March 2021 Science and Technology

Sakshi Education

India-US forum launches Artificial Intelligence Initiative
US-India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) program launched. USIAI is an initiative of IUSSTF.

The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) established in accordance with the agreement reached between the Indian and United States governments in 2000 is an autonomous bilateral organization funded by the two governments to promote science, technology, engineering and innovation and aims to achieve substantial interaction between the government and academia and industry.

The nodal organization of GOI is the Department of Science & Technology.

The USIAI plan focuses on AI cooperation in key areas that are prioritized by both countries.

USIAI will become a platform to discuss the opportunities, challenges and obstacles of bilateral AI R&D cooperation, realize AI innovation, help share ideas for the development of AI workforce, and recommend models and mechanisms to promote partnerships.
Artificial photosynthesis to provide solutions for carbon capture and conversion
Artificial Photosynthesis (AP) provides solutions for carbon capture and conversion. Scientists have discovered a way to imitate nature's own process of reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, i.e, photosynthesis, to capture excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The Artificial Photosynthesis (AP) uses solar energy and converts the captured carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, which can be used as a fuel for internal combustion engines.

In Artificial Photosynthesis, scientists basically perform the same basic process in natural photosynthesis, but with a simpler nanostructure. However, to successfully implement Artificial Photosynthesis, there are many obstacles to overcome.

A team of scientists from JNCASR designed and manufactured an integrated catalytic system based on a metal organic framework (MOF-808), which includes a photosensitizer (a molecule that absorbs light and transfers electrons from incident light to another molecule nearby). The molecule can use solar energy and catalytic centers, and ultimately reduce carbon dioxide.

The developed catalyst shows excellent visible light-driven reduction of CO2 to CO selectivity, and the selectivity exceeds 99%.

The catalyst oxidizes water to produce oxygen (O2).

When evaluating the CO2 reduction amount of the photocatalytic module under direct sunlight in an aqueous medium without any additives, it shows excellent CO generation performance.

Because it is heterogeneous, the integrated catalytic module can be reused for multiple catalytic cycles without losing its activity.
NewSpace India Limited to own and operate capital intensive space assets of ISRO
As part of the space reform process, India New Space India Limited will own and operate ISRO’s capital-intensive space assets.

NewSpace India Limited is in discussions with the Ministry of Space to obtain the ownership of two new communications satellites for commercial purposes.

The transponders on the satellites will be leased to private companies with DTH and broadband services.

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is a public sector enterprise (PSE) of the Government of India. It is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and a subsidiary of the Ministry of Science.

NewSpace India Limited Founded in: 2019. Administrative control of NSIL is Department of Space (DoS) and the 2013 Companies Act.

Goal of NSIL Expand industry participation in the Indian space program. Headquarters of NSIL is Bangalore.
'Buldhana Pattern' for Water Conservation
Minister of Jal Shakti informed Rajya Sabha of the Buldhana Pattern for water conservation.

NITI Aayog has developed draft guidelines to integrate guidelines for the following activities:

Procurement of land to improve/construct national highways, state roads, and railways

Water source protection projects through silt/deep water bodies.

These two activities have been successfully implemented as a pilot project in the Buldhana district (Maharashtra).
Digital artwork by humanoid robot Sophia sells at auction for nearly $700,000
Digital works made by robotic artist Sophia (the world's first robotic citizen) have been auctioned.

A humanoid robot refers to a robot whose body shape is similar to a human body. The design of the robot is meant for functional purposes, which includes interacting with human tools and the environment, for experimental purposes, (the study of biped movement), or for other purposes.

Sophia is regarded as the first robot citizen in the world. Sophia is a realistic humanoid robot that can display humane facial expressions and interact with people.

In 2017, Sophia became a citizen of Saudi Arabia, the first robot to obtain citizenship of any country.

Sophia was appointed as the first innovation champion of the United Nations Development Programme and the first non-human being awarded the title of the United Nations.

In 2020, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the first half-human astronaut named Vyom Mitra, who will fly in space during the first test flight of the human space mission Gaganyaan. Vyommitra is a space half-humanoid robot that looks like a woman.

Her body rested on the torso, without legs. She can perform switchboard operations, ECLSS (Environmental Control and Life Support System) functions, talk to peers, talk to astronauts, identify astronauts and answer their questions. She will simulate the functions of the human body that a real astronaut needs in space before taking off.
Russia Launches Fleet Of 36 OneWeb Broadband Satellites Aboard Soyuz Rocket
Russia has successfully put 38 satellites from 18 countries into orbit from the Baikonur Astronomical Museum in Kazakhstan.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos released a video showing its Soyuz rocket launched under a gray and cloudy sky. The rocket successfully put satellites of countries including Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Italy, Germany and Brazil into orbit.

