UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 11-09-2024

DART Mission for Didymos & Dimorphos

A new study found that rocky debris blasted away from a football stadium-sized asteroid, Dimorphos, during the DART mission could create the 1^st human-made meteor shower known as the Dimorphids.

• Discovery - Didymos which means "twin" in Greek was discovered on April 11, 1996, by researcher Joseph Montani of Spacewatch at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.
• Asteroid Didymos and its small moonlet Dimorphos make up a binary asteroid system.
  • The small moon (Dimorphos) orbits the larger body (Didymos).
• They were chosen for DART mission as they pass relatively close to Earth.
• It found that the DART mission's kinetic impactor technique could effectively change an asteroid's trajectory.
• After launching of the mission it shows the impact changed not only the motion of the asteroid, but also its shape.
• The entire shape of the asteroid has changed, from a relatively symmetrical object to a ‘triaxial ellipsoid’ – something more like an oblong watermelon.

DART Mission

• DART - Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART).
• Launched by – NASA in 2021.
• Aim - To test the newly developed technology that would allow a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid and change its course.
• Targets - Asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos.
• It is a part of the NASA’s larger platenary defence Strategy.
• Methodology - It is the 1^st Kinetic Impactor Method of planetary defence, where a DART spacecraft will be colliding with the asteroid Dimorphos.
• The Kinetic Impactor Method involves sending one or more large, high-speed spacecraft into the path of an approaching near-earth object.
• This could deflect the asteroid into a different trajectory, steering it away from the Earth's orbital path.

• Propellant - It has 2 solar arrays and uses hydrazine propellant for manoeuvring the spacecraft.
• Thruster - It also carries about 10 kg of xenon which will be used to demonstrate the new thrusters called NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster–Commercial (NEXT-C) in space.
  • NEXT-C gridded ion thruster system provides a combination of performance and spacecraft integration capabilities that make it uniquely suited for deep space robotic missions.
  • It's a type of electric propulsion that uses electricity to accelerate xenon propellant to speeds of up to 90,000 miles per hour.
• Imager - The spacecraft carries a high-resolution imager called Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation (DRACO).
• Images from DRACO will be sent to Earth in real-time and will help study the impact site and surface of Dimorphos.

Reference

Live mint | DART mission created ’1^st human-made’ meteor shower

Curcuma ungmensis

A newly identified species of 'Curcuma,' named Curcuma ungmensis, was recently discovered by researchers in Ungma Village, located in Mokokchung district of Nagaland.

• Genus – Curcuma.
• Family- Zingiberaceae.
  • Curcuma is among the largest and most significant genera within this family, with well-known members like turmeric (Curcuma longa), black turmeric (Curcuma caesia), and mango ginger (Curcuma amada).
• Nomenclature - Curcuma ungmensis is named after Ungma village, where it was found.
• Size - It reaches heights of 65-90 cm.
• Appearance – It features striking yellow flowers at maturity, flowering occurs during the rainy season.
• Habitat - The plant thrives in warm, tropical climates.
• Distribution - Curcuma is extensively found throughout South and Southeast Asia, as well as in southern China. Some species can also be located in northern Australia and the South Pacific.
• In India, approximately 40 species of this genus are present, predominantly in the northeastern and southern states, along with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Uses - This species is a rhizomatous herb with underground stems (subterranean stem).
• The vibrant inflorescence makes it a promising candidate for use as a cut flower.
• Once domesticated, it has potential as an ornamental ground cover in gardens.

Reference

The Hindu | New species of genus Curcuma in Nagaland

Kawasaki disease

A Pediatric study recently revealed that Kawasaki disease cases among children have increased in India after COVID-19 pandemic.

