Why in News
Recently, China has successfully launched the Long
March 5B’ rocket and prototype spacecraft.

International Space Station (ISS)
• ISS is a habitable artificial satellite – the single
largest man-made structure in low earth orbit. Its
first component was launched into orbit in 1998.
• It circles the Earth in roughly 92 minutes and
completes 15.5 orbits per day.
• The ISS programme is a joint project between five
participating space agencies: NASA (United States),
Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe),
and CSA (Canada) but its ownership and use has
been established by intergovernmental treaties
and agreements.
• It serves as a microgravity and space environment
research laboratory in which crew members conduct
experiments in biology, human biology, physics,
astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.
• Continuous presence at ISS has resulted in the longest
continuous human presence in the low earth orbit.
• It is expected to operate until 2030

Why in News
Recently, a Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed that India has produced just three supercomputers
since 2015 under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

National Supercomputing Mission
• It was announced in 2015, with an aim to connect national academic and R&D institutions with a grid
of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities at an estimated cost of ₹4,500 crores over
the period of seven years.
• It supports the government’s vision of ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The mission will be implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science
and Technology) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), through the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
• It is also an effort to improve the number of supercomputers owned by India.
• These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the
National Knowledge Network (NKN). The NKN connects academic institutions and R&D labs over a high-speed network.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Under NSM, the long-term plan is to build a strong base of 20,000 skilled persons over the next five years
who will be equipped to handle the complexities of supercomputers.

Progress of NSM:
• NSM’s first supercomputer named Param Shivay has been installed in IIT-BHU, Varanasi, in 2019.
– It has 837 TeraFlop High-Performance Computing (HPC) capacity. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The second supercomputer with a capacity of 1.66 PetaFlop has been installed at IIT-Kharagpur.
• The third system, Param Brahma, has been installed at IISER-Pune, which has a capacity of 797 TeraFlop.

Why in news?
The International Conference on Nano Science and
Nano Technology (ICONSAT) 2020 was organized in March
2020 at Kolkata (West Bengal).
• ICONSAT is the series of biennial international
conferences held in India under the aegis of Nano
Mission, Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Nano Mission
• The Government of India launched the Nano
Mission in 2007 as an “umbrella capacity-building
programme”.
• It is being implemented by the Department of
Science and Technology (DST) under the Ministry
of Science and Technology.
• The objectives of the mission are:
– Basic research promotion.
– Infrastructure development.
– Nano applications and technology development.
– Human Resource development.
– International collaborations
• As a result of the efforts led by the Nano Mission,
today, India is amongst the top five nations in
the world in terms of scientific publications in
nanoscience and technology (moving from 4th to
the 3rd position).
• The Nano Mission has established national
dialogues to promote R&D in the development of
standards for nanotechnology and for laying down
a National Regulatory Framework Road-Map for
Nanotechnology (NRFR-Nanotech).

Why in News
Recently, Bharat Air Fibre Services have been
inaugurated at Akola in Maharashtra providing the
residents wireless internet connections on demand.

Key Points
• The Bharat Air Fibre services are being introduced
by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) as a part
of the Digital India initiative by the Government of
India. It is being scaled pan-India.
• Aim: To provide BSNL fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)
wireless connectivity up to a range of 20 km from
the BSNL points of presence.
• The connectivity speed is 100 Mbps and BSNL is
offering various broadband plans in wireline and
wireless segments.

Why in News
Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) has found evidence of greater
quantities of metals such as iron and titanium on the
Moon’s subsurface.
• The metallic distribution was observed by the Miniature
Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument aboard the
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
• It is a NASA moon mission that has been in operation
since 2009.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The mission particularly focuses on the moon’s
poles to search for water or ice that could exist in
permanently shadowed craters.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Miniature Radio Frequency Instrument
• It is one of the two radar instruments launched to the
moon to map the lunar poles, search for water and
ice and to demonstrate future NASA communication
technologies, under the Mini-RF project.
– The first instrument, launched on the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1
spacecraft, mapped both polar regions of the
Moon.
– The second instrument, currently flying on NASA’s
LRO, has been mapping the different geologic
units of the lunar surface.

Why in News
The recently discovered comet C/2020 F3 made
its closest approach to the Earth at a distance of 64 million
miles or 103 million kilometres while crossing Earth’s
outside orbit on 22nd July 2020.
• It is also known as NEOWISE after the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
telescope that discovered it.

