<p>The CHandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) experiment aboard Chandrayaan-2 orbiter will study in situ, the composition of the lunar neutral exosphere in the mass range 1–300
<p>Arthur C. Clarke's technological prescience deserves to be honoured; his endless optimism needs to be cherished. (Editorial)</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7186/full/452387a.html" target="_blank">Original Source</a></strong></p>
Does the sleigh of Santa Claus pitched against the majestic backdrop of the moon evoke a desire?
Not Even Fragments Will Remain When The Sun Expands In 7.59 Billion Years
The universe is 13.73 billion years old, give or take 120 million years, astronomers said last week.
The shuttle Endeavour will light up the skies over Florida early Tuesday, kicking off a busy 16-day mission to the International Space Station.
New York: Scientists claim to have built a supercomputer which has confirmed the Standard Model theory of the Universe to even greater precision than before. The 30-year-old theory encapsulates understanding of all the material that makes up the universe. However, it excludes the force of gravity which is the missing piece in the jigsaw that would extend the Model into a complete theory. The project's enormously complex calculations relate to the behaviour of tiny particles found in the nuclei of atoms, known as quarks. In order to carry out these calculations, the researchers first designed and built a supercomputer that was among the fastest in the world, capable of tens of trillions of calculations per second. The computations themselves have taken a further three years to complete. The results have revealed that the Standard Model's claim to be the best theory invented holds firm. It raises the stakes for the riddle to be solved by experiments to be conducted later this year. "Modern supercomputers and improved theoretical techniques are allowing us to explore the limits of the Standard Model to an unprecedented precision. "The next stage will be to combine such computations with new experimental results expected from the Large Hadron Collider to unravel the next level of fundamental physics,' lead scientist professor Chris Sachrajda of the University of Southampton was quoted by the ScienceDaily as saying. Added co-researcher professor Richard Kenway: "Although the Standard Model has been a fantastic success, there were one or two dark corners where experiments had been inconclusive as vital calculations were not accurate enough. We shone a light on one of these, but nothing was lurking there.' PTI
Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) human space mission proposal has got its first significant budgetary share, Rs 125 crore, while the Department of Space has got 24 per cent raise in outlay for its 2008-09 activities. The space budget of Rs 4,074 crore, compared with Rs 3,290 crore last fiscal, partially provides for at least three major projects
Allocation Will Help Begin Work Related To Manned Flight, Says Isro TEAM TOI India's ambitious plan to launch manned space missions received a boost on Friday with the government sanctioning more than Rs 100 crore for the initiative. With the budgetary allocation jumping from Rs 4 crore to Rs 125 crore this year, the Rs 10,000-crore space programme now seems to be steadily moving from the drawing boards to the launchpad at Sriharikota. Tentatively, the lift off is slated for 2014. Speaking to TOI on Friday, Isrospokesperson S Satish said the massive hike meant that the pre-project activities related to the manned flight would be initiated this year. This will essentially mean preparing the infrastructure for the flight, he said, adding that GSLV MK3 three-stage rocket, now under development, would be used for the mission. The first developmental flight of this rocket is expected to take place in early 2009. Apart from using it for a manned space flight, the GSLV Mk3 is intended to place into orbit four-tonne class of communication satellites in the geosynchronous transfer orbit. The project envisages the development of a number of technologies which include a 200-tonne solid booster, 25-tonne cryogenic engines and 110-tonne liquid-stage engines as core boosters. Welcoming the hike for the project in the budget, India's first and only spaceman Rakesh Sharma said the move reflected the government's
power transmission is an endless battle with the phenomenon of resistance, which leads to losses. The search for a superconductor, which offers no resistance to the passage of electricity, has kept
India is planning to launch a satellite to study the sun, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Satellite Aditya will study the corona, the outermost region of the sun, and other crucial parameters of space weather, minister of state in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply. The satellite will also study coronal mass ejection or solar flares, evolution and structures of coronal magnetic field. The mission is intended to enhance scientific knowledge of the sun's radiation and continuous monitoring of its atmosphere, Mr Chavan said. The data generated will also help to design satellites to withstand adverse effects of solar environment, he said. Sources said the 100-kg satellite is expected to be launched by 2012 and likely to be placed in a near-earth orbit of 600 km. The sun's corona is highly active, releasing energy during solar flares in the form of bursts manifesting as geomagnetic storms on earth. These storms can distort the earth's magnetic field and have a huge bearing on near-earth space where satellites are located. Isro has built a mobile launching pedestal at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota as a part of augmentation to the existing second launch pad, Mr Chavan said in reply to a separate question. The launch of Chandrayaan I, India's maiden moon mission, has been shifted to June-July in reply to a separate question. The launch of Chandrayaan I, India's maiden moon mission, has been shifted to June-July
