India to Set Up its Own Space Station
Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) has announced its ambitious plan to put up a space station in the next decade. Details: The Indian space station will be much smaller (mass of 20 tonnes) than the International Space Station and will be used for carrying out microgravity experiments (not for space tourism). Preliminary plan for the space station is […]
Chandrayaan-2 Mission
Chandrayaan-2’s features? Chandrayaan-2 is India’s first lander mission. It consists of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon. The Lander and Rover modules will separate from the orbiter and make a soft-landing on moon’s surface (either on September 5 or 6, 2019). The lander and rover are designed […]
RISAT-2B
ISRO successfully launched radar imaging satellite RISAT-2B on-board PSLV-C46 from Sriharikota. RISAT-2B was placed into an orbit of 555 km with an inclination of 37 degree to the equator. This is the fourth flight unit of the RISAT programme and it would be used for reconnaissance, strategic surveillance and disaster management. Details: The satellite has a mass of 615 kg and feature an […]
Cartosat-3
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C47 has launched Cartosat-3 and 13 commercial nanosatellites into Sun Synchronous orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. Details: It is a third-generation agile advanced earth observation satellite with high-resolution imaging capability. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro), it will replace the IRS series. It will be placed in an orbit of 509 km at an inclination […]
RISAT-2BR1
Why in news? Recently, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C48) marked its 50th launch by injecting India’s advanced radar imaging earth observation satellite RISAT-2BR1. PSLV-C48 also injected 9 other customer satellites from Japan, Italy, Israel and the U.S.A. into their intended orbits. This was 75th launch vehicle mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. What is RISAT-2BR1? It is a radar imaging earth observation satellite. RISAT-2BR1 is expected […]
GSAT-30
Why in news? Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched telecommunication satellite GSAT-30 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Kourou launch base, French Guiana by European Ariane-5 VA-251. Details: GSAT-30 satellite will replace INSAT-4A which was launched in 2005. A European communication satellite named EUTELSAT KONNECT was also launched with GSAT-30. GSAT-30 derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series and will replace INSAT-4A in orbit. […]
ARIES telescope
ARIES telescope is a joint collaboration between Indian, Russian, and Belgian scientists. The telescope is located at Devasthal, Nainital at a height of 2,500 metres The high end technology incorporated in the telescope enables it to be operated with the help of remote control from anywhere in the world The telescope will be used in […]
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Chandra is the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope. Chandra, named for Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. It examines the X-rays emitted by some of the universe’s strangest objects, including quasars, immense clouds of gas and dust and particles sucked into black holes. X-rays are produced when matter is heated to millions of degrees.The hottest and most […]
Indian Neutrino project
The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project is a multi-institutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory with a rock cover of approx.1200 m for non-accelerator based high energy and nuclear physics research in India. The initial goal of INO is to study neutrinos. It is a mega-science project jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and […]
Telescope to Explore Origins of Universe: SPHEREx
NASA will launch a new space telescope mission Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) in 2023. The launch could help astronomers understand how the Universe evolved in the first place and how common the ingredients for life are within it. Missions’ Objective SPHEREx will survey the sky in optical as well as near-infrared light. […]