NASA, ISRO, NISAR - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: India

Explanation:
Following soaring temperatures in Kerala, scientists have striven to create one of the coolest places in Asia known as the new Cold Atom Lab at ISRO inertial systems unit which will be the first of its kind in Asia. This was inaugurated by ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar. It also marks the silver jubilee year or completion of 25 years at IISU.

• Scientists at this facility use laser beams to cool fundamental particles or rubidium atoms
• The laser beams split into two with the laser interferometer, one of which moves clockwise and the other anti-clockwise and meet at a point.
• The wave nature of the atoms leads to an interference pattern where tow waves carrying energy meet up and overlap
• Atom is then magnetically trapped and radio waves are used to cool the atoms 100 times lower
• Radiofrequency radiation slices away the hottest atoms from the trap; only the coldest remain
• It was Satyendra Bose and Albert Einstein who predicated the existence of such atoms at extremely cold temperatures.

ANSWER: 2020

Explanation:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully tested supersonic landing parachute that will be deployed in its Mars rover mission set to launch in 2020.

The mission will rely on special parachute to slow spacecraft down as it enters Martian atmosphere at over 5.4 kilometres per second. It was first of several tests in support of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Ministry of Science and Technology, in New Delhi.

The MoU provides for time and frequency traceability services to ISRO by CSIR-NPL

The scope of this MoU is the rendering by CSIR-NPL, of all the necessary actions, necessary to support the following:

• Time and Frequency Traceability services from National Time Scale of CSIR-NPL to IRNWT-I and IRNWT-II of ISTRAC/ISRO through Two-way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer (TWSTFT).
• Time and Frequency Traceability services from National Time Scale of CSIR-NPL to IRNWT-I and IRNWT-II of ISTRAC/ISRO through GNSS CV.
• Annual audit of IRNWT-I and IRNWT-II as per ISO/IEC 17025 for ensuring correctness and accuracy of the time traceability.

The MoU came into force from date of signing of the agreement in Aug 2017 and shall remain valid for a period of 5 years thereafter.

Subsequently, the MoU will be renewed on mutual agreement between CSIR-NPL and ISTRAC/ISRO.

Scientists of two premier scientific institutions, NPL and ISRO, have made great efforts in this direction and he applauded them for their contribution.

This is very important landmark and an occasion to acknowledge the great contribution of our scientists.

NPL has one of the five Atomic Clocks in India and the people should be encouraged to visit the laboratories and understand science and its contribution to the development of the country.

The main success of Department of Space is that India has consistently widened the space technology use to various fields.

ISRO has achieved many milestones in the recent past e.g. successful launching of highest number of satellites, completion of 1,000 days of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), launch of South Asia Satellite etc.

ISRO has already signed MoUs with various ministries and departments which is contributing to the social applications of space technology.

The ISRO has signed MoU with Ministry of Agriculture for Geo-MNREGA, with Ministry of Railways for guarding the railway crossings.

ISRO is also contributing to the Smart City Programme and other initiatives.

ANSWER: UR Rao

Explanation:
Eminent space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Udupi Ramachandra Rao passed away in Bengaluru on 24th July 2017 due to age related ailments. He was 85.

Rao is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Born in Adamaru area of Karnataka’s Udupi district, Rao was involved in all ISRO missions till date in one capacity or the other.

He is credited on account of contributions to the development of space technology in India and its extensive application to communications and remote sensing of natural resources.

Before his death, he was serving as the chairman of the governing council of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad and the chancellor of the Indian institute of science and technology in Thiruvananthapuram.

Rao served as the chairman of ISRO for 10 years from 1984 to 1994.

After taking charge as chairman of the space commission and secretary, department of space in 1984, he accelerated the development of rocket technology which led to the successful launch of ASLV rocket and the operational PSLV launch vehicle.

He was also instrumental for the launch 2.0 ton class of satellites into polar orbit.

He also initiated the development of the Geo Stationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the development of cryogenic technology in 1991.

Rao was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1976 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2017 for his contribution to Indian space technology.

He has published over 350 scientific and technical papers covering cosmic rays, interplanetary physics, high energy astronomy, space applications, satellite and rocket technology and authored many books.