The launcher also launched the Challenge 1 Satellite, the first satellite fully manufactured in Tunisia manufactured by the Telnet Telecom Group.

Soyuz 2.1a is a launch vehicle composed of Fregat superiors. The 2.1a version of the Soyuz satellite includes a conversion from analog to digital flight control system and an upgraded engine on the booster. This new type of digital flight control and telemetry system rocket is launched from a fixed platform rather than an angled launch platform.

The Soyuz is a series of Soviet expendable launch systems developed by OKB-1. It was manufactured by the Progress Rocket Space Center in Samar located in Russia. This is the most commonly used launch vehicle(LV) in the world. These vehicles are used as launchers for the Soyuz manned spacecraft under the Soyuz program.

In view of the fact that the Russian space sector has been lagging behind since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is of great significance for Russia to launch 38 satellites at a time.

It also lags behind international competitors due to corruption scandals and technological stagnation. In 2018, Russia launched a Soyuz rocket carrying Russian astronauts and NASA astronauts. However, the mission failed during the flight, and the crew had to make an emergency landing.
Asteroid 2001 FO32 Will Safely Pass by Earth March 21
On 21 March 2021, the largest asteroid predicted to pass by Earth will be at its closest. It won’t come closer than 2 million km to Earth, but it will present a valuable scientific opportunity for astronomers who can get a good look at a rocky relic that formed at the dawn of our Solar System.

It is called 2001 FO32. There is no threat of a collision with our planet now or for centuries to come.

For comparison, when it is at its closest, the distance of 2 million km is equal to 5¼ times the distance from Earth to the Moon.

Still, that distance is close in astronomical terms, which is why 2001 FO32 has been designated a “potentially hazardous asteroid”.

During this approach, 2001 FO32 will pass by at about 124,000 kph – faster than the speed at which most asteroids encounter Earth.

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.

As 2001 FO32 makes its inner solar system journey, the asteroid picks up speed.

Later, the asteroid slows after being flung back out into deep space and swinging back toward the Sun. It completes one orbit every 810 days (about 2¼ years).

After its brief visit, 2001 FO32 will continue its lonely voyage, not coming this close to Earth again until 2052, when it will pass by at about seven lunar distances, or 2.8 million km.

Even if it is at the smaller end of the scale, 2001 FO32 will still be the largest asteroid to pass this close to our planet in 2021.

The last notably large asteroid close approach was that of 1998 OR2 on April 29, 2020. While 2001 FO32 is somewhat smaller than 1998 OR2, it will be three times nearer to Earth.

The March 21 encounter will provide an opportunity for astronomers to get a more precise understanding of the asteroid’s size and albedo (i.e. how bright, or reflective, its surface is), and a rough idea of its composition.

When sunlight hits an asteroid’s surface, minerals in the rock absorb some wavelengths while reflecting others.

By studying the spectrum of light reflecting off the surface, astronomers can measure the chemical “fingerprints” of the minerals on the surface of the asteroid.

Over 95% of near-Earth asteroids the size of 2001 FO32 or larger have been discovered, tracked, and catalogued.

None of the large asteroids in the catalogue has any chance of impacting Earth over the next century, and it is extremely unlikely that any of the remaining undiscovered asteroids of this size could impact Earth, either. Still, efforts continue to discover all asteroids that could pose an impact hazard.
ISRO Launched Sounding Rocket RH 560
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched a sounding rocket named RH-560 on March 12, 2021. The purpose of launching the rocket is to study the "vertical changes" in the dynamics of neutral wind and plasma.

The RH-560 rocket was launched from the Sriharikota Range (SHAR) of the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC). ISRO emphasized that the sounding rocket is a one-stage or two-stage solid propellant rocket. These rockets are used to probe the upper atmosphere and conduct space research. Beginning in 1965, ISRO began to launch locally-made sounding rockets.

ISRO announced that it plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on March 28, 2021, which will provide near real-time border images. This will also enable rapid monitoring of natural disasters.

The satellite named GISAT-1 will be launched by the "GSLV-F10 rocket" of the Sriharikota spaceport. The rocket will place the spacecraft in a geosynchronous orbit, which will then be placed in a geostationary orbit with the help of an airborne propulsion system. The orbit is about 36,000 kilometers above the earth's equator.

Amazonia-1: In February 2021, the space organization and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C51) from the Sriharikota Spaceport launched the main satellite called Amazonia-1 of Brazil, as well as 18 passenger satellites.

