible either for protecting against the disease or making an individual susceptible.

What is the official name of the MBL2 gene?

The official name of this gene is mannose-binding lectin (protein C) 2, soluble. MBL2 is the gene's official symbol. The MBL2 gene is also known by other names, listed below.

What is the normal function of the MBL2 gene?

Mannose-binding lectin recognizes and attaches (binds) to sugars, such as mannose, fucose, and glucose, that are found on the surface of bacteria, viruses, and yeast. This binding turns on (activates) the complement system, which is a group of immune system proteins that work together to destroy pathogens, trigger inflammation, and remove debris from cells and tissues. Attachment of mannose-binding lectin also targets the pathogen to be engulfed and broken down by special immune cells. Recognition of foreign invaders by mannose-binding lectin provides one of the body's first lines of defense against infection.

The MBL2 gene belongs to a family of genes called COLEC (collectins).

New electronic circuit for smart contact lenses

Scientists have developed an ultra-flexible electronic circuit that is tiny and thin enough to fit on the surface of a contact lens.

Researchers said an electronically-enabled lens could have medical uses, for example, it could be useful in monitoring the intraocular pressure of people with glaucoma.

It could be used for very wearable and minimally invasive devices, for ultralight solar cells, and most importantly, for very conformable and implantable devices which can serve to monitor biometric parameters in the human body, Salvatore said.

Creating the circuits which are printed on a one-micrometre thick layer of a substance called parylene is a multi-step process.

Something thats about one-sixtieth as thick as a human hair.

Google develops contact lens glucose monitor

Google unveiled on Thursday a contact lens that monitors glucose levels in tears, a potential reprieve for millions of diabetics who have to jab their fingers to draw their own blood as many as 10 times a day.

The prototype, which Google says will take at least five years to reach consumers,

Vertical farms sprouting all over the world

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129524.100-vertical-farms-sprouting-all-over-the-world.htmlvertical farms" are promising a new, environmentally friendly way to feed the rapidly swelling populations of cities worldwide. Vertical farms aim to avoid the problems inherent in growing food crops in drought-and-disease-prone fields many hundreds of kilometres from the population centres in which they will be consumed. The plant racks in a vertical farm can be fed nutrients by water-conserving, soil-free hydroponic systems and lit by LEDs that mimic sunlight. And they need not be difficult to manage: control software can choreograph rotating racks of plants so each gets the same amount of light, and direct water pumps to ensure nutrients are evenly distributed.

The whole apparatus can be monitored from a farmer's smartphone

Stanley reservoir to be closed from Jan. 28

It was opened for samba cultivation in 11 districts in the delta region for 136 days,It was opened for samba cultivation in 11 districts in the delta region for 136 days, release from Cauvery for Tamil crops.

GAGAN system ready for operations

Aircraft equipped with the Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) will henceforth be able to use GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) signal in Indian airspace for en route navigation and non-precision approaches without vertical guidance. The satellites then broadcast the messages. The SBAS receivers use those messages and apply the requisite corrections to the GPS signals, thereby establishing their position with considerable accuracy.

=The GAGAN system is poised to next level of certification in the near future to offer precision approach services to the aircraft.

=Jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the GAGAN system will offer seamless navigation to the aviation industry. The ISRO has confirmed that the DGCA certification was received on December 30 last.

=With this, the country has become the fourth to offer safety of life, space-based satellite navigation services to the aviation sector. GAGAN will provide augmentation service for GPS over the country, Bay of Bengal, South East Asia and Middle East expanding up to Africa.

=The availability of the GAGAN signal in the countrys air space will bridge the gap between European Unions European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and Japans Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS) coverage areas.

=The benefits of GAGAN include improved efficiency, direct routes, increased fuel savings, approach with vertical guidance at runways, significant cost savings due to withdrawal of ground aids and reduced workload of flight crew and Air Traffic Controllers. The GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system, that seeks to advance safety and improve efficiency of airlines operating throughout India, has now got the certification level Required Navigation Performance.

The project, which has been jointly developed by Airports Authority of India, the Indian Space Research Organization and Raytheon, will now provide civil aircraft in Indian airspace access to more precision navigation data than before.

The enhanced navigation capability available through GAGAN improves air travel for all parties - airlines, passengers and air traffic authorities, said Brian Hickey, director of Raytheon Navigation and Landing Systems, adding that the system will also result in increased efficiency and lower costs for Indian aviation.

A release issued by Raytheon said the GAGAN system is a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) equipped with advanced air navigation technology.

It is the fourth SBAS system certified for operational use.

Aircraft equipped with SBAS receivers can utilise GAGAN signals in Indian airspace for en route navigation and non-precision approaches without vertical guidance. This capability will allow aircraft to follow more efficient flight paths through congested airspace, noise sensitive areas or difficult terrain, it said

Agni-IV launch on Sunday

Agni-IV, Indias surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 4,000 km, will be test-fired from the Wheeler Island, off Dhamra village on the Odisha coast, on January 20. It is a strategic missile which can carry a nuclear warhead weighing about one tonne.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which has developed he missile has already been flight-tested three times. While the maiden launch was a failure, the next two were successful. The two-stage missile weighs 17 tonnes and is 20 metres long. =Fantastic nuclear deterrence because with its range of 4,000 km, it can cover the entire area on the other side of the border. While the Army has already deployed Agni-I, II and III missiles, all of which are strategic missiles carrying nuclear warheads, Agni-IV and Agni-V have not been inducted into the Army yet.

=The DRDO has achieved two consecutive successes including its debut flight with Agni-V, which can carry a nuclear warhead weighing one tonne over a distance of 5,000 km. The DRDO will fire Agni-V from a canister in two or three months .

Multipurpose solar pest manager for brinjal and jasmine growers

Continuous power supply is essential for any type of agricultural activity. Particularly in villages where the concept of invertors or generators is yet to attain a major breakthrough, electricity disruption means temporary suspension of any activity till power supply resumes.

Though the Government has been harping on need to harness solar power and grants subsidies for installing solar units for farm related activities, the concept is yet to gain momentum.

The height of the solar light is about eight feet. It has a solar panel, a battery, two five watt bulbs and an insect collection stainless steel tray on which a sticky paste of castor oil and shampoo mix is smeared.