Key Points
• The word comet comes from the Latin word ‘Cometa’
which means ‘long-haired’.
• The earliest known record of a comet sighting was
made by an astrologer in 1059 BC.
• Comets or ‘dirty snowballs’ are mostly made of dust,
rocks and ice and can range in their width from a few
miles to tens of miles wide.
• When they orbit closer to the sun, like C/2020
F3, they heat up and release debris of dust and
gases.
– The solid portions of comets consisting mostly
of water, ice and embedded dust particles are
inactive when far away from the sun.
– When near the sun, the icy cometary surfaces
vaporize and throw off large quantities of gas and
dust thus forming the enormous atmosphere
and tails.
– The released gases form a glowing head that can
often be larger than a planet and the debris forms
a tail that can stretch out to millions of miles.
– Each time a comet passes the sun, it loses some
of its material and it will eventually disappear
completely as a result.
– Comets may be occasionally pushed into orbits
closer to the Sun and the Earth’s neighbourhood
due to forces of gravity.
• Visibility:
– Comets do not have the light of their own and the
visibility depends on its gas and dust outbursts.
– Humans see the reflection of the sun’s light off
the comet as well as the energy released by the
gas molecules after it is absorbed from the sun.
– To be visible, a comet must make a particularly
close approach to the sun to produce enormous
quantities of gas and dust or it should make a
relatively close approach to the Earth so that it
is easily viewed.

Why in News
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mars Mission or
‘Hope’ is scheduled for launch on 16th July 2020.
• It is one of three Mars missions scheduled to be
launched this month. The USA and China, both have
surface rovers in the late stages of preparation.

Hope Mission:
• It is the first interplanetary mission for the Arab
World.
• The ‘Hope Orbiter’ will be lifted on an H-IIA rocket
from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a machinery maker
in Japan. It will be launched from Tanegashima
Island in Japan.
• The UAE does not have its own rocket industry.
• Once launched, it is expected to arrive in orbit
around Mars in February 2021 (the year of 50th
anniversary of UAE’s founding).
• It costs about USD 200 million and will carry
three instruments: an infrared spectrometer, an
ultraviolet spectrometer and a camera.

Previous UAE Space Missions:
• The UAE has built and launched three earthobserving
satellites in collaboration with a South Korean manufacturer.
• In 2019, the UAE bought a seat on a Russian
Soyuz rocket and sent its first astronaut for an
eight-day stay at the International Space Station.

Other Two Missions:
• NASA’s Mars rover, Perseverance, with instruments
to search for chemical signs of past life, is scheduled
to launch on 30th July 2020.
• China is also launching an ambitious mission to
Mars, Tianwen-1.

Why in News
Researchers from the Institute of Genomics and
Integrative Biology (IGIB) and the National Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC) have developed a technique that
uses mass spectrometry to detect novel coronavirus
(SARS-CoV-2).

Mass Spectrometry (MS):
• It is an analytical technique used for determining
the elemental composition of samples, quantifying
the mass of particles and molecules, and elucidating
their chemical structure.
• MS is based on ionization and fragmentation of
sample molecules in the gaseous phase.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The instruments used in this technique are called
mass spectrometers and mass spectrographs, and
they operate on the principle that moving ions
may be deflected by electric and magnetic fields.
• Clinical laboratories use the MS technology for
disease screening, diagnosis of disease and
metabolic disorders, monitoring of drug therapy,
identifying drug toxicity and poisoning, and
discovering new biomarkers.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
– Biomarker is short for biological marker, and is
used as an indication that a biological process
in the body has happened or is ongoing.

Why in News
The US has approved the sale of an Integrated Air
Defence Weapon System (IADWS) to India at an estimated
cost of $1.9 billion.

Integrated Air Defence Weapon System
• The Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS)
is called the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile
System (NASAMS-II).
• It is an upgraded version of the NASAMS developed by
the US firm Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg
Defence & Aerospace of Norway.
• The IADWS system provides integrated air missile defence
and is currently deployed around Washington, DC.
• It includes launchers, targeting and guidance systems,
advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM)
and Stinger missiles, 3D Sentinel radars, fire-distribution
centres and command-and-control units.

Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile
• Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile
(AMRAAM) is an American beyond-visual-range
air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day and night operations.
Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
• Manufactured by Raytheon, more than 30 countries
are using the AMRAAM.
Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Why in News
The US has approved the sale of an Integrated Air
Defence Weapon System (IADWS) to India at an estimated
cost of $1.9 billion.

Integrated Air Defence Weapon System
• The Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS)
is called the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile
System (NASAMS-II).
• It is an upgraded version of the NASAMS developed by
the US firm Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg
Defence & Aerospace of Norway.
• The IADWS system provides integrated air missile defence
and is currently deployed around Washington, DC.
• It includes launchers, targeting and guidance systems,
advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM)
and Stinger missiles, 3D Sentinel radars, fire-distribution
centres and command-and-control units.

Stinger Missiles
• Stinger is a shoulder-fired Man-Portable Air Defense
System (MANPADS) developed by the United States.
Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• It is a fire-and-forget, lightweight (15kg) weapon
with the reusable launcher.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Stinger missile is an extremely effective weapon
for shooting down aircraft.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Why in News
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) has reported the discovery of an Earth-size planet,
named TOI 700 d.