This is ISRO's first satellite in 2021 during the covid-19 pandemic. This is also the first commercial mission of New Space India Limited (NSIL), which was carried out with the help of Spaceflight Inc. of the United States of America (USA).
Dr. Harsh Vardhan lays Foundation Stone of CSIR-AMPRI Bamboo Composite Structure
The Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has said that CSIR-AMPRI has been successfully adopting ‘Waste to Wealth’ strategy as the institute has developed radiation shielding materials utilizing industrial wastes as raw materials.

Significantly, a novel process for making lead free and highly effective shielding materials useful for the construction of X-ray diagnostic and CT scanner room has been developed utilizing industrial waste namely red mud and fly ash.

Minister was inaugurating the Centre for Advanced Radiation Shielding and Geopolymeric Materials and Analytical High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope Laboratory, during his visit to CSIR constituent lab AMPRI based in Bhopal on March 13, 2021.

Minister also laid the foundation stone of CSIR-AMPRI Bamboo Composite Structure.

The Minister pointed out that the Institute is working in the cutting-edge areas of advanced technologies.

It is in the forefront during the pandemic time by undertaking research in collaboration with AIIMS, Bhopal in the area of development of rapid electrochemical based diagnostic for detection of SARS-COV infection.

Various geopolymeric materials were also developed by CSIR-AMPRI utilizing Coal based Thermal Power Plant waste i.e. Fly-Ash and three US patents have been granted on geopolymeric materials.

A unique Centre for Advanced Radiation Shielding and Geopolymeric Materials with a total area of 455.52 Sq.m and Carpet Area of 906.24 Sq.m is being established.

The advances in geopolymeric materials will accelerate strategic applications such as development of Thermal Resistant Geopolymeric Concrete for Missile /Rocket Launching Pad and development of Geopolymeric Bullet Proof Concrete for Bunkers; development of Graphene-Induced Geopolymeric Concrete and Geopolymeric Radiation Shielding Concrete.

In addition, it will also have advanced conventional applications such as development and upscaling of ready mix Geopolymeric Concrete for road applications and structural applications; development of Roller-Compacted Geopolymeric Concrete and development of pre-stressed Geopolymeric Concrete components.

Minister expressed the hope that the Centre will enhance the knowledge for understanding the mechanism of Radiation Shielding and improvement in engineering properties of developed materials.

It will facilitate the upscaling of technologies in this area and provide technological support to Indian industry.

Another major facility inaugurated by Dr Harsh Vardhan at CSIR-AMPRI was the Analytical High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope Laboratory.

This laboratory houses Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) with High-Angle Annular Dark Field Detector (HAADF) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) along with TEM sample preparation equipment such as, Ion milling system, Ultrasonic disc cutter, Dimple grinder, Disk punch, lapping disk and Diamond saw.

This system is capable of performing microanalysis such as micro diffraction, rocking beam channelling patterns, qualitative and quantitative X-ray spectroscopy analysis, particle size analysis, dislocation density and movement, precipitation, nucleation and growth.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr.Avanish Kumar Srivastava, Director, CSIR-AMPRI, noted that these advanced instruments in CSIR-AMPRI could throw light on the morphological, structural and compositional analysis of advanced materials developed at CSIR-AMPRI.

This facility will not only enhance the research quality of CSIR-AMPRI but also neighbouring institutes of Madhya Pradesh to carry out innovative research on advanced materials and develop know - how / technologies.

The foundation stone for multifunctional CSIR-AMPRI Bamboo Composite Structure was also laid by the Minister.

CSIR-AMPRI has developed a knowhow of manufacturing environmentally friendly multifunctional bamboo composite material for modern housing and structures using abundantly available bamboo as a raw material.

The newly developed bamboo composite material can serve as a competitive, sustainable and environment friendly alternative material, useful in the construction of smart green buildings as it has very attractive features like, aesthetic appearance, acoustic & thermal insulation.

Patents have also been filed on this know-how and also transferred to M/s Permali Wallace private limited.

Dr Harsh Vardhan noted that this will be advantageous to the bamboo cultivators located in various parts of India and also help in the generation of employment.

He observed that while India is the second largest cultivator of bamboo, it has only 4% share of world trade and the bamboo wood technology has potential of increasing this trade share.
Deep Ocean Mission
The " Deep Ocean Mission " be a multi-ministerial, multi-disciplinary programe, focusing on the development of deep-sea technology, the exploration of deep-sea mineral resources and biodiversity, and the purchase of research ships for exploration, deep-sea observation and capacity building.

