Science, Technology, Environment
- NASA’s Parker Solar Probe-will be launched in 2018 to study sun’s outer atmosphere and to understand how sun works. The name of the probe initially called the Solar Probe Plus has been renamed as the Parker Solar Probe in honor of astrophysicist Eugene Parker. This is the first time NASA has named a spacecraft after a living person.
- US is set to withdraw from the historic 2015 Paris Accord
- India’s First Automatic Coastal Warning for Disasters to come up in Odisha
- IIT, Kharagpur has developed a wireless technology called ‘AmbuSens’ for remote monitoring of condition of those patients who are ferried in ambulances.
- NICER - Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer- world’s first ever mission devoted for studying neutron stars by NASA
- NASA launched the Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket into the space that released blue-green and red artificial clouds to support space studies.
- World’s first hybrid ‘aeroboat’- by an Indo-Russian joint venture; is capable of travelling on land, water, snow and sand.
- KELT-9b: Hottest Known Planet in Universe
- WHO protocol for antibiotics-to overcome antibiotic resistance, revision of the antibiotics section in the essential medicines list (EML).
- According to NASA, May 2017 was the second hottest May in a span of 137 years when modern record-keeping of average global temperatures had commenced. The temperature of May 2017 was 0.88 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean May temperature from 1951-1980.
- NASA’s Orion Spacecraft which has been designed to carry astronauts to deep space destinations like Moon and Mars has successfully carried out a series of tests to test its critical safety systems.
- James Webb Space Telescope - NASA
- Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), ISRO completes 1000 earth days in orbit.
- Environmental Impact Survey- India has been ranked 75th in terms of the human impact on environment per person.
- Energy Conservation Building Code 2017 - Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines has launched the updated version of the Code which prescribes the energy performance standards for new commercial buildings to be constructed across India.
- NASA’s Kepler Telescope has identified 10 Earth-like planets outside the solar system that are expected to host life due to their right size and temperature.
- Cartosat-2 Satellite , ISRO - earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 series weighing 712 kg and 30 nano-satellites using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
- China has unveiled world’s first train that runs on a virtual track making use of sensor technology instead of metal rails. The new trains are non-polluting as they are battery powered
- Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA)- NASA is testing the effectiveness of a flexible solar array, the Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, on space station for the very first time to power satellites and spacecraft
- KalamSat: World’s Lightest Satellite - NASA weighing only 64 grams designed by 18-year-old boy Rifath Sharook from Tamil Nadu.
- Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT)- world’s biggest telescope which would facilitate astronomers to observe the intricacies of the universe from earth. Developed by India, Canada, China, Japan and the US
- Mars rover Opportunity NASA
- Petya Ransomware- cyber-attacks and has infected computer servers across the world. It is similar to the Wannacry ransomware. It follows the WannaCry’s pattern and locks up the computer data and cripples the Enterprise services in the corporate sector.
- GSAT-17 communication Satellite, ISRO onboard the Ariane-5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center at French Guiana on June 28.
- SIERRA ODC building has been recognised as the world’s second highest ranking Green Building under LEED certification.