Rao also became the first Indian space scientist to be inducted into the prestigious ‘Satellite Hall of Fame’ in Washington DC on March 19, 2013, and the ‘IAF Hall of Fame’ in Mexico’s Guadalajara.

ANSWER: Double Asteroid Redirection Test

Explanation:
NASA is developing the first-ever mission that will work as a planetary defence mechanism against potential cosmic body impacts in the future.

The mission, The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), is being designed, built and managed by the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

The mission has moved from concept development to preliminary design phase, following NASA’s approval on 23 June 2017.

It is the first-ever design that will have the capability of deflecting a near-Earth asteroid.

It would demonstrate the kinetic impactor technique by knocking the hazardous object into a different flight path that would not threaten the planetary defence.

The approval by NASA advances the project towards a historic test with a non-threatening small asteroid.

The target for DART would be an asteroid that will have a distant approach to Earth in October 2022 and then again in 2024.

The asteroid called Didymos (Greek for twin) consists of two bodies: Didymos A, which is about 780 metres in size, and Didymos B, which is a smaller asteroid about 160 metres in size.

DART would impact only smaller of the two bodies, Didymos B, the composition of which is unknown.

The size is typical of asteroids that could potentially create regional effects should they impact Earth.

After launch, DART would fly to Didymos and use an APL- developed onboard autonomous targeting system to aim itself at Didymos B.

The spacecraft is expected to strike the smaller body at a speed that would be about nine times faster than a bullet, around six kilometres per second.

Earth-based observatories would be able to see the impact and the resulting change in the orbit of Didymos B around Didymos A, allowing scientists to better determine the capabilities of the kinetic impact as an asteroid mitigation strategy.

The kinetic impact technique works by changing the speed of a threatening asteroid by a small fraction of its total velocity.

By doing it well before the predicted impact, the small nudge will add up over time to a big shift of the asteroid’s path away from Earth.

DART is a critical step in demonstrating we can protect our planet from a future asteroid impact. As we don’t know that much about their internal structure or composition, this experiment needs to be performed on a real asteroid.

ANSWER: Raja Grinder Chari

Explanation:
NASA on 7 June 2017 announced names of 12 new astronauts, including an Indian-American Lt Col Raja Grinder Chari.

They, the new astronauts, were chosen from a record number of over 18000 applicants. The new candidates include six military officers, three scientists, two medical doctors, a lead engineer at SpaceX and a NASA research pilot.

The seven men and five women comprise the 22nd class of American spaceflight trainees since 1959.

Raja Grinder Chari: Know More

• Indian American Lt Col., US Air Force Raja Grinder Chari (39) is a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the Director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
• He hails from Waterloo, Iowa who graduated from the US Air Force Academy with bachelor’s degrees aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
• The other 11 selected astronaut candidates include Zena Cardman, Jasmin Moghbeli, Jonny Kim, Frank Rubio, Matthew Dominick, Warren Hoburg, Robb Kulin, Kayla Barron, Bob Hines, Loral O’ Hara and Jessica Watkins.

ANSWER: Solar Plus Probe Spacecraft

Explanation:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 31 May 2017 renamed the Solar Probe Plus Spacecraft, NASA’s first mission to a star which will be launched in 2018, as the Parker Solar Probe in honour of astrophysicist Eugene Parker.

The announcement was made at a ceremony at the University of Chicago, where Eugene Parker serves as the S Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Eugene Parker was the first to predict the existence of the solar wind back in 1958. He theorized that the sun constantly sends out a flow of particles and energy called the solar wind.

This is the first time NASA has named a spacecraft for a living individual.

The article was based on the observations of Parker which showed that there was high speed matter and magnetism constantly escaping the sun which affected the planets and space throughout our solar system.

He proposed a number of concepts about how stars including sun give off energy. This phenomenon has been proven to exist repeatedly through direct observation and it was named as the Solar Wind.

Parker’s observation forms the basis for understanding about how stars interact with the worlds that orbit them.

Parker also theorized an explanation for the superheated solar atmosphere, the Corona, which is contrary to what was expected by physics laws.

