1) India-China Joint Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2015 concludes in Kunming.
- India-China Joint Military Training Exercise Hand in Hand 2015 concluded at Kunming Military Academy in Yunnan province of China.
- It was fifth edition of the exercise between the two countries which had started on 12 October 2015. The 12 day exercise concluded with a Joint Field Exercise between armies of both countries followed by a closing ceremony.
Key Facts:
- Participating troops from both sides learned and trained together from each other in mixed groups on Basic Individual Skills and Comprehensive Combat Skills.
- The joint exercise also met its stated objectives by exchanging experience on counter-terrorist training and conducting counter-terrorist operations.
- The Hand-in-Hand series of joint military exercise between armies of India and China was started in 2007.
2) NASA completes key milestone for most powerful rocket.
- For the first time in almost 40 years, NASA has completed all steps needed to clear a critical design review (CDR) for the most powerful rocket ever built that will take humans to deeper space missions, including Mars.
- The agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) is the first vehicle designed to meet the challenges of the journey to Mars and the first exploration class rocket since the Saturn V. SLS will launch America into a new era of exploration to destinations beyond Earth’s orbit.
- The design certification will compare the actual final product to the rocket’s design. The final review, the flight readiness review, will take place just prior to the 2018 flight readiness date.
3) ISRO to launch six Singapore-made satellites in December.
- India will launch six Singapore-made satellites, including a dedicated 400 kg spacecraft for carrying out surveillance missions for maritime and border security, in mid-December on board PSLV-C29.
- The six satellites will be launched on PSLV-C29 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh on December 16. The satellites will then hover about 550 km above ground for up to five years.
- The 400 kg TeLEOS-1 is the biggest and first Singapore-made commercial earth observation satellite to orbit in space, said ST Electronics COMMUNICATION and sensor systems group president Tang Kum Chuen.
4) Hurricane Patricia has struck Mexico’s Pacific coast.
- Hurricane Patricia has struck Mexico’s Pacific coast with destructive winds that forced thousands of people to flee homes and beach front resorts.
- The hurricane’s centre (eye) made its landfall in sparsely populated Puerto Vallarta coastline of Mexico’s west Pacific coast bringing lashing rains, surging seas and cyclonic winds along with it.
Key facts:
- Patricia has been recorded as the most powerful hurricane in the Western Hemisphere in terms of barometric pressure.
- It was having central pressure of 880 millibars and maximum sustained winds of 325 kph.
- US National Hurricane Center (USNHC) has categorized the hurricane as a Category Five storm which is the highest classification. Patricia originated near the Gulf of Tehuantepec as a tropical storm and later strengthened to a hurricane of category 5 storm.
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5) A team of scientists have discovered two complex organic molecules viz. Ethyl alcohol and glycolaldehyde on a comet.
- For the first time, a team of scientists have discovered two complex organic molecules viz. Ethyl alcohol and a simple sugar known as glycolaldehyde on a comet.
- These molecules were discovered on Comet Lovejoy from gas emitted by a comet by scientists from NASA, the Paris Observatory and other organizations.
Significance of this discovery:
- These two complex organic molecules are considered as building blocks of life. This discovery on a comet may shed light on the cosmic origins of earth i.e. provide important clues to the hypothesis that a falling comet collided with earth, leading to the origins of life.
Key facts:
- The research was done using a 30-metre long telescope at the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique locaed in Sierra Nevada in Spain.
- It was conducted in January 2015 when the Comet Lovejoy was closest to the Sun and was brightest and most productive.
- The scientists found that Comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in five hundred bottles of wine every second during its peak activity.
- They also had detected 21 different organic molecules in gas released from the comet along with the ethyl alcohol and simple sugar.
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6) China successfully launched Tianhui-1C.
- China has successfully launched Tianhui-1C, a third mapping satellite of the Tianhui-1 series into its designated orbit.
- The mapping satellite was launched by Long March 2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan launching base located in the country’s northwestern Gansu province. It was overall Long March rockets series 215th successful launch.
- The satellite was developed and produced under the auspices of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASTC) which is China’s primary launch vehicle and satellite contractor.
Applications:
- Tianhui-1C satellite will enhance the China’s ability to carry out scientific research, mapping and disaster relief.
- The first Tianhui 1 mapping satellite of the series was launched in August 2010.
7) Tsunami Early Warning System Siren was successfully tested in Mumbai.
- A newly-installed Tsunami Early Warning System Siren was successfully tested near INS Angre, off Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in south Mumbai.
- It was tested nearly 11 years after the Boxing Day tsunami which had hit the east coast of India and had killed more than 10,000 people.
Key facts:
- The siren system has been installed at the Meteorology Office of Western Naval Command by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).
- It has a digital electronic board fitted in the system which gives out data about the approaching tsunami.
- The system has a radical range of 3 kms in all directions and gives continuous hoot for 60 seconds during emergency.
- The siren will be remotely controlled by Hyderabad based INCOIS and will operate in case of a possible Tsunami threat in the local region.
- 7 tsunami buoys with sensors will record the speed and height of waves. It will further alert the monitoring centre in Hyderabad.
- The warning siren will provide precise tsunami alert to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), disaster management authorities and Indian Navy to prevent the possible damage.
- In 2005, Indian Government had started its own interim tsunami warning centre after the devastating tsunami which had hit the Indian Ocean countries on December 26, 2004.
8) Russia Federal Space Agency to launch manned moon missions by 2029.
- The Russian Federal Space Agency, commonly called as Roscosmos, announced that it plans to launch a manned flight to the moon and the lunar landing is planned for 2029.
- It also announced that the Russian scientists are working on creating a new spacecraft made of composites specifically designed for moon missions. Vladimir Solntsev, the head of Roscosmos, made the announcement during a space technology conference in Moscow.
- As per the announcement, the spaceship is expected to make its first test flight in 2021. It will dock with the International Space Station in 2023, and the spaceship will carry out its first unmanned mission to the moon in 2025.
- Reportedly, Russia also plans to land the Luna 25 research vessel on the south pole of the moon to explore its internal structure and the impact of the cosmic rays and electromagnetic radiation on its surface.
About Russian Federal Space Agency:
- The Russian Federal Space Agency, which is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research, was established on 25 February 1992. The agency was previously known as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.
- The agency has its headquarter located in the capital city Moscow, while the Main Mission Control space flight operations centre is located in Korolev.
- In 2015, the Russian Government announced that it was merging Roscosmos with the United Rocket and Space Corporation, the re-nationalised Russian space industry to create the Roscosmos State Corporation.
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