GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in Space. Context: The static test of the human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) for the Gaganyaan programme was recently completed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). What you need to know about the HS200? The booster engine is part of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) facility revealed the first image of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way in press conferences held around the world. This image of the black hole referred to as Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) gave further support to …
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GS Paper 2: Topics Covered: Government policies. Context: The UDAN scheme, the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s flagship initiative to provide air connectivity in non-metro tier II and III cities, has been selected for the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020. About UDAN scheme (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme: Launched …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: For the first time in history, we can see the planet Venus in Color, thanks to NASA Parker Solar Probe. The Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) by the American space agency has managed to take pictures of the surface of Venus revealing stunning …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: The Government has informed the Lok Sabha that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch Chandrayaan-3 in August 2022. What we know about Chandrayaan 3 so far? Chandrayaan-3 is the successor to the Chandrayaan-2 mission and it will likely attempt another …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: New ISRO Chief had said that design changes on Chandrayaan-3 have been incorporated and testing has seen huge progress. The mission could be launched by the middle of next year. About Chandrayaan 3: Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 but will only …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently conducted a successful qualification test of its High Thrust VIKAS Engine at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Tamil Nadu’s Mahendragiri. The Vikas engine will power the ambitious Gaganyaan mission into space. About the Vikas engine: It …
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GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently successfully conducted the qualification test of Cryogenic Engine for Gaganyaan programme for a duration of 720 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Tamil Nadu’s Mahendragiri. The performance of the engine met the test objectives and the engine …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Infrastructure- airways. Context: So far, the AAI has awarded 948 routes under UDAN, of which 403 routes have taken off that connect 65 airports and 8 heliports. However, some of the routes launched have discontinued. This was because of the failure to set up airports due to lack of …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: The Parker Solar Probe, launched by NASA, has become the first spacecraft to fly through the outer atmosphere of the Sun- ‘Corona’. The spacecraft flew through Corona and sampled magnetic fields and particles there. Significance: The achievement would help scientists discover critical information about …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: The NASA probe recently made an extremely close encounter with the Sun. The probe was just 5.3 million miles away from the surface of our star and passed by at a ridiculous speed of 363,660 mph, making it the fastest artificial object ever created. Additionally, …
GS Paper 3 Topics Covered: Infrastructure- airways. Context: The Government of India has identified 21st October as UDAN Day, the day on which the scheme document was first released. About UDAN scheme (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme: The scheme is aimed at enhancing connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country and …
GS Paper 3: Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: Early-stage findings of Chang’e-5 probe, which use geological mapping to link ‘exotic’ fragments in the collected samples to features near the landing site, were recently presented by China. Background: Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the moon had begun its journey back to Earth …
GS Paper 3 Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: Scientists using data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe have assembled the most complete picture yet of the inner structure and behavior of the large cloud of space dust, known as the zodiacal cloud, that swirls throughout the solar system. They found three dust populations in …
GS Paper 3 Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: Australia will support India’s ‘Gaganyaan’ mission by tracking it through Cocos Keeling island. Significance: There are blind spots due to which there is a possibility of not receiving signals, sources said. The data relay satellite tracking from Cocos Keeling island is expected to help address …
GS Paper 3 Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: The Civil Aviation Ministry has announced its agenda over the next 100 days. It includes: Launching 50 new routes under the UDAN scheme. Rationalising the value added tax (VAT) charged on aviation turbine fuel (ATF). About UDAN scheme (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme: The …
GS Paper 3 Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: The Orbiter and other instruments of Chandrayaan-2 mission have, in two years, gathered a wealth of new information that has added to our knowledge about the Moon and its environment. What happened to Chandrayaan-2? Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the Moon, had failed to make …
GS Paper 3 Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX recently announced that ‘Inspiration4’, its first all-civilian, non-governmental spaceflight, is on track for launch on September 15. The Crew Dragon spacecraft is set to be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in the US. It will take a group …
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General Studies-3 Topics Covered: Awareness in Space Context: NASA’s Perseverance rover has successfully collected its first rock sample for return to Earth. NASA has called it a perfect core sample. NASA plans to launch more spacecraft to retrieve the samples collected by Perseverance. Perseverance arrived in February 2021 at Mars’ Jezero Crater, the site …
GS Paper 3 Topics Covered: Awareness in space. Context: A rare merging of three supermassive black holes has been spotted by a team of astrophysicists in India. Key facts: All three merging black holes were part of galaxies in the Toucan constellation. The discovery was made using data from the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) …
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