Reduced spray

We also found that the frequency of pesticide spray was reduced from once in seven days to once in 15 days and finally once in 30 days, thereby bringing down the expense from Rs.10, 000 to Rs.5,000 for an acre of brinjal and from Rs. 24,000 to Rs. 12,000 for jasmine,

TOP RESEARCHES OF 2013

CLARITY: This imaging technique, which renders brain tissue transparent by by removing the fatty, light-scattering lipid molecules that form cellular membranes. The lipids are replaced with molecules of clear gel but all neurons (as well as other brain cells) are left intact and on full display. This has changed the way researchers look at this intricate organ in 2013.

According to the paper, researchers say the advance could speed up by 100-fold tasks such as counting all the neurons in a given brain region and could make traditional methods of imaging post-mortem brain tissue irrelevant. Currently, the technique is limited to small amounts of tissue.

Perovskite-based solar cells offer economy and efficiency

The solar cell consists of a thin perovskite film sandwiched in between two very thin organic semiconductors and the total thickness of the device is less than half a micrometer.

= It is claimed the hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite material can be prepared easily and at low cost.=It is also possible to make the device semi-transparent, which allows their integration with building facades since they are very thin and light weight. In this way the sun light is filtered, protecting the building interior from intense sun light while simultaneously generating electricity.

Approximately 85 per cent of the solar cells are based on crystalline silicon, an expensive material.These thin film cells are cheaper to produce but are based on rare, toxic elements.

The demonstration of high efficiency in thin film solar cells based on abundantly available and cheap materials like as used in these perovskite based solar cells, allows for an increasing share of solar energy in the mix of renewable resources, said Bolink.

Read more: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/energy-and-environment/news/perovskite-based-solar-cells-offer-economy-and-efficiency/1017740.article#ixzz2qsFnpuNg[Sci-Tech] TheHindu Sep-Oct-Nov 2013 :(Part 1 of 4) Environment and Biodiversity (EnB)-Jellyblooms,e-waste rules,SAFAR tech

Jellyfish bloom

Jellyfish bloom = huge increase Jellyfishes population.

Jellyfish bloom: result?

1. In Sweden, a nuclear power plant had to be shut down after jellyfishes clogged its water cooling system. Similar incidents reported from Muscat, S.Korea to Scotland

2. Bad for fishermen: their nets get busted and trawl lines get clogged.

3. Jellyfish stings are extremely painful. Sea-resorts/beaches receive less tourists whenever jellyfishes are sighted near the coast.

Why Jelly fish blooms?

or, why is Jellyfish population increasing so rapidly?

PredatorsThey have few predators sea turtles, salmon, mackerel et al.Overfishing of salmon, mackerel = less predators of jelly fish.

cuisineExcept a few Asian countries- most people dont eat Jelly fish because its meat is tasteless and you need to carefully remove its poisonous stings.=less demand=fishermen avoid jellyfishes.

CompetitorsJelly fish competes with smaller fishes for the same food. But Jelly fish even eats the eggs of its competitors fishes= collapses smaller fish populations.

Reproduction They create polypslittle bundles of clones. Polyps attach to hard surfaces and wait for their opportunity to release small jellyfish.

Nowadays with lot of man-made hard surfaces in the ocean: drilling platforms, offshore wind turbines, boats, anchors etc even plastic cigarette packets= more places for polyps to thrive.

In Certain species of jelly fish- even dead jelly fishes cells find each other again and from a whole new polyp.

Because of this polyps mechanism- Jellyfish can even transport to new ecosystem- where often they have no natural predators.

Algae Bloom Pesticides, fertilziers, industral waste etc=>river=>ocean

This increases the nitrogen and phosphorous content in water=> algal blooms

During algal bloom, oxygen content in water decrease. = most marine organisms are wiped out. However, jellyfish can survive because it needs very little oxygen.

So as other animals dwindle, jellyfish colonies expand

Example: Pollution from Yangtze River in western China => dead zones in the East China and Yellow Seas with Jelly blooms.

Cyber poaching

Cyber poaching is the use of GPS, satellite, IT technology poaching animals.

Iridium collar= fitted on tigers, can track them both via satellite and ground tracking. Can provide GPS data about animals movement at regular interval daily.

Wildlife official found that someone from Pune tried to access this GPS data of tiger in MP=>leading to suspicion that hacker tried to get the tiger movement data- pass it to poachers so the animal can be easily hunted. FIR has been lodged.

in the meantime, forest officers captured this tiger, replaced this iridium collar with Very High Frequency (VHF) collar.

VHF collarGPS collar

since 60srecent technology

An animal wearing a VHF collar = transmits radiowaves- you track it with a special receiver and directional antenna. (but you have to in the nearby region). GPS tracking is based on a radio receiver (rather than a transmitter) in an animals collar.

satellite used for monitoring the location coordinates- every 15 minutes, one hour etc.

labor intensive. You need a man on the ground / plane in the air to track animal.

So, doesnt work well in bad weather / difficult terrain. Satellite captures GPS coordinates- you can see animals location on computer anywhere.

cheapexpensive

long lifeBattery expires in a few months.

Accuracy=reasonable.extreme

Tiger Census

Conducted every four years.

By National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) + Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun

It is in news because October-December 2013 period, tiger census will run in the four southern states.

Authorities also want to include NGOs and citizens in this exercise. Public participation gives transparency and credibility to tiger census. (else local forest officers might inflate tiger numbers in their district.)

but as per the rules: no cameras/mobile phones allowed. hence very few volunteers applied.

Why? Because in previous census Volunteers spent most of their time shooting photos and recording videos, rather than collecting data.

flashlights from camera=disturbs the tigers and other wildlife.

Giant African Snail

Exotic pest introduced from East Africa to India in 1800s

This is the biggest land snail

Damages crops of papaya, brinjal etc.

Snail is one type of Mollusk= Invertebrate having a soft body usually enclosed in a shell

Snail is a hermaphrodite and lays eggs on soil.

In cold regions, snail can undergo hibernation

Hibernation

What?

Hibernation is a way that some animals deal with the harshness of winter.

They curl up in a safe place, barely breathe, heartbeat is so slow you can hardly detect it, as if the animal is almost dead.

In warmer weather, they return to their regular activities.

Hibernation =in winter / cold regions. Similarly, Estivation = in summer/ hot regions.

Why Hibernation?

