Science and Technology - Part-IV

Science and technology section is an important part of Civil Service Exam syllabus. Questions on science and technology are asked in Prelims and Mains examinations, both.

Science has always signified the Human Excellence, it has evolved the mankind from based on ignorance to one based on reason. In the present period S&T acts as a best tool for administration.

Growth in S&T is proportional to development of country. So the logic of having S&T in UPSC examination relies on the fact that for anyone who aspires to be a part of administration must be well aware of the significance attached to the tools that he has at his disposal.

The aim and objectives of NISAR mission are:

• Design, Develop and launch a Dual frequency (L and S Band) Radar Imaging Satellite.
• Explore newer application areas using L and S band microwave data, especially in natural resources mapping & monitoring; estimating agricultural biomass over full duration of crop cycle; assessing soil moisture; monitoring of floods and oil slicks; coastal erosion, coastline changes and variation of winds in coastal waters; assessment of mangroves; surface deformation studies due to seismic activities etc.

Difference between Webb and Hubble
The reason why Webb is not a replacement for Hubble is that its capabilities are not identical. Webb will primarily look at the Universe in the infrared, while Hubble studies it primarily at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths (though it has some infrared capability). Webb also has a much bigger mirror than Hubble.

This larger light collecting area means that Webb can peer farther back into time than Hubble is capable of doing. Hubble is in a very close orbit around the earth, while Webb will be 1.5 million kilometres (km) away at the second Lagrange (L2) point.

SAMAR
System of Aerosol Monitoring And Research (SAMAR) which is a network of 16 Aethalometers, 12 Sky radiometers and 12 Nephelometers to study black-carbon concentration, aerosol radiative properties, environmental visibility respectively & their climatological impacts.

ARIES
On March 30, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel unveiled Asia's largest optical telescope in Nainital, Uttarakhand from Brussels, Belgium. "Even the sky is not the limit for the ARIES Telescope" said Modi after launching the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences or ARIES project.
Here is all you want to know about the project, ARIES:

• ARIES telescope is a joint collaboration between Indian, Russian, and Belgian scientists
• The total cost of the construction and setup of the telescope is estimated to be Rs 120 crore
• The telescope is located at Devasthal, Nainital at a height of 2,500 metres
• It is said that the site was chosen to get a clear view of the sky
• The ARIES optical telescope's mirror is 3.6 metres (360 centimetres) in diameter
• The high end technology incorporated in the telescope enables it to be operated with the help of remote control from anywhere in the world
• The telescope will be used in the study and exploration of planets, starts, magnetic field and astronomical debris
• The scientists will also help in research of the structures of stars and magnetic field structures of stars.

JAMES WEBB
The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or Webb) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror. The telescope will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in October of 2018.

JWST will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.

JWST was formerly known as the "Next Generation Space Telescope" (NGST); it was renamed in Sept. 2002 after a former NASA administrator, James Webb.

SpaceX
SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010.

The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments.

Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA. Its rocket called FALCON9 has the unique capability of vertical landing and vertical takeoff.

NISAR
ISRO and NASA are jointly working on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission to codevelop and launch a dual frequency synthetic aperture radar satellite.

AlphaGo
A computer has beaten a human professional for the first time at Go — an ancient board game that has long been viewed as one of the greatest challenges for artificial intelligence (AI).

The best human players of chess, draughts and backgammon have all been outplayed by computers. But a hefty handicap was needed for computers to win at Go. Now Google’s London-based AI company, DeepMind, claims that its machine has mastered the game.

This means that similar techniques could be applied to other AI domains that require recognition of complex patterns, long-term planning and decision-making, Examples are using medical images to make diagnoses or treatment plans, and improving climate-change models.

By:Balalatha Mallavarapu