SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
23. CLASS instrument on Chandrayaan-2
The CLASS instrument on Chandrayaan-2 is designed to detect direct signatures of elements present in
the lunar soil.
ISRO said in a statement released on its official website that CLASS is able to detect direct
signatures of elements present in the lunar soil. It was also found by the CLASS that best observation
occurred when the Sun provides a rich source of x-rays to illuminate the lunar surface. The payload
can also detect secondary x-ray emissions resulted from the lunar surface to find out elements like
Na, Ca, Al, Si, Ti and Fe.
About X-ray Monitor
X-ray Monitor or XSM detects the X-rays emitted by the Sun and its corona. It calculates the strength
of solar radiation in these rays and assists CLASS. Major objective of XSM is to provide solar X-ray
spectrum in the energy range of 1-15 KV. This payload will give high-energy resolution and high-cadence
measurements of solar X-ray spectra as input for analysis of data from CLASS.
22.Carbon Disclosure Project
India ranks 5th in Carbon Disclosure Project 2019
India is the first developing economy with maximum number of companies committing to the science-based
targets.
Carbon Disclosure Project, an initiative of the Global Reporting Initiative, is aimed at measuring the
carbon reduction activities undertaken by different companies and firms operating in various countries
across the globe.
The report surveys corporate commitments to science-based targets (SBT) and evaluates the climate
change risk that they are exposed to.
In the annual report, the United States of America secured the top spot followed by Japan, United
Kindom and France.
India secured the 5th spot on the project report.
21.TanSat satellite
China launches TanSat satellite to monitor global carbon emissions
The Satellite weighs around 620-kg and it will be located in sun synchronous orbit about 700 kms above
the earth while serving three-year mission life.
Highlights of the TanSat satellite :
• The chief designer of TanSat is Yin Zengshan who works at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
• The satellite was sent into a sun synchronous orbit about 700 kms above the earth.
• It will monitor the concentration, distribution and flow of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
• It has a very good vision and can distinguish as small as 1 percent changes in atmospheric CO2.
• It will help understanding the climate change and will provide China’s policy makers with independent
data.
20. Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)
•Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a planned space probe that will demonstrate the
kinetic effects of crashing an impact spacecraft into an asteroid moon for planetary defence purposes.
•The mission is intended to test whether a spacecraft impact could successfully deflect an
asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
19. MoU for Plantation of Rudraksh Trees
MoU for Plantation of Rudraksh Trees; CTBTO Offers India Observer Status – Current Affairs
Project aims at planting 10,000 Rudraksh trees in the Ganga Basin area in Uttarakhand in association
with the local community.
• Project aims at planting 10,000 Rudraksh trees in the Ganga Basin area in Uttarakhand in association
with the local community.
About Rudraksh Tree:
•Elaeocarpus ganitrus or Rudraksh Tree is a large evergreen tree.
It has broad-leaves whose seed is traditionally used for prayer beads in Hinduism and Buddhism.
•Rudraksh tree develops the fruit in three to four years.
It is mainly found in Gangetic plain, foothills of Himalyas, Nepal, Indonesia etc.
18. About New Horizons
• The New Horizons spacecraft is now 4.1 billion miles (6.6 billion kilometers) from Earth,
operating normally and speeding deeper into the Kuiper Belt at nearly 33,000 miles (53,000 kilometers)
per hour.
• New Horizons launched on January 19, 2006 and conducted a six-month-long reconnaissance flyby
study of Pluto and its moons in summer 2015.
• The goal of the mission is to understand the formation of the Plutonian system, the Kuiper belt,
and the transformation of the early Solar System.
17. RISAT2-BR1
RISAT2-BR1 is the second satellite in the RISAT-2B series and is expected to be followed by two more
satellites.
RISAT2-BR1
• RISAT2-BR1 is the second satellite in the RISAT-2B series and is expected to be followed by two
more satellites.
• The satellite, with a mission life of five years, follows the successful launch of RISAT-2B in
May 2019.
• RISAT2-BR1 weighs about 628 kg and it would be used in various fields such as forestry,
agriculture and disaster management support.
• The current domestic remote sensing satellite is not equipped to capture images of the earth
during cloud cover and hence, India had to rely on the images provided by Canadian satellites to
obtain information regarding the same.
ISRO’s major milestones:
The launch of RISAT-2BR1 marked major milestones for ISRO such as:
1. This was the 50th flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the second flight of
PSLV-QL.
2. It was also the 75th Launch Vehicle Mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
16. Key Features of INS Khanderi
Key Features of INS Khanderi
– The INS Khanderi construction began in April 2009. It was first built into five separate segments
which were later welded together.
– INS Khanderi is 67.5 metres long and 12.3 metres tall.
– Its hull form, fin and hydroplanes have been designed to enable minimum underwater resistance.
– The submarine’s Permanently Magnetised Propulsion Motor is powered by 360 battery cells. Each
battery cell weighs 750 kg.
– It is capable of saving oxygen availability and can stay underwater for long periods