The mission time is similar to that of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for space research

India’s Deep Ocean Mission will only focus on researching and exploring minerals, stones, animate or inanimate entities not discovered in our deep water bodies

Both humans and robots will be used to perform tasks

Objectives of the Deep Ocean Mission:
Develop technologies for deep-sea mining, underwater vehicles and underwater robots;

Development of marine climate change advisory services;

Technological innovation to explore and protect deep-sea biodiversity; Deep sea survey and exploration;

Proof-of-concept research on marine energy and freshwater

Establish an advanced marine station for ocean biology
World’s largest floating solar farms being built in Singapore
The world's largest floating solar farm is being built in Singapore. The country has resorted to building energy plants along the coast and near entire reservoirs.

Given that this floating solar farm is one of the smallest countries in the world, it is one of the largest per capita carbon dioxide emitters in India, so it is under construction. Therefore, in order to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is building floating solar farms. The project was built by Sembcorp Industries.

Renewable energy is a challenge for Singapore because the country does not have rivers for hydroelectric power.

Wind is not enough to power the turbine. Therefore, with the establishment of floating solar farms, the authorities tried to change this concept. Therefore, this tropical country turned to solar energy.

Since the country’s land area is small, only half the size of Los Angeles, the country has decided to build energy plants near its coast and reservoirs.

Due to climate change, the island nation is threatened by rising sea levels. Therefore, the country is aware of the urgency of reducing emissions.

In view of this, the Singapore government has announced several "green plans", including steps to build more charging stations to encourage the use of electric vehicles, reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, and plant more trees.

The country also plans to quadruple the use of solar energy by 2025 to reach 2% of the country's electricity demand, and then increase to 3% by 2030.
DRDO successfully developed the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) crossed an important milestone on Monday, when it demonstrated an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that will allow Indian Navy submarines to operate for up to two weeks without having to surface to recharge its batteries.

“The (AIP) plant was operated in endurance mode and maximum power mode as per the user requirements. The system is being developed by Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL) of DRDO,” announced the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday.

Since NMRL’s is expected to operationally field its indigenous AIP only by 2023-24, this will come too late to power the six new submarines that the navy is tendering in a Rs 45,000-crore programme called Project 75-I.

Instead, the six Project-75I submarines will be powered by AIP systems that the foreign vendor must offer. The DRDO’s AIP system, once ready, will from 2024-25 onward, be “retrofitted” into six Scorpene submarines that are being built in India under Project 75, say naval sources.
Predicting tsunamis with the world’s fastest supercomputer
Japan's Fujitsu Laboratory has developed an AI model that can predict the flooding of tsunamis in coastal areas in real time.

The AI model designed and developed by Fujitsu Laboratories of Japan can predict flood forecasts in specific areas, making it easier to evacuate people and provide insights about potential damage to surrounding infrastructure

The technology company uses Fugaku, the world's fastest supercomputer, to develop models.

A group of researchers used supercomputers to generate training data for 20,000 possible tsunami scenarios based on high-resolution tsunami simulations. They used these data sets to create AI models.

In the event of an earthquake, inputting the tsunami waveform data observed at sea into the model can help predict flooding in coastal areas before the waves make landfall.

The company said it will make it possible to obtain accurate and rapid flood forecasts for specific areas and also provide important insights about the impact of local waves on surrounding infrastructure such as buildings and roads.

It is said that the system can also make evacuation measures more effective.

The model can also be run on an ordinary PC within a few seconds, making it easier to build a practical real-time system that previously required a supercomputer.
ISRO places Brazil’s Amazonia-1, 18 other satellites in orbit
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched Brazil’s optical earth observation satellite, Amazonia-1, and 18 co-passenger satellites — five from India and 13 from the U.S. — from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

The satellites were carried on board the PSLV-C51, the 53rd flight of ISRO’s launch vehicle and the first dedicated mission of its commercial arm, NewSpace India Ltd.

The mission was undertaken under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc., U.S.

The PSLV-C51, equipped with two solid strap-on boosters, the third such launch of the PSLV-DL variant, lifted off from the first launch pad at Sriharikota.

Of the 13 satellites from the U.S., one is a technology demonstration satellite and the remaining are for two-way communications and data relay.

The satellites from India are the Satish Dhawan SAT (SDSAT) built by Space Kidz India, a nano-satellite intended to study the radiation levels, space weather and demonstrate long-range communication technologies; the UNITYsat, a combination of three satellites for providing radio relay services; and another satellite belonging to the DRDO.

The SDSAT has an engraving of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the top panel to show solidarity for the aatmanirbhar initiative and space privatisation, SpaceKidz said.

