UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 24-03-2021 | Current Affairs

Indo-French Space Collaborations

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and French space agency Centre National dEtudes Spatiales (CNES) are working on their third joint satellite mission.
TRISHNA - ISRO and CNES have completed the feasibility study to realise the earth observation satellite mission with TRISHNA, thermal infrared imager.
Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High resolution Natural resource Assessment (TRISHNA) will monitor the water cycle to help in properly utilizing it.
ARGOS of CNES will be integrated into ISRO’s OCEANSAT-3 satellite.
ARGOS is the global satellite-based data collection and location system of its kind dedicated to studying and preserving the environment.
ISRO-CNES Human Space Programme (HSP) Working Group had discussed about medical aspects of human spaceflight and is finalising an arrangement to formalise cooperation in the field of space medicine.
There are discussions on establishing ‘NavIC’ (an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by India) reference station in France and CNES ‘Scintillation’ receivers in India.

Previous Joint Satellite Missions

MEGHA-TROPIQUES (2011) - This Indo-French joint satellite mission that was launched to study the tropical atmosphere and climate related to aspects such as monsoons, cyclones, etc.
Satellite for ALTIKA and ARGOS (SARAL) (2013) - This mission was launched to study the ocean from space using altimetry.

Russia’s Satellites Launch

Russian space agency Roscosmos’ Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage launched the 38 foreign satellites from 18 countries into orbit from Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
Among them was the Challenge-1, the first satellite made completely in Tunisia, which was created by the Telnet telecommunications group.
In 2018, a Soyuz rocket carrying a Russian cosmonaut and a NASA astronaut failed mid-flight, forcing the crew to carry out an emergency landing.

Asteroid 2001 FO32

It was discovered 20 years ago by Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program in Socorro, New Mexico in 2001.
When it is at its closest to Earth, it is at a distance of 2 million km (Equal to 5¼ times the distance from Earth to the Moon). So, it has been designated as a “potentially hazardous asteroid”.
There is no threat of a collision with Earth now or for centuries to come.
The reason for the asteroid’s unusually speedy close approach is its highly eccentric orbit around the Sun, an orbit that is tilted 39° to Earth’s orbital plane.
This orbit takes the asteroid closer to the Sun than Mercury, and twice as far from the Sun as Mars.

Candida Auris

Researchers found Candida Auris on remote beaches of Andaman and Nicobar Islands that can potentially bring next pandemic.
Candida Auris, a multidrug-resistant fungus, has become a 'superbug' as it is able to resist main anti-fungal treatments.
C. Auris survives on the skin before entering the body through wounds.
Once in the bloodstream, it causes severe illness and can lead to sepsis - a condition that kills up to 11 million people a year globally.
Spread - C. auris spreads from one patient to another in hospitals, targeting people with weakened immune systems.
It spreads through contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or equipment. It is difficult to identify with standard lab methods.
Symptoms may not be noticeable, as patients infected with C. auris are often patients in the hospital with another serious illness or condition.

Air Independent Propulsion

Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL) is developing Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) System.
This is crucial for both the conventional diesel electric submarines and nuclear submarines of the Indian Navy.
1. Nuclear-powered submarines - Key assets for deep sea operations,
2. Conventional diesel electric submarines - Vital for coastal defence and operations close to the shore.
With the AIP system on board, these submarines will need to take in oxygen only once a week.
So, they will be required to surface much less frequently, thus increasing their lethality and stealth multi-fold.
These fuel cell-based AIPs of NMRL generate hydrogen onboard. This makes it unique from other AIP systems of the world.
The project aims at fitting the technology on India’s Scorpene class submarine INS Kalvari around 2023.

Naval Materials Research Laboratory

Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), one of the DRDO laboratories, is the Centre of Excellence for Development of Materials for Naval Applications & Energy Systems.
It pursues basic research and technology development in several areas - Metallurgy, Polymer, Ceramics, Coating, Corrosion and Electrochemical Protection, Marine Biotechnology, Environmental Sciences.
Mission
1. To develop Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system for Naval Submarine & Fuel Cell technologies.
2. To provide scientific solutions for all categories of materials & related technologies for Indian Navy.
3. To undertake research projects on strategic materials for Indian Navy.

Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi

The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN) is a single non-lapsable reserve fund for health in the Public Account.
This fund will have the proceeds of 4% Health and Education Cess levied under Section 136-b of Finance Act, 2007.
The administration and maintenance of the PMSSN is entrusted to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The accruals into the PMSSN will be utilized for the flagship schemes of the Health Ministry.
In any financial year, the expenditure on such schemes would be initially incurred from the PMSSN and thereafter, from Gross Budgetary Support (GBS).
Benefits - Enhanced access to universal and affordable health care through availability of earmarked resources.

Source: The Hindu, The Indian Express, Business Line

UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 24-03-2021