Evolutionary mechanism to survive in winters + food shortage.

they breathe slowly, dont move=energy expenditure declines. Can live with just their body fat.

(new research)

Hibernation boosts immunity.

Predator avoidance: since animal is motionless and emit minimal noise and body odour= predator cannot detect it.

Who?

Mammals: bats, bears, chipmunks, mice, hedgehog, Prairie Dogs, Raccoons, hamsters

frogs, snakes, turtles, snails, earthworms, bees, lizards

Birds: Poorwill, Nighthawks.

Great Indian Bustard

Regarding Great Indian Bustard: Less than 250 left in country.

Why decline?

Andrahas received ca$h from CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning).. Yet theyve not declared bird sanctuary for great Indian bustards.

Maharashtrain Chandrapur, the government ordered that farmland cannot be sold if bustard was seen on it. So, farmers kill bustards to sell the land.

KarnatakaForest officials planting exotic tree species= unsuitable as habitat for birds + less insect=less food

Erosion of grassland by domestic animals=less insects=less food for bird.

Grassland turned into farmland, Farmland sold for industrial purpose= less insects=less food.

Forest mafia destroying teak trees.

poaching

Unregulated tourism.

In recent times, UPSC has been asking MCQ about status and location of endangered species. So, As per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)s red list:

Birds found in Indiared list status (on Nov 2013)Found in

Great Indian Bustardcritically endangeredMaharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

Cattle Egretleast concern Egrets are local winter Migratory birds.

In winter, they migrate to Ooty hill station region.

They also feed on pest/insects=help farmers.

Baya Weaverleast concern

Pink-headed Duckcritically endangeredYou dig and post in comments.

Jerdons Coursercritically endangered

Siberian Cranecritically endangered

Indian Vulturecritically endangered

Bengal Floricancritically endangered

Katurirangan report on western ghat

Weve already seen Gadgil report in detail: click me

But Gadgil report led to widespread protests by villagers and forest/builder/mining mafia lobby in Western Ghats.

So, Environment ministry setup one more committee under Kasturirangan, in August 2012.

headed by Dr. K. Kasturirangan (Member, Planning Commission)

GadgilKasturirangan

Official name: Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP)High Level Working Group (HLWG)

use satellite data down to 9km resolution24 meters resolution

Classifies western ghat region into three zone: 1, 2 and 3. Separate level protection to each of this zones. click me for moreIt classifies Western Ghat into

cultural landscape: ~58%

Natural landscape ~42%.

kept cultural landscape within purview of ecologically sensitive areas. Kasturi has kept cultural landscape out of purview of Ecologically sensitive areas. e.g. sacred groves of Kerala- rich in biodiversity.

So, if Kasturis recommendations accepted, any builder could raze the sacred groves to construct new buildings. (or atleast thats what Gadgil followers say)

entire Western ghat should be declared as ecologically sensitive area under Environment Protection Act, 1986. nope, only 37% area of Western ghat (=60000 sq.km)

villages with population density >100, shoulnot be declared ecologically sensitive.

pro-people, pro-nature.Grama Sabhas should decide on the Ecological Sensitivity of the respective areasautocratic approach. Doesnt include local communitys role in ecological decision-making. (or atleast thats what Gadgil followers say)

Why Kasturi in news?

As per Kasturis recommendation, Environment ministry banned mining activities and restrict on construction activities in 123 villages of Western Ghat.

Kasturi also recommends that commercial crops, rubber, tea, coffee, pepper, cashew, cardamom, arecanut and coconut etc. shouldnot be allowed in such ecologically sensitive areas.

+ even chemical fertilizers and pesticides should not be allowed for any crops.

result? farmers are against Kasturis report. = violent protests in Kerala.

Human Cruelty by Animals?

Shimla Municipal Corporation had earlier rounded up every stray dog and kept them in dog houses built outside the town.

But an NGO got these dogs released and now leopards entering localities to hunt this dogs

Similarly, people throwing food garbage in the town= monkeys coming from jungle causing more crop destruction.

State Government has banned export of monkeys for medical research.

Kisan Sabha demanding that (1) monkeys must be culled and (2) monkey export should be permitted.

Animal-loving NGOs move to courts for flimsiest reasons but dont care for such problems faced by humans.

Waste Management related

#1: E-waste rules

e-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011

By Environment ministry- made in 2011, became effective since 2012

Covers: electrical / IT equipment.

Doesnt cover: lead batteries and radioactive waste (separate rules for them)

Features

aim safe disposal e-waste through private bodies

Coverage Apply to every producer, consumer and recycling center.

Ceiling Specify the ceiling limits of lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, ether etc. hazardous substances in electrical equipment.

Every producer has to certify their equipment donot contain those substances beyond the specified level.

Disposal Concept: Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR).

Meaning, once the consumer discards the electronic / IT product- it is producers responsibility to collect the e-waste and ensure theyre safely disposed.

Producer has to take back its discarded electronic products from customers. (or can outsource this work to a recycler/collection center)

If municipality gather e-waste (during their day-to-day operation)- they need to hand over e-waste to such private bodies.

Non-ComplianceState pollution control board can cancel the license of that producer.

Some more fodder points on e-waste

1. E-waste is not entirely waste. you can salvage iron, aluminum, copper and gold and other precious metals and reuse them

2. but e-waste also contains mercury, cadmium etc. hazardous substances

3. Mercury =bio-accumulates (builds up in organisms) and biomagnifies (moves up the food chain). Thus, even a minuscule amount of mercury can affect entire ecology and human health.

4. As per ASSOCHAM report top three e-waste producing cities are Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata

2: Nisrgruna

too clichd topic, besides already been asked in one of the earlier mains. but anyways:

Nisargruna= solid waste management technology devised by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

1 tonne of biodegradable waste from households, hotels, farms=>nisargruna plant=>methane (1 cylinder) + manure (50kg)

4 such cylinders can power 80-100 LED streetlight for 8 hours.

takes only 20 lakhs to setup one plant.

More efficient than traditional biogas plants

been in news because a new Plants being setup in Madurai + Chennai

some fodder points related to municipal waste

By 2100: Indias total waste generation will be 70 per cent of all the high income and OECD countries put together

by 2030 India will be worlds largest municipal solid waste generator.

#3: Coriander as biosorbent

Coriander or cilantro, the leafy herb used to garnish variety of Indian food.