The Bhagavad Gita was also sent on board an SD card to give the scripture, which teaches oneness as the highest form of humanity, the highest honour.

Roughly 16 minutes after lift-off, the PS-4 engine was cut-off and the Amazonia-1, weighing 637 kg, belonging to the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), was separated a minute later.

The satellite will further strengthen the existing structure by providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region, according to ISRO.

The Amazonia-1 was injected into its precise orbit of 758 km in a sun-synchronous polar orbit.

Thereafter the other 18 customer satellites were placed into their intended orbits. The entire operation took about 1 hour and 55 minutes to completion.

“This particular mission is special because these five Indian satellites are coming under the new space reform announced by the Government of India.

ISRO has 14 missions planned this year, including the first unmanned mission around the end of the year.
Hyderabad CSIR lab helped develop key molecule for Covaxin
The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) lab here, played a role in the development of Covaxin, the indigenous vaccine developed by the city-based Bharat Biotech International Limited.

The vaccine is a highly purified, whole virion, inactivated SARS-Cov-2.

The vaccine has been formulated with ‘Algel-IMDG’, which contains chemically absorbed TLR7/8 as an agonist or an adjuvant onto aluminium hydroxide gel to generate the requisite type of immune responses without damaging the body.

The firm had approached the IICT to develop the synthetic route for the adjuvant molecule TLR 7/8 with indigenous chemicals at an affordable price and with highest purity.

This indigenously developed molecule aided Bharat Biotech to scale up the production of the adjuvant.

Senior scientists completed the chemical process in a record four months for the development of analytical method for testing TLR7/8 adjuvant molecule and also got the method validation procedures through National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited lab.

The process technology developed by CSIR-IICT for the molecule is playing an important role in the production of adjuvant for COVAXIN.

CSIR-IICT team rose to the occasion in making the process affordable and enabling development of the molecule in record time.

This is another instance of the CSIR’s commitment towards ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or self-reliant India.

CSIR labs, apart from helping the pharma industry launch repurposed drugs through process development and conducting clinical trials, have extensively contributed towards launching of diagnostic kits including ‘Feluda’ and dry swab direct RT-PCR method for the screening of SARS-CoV-2.
IIT-Delhi researchers develop technology to recycle e-waste
To deal with one of the fastest growing waste streams, researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi have developed a zero-emission technology to manage and recycle e-waste to wealth.

Research group in the Catalytic Reaction Engineering Laboratory at Chemical Engineering Department have adopted a methodology that uses e-waste as an “Urban Mine” for metal recovery and energy production.

Researchers said using their method, e-waste is shredded and pyrolyzed to yield liquid and gaseous fuels, leaving behind a metal-rich solid fraction.

On further separation using a novel technique, the leftover solid residue yields a 90-95% pure metal mixture and some carbonaceous materials.

The carbonaceous material is further converted to aerogel for oil spillage cleaning, dye removal, carbon dioxide capture, and use in supercapacitors.

The technology is an outcome of a Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, funded project and developed technology will cater to the need of “Smart Cities,” “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives of the government.
Russia launches satellite to monitor climate in Arctic
Russia Launched 1st Arctic-monitoring Satellite. The Russian space agency Roscosmos has successfully launched the first Arctic monitoring satellite, which will monitor the climate and environment of the Arctic.

The space agency launched the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket, which also carries the Arktika-M satellite. The rocket was blown up at the Baikonur International Space Airport in Kazakhstan on February 28, 2021.

In order to solve operational meteorological and hydrological problems, it is necessary to develop such a satellite system in a highly elliptical orbit to collect information.

The satellite will also monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic region. It will also provide continuous round-the-clock surveillance of Russia's northern territory.

The Arktika-M satellite will also send an overview image of the Earth’s Arctic and neighboring regions every 15 to 30 minutes.

Arktika-M: This satellite is one of a series of remote sensing and emergency communications satellites in the Russian plan. The satellite orbits in a highly elliptical 12-hour orbit. A constellation of two Arktika-M satellites was also designed to monitor the high latitudes of the earth. The satellite will be based on the LavochkinElektro-L weather satellite.

The satellite's payload includes MSU-GSM multi-spectral imagers and transmitters for weather systems and rescue systems. The first launch of the satellite is scheduled for 2013, but it has been postponed and launch in 2021.

Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos): It is a state-owned company of the Russian Federation engaged in space flight, aerospace research and space programs.

Roscosmos appeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was originally established as the Russian Space Agency in 1992. Roscosmos is headquartered in Moscow. Its main mission control center is located in the nearby city of Korolyov.