Chandrayan-2
Category: Sc/tech
- Chandrayaan-2, the country’s first moon lander and rover mission, is a month away from launch.
- ISRO has set September 6 as the date to soft-land its landing craft at the lunar south pole – a region where no agency has got to so far.
- Soft landing is the most challenging part of the mission.
- The lander is named Vikram. It will release a small robotic rover, named Pragyan (wisdom), to move around, feel and understand the lunar surface.
- Vikram must gently descend on a harsh rugged lunar surface, without getting damaged. It must also avoid landing in a shadowy patch. It needs sunlight for generating its power.
- Meanwhile, the mother ship or the orbiter that carries Vikram and Pragyan will go around the moon at a distance of about 100 km, taking pictures and gathering surface information and sending them back to earth.
- The moon’s constantly sunny side gets light for 14 Earth days or one lunar day. The lander and the rover are expected to work for just that duration.
- The mission carries 14 payloads or instruments to observe and gauge the lunar scene – both from a distance and on its surface. One of them is a tiny NASA reflectometer to mark the spot for future missions and assess the distance from the earth.
- Weighing about 3,500 kg, Chandrayaan-2 will be launched on the heavy-lift GSLV-Mk III rocket.
Foreigners Tribunals
Category: GS 2 (Polity)
- The 1964 order on Constitution of Tribunals said: “The Central Government may by order, refer the question as to whether a person is not a foreigner within meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (31 of 1946) to a Tribunal to be constituted for the purpose, for its opinion.”
- The amended order issued last week says — “for words Central Government may,’ the words ‘the Central Government or the State Government or the Union Territory administration or the District Collector or the District Magistrate may’ shall be substituted.”
- The MHA sanctioned around 1,000 Tribunals to be set up in Assam in the wake of publication of the final NRC by July 31.
- As per directions of the Supreme Court, the Registrar General of India (RGI) published the final draft list of NRC on July 30 last year to segregate Indian citizens living in Assam from those who had illegally entered the State from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971.
- The amended Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 2019 also empowers individuals to approach the Tribunals.
- Earlier only the State administration could move the Tribunal against a suspect, but with the final NRC about to be published and to give adequate opportunity to those not included, this has been done. If a person doesn’t find his or her name in the final list, they could move the Tribunal.
Bharat Stage
Category: Environment
- International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) released India’s first Type Approval Certificate (TAC) for Bharat Stage – VI (BS – VI) norms for the two wheeler segment in New Delhi today.
- Bharat Stage norms are the automotive emission norms which the automotive manufacturers have to comply to sell their vehicles in India. These norms are applicable to all two wheelers, three wheelers, fourwheelers and construction equipment vehicles.
- To curb growing menace of air pollution through the vehicles emission, the Government of India has decided to leapfrog from the exiting BS – IV norms to the BS- VI, thereby skipping the BS – V norms, and to implement the BS – VI norms with effect from 1st April 2020
- .Only those vehicles will be sold and registered in India from 1st April 2020 onwards,which comply to these norms. The norms are stringent and at par with global standards.
2B-Alert Web 2.0
Category: Sc/tech
- Scientists have developed a web-based tool called 2B-Alert Web 2.0 that optimises your caffeine intake, designing effective strategies to maximise alertness while avoiding excessive tea or coffee consumption.
- Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulant to counter the effects of sleep deprivation on alertness. However, to be safe and most effective, the right amount must be consumed at the right time.