US researchers found coriander leafs are potential biosorbent = can remove lead, nickel and other toxic heavy metals from water.

can be used low-cost remedy to purify drinking water.

Air Pollution related

#1 Air Quality Index

Air Quality Index is a color-coded tool that categorizes air quality.

Air QualityRatingAir Quality Index (AQI) Color

GOOD0 50green

MODERATE51 100yellow

UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS101 150orange

UNHEALTHY151 200red

VERY UNHEALTHY201 300purple

HAZARDOUS>300maroon

Air Quality index can be measured based on particle size.

PM 10: measure pollutants with a diameter of 10 microns or less.

PM 2.5: pollutants with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less.

For example

Air QualityRatingRange PM10PM2.5Color

GOOD0 50green

MODERATE51 100yellow

UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS101 150orange

UNHEALTHY151 200red

VERY UNHEALTHY201 300purple

HAZARDOUS>300maroon

for Beijing, it remains >300 (hazardous) and for Delhi- in the range of 250 (very unhealthy). [October data]

#2 SAFAR

SAFAR: System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)

Computerized system developed by Indian institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune (under Ministry of Earth Science)

with help of India Meteorological Department (IMD).

SAFAR was installed in Delhi, during CWG-2010. Later in Pune.

Why in news? Because SAFAR is being installed in Mumbai. (October)

it provides data on

1. Air Quality Index health advisory

2. UV Index skin advisory

3. Dynamic city pollution maps.

Quality of air can be forecasted 24-72 hours in advance.

#3 China bans coal based power plants

In Beijing, air quality index is constantly above 300 in recent months. Haze is a routine phenomenon. Air pollution has reduced Chinese peoples life expectancy by 5.5 years and so on finally Chinese government woke up, has banned new coal based power plants in the three key industrial regions

1. Beijing

2. Shanghai

3. Guangdong (Pearl River)

China will try to reduce its coal consumption to 65% by 2017, and aim for more nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy.

#4: Aerosol

Aerosol= solid/liquor particles uniformly distributed in gas.

naturalman-made

sea salt, dust soot from vehicles.

firewood burning,

sulphate particles from thermal / cement plants.

Aerosol optical depth (AOD)= An index of aerosol levels. Researchers found aerosol level has increased over the years in India.

Why aerosol bad in atmosphere?

They absorb light= less sunlight coming to ground. also affect how much heat escapes from earth

Thus aerosol affect aerosol affect regional climate and monsoon (+respiratory problems).

Man made aerosols have HFCs (Hydrofloro carbons)=greenhouse effect.

Energy related

#1: Nanotech: Better solar panels

Solar power panels use semiconductor material, like silicon or gallium arsenide

Sunlight=>photons=> Semiconductor material =>electromagnetic energy

London researchers coated this solar panel surface with aluminum nanostructures.

Result?

More photons absorbed=>more electricity produced.

Earlier scientists tried similar thing with silver and gold nanoparticles. But Aluminum is giving better performance at cheaper cost.

Price of Solar Power in India

2011Rs. 18/kWh

2013Rs. 7/kWh

Aluminum nano structureCould help bring down the cost even further

#2: Nanotech: better fuel cells

Fuel cells: chemical energy=>electricity.

Fuel cell running cars will emit water rather than carbon dioxide.

But fuel cells use platinum as a catalyst= very expensive.

Researchers came with new tech. to convert cheap catalyst from geletin.

Gelatin is protein, used in jelly making.

Gelatin+Magneisum+Iron=>heating=>create metal nanoparticles. Useem as catalyst in fuel cells.

Mains

5 marks SAFAR technology

Tiger Census

Great Indian Bustard

12 marks

1. List the salient features of the rules enacted by Ministry of environment and forestry for management and handling of e-waste.

Between Gadgil and Kasturirangans recommendations- which one is more suitable for the conservation of Western Ghats? Why?

List the applications of nanotechnology in the area of clean energy.

[Sci-Tech]TheHindu Sep-Oct-Nov(Part4of4): Space, Defense related: ISRO Mars Mission, MAVEN, INSAT3D, Vikramaditya, EMP, Napalm

Basic: What does ISRO do?

1. When something is sent to space, it can be Manned (with astronauts) or Unmanned (without astronauts).

2. The unmanned missions have two things:

Examples

One Launch VehiclePSLV, GSLV

One or More Satellite(s)INSAT, RISAT, CARTOSAT.

sometimes, instead of satellites, it can be rovers, space telescopes.

The Launch Vehicle (e.g. PSLV, GSLV) sends the satellite(s) into the space.

After covering a particular distance, the satellite (e.g. INSAT, GISAT) gets detached from the Launch Vehicle.

Then Satellite opens up its wings like a butterfly from cocoon. Those wings have solar panels, they provide electricity to the satellite.

Satellite rotates around the earth and sends signals to and fro- thus it helps in telecommunication, TV signal broadcasting, disaster/weather monitoring, sea navigation etc.

If we put the satellite @35800 km in the equatorial plane, itll appear fixed from any point on earth, and well call it a Geostationary satellite.

And the Launch vehicle then returns back to Earth, usually falling in the ocean or uninhibited land. The scientists collect the launch vehicle and re-use its parts for next mission.

Basics: ISS

ISS= International space station.

ISS is like a hostel in the space. Astronauts go there, stay for some weeks/ months do some observation, research, repairwork and come back home.

US, Japan, Russia, Canada and many other countries have invested in this ISS space station.

But China is not a partner in ISS project. China wants to build its own Space station. Thats were Shenzhous-9 and Tiangong-1 come into picture.

Basics: Tiangong and Shenzhou

Tiangong-1= means heavenly palace.

This is Chinas experimental space station. So this is the hostel for Chinese astronauts in space.

Ok but how will you send Chinese astronauts to this heavenly palace? Ans. Via Shenzhou spacecraft.

Shenzhou means Divine vessel.

In 2012, China used this divine vessel (Shenzhou 9) to send its first female astronaut Liu Yang to that Heavenly palace (Tiangong-1)

In 2013, China will send more astronauts to that Heavenly palace (Tiangong-1), using Shenzhou 10.

Basics: Atlantis Space shuttle

Ok recap again, to send satellites in the space, you need a launch vehicle (e.g. PSLV, GSLV).