• Kawasaki is a rare disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels and a high fever that lasts for more than 5 days.
• Kawasaki Disease (KD) is sometimes called mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome.
• Kawasaki disease most often affects the heart arteries in children. Those arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart.
• It is one of the most common form of acquired heart disease in children.
• Cause - The cause of Kawasaki disease is unknown, but it may be due to an immune system reaction to a virus or a genetic link.
• Symptoms - A high fever, red eyes, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, a red rash on the middle of the body, a red tongue, and swollen hands and feet.
• Vulnerable Age group - Kawasaki disease happens most often in children 6 months to 5 years of age.
• Contagiousness - Kawasaki disease is not contagious and cannot be spread from one person to another
• Complications - Cardiovascular complications include aneurysm formation, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and valvulitis.
• Prevention - There is no way to prevent Kawasaki disease. But Kawasaki disease is often treatable.
• Treatment - With early treatment, most children get better and have no long-lasting problems.
• Affected countries - It occurrs in an estimated 10 to 20 out of 100,000 children younger than age 5 in the United States and Canada.
• In Japan, Korea and Taiwan, it affects 50 to 250 out of 100,000 children younger than 5.

Recent findings

Multisystem inflammatory disease in children (MIS-C) vs Kawasaki Disease

•  A recent study revealed that hyperinflammatory shock with clinical features similar to those of Kawasaki disease (KD) after COVID-19 infection in 2020.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have named this new syndrome a multisystem inflammatory disease in children (MIS-C).
• According to the study, the clinical manifestations of MIS-C overlap with those of KD, including fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, and mucocutaneous manifestations.
• However, MIS-C is more commonly associated with left ventricular dysfunction (30%–40%) and shock, gastrointestinal abnormalities, and neurological manifestations than KD.
• It also revealed that KD following SARS-CoV-2 infection has clinically different characteristics from conventional KD.

References

1. Financial Express | Kawasaki disease
2. Cleveland Clinic | About Kawasaki Disease

New Study on butterfly species

A recent study published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society highlights conservation gaps and calls for reassessing conservation status of several species.

• It highlights that the diversity of butterfly species is highest in the southern Western Ghats and gradually diminishes northward.
• Distribution

• Diversity- The southern and central Western Ghats each have 324 species, while the northern Western Ghats have only 255 species.

• Butterfly families- The species belong to 6 families:
  • Papilionidae (19)
  • Pieridae (34)
  • Nymphalidae (100)
  • Riodinidae (2)
  • Lycaenidae (99)
  • Hesperiidae (83)
• Endemic- There are 40 strictly endemic species in the Western Ghats.
• Listed Threatened Species
  • IUCN Red List- Less than 7% (22 species).
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act- 71 species (21%) are protected under this act with amendments up to 2022.
  • Near threatened- 2 species and rest as 'least concern'.
  • Common species like crimson rose, Indian common rose, and Indian tiny grass blue could be excluded from the IUCN Red List.
• Concerns
  • Some strictly endemic and rare species are not protected under WLPA; and
  • While certain common species are listed on the IUCN Red List, some truly threatened and rare species are not included.
• Suggested species for WLPA inclusion- Sahyadri green yellow, Nilgiri clouded yellow, red-eye bushbrown, Palni bushbrown, Nilgiri fritillary, and cloud-forest silverline.
• Rare species for IUCN Red List re-evaluation- Abnormal silverline, yellow-base flitter, Malabar banded swallowtail, and Travancore evening brown.

Reference

The Hindu | Study on butterfly species

Carrhotus piperus

A new species of jumping spider, Carrhotus piperus, has been identified in the lower Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu.

• Carrhotus piperus – It is a new species of jumping spider of genus Carrhotus Thorel.
• Sex – It is male carrhotus species.
• Habitat - Pepper (Piper nigrum) plants.
• Piperus – It is the specific epithet that describes the spider’s distinctive pepper plant (Piper nigrum) habitat.
• Unique feature - Unique prolateral protrusion and beak-shaped embolus distinguish it from its closely-related species.

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References

1. The Hindu | Carrhotus piperus
2. JIBS | Carrhotus Thorell, 1891