As per his theory, Corona is hotter than the surface of the sun itself.

Many NASA missions since then have continued to focus on this complex space environment known as Heliophysics.

Parker Solar Probe will be launched during a 20-day window that opens on 31 July 2018.

ANSWER: Drones

Explanation:
NASA scientists are developing a technology to help drones land safely during emergencies. The announcement regarding the new technology was made by NASA on 25 May 2017. After eight test flights, the technology has successfully spotted safer landing zones like swamps or drainage ditches to crash instead of on top of people’s cars.

This crash-landing software for drones was developed by Patricia Glaab, an aerospace technologist at NASA Langley Research Centre, and her fellow NASA colleague Lou Glaab.

The software links on-board drone components like batteries and motors to monitor their health.

The technology help them identify when something on the drone goes wrong, and puts the aerial vehicles in a crash-landing mode.

When triggered, the software checks a pre-installed database of nearby safe zones and identifies one for safe landing. The software also incorporates technology that lets drones recognise and avoid objects on the ground using on-board cameras.

ANSWER: President Abdul Kalam

Explanation:
Scientists at NASA have named a new organism discovered by them after the much-loved Indian scientist and former President, APJ Abdul Kalam.

Till date, the new organism, a bacteria, has been found only on the International Space Station (ISS) and has not been found on earth.

Researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the foremost lab of NASA for work on inter-planetary travel, discovered the new bacteria on the filters of the International Space Station (ISS) and named it Solibacillus kalamii to honour the late president, who was a renowned aerospace scientist.

Kalam had his early training at NASA in 1963 before he set up India’s first rocket-launching facility in the fishing village of Thumba in Kerala.

The name of the bacterium is Solibacillus kalamii, the species name is after Dr Abdul Kalam and genus name is Solibacillus which is a spore forming bacteria. The filter on which the new bug was found remained on board the ISS for 40 months.

Called a high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter or HEPA filter, this part is the routine housekeeping and cleaning system on board the international space station.

This filter was later analysed at JPL and results recently published. Even as it orbits the earth some 400 kilometres above, the ISS is home to many types of bacteria and fungi which co-inhabit the station with the astronauts who live and work on the station.

Even though Solibacillus kalamii has never been found on earth till date, it is really not an extra-terrestrial life form or ET.

ANSWER: ISRO

Explanation:
ISRO demonstrated its solar hybrid electric car and there's a strong reason behind working on it.

Vehicles using fossil fuels persistently bring serious problems to environment and life.

In this perspective, Solar and Electrical energy based hybrid vehicles provide the most effective and viable long-term solution by using renewable energy sources for mobility.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO, Thiruvananthapuram, demonstrated the running of a solar hybrid electric car using in-house expertise and resources within ISRO.

Considerations involved the right solar panel to suit the roof top of car, a super-capacitor to meet the high peak current of beyond 100 A level, an integral gear box to augment the performance of the Brushless DC (BLDC) motor.

It also involved control electronics for the battery and solar panel interface and drive electronics for running the motor in a smooth way.

The biggest one of course was the conversion of the internal combustion engine (ICE) based vehicle, which was a Maruti Suzuki Omni, to fit in with the electric motor.

The Brushless motor had to be modified to improve torque

To drive the car, energy was supplied to the vehicle by energy density Lithium ion batteries connected across high power density super-capacitors.

The battery delivered the sustained energy requirement while the super-capacitor supported the peak power demand during high torque conditions.

This arrangement of power sharing helped in enhancing the life of power-restricted batteries.

Energy was supplied to the vehicle by energy density Lithium ion batteries.

A solar panel fitted on rooftop of the car charges the battery by absorbing the sunlight.

How it Works

• This electrical energy needed to be converted to mechanical energy to drive the wheels.
• This was achieved by integrating an efficient power conversion module between energy system and electric motor.
• The usage of a Brushless type motor helped in improving the torque and reducing energy input while also helping in weight savings.
• Concerted efforts were made to ensure that the associated safety aspects are not compromised while combining various active subsystems of different behaviour for a focused objective.