Current Affairs Science & Technology

 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will outsource the production of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) and Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs) to private Industries. The Indian Space agency Chairman K Sivan informed that private industries will play a major role in capacity building. The ISRO will launch Gaganyaan, India’s first manned mission to outer space in 2020. As per the announcement, the Indian Air Force will identify six persons who can be trained to be astronauts. The assistance of the country’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma and that of foreign space agencies will be sought for the training of astronauts. 
Source- The Hindu

 India’s first Indian human mission will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by 2022. This was stated by the Union Minister of State (I/C) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh. The programme will make India the fourth nation in the world to launch a Human Spaceflight Mission. So far, only the USA, Russia and China have launched human spaceflight missions. PM Modi had earlier announced `Gaganyaan — India's maiden human spaceflight programme'. This is the most ambitious space programme undertaken by ISRO till date and is essential as it will give a big boost to the Science and Technology development within the country. 
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

 A new European satellite named 'Aeolus' using advanced laser technology to track global winds and improve weather forecasts has been successfully put into orbit on a Vega rocket from French Guyana. It is part of a European project to monitor environmental damage and help disaster relief. The "Aeolus" satellite has been named after the guardian of wind in Greek mythology that took place at the European spaceport in Kourou. 
Source- BBC News

 The lander on the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which is scheduled to be launched in January 2019 will be named‘Vikram’ after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Indian space programme. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has got clearance from the space commission. This mission, unlike Chandrayaan-1 which only orbited the Moon, involves a Lander soft-landing on the lunar surface and unloading a Rover to study and take measurements from the Moon, while the orbiter will go around the Earth’s satellite. 

 India will launch its second lunar mission “Chandrayaan-2” on January 3, 2019, to land on the moon with a lander and rover. According to Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Sivan, ISRO is aiming to launch the mission but the window to land on the lunar surface is open till March 2019. The 800-crore rupees is the cost of lunar mission named “Chandrayaan-2”. The 3,890-kg Chandrayaan-2, which will be launched onboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-3, will orbit around the moon and study its lunar conditions to collect data on its topography, mineralogy and exosphere. 
Source- DD News

 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) on Sunday blasted off a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.
Source- Livemint

 Google has launched a new video-based Q&A app called 'Cameos' on the App Store, which allows people to answer questions about themselves, then share those answers directly on Google. The app is aimed at celebrities and other public figures, who are often the subject of people’s Google searches. With the Cameos app, they can address fans’ questions in their own voice, instead of leaving the answers up to other websites. 
Source- The Livemint

 Google's latest Android operating system update, Android 9 Pie, was officially released to customers following a beta testing period that started earlier this year. Android Pie introduces a new gesture-based system interface that's similar to the interface of the iPhone X, with iPhone-like swipes for navigating through the operating system. Android Pie also includes an Adaptive Battery feature that maximizes battery power by prioritizing the apps you're most likely to use next. 
Source- BBC News

 Ranchi-based software developer Ranjit Srivastava is developing the world's first Hindi-speaking humanoid robot, claimed to cost just Rs50,000 so far. Named Rashmi, the AI-powered robot can also speak Bhojpuri, Marathi, and English, and is equipped with facial expressions and recognition systems. He was inspired to create Rashmi after seeing Hong Kong-made humanoid 'Sophia' in 2016. 
Source- Hindustan Times

 American and Spanish Scientists have discovered a new shape called 'scutoid' while studying nature’s way of moulding tissue to form the skin, cavity linings and the building blocks of organs. The shape has five sides on one end and six on the other and a triangular surface on one of its longer edges. Scientists have referred to it as a twisted prism kind of shape that allows the tissue to mould around organs. Epithelial tissue, one of the four kinds of tissue that forms the human body, is composed of epithelial cells packed together in a particular formation that has been given a nifty name: scutoid. 
Source- Hindustan Times


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