Science & Technology - Current Affairs for August, 2015

The crew includes a French astrobiologist, a German physicist and four Americans - a pilot, an architect, a doctor/journalist and a soil scientist. They are based on a barren, northern slope of Mauna Loa, living inside a dome that is 11 metres in diameter and about six metres tall. In a place with no animals and little vegetation around, they closed themselves in on 28th Aug’15 at 3 pm Hawaii time, marking the official start to the twelve months mission.

IESS would become a very useful tool for framing the National Energy Policy. IESS would enable decision makers to take a detailed view of India's emerging energy scenario, and help in effectively deciding the right mix of appropriate technology interventions and measures towards maximizing indigenous fuel supplies towards meeting the country's energy challenges.

The Indian Space Research Organization ISRO on 27th Aug’15 successfully launched the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-D6 and injected the communication satellite GSAT-6 into its intended transfer orbit. It injected the satellite carrying S-Band transponders meant for strategic purposes within 17 minutes and four seconds in the intended geosynchronous transfer orbit.

The mission life of the satellite GSAT-6 weighing 2117 kg is nine years. This is the second continuous successful GSLV mission using India’s own cryogenic engine, out of the three development flights held so far using it.

Scientists in the U.S. have found a way to take carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and make carbon nanofibres, a valuable manufacturing material. Their solar-powered system runs just a few volts of electricity through a vat full of a hot, molten salt; CO₂ is absorbed and the nanofibres gradually assemble at one of the electrodes. It currently produces 10g in an hour. The team suggests it could be scaled up and makes an impact on CO₂ emissions, but other researchers are unsure. Nonetheless, it could offer a cheaper way of making carbon nanofibres than existing methods.

This initiative will also help in cutting down on the carbon emissions especially in the urban areas. A meeting was held on 20th Aug’15 in this regard between the officials from the Road and Highways Ministry, the Science and Technology Ministry and ISRO. The road ministry will within a week submit all its documents with regard to battery-specification requirement to ISRO. ISRO will develop a time-bound programme for the development of these commercial batteries.

State Bank of India launched a mobile wallet application, SBI Buddy, in collaboration with Accenture and Mastercard. The service will be available to existing as well as non-SBI customers. The application is available in 13 languages with several features like cash transfer, bill payment, all types of ticket bookings payment and booking for movies, hotels as well as for shopping. The app is available to all android mobile phone users, at present, and soon will be launched for other mobile operating software.

The launch of advanced communication satellite GSAT-6 using the GSLV-D6 rocket, powered by the indigenous cryogenic engine, began at 1152 hrs on 27th Sug’15 at the spaceport of Sriharikota.

A new research study published in the journal Geology uncovered a basin that may have housed a body of water 36 million years ago, a full 200 million years after scientists believe Mars had seen its last drop of liquid water. The findings came from a study of salt deposits in an 18 square mile area near the Martian equator, about 100 miles from NASA’s Opportunity rover landing site.

The app also aims to offer digital literacy to tribal and Dalit women in the state. The app can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.

Japan switched on a nuclear reactor for the first time in nearly two years, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to reassure a nervous public that tougher standards mean the sector is now safe after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Of Japan's 25 reactors at 15 plants for which operators have applied for permission to restart, only five at three plants have been cleared for restart.

The proposal to name the satellite after Dr. Kalam was made by Milind Pimprikar, Chairman of CANEUS (Canada-Europe-US-Asia) headquartered in Montreal, Canada. The satellite to be used for earth observation and disaster risk reduction will be renamed as UN Kalam GlobalSat.

NASA further said a lack of funding for development of private vessels by US companies Boeing and Space-X over the last five years has left NASA with no other option. As a result, the US will pay for use of space vessels belonging to the Roscosmos-Russian Space Agency.

The Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST) was inaugurated by the Professor U.R Rao- Chairman of Physical Research Laboratory. MAST will be the biggest ever telescope which can help to study the movements of stars and sun even in the day time. He said with the help of the device the researchers will be able to achieve new heights internationally in the study of sun and the related components. The telescope was installed under the Ministry of Science and Technology and was funded by Department of Space.

Pakistan thus became the first member of CERN among Asian countries and the first non-European member of this prestigious organization. The associate membership will open a new era of cooperation that will strengthen the long-term partnership between CERN and the Pakistani scientific community.

It is the ‘inclusive digital banking’ app launched by KMB that is primarily targetted to benefit customers in the under-banked and un-banked regions, who can access its services in their preferred language. One major benefit of this app is that it requires no internet connectivity.