Similarly to send people into space, you need a space craft / rocket e.g. Chinas Shenzhou. Americas Atlantis and Russias Soyuz also do the same thing.

The Atlantis is a space shuttle of NASA. It looks like an airplane.

Atlantis can be used for launching space telescopes, satellites as well as people in to the space, as per the mission requirements.

And Atlantis can come back and land on earth like a regular airplane (except that during the landing, Atlantis will open parachute to reduce its speed).

It had carried 33 missions from 1985 to 2011

Atlantis was retired in 2012.

Columbia is another example of NASAs Space Shuttle. But in 2003, it crashed during re-entering into Earths atmosphere.

India born female astronaut Kalpana Chawla died in this accident. We named our Weather satellite after her (KALPANA-1).

Basics: Soyuz spacecraft

Just like China uses divine vessel (Shenzhou) to send people into space, similarly Russia uses Soyuz to send people into space.

In 2012, three astronauts (including Sunita Williams) were sent to International space station (ISS) using Soyuz.

Basics: spacewalking

There are two types of missions/probes: Manned and unmanned.

Manned = sending people into space.

But what do people do in the space?

They go to moon, hoist the flag of their nations, E.g. Neil Armstrong.

They spend a few months on the international space station (ISS) or Heavenly Palace (Tiangong) or similar hostel (space station. E.g. Indias first astronaut Rakesh Sharma spent 8 days in a Russian space station.

But often the outside body a spacecraft/hostel (space station) requires some repairing, maintenance or upgrades.

So, when astronaut goes out of the spacecraft, wearing that white suit and ballon shaped helmet and does some walking/repairing work, that is known as spacewalk.

Currently Sunita Williams holds the longest spacewalk record for females. (50+ hours). For males, it is Anatoly Solovyev (77+ hours).

By the way, Sunita Williams also holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. (195 days).

Basics: Dragon capsule

Ok so far we know there are hostels in the space (e.g. ISS, Tiangong). People go there, spend a few weeks / months. But if it is a hostel, itd require food and supplies.

A private company (Space X) has designed the Dragon capsule to deliver the food and supplies to space stations.

It successfully delivered cargo to ISS space station in 2012.

Basics: Anti-satellite missiles

We have learned the importance of launch vehicles, satellites and space stations.

But if an enemy shoots down our satellites then our banking and sharemarket system will collapse, Our army, navy and airforce will not be able to attack back effectively, and more importantly juntaa will not be able to watch IPL matches and saas-bahu serials or log into facebook and orkut.

Back in 2007, Chinese military used an Anti-Satellite missile to destroy its own weather satellite. This made Americans (and Indians) very nervous.

But we have Agni-V missile. It has range of 5000kms. If we make some modifications in it, we can also use it to destroy enemy satellites. So now China is also nervous.

Basics part is over. now lets get to business: Space Tech related current affairs (2012-13) for rapid revision. First well look at the space programs of India, US, Russia, China and other countries. Then well look at telescopes and Persons in News (Space)

Space programs: India

Carried out by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

Chairman=Dr. K. Radhakrishnan. He had replaced G Madhavan Nair. (First Chairman of ISRO was Vikram Sarabhai.)

HQBanglore

Satish Dhawan Space centreShriharikota, Andhra. We usually launch satellites from here. (or from French Guiana in S.America).

Physics research labAhmedabad

AntrixBanglore

Indias Launch Vehicles: PSLV vs GSLV

PSLVGSLV

Polar satellite launch vehicleGeosynchronous satellite launch vehicle

Can carry upto 1600 kg satellite2500kg

Used for launching Indian remote sensing satellites (IRS) such as CARTOSAT, RISAT, OCEANSAT, RESOURCESATFor launching Indian National satellites (INSAT) such as INSAT 2E, 3A., GSAT-2,8,12.

Latest version is PSLV-XL. Can carry upto 1750 kg. It was used to launch Chandrayaan, RISAT. And in future, itll be used for Mars mission as well.Next version is GSLV MK-III, can carry upto 4000kg

Indias Satellites: IRS vs INSAT

IRSINSAT

Indian remote sensing satellitesIndian National satellites (INSAT)

Monitoring natural resources, crops, minerals, forest cover etc.Telecom, TV broadcast, DTH, weather forecasting, telemedicine, tele-education, search and rescue etc.

Launched using PSLV.Using GSLV.

Examples of IRS = CARTOSAT, RISAT, OCEANSAT, RESOURCESATExamples of INSAT= INSAT-2E, 3A,. And GSAT-2,8,12.

Now lets take a look at the satellites that have been in news recently (or mentioned in Yearbook)

Aditya-1 For studying Solar Coronas.

Astrosate-1 For astronomy.

CARTOSAT-3 ISRO is building this remote sensing satellite.

It can take images of earth with resolution of 0.25 meters.

Itll be used for cartography and high resolution mapping.

GISAT Geo Imaging Satellite.

Itll be positioned 36,000 kms above the earth.

Itll be used for disaster management, border security.

GSAT-10 This is Indias heaviest satellite so far.

It was ISROs 101stmission.

It was launched French Guiana.

It also carried second payload of GAGAN. (First payload of GAGAN was sent via GSAT-8).

GSAT-7 Itll increase Indias telecommunication signals.

Indian Navy will also use it for communication.

INSAT-2E after serving for 13 years, this satellite completed its mission life in 2012.

INSAT-3D Weather satellite (meteorology), search and rescue operations.

At present Indias meterological observation is done by two satellites Kalpana-1 and INSET 3A. This INSAT 3D is more powerful and advanced.

RISAT-1 RISAT-1 is Indias first radar imaging satellite

It can scan the earth surface during both day and night, even in cloudy conditions. So it is an all weather satellite.

Use= paddy monitoring and management of natural disaster like flood and cyclone.

It was launched using PSLV-XL launch vehicle.

SARAL Indo-French satellite

SARAL= Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa.

It was launched From Sriharikota, Andhra.

Itll be used for marine meteorology, oceanography climate monitoring etc.

ISROs first mission was to send aryabhatta Satellite into space. But at that time we did not have our own launch vehicle, so we used a Russian launch vehicle.

Today ISRO has both Satellite + Launch vehicle. And we not only send our own satellites, we also help other countries send their satellites into space, using our launch vehicles. (ofcourse after taking cash for providing the Taxi/courier service.)