TOI 700 d
• The planet was found by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet
Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, which was launched in
2018. TESS is an all-sky survey for transiting exoplanets
(planets around the solar system). With TOI 700 d,
TESS has discovered its first Earth-size planet in its
star’s habitable zone.
• The star, TOI 700, is an “M dwarf star” located
just over 100 light-years away in the southern
constellation Dorado. It is roughly 40% of the
Sun’s mass and size, and has about half its surface
temperature.

M-dwarf Star
• M dwarf or M-type star, also called Red Dwarf Star
are the most numerous type of star in the universe
and the smallest type of hydrogen-burning star.
Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
• These have masses from about 0.08 to 0.6 times
that of the Sun.
Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• In the Milky Way Galaxy, about three-fourths of the
stars are red dwarfs

Why in News
India’s first-ever global mega-science exhibition
‘Vigyan Samagam’ was inaugurated at the Science City
of Kolkata.

• The exhibition showcases India’s participation in the
world’s major Mega Science projects, where several
developed countries are participating collectively.
• The Mega Science Projects in which India is
participating are:
– Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN),
– Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR),
– India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO),
– International Thermonuclear Experimental
Reactor (ITER),
– Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory (LIGO),
– Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), and
– Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

Why in news?
Recently, the Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter has scanned
a crater on the moon named after 20th century’s acclaimed
radio physicist Sisir Kumar Mitra.
• The set of images taken by the Chandrayaan-2, also
include the images of impact craters namely:
€ Jackson: Named after a Scottish astronomer.
€ Mach: Named after an Austrian physicist and
philosopher.
€ Korolev: Named after the father of the space
programme of the erstwhile USSR.

Solar and Lunar Eclipse
Solar eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon and earth
all fall in the same line so that the Moon passes
between Earth and the Sun, leaving a moving region
of shadow on Earth’s surface.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Lunar eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon and earth
all fall in the same line and Earth passes between the
Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon.
• Eclipses may be classified into 4 types i.e. Annular,
Total, Partial and Hybrid.
• The type of eclipse we experience depends on the
type of shadow that is involved.
€ Both the Moon and Earth cast 3 shadows: umbra,
penumbra, and an antumbra.
• The umbra is a shadow’s dark core. The light
source is not visible and the object blocks all
direct light rays.
• The penumbra is a half-shadow that occurs
when a light source is only partly covered by
an object.
• Antumbra – the lighter part of the shadow
that begins where the umbra ends.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.

X-Rays
• X-rays are a form of high-energy electromagnetic
radiation. X-radiation is referred to as Röntgen
radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm
Rontgen who discovered these in 1895.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Soft and Hard X-rays
• X-rays are usually described by their maximum
energy, which is determined by the voltage between
the electrodes.
• X-rays with high photon energies (above 5–10 keV)
are called hard X-rays.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
€ Due to their penetrating ability hard X-rays
are widely used to image the inside of visually
opaque objects.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• Those with lower energy (and longer wavelength)
are called soft X-rays.

ANTRIX
• Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly-owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It is as a marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.
• Antrix is engaged in providing Space products and services to international customers worldwide.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.

IN-SPACe
• The creation of IN-SPACe is part of reforms aimed at giving a boost to private sector participation in the entire range of space activities.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• The IN-SPACe is expected to hand-hold, promote and guide the private industries in space activities through encouraging policies and a friendly regulatory environment.
• It would endeavour to reorient space activities from a ‘supply-driven’ model to a ‘demand-driven’ one, thereby ensuring optimum utilization of the nation’s space assets.

Ballistic missiles:
• It follows a ballistic trajectory with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target.
• Target is predetermined and are fit for large targets.
• Guided only during relatively brief periods of flight and the rest of its trajectory is unpowered and governed by gravity.
Hence, statement 3 is incorrect. (Cruise missiles are self-navigating).
• Able to fly at high altitude and are easy to track.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect and statement 2 is correct.
(Cruise missiles are able to fly in extremely low-altitude trajectory which makes it difficult to track).

Rustom-2
• Rustom-2 is medium-altitude long-endurance drone (MALE) designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics.
• It can fly up to an altitude of 22,000 feet and has endurance of over 20 hours.
• It can carry variety of payloads like Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Communication Intelligence (COMINT) and Situational Awareness Payloads (SAP) for performing missions even during the night.
• It will be used by all three services of Indian armed forces, primarily for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.
• Rustom 2 can fly missions on manual as well as autonomous modes.

SahasraT, Aaditya and PARAM ISHAN are the Supercomputers in India.

What is a White Dwarf?
• A white dwarf is what stars like the Sun become after they have exhausted their nuclear fuel.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Near the end of its nuclear burning stage, this type of star expels most of its outer material, creating a planetary nebula. Only the hot core of the star remains.
• This core becomes a very hot white dwarf, with a temperature exceeding 100,000 Kelvin.
• Unless it is accreting matter from a nearby star, the white dwarf cools down over the next billion years or so.
• A typical white dwarf is half as massive as the Sun, yet only slightly bigger than Earth.
Hence, statements 2 and 3 are incorrect.