News on Science, Technology and Research in India
The chute, which is designed using fire resistant Kevlar polymer and aluminium alloy rings, can hold up to five tonne weight, and can extend to 50 metres in height, said Mahipal Meena, a scientist and deputy director of Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety of a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory based out of New Delhi.
The suit transfers signals pertaining to the health parameters of the astronauts from the spacecraft to the mission control room, said Vinoth P, scientist and member of DEBEL team at the 107th Indian Science Congress under way in Bengaluru.The signals will be analysed by doctors from Bengaluru-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM).
Indications from ISRO are that at least four more will follow quickly in a year or so, with the fifth one, RISAT-2BR2, likely to be announced fairly soon.
“By this technology we can lower down the cost of the sapling production by 2 rupees per sapling which earlier used to be 35 rupees. This can help farmers to earn more with low input cost in Geranium cultivation” said Dr Singh.
The presence of endangered Cheer Pheasant at Chirbatiya in district Ruderprayag has thrilled the forest department and bird experts. The remote Chirbatiya, located 40 kms from the district headquarters, recently hosted a bird festival. Earlier the sighting of Cheer Pheasant (Catreus wallichii), also known as Wallich’s pheasant, was limited to few locations in Uttarakhand. But, now Chirbatiya has got added in the list.
Now an international team of researchers has developed self-powered glucose biosensor technology base device that can measure the blood sugar level through saliva samples also. This device can work inside the body without using any external electrical energy.
The country’s premier space agency is in the process of acquiring the land for a yet-to-be-named new launch centre. ISRO chairman K Sivan on Wednesday said that the new centre was part of ISRO’s capacity-building exercise. The new launch centre will be initially meant for missions involving launching small satellites and small satellite launch vehicles (SSLVs).
Four men from the Indian Air Force have been selected to undergo training for India’s first human spaceflight mission, ISRO chief K Sivan said on Wednesday as he declared 2020 as the year of Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan-3.
Briefing reporters in New Delhi yesterday, Dr Singh asserted that the mission cost will be less than Chandrayaan-2. He added that the experience gathered from Chandrayaan-2 and available infrastructure will bring down the cost of Chandrayaan-3.
“This is the first time that an Amur falcon tracked from Manipur has reached southern Africa,” Suresh Kumar, scientist of the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII), said.