For these type of commercial activities, ISRO takes help of Antarix.

Antarix is a Government owned company, it works as the marketing and commercial arm of ISRO.

ISROs 100thmission

ISROs 100thmission was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriarikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Here, ISRO launched two foreign satellites using PSLV launch vehicle. The name of satellites are:

1. SPOT 6: French satellite

2. Proiteres: Japanese micro satellite

By the way, recall that ISROs 101stmission was GSAT 10. And GSAT 10 is the heaviest satellite ISRO has launched so far. (because 100thmission is extremely clichd and blown out of proportion, so if UPSC wants to apply its BackbreakingTMmove, itd rather ask about 99thor 101stmission hahaha).

Indias own GPS: IRNSS

At present only three countries have their own global navigation systems

USAGPS

RussiaGLONASS. More discussed in earlier articleclick me

ChinaBeidou

To deploy a global navigation system, you need to setup lots of satellites hovering around the world, so they can scan and sent pinpoint location of anywhere to anywhere.

During the Iraq war, the Americans sent wrong GPS navigation signals to the Iraqi jets and missiles, therefore Iraqis could not attack Americans forces in accurate manner.

Moral of the story = Dont rely on other peoples navigation system.

For the short term, We (India) are designing our missiles and fighter jets in such way that they can use both GPS (American) and GLONASS (Russian) signals for navigation. (so if we want to attack America or its ally, we can rely on GLONASS and vice versa.)

But for long term, we will need our own GPS like system. Therefore, ISRO is developing IRNSS.

IRNSS= Indian regional navigational satellite system.

Now if you connect the dots: we need our own GPS (IRNSS) so we can accurately attack enemies. And we will need our own Anti-satellite missile, to shoot down satellites of enemies so their GPS cannot work accurately.

GAGAN

GPS aided geo augmented navigation (gagan)

It is a joint effort by the ISRO and the Airports Authority Of India (AAI).

Its main use is to help Air traffic control and helps pilots fly / land aircrafts in bad weather.

But as the name suggests GPS aided meaning it is not a separate independent navigation system. It depends on GPS (American navigation system). Therefore we need IRNSS.

Space Vision India 2025

This is what ISRO plans to for future:

1. Use satellites for rural connectivity, security and mobile services

2. Increase imaging capability for natural resource management, weather and climate change studies

3. Get better understanding of solar system and universe

4. explore planets.

5. Develop Heavy lift launcher

6. Develop Reusable Launch Vehicles.

7. Send Humans to space.

Cryogenic Engine

Cryogenic engines work at very low temperature.

ISRO is developing cryogenic engines

for GSLV launch vehicles.

for Chandrayaan-2 moon mission

earlier ISRO had tried this in 2010 but it was an #EPICFAIL.

Chandrayaan-1

It was Indias first unmanned moon mission.

It found evidence of water on Moon. It also did the surved the topography, craters, polar regions and environment of Moon.

This happened in 2008 hence too old and too clichd to be asked for MCQs.

ISRO is now working on Chandrayaan-2 joint programme with the Russian Federal Space Agency, But Russians suffered a setback due to their Phobos grunt mission.

Mars Mission

India planning a Mars mission similar to Curiosity mission of NASA. (probably in October/November 2013.)

Mohan made official announcement about this during Independence day speech.

Mars mission will be launched using PSLV-XL.

PSLV-XL is the most powerful version of PSLV launch vehicle. Earlier it was used for Chandrayaan Mission, RISAT and GSAT-12.

This leads to Essay / group discussion / interview topic that when millions of Indians are suffering from poverty and malnutrition, whats point of spending crores of rupees on Moon and Mars mission? But this article is written for MCQs, so lets not dwell into that for the moment.

Space programs: USA (NASA)

NASA=National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

There is no end to NASA missions either, but from the current affairs point of view, I would classify them into three: 1) Mars related 2) Moon related 3) Misc.

USA: MARS related

Curiosity

This is Maha clichd topic for MCQs but anyways

Name of the mission is MSL: Mars Science laboratory.

Under this MSL mission, NASA launched Curiosity rover to Mars in 2011.

In 2012, Curiosity rover successfully landed on Mars surface.

This mission has following aims

1. Did life ever exist on Mars?

2. Find presence of water, and other life supporting elements.

3. Collect data related to geology, radiation levels etc. for planning next manned mission to Mars.

Device on CuriosityFunction

CHEMIN Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument

It is used for soil analysis on Mars.

CheMin found that minerals on the Red Planet are similar to those found in volcanic soils in Hawaii

TLSTunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS)

Presence of methane in a planets atmosphere indicates that life may have existed in the past.

TLS analysed a small sample of Martian air and detected very small amount of methane.

Gale Crater

Located on Mars planet.

Curiosity rover landed here and found signs that water may have flowed in the past through this Gale Crater.

Black Beauty

It is a 320 gram space rock from Mars.

Discovered in Moroccos Sahara Desert in 2011

It contains more water than any other Martian meteorite previously found.

could unlock vital clues to the evolution of Mars.

NASA: Moon related

Ebb and Flow, Sally Ride Two NASA spacecraft Ebb and Flow, equipped with MoonKAMs.

They were orbiting around Moon since 2011 under GRAIL mission.

But they did not have sufficient altitude or fuel to continue science operations.

Hence NASA team crash-landed them on Moon in Dec 2012.

The place where they crash landed is named after Sally K. Ride, Americas first woman astronaut.

GRAIL Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)

To study the gravity field and geological structure of the Moon.

LCROSS NASAs Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing satellite,

It has detected presence of water locked inside the soil of moon.

MoonKAMs MoonKAM= Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students.

The MoonKams captures images of the moons surface and sends them to the students for study.

NASA: Misc. Missions

Cassini It found evidence of water on Titan.

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn planet.

Dragon Space X Dragon capsule was designed by a private company space X. (and not by NASA)

It delivered food, supplies and cargo to International space station.

It was launched using Flacon 9 rocket.

Fire Fly Cubesat It is a small satellite designed by NASA aimed to capture the details of the lightening that happens in deep space.

This will help solving the mystery of terrestrial gamma rays, or TGFs.

Kepler telescope It is a space observatory of NASA.

It is used for discovering earth like plants.

Mercury Messenger Mercury is the innermost planet in the Solar System.

NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft has reported presence of water-ice on Mercury.

NuSTAR NuSTAR (the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array)

It is a space-based X-ray telescope.

NASA launched this under Pegasus mission.

NuSTAR telescope will use high power X-rays to locate black holes, collapsed stars and supernova remnants.

PREDICCS web-based tool for predicting and forecasting the radiation environment in near-Earth, lunar and Martian space.

It will provide critical information as preparations are made for potential future manned missions to the Moon and Mars.

Space Programs: Russia

Luna GlobRobotic Lunar Mission in 2015.

Mars500Joint experiments conducted by EU, Russia, China for sending human missions on Mars.

Phobos GruntMars has two moons. Phobos is the largest of them.Russian sent Phobos grunt mission to study it. But the spacecraft failed and crashed into Pacific ocean.

RusName of the two seater spaceship developed by Russia

Soyuz rocketLaunched from Kazakhstan, carried three astronauts to International space station (ISS), including Sunita Williams in 2012.

Space Programs: China

Beidou Before Beidou, only two countries had Navigation systems: USA= GPS and Russia= GLONASS.

Beidou is Chinas own version of global navigation system.

Project will be fully operational by 2020.

HXMT Hard x-ray modulation telescope

Chinas first space telescope.

for studying blackholes. (recall that Americas NuSTAR is also meant for studying blackholes).

Shenzhous-10 Chinas next manned space mission.

It will also carry Chinese astronauts to Tiangong-1.

Shenzhous-9 It means divine Vessel.

Manned space mission of China.

It carried Chinas first woman astronaut Liu Yang to an orbiting module Tiangong-1.

Tiangong-1 means Heavenly palace- it is Chinas prototype for future space station similar to ISS.

YaoganFor crop assessment and disaster management.

ChinasatIt is chinas new military communication satellite.

Space Programs: Other countries

Korea Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1)

South Korea will launch this satellite and gain entry to an elite global space club that includes Asian powers China, India and Japan.

Earlier USA did not let S.Korea developed launch vehicles for the fear of arms race between North and South Korea.

Iran Pishgam =name of Monkey that was recently sent to space and returned back, under Iranian space mission. In Farsi, Pishgam = Pioneer.

Telescopes

There are two types of telescopes:

1. Those on the ground (e.g. SKA, Solar telescope in Ladakh) and

2. Those in the space. (Kepler, NuSTAR, HXMT and Herschel.)

Ground telescopes

Square Kilometre Array (SKA) worlds largest and most sensitive radio telescope

will be completed in 2024

Will be setup in South Africa and Australia.

Applications: signal transport, signal processing, computing, software and data archiving

India is actively involved in this project

Solar telescope Also known as National Large Solar Telescope (NLST)

Will be built in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir by Dept of Science and Technology.

This will be worlds largest solar telescope.

Can work in both day and night.

Will help in understanding sunspots: process of their creation and decay.

Sunspots and solar winds pose a threat to the communication system on earth as well as space satellites.

Space telescopes

Herschel largest space telescope ever launched (2009)

It is named after Sir William Herschel who had discovered Uranus planet.

This telescope is in news, because soon its onboard liquid helium supply will be exhausted and itll stop working.

Helium is required to cool the instruments on Herschele space telescope.EU+US

HXMT Hard x-ray modulation telescope

Chinas first space telescope.

for studying blackholes. (recall that Americas NuSTAR is also meant for studying blackholes).China

Kepler Launched in 2009.

To discover earth like planets.

Kepler was a German astronomer who gave laws to describe the motion of planets around the Sun.US

NuSTAR NuSTAR (the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array)

It is a space-based X-ray telescope.

NASA launched this under Pegasus mission.

NuSTAR telescope will use high power X-rays to locate black holes, collapsed stars and supernova remnants.US

CURRENT

Launch Vehicle

PSLVGSLV

Polar satellite launch vehicleGeosynchronous satellite launch vehicle

Can carry upto 1600 kg satellite2500kg

MoM/Mangalyaan= first Indian spacecraft to cross Earths escape velocity of 11.2 km per second.

Mangalyaan will travel for almost 300 days, covering 680 million kilometres, and reach Martian orbit in September 2014.

ISRO used PSLV XL (C25) launch vehicle to launch the Mangalyaan (Mars spacecraft). Why?

1. GSLV tests are not yet successful. Last time they tried GSLV to launch GSAT-14 satellite and failed because of fuel leak. (Aug 2013)

2. Mangalyaan weighs ~1300 kg. PSLV can easily carry this weight.

3. PSLV is tried and tested technology.

Payloads

ISROs Mangalyaan wants to gather data about Mars SAM (Surface Atmosphere Minerals) using five payloads/instruments:

Study Mars S-E-APayloaddetail

1. Surface 1. Color Camera Mars Color camera.

Study surface, dust storms etc.

also taking photos of Mars satellites: Phobos and Deimos.

2. Spectrometer Thermal Infrared Imaging spectrometer (TIS). To study mineral resources of Mars

and to help UPSC update its Mains GS1 syllabus: Distribution of key natural resources across the Earth AND Mars.

2. (Particle) Environment 3. MENCA Gandhi Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer.To study neutral gas atoms in the Martian atmosphere.

3. Atmosphere 4. Methane Sensor Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM).If methane + water detected=possible that at some point of time, Mars had supported life form.

5. Photometer Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP). Measure hydrogen and deuterium.Deuterium = heavier than hydrogen.

Water made from heavy hydrogen is heavier and hence it evaporates differently.

Knowing Hydrogen : Deuterium ratio will help answer how did water vanish from Mars?

The combined weight of these five instruments =just ~25 kg.

ISTRAC

ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network @Banglore.

Previously tracked and commanded Chandrayaan-1

Now doing the same for Mars orbiter.

Do we need Mars Mission?

(for Group Discussion GD/Interview)

Anti-Arguments

1. Crores of rupee wasted- could be used to feed millions of hungry people in India. Millions of children suffering from malnutrition, half the junta doesnt have toilets. Better get those thousands of ISRO scientists andengineers to comeup with new technology to fixmalnutrition and malnutrition.

2. ISROs budget is better spent to meet Indias communication needs and bring down digital divide.

3. Even Airtel has sued ISRO for not meeting its contract obligations. So, ISRO better focus on present rather than doing some mars research whose benefits can materialize may be after 100-200 years.

