SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Make in India in defence, Navy inducts 4 indigenous sonars
“The Indian Navy has formally inducted four types of indigenously developed sonars that will boost its un-derwater surveillance capability. The systems have been designed and developed by NPOL Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a Kochi based laboratory of DRDO.“These 4 types of sonars are“Abhay: It is an advanced hull mounted active-cum-passive integrated sonar system.“Humsa UG: It has been designed for upgrading the existing Humsa sonar system for intensifying the command over the high seas. “AIDSS: It stands for Advanced Indigenous Distress sonar system for submarines.“NACS: It stands for Near-field Acoustic Characterisation System.
China launches pulsar navigation satellite XPNAV-1
China has launched a navigation satellite, which will conduct in-orbit experiments using pulsar detectors to demonstrate new technologies. The X-ray pulsar navi-gation satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center today. While in orbit, the satellite will undergo tests on its detector functions and space environment adaptability.
Scientists discover water on metallic asteroid Psyche
Scientists have detected the presence of water on Psyche, the largest metallic asteroid in our solar system. It was detected based on the new observations from the NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in Hawaii. The telescope observations show evidence of water or hydroxyl on its surface.It is a 3-meter telescope optimized for use in infrared astronomy. It is located at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii. Psyche is made of almost pure nickel-iron metal and is about 300 kilometres across.
NASA’s MMS creates new Guinness World Record
NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission on 5 November 2016 set the Guinness world record for highest altitude fix of a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal at 70000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission successfully completed commissioning activities on 1 September 2015 and is now in full science mode.
NASA completes construction of James Webb Space Telescope
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has completed the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) after more than 20 years of work. JWST is the largest-ever space tele-scope is expected to launch in 2018 following the in-depth testing. It is bigger and more powerful than NASA’s operational Hubble Space Telescope. It is a 8.8 billion US dollars worth space observatory built to observe the infrared universe like never before.
IISER Researchers develop Gelator to scoop out marine oil spills
Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram have developed a compound named gelator to scoop out marine oil spills. They had produced gelators using glucose as a starting material and through several other chemical reactions. The gelator molecule is partly hydro-philic and partly hydrophobic. The hydrophilic part helps in self-assembling to form gelator fibres, while the hydro-phobic part is responsible for its diffusion into oil layer. Since outer part of the fibre is hydro-phobic, oil tends to gets into spongy network made of fibres. Once inside the fibre network, oil loses fluidity and becomes a gel. The gel was strong enough to be scooped with a spatula.
India, Russia agree to double the range of BrahMos Missile
India and Russia have agreed to double the range of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from 290 km to over 600 km. The decision in this regard was taken during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Goa on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. Earlier, India was denied access to the missile technology with range over 300 km as it was not member state of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). But India’s recent accession to MTCR, allowed Russia to provide the critical systems and technology to extend the range of the missile beyond 300km. It will enhance the stand-off capability and the operational radius in striking targets of the missile. It will have major force multiplier due its speed and accuracy.
Uranus may have two more moons Study
According to study conducted by researchers from University of Idaho, US Uranus may have two tiny, pre-viously undiscovered moons orbiting near two of the planet’s rings. These two moons were detected by re-searchers after analysing decades-old images of Uranus’ icy rings taken by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft which had flown by the planet 30 years ago. Scientists have found that the pattern in Uranus’ rings was similar to moon-related structures in Saturn’s rings called moonlet wakes. They have estimate the hypothesised moonlets in Uranus’ rings may be four to 14 kilometres in diameter. It means they are as small as some identified moons of Saturn.
ISRO starts landing tests for Chandrayaan-2 mission
The Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO) has started a series of ground and aerial tests linked to the critical Moon landing of Chandrayaan-2. These tests were started as ISRO’s new site at Challakere in Chitradurga district, 400 km from Bengaluru. This site has simulated craters. ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) is the lead centre for the second Moon mission. It has arti-ficially created close to ten craters to simulate the lunar terrain and test the Lander’s sensors. ISAC will conduct many tests including on avionics and electronics, testing the Lander’s legs, followed by a combined full test. Chandrayaan-2 mission is tentatively set for late 2017 or early 2018. The mission includes an Orbiter, a Lander and a Rover. The Orbiter spacecraft will be launched from Sriharikota will travel to the Moon and release the Lander, which will in turn deploy a tiny Rover to roam the lunar surface. The mission includes soft-landing on Moon and moving a rover on its surface. All three project components will be sending data and pictures to Earth.
China’s Space Lab Tiangong-2 launches Micro-Satellite Banxing-2
China’s experimental space lab Tiangong-2 orbiting the Earth with two astronauts on board has successfully launched a micro-satellite Banxing-2. The two astronauts were launched into space onboard of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft carried two astronauts on 11 October 2016. It docked with Tiangong-2 on 13 October 2016. The micro-satellite Banxing-2 is roughly the size of a desktop printer and the media has nicknamed “Selfie Stick”. It weighs 47 kilogrammes. It has series of visible light cameras, in-cluding a 25 megapixel camera and wide-angle imagers. It also has an infrared camera that is temperature-sensitive. Its mission is to take photographs of Tiangong II and the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which has been docked with the lab. The micro-satellite has three solar panels which generates enough power to adjust its orbit to shoot pictures of the lab and spacecraft. its predecessor, Banxing-1, accomplished the same mission for Shenzhou VII in 2008. Banxing-2 is new model of its predecessor Banxing-1 which had accomplished the same mission for Shenzhou VII in 2008. However Banxing-1 is smaller and has a higher capacity.
ICGS Aryaman and Atulya Commissioned into Indian Coast Guard
The Indian Coast Guard Ships (ICGSs) ‘Aryaman’ and ‘Atulya’ were commissioned into Indian Coast Guard in Kochi, Kerala. These ships are the eighteenth and nine teenth in the series of twenty Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) designed and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited. The ships have been christened ICGS ‘Aryaman’ and ‘Atulya’. Aryaman literally meaning is ‘Possessor of Greatness’ and Atulya meaning is ‘Unrivalled’. Both FPVs are 50m long and have displace of 317 tonnes of water. They can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots with range of 1500 nautical miles. They are equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, advanced communication and navigational equipment. These FPVs are ideal platform for undertaking multifarious close-coast missions such as surveillance, interdiction and search and rescue. These ships have onboard Integrated Bridge Management System (IBMS) and Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS). Aryaman will be based at Kochi under the administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (West). Atulya will be based at Visakhapatnam under the administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard region
Read more: Current Affairs Nov 2016 Study Material | FreeJobAlert.com http://currentaffairs.freejobalert.com/nov-2016-current-affairs-study-material/14582/#ixzz5TMBAkswm
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