4. ISRO has installed a fancy methane detector in this spacecraft. But NASAs curiosity rover data has already concluded that Mars environment doesnt contain methane. ISRO is only doing gaddha majoori (donkey labour). Counter argument: NASAs Curiosity rover measured presence of methane in a small area. But ISRO will scan entire Martian environment to detect Methane.

5. GSLV testing has not giving positive result yet. Had they waited for GSLV testing to finish- Mars Mission could be done in 2016. (Even Chandrayan-2 project is stalled due to this GSLV problem). But it seems ISRO chairman wants media publicity before retiring, so made he all the haste to launch Mars Mission in 2013 using PSLV (instead of GSLV).

6. Less of a scientific pursuit and more of a space race with China- me too going on Mars. First India should overtake China in terms of GDP and poverty removal.

7. Britain, Japan, World Bank etc. reduce the donation to India thinking since India has lot of money of run such Mars adventures, they must have money to take care of their poors as well.

(to drag the argument further non-seriously)

8. This is just publicity stunt to divert attention from real issues. Earlier Chandryaan found traces of water on Moon, then Aaj-tak etc. Hindi channels ran 24/7 reports for weeks= in the meantime government can go scot free with bigger scams.

9. And most importantly, the youngsters have to mugup one more stupid topic for the competitive exams. The financial cost of combined man-hours wasted in studying such topics= alone worth 13% of GDP.

Pro-arguments

#1: cash will be recovered

At the core of Anti arguments= Ca$H that ISRO has wasted in this Mars project. But in reality its an investment that will be recovered within a few decades, How?

1. Many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America are seeing good economic growth. But they lack skilled manpower, technology and budget to setup their own launch vehicles and premier space agencies.

2. But they too need satellites for communication and military. So, they outsource the satellite launch/survey work to established players.

3. ISROs commercial Arm ANTRIX makes annual profit of ~100 crore rupees from such outsourced contracts.

4. ISRO spent only 450 crore rupees. NASA has spent billions of dollars on Mars. This Makes ISRO world-famous as a prudent cost saving space agency= more clients via its commercial arm ANTRIX = more money incoming.

So, we can see this Mars mission as ISROs 450 crore rupees advertisement / PR campaign- to impress those potential clients and get more contracts=> money will be recovered and profit will be made.

#2: Soft Power

As ISRO establishes reputation, gets more contracts from third world- it can be used as a tool to exercise soft power. How?

givetake

personnel /technology exchange programs with developing countries

giving discounts on their space projects/infrastructure their support for Indias claim to Permanent seat in UNSC

their votes in our favour whenever Kashmir/Arunachal issues popup in UN General Assembly

Oil-gas exploration contracts in their territory and so on.

In short, there is more to international relations than what meets the eyes. 450 crore is a very petty amount to accomplish many diplomatic victories- [compared to the thousands of crore rupees weve given to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan via soft loans so they dont shelter terrorists and secessionists on their soil.]

#3: Did not steal from poors month

1. Government spends barely ~0.35% of budget on space programs. And even out of that ~0.35% allocation, ISRO spent only 8% on Mars Missions. There are plenty of government schemes with way bigger budgetary allotments for poor people. So its not like government stopped/reduced expenditure on some xyz scheme for poors to fund ISROs Mars adventure.

2. Agreed, poverty should be removed, and everyone must get food security. But the proposed food security bill will need ~1-2 lakh crores rupees every year. Even If ISRO didnt spend 450 crores on Mars, the money thus saved- wont make a big contribution to food security anyways.

#4: Making History

So far only three agencies have succeeded in Mars Mission

1. European Space Agency (ESA) of European consortium,

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US

Roscosmos of Russia

Even USA, Japan and China failed to reach mars in their first attempt.

So, if ISROs Mars mission succeeds in first attempt (that too without coaching), itd be a milestone in the history of space explorations.

#5: Misc.

1. Will attract talented desi scientist/engineers to join ISRO=braindrain prevented.

2. Data gathered from ISROs mission, can be used to send manned mission (astronauts) on Mars later, with collaboration of NASA etc.

3. The technology used in this mission has potential application in weather forecast, computer tech, health-medicine etc. in future.

4. Space research is not waste of time. 1990 Odisha cyclone killed >10000 people. But 2013 cyclone Phalin killed very few, because Indian satellite gave accurate weather prediction about where and when the storm would hit. Space research has given immense benefits to Agriculture, education, fisheries and defense. (Counter argument: then send more weather/education satellites- not spacecrafts to Moon and Mars!)

MAVEN (NASA)

ISROs MoMNASAs Maven

Mars Orbitor MissionMars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN)

launch vehicle=PSLVAtlas V rockets. (more powerful than PSLV)

launched on 5th Nov 201318th Nov 2013

from Sriharikota, Andhrafrom Cape Canaveral in Florida, US.

Rs.450 crore$671 million

~1,350 kg??

will enter Mars Orbit ~Sept. 24, 2014will enter Mars Orbit ~Sept. 22, 2014

Doing three studies:

1. Surface/geology: using camera and spectrometer.

2. (Particle) Environment: using MENCA

3. Atmosphere: using Photometer and Methane sensor Only study Martian (upper) atmosphere.

based on that data: Itll give clues about martian climate, geologic, and geochemical conditions over time

Will find the answer: Did Mars ever had suitable environment to support life?

has five instruments/payloads has eight instrument- spectrograph, magnetometer, ion analyzer etc.

The spacecraft may also provide communications relay support for future Mars landers and rovers.

INSAT 3D

Weather satellite (meteorology), search and rescue operations.

At present Indias meteorological observation is done by two satellites Kalpana-1 and INSAT 3A. This INSAT 3D is more powerful and advanced.

it can detect signals from distressed fishing boats, aeroplanes etc. and help in search and rescue missions, with help of coast guard, navy etc.

Launched in late August 2013.

expiry date= after seven years in 2020

RH 200 & Thumba Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), Kerala, under ISRO

1963: Vikarm Sarabhai and team had launched an American rocket Nike-Apachefrom here.

2013: completed 50 years. RH 200 rocket was launched.

RH 200 is a Rohini series advanced sounding rocket. can carry 10 kg payload.

to study the upper atmosphere.

GSAT-7 Indias first full-fledged military commun