Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has allowed establishing a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital (VC) fund for space startups under the supervision of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), which is a single-window autonomous government agency under the Department of Space (DoS). According to the Cabinet press release on Thursday, “The deployment is planned for up to five years from the actual date of the start of the fund operations. The fund is expected to be operational from FY26”.
“The proposed fund is expected to boost employment in the Indian space sector by supporting startups across the entire space supply chain—upstream, midstream, and downstream. It will help businesses scale, invest in R&D, and expand their workforce,” the Cabinet said.
A powerful new space mission will track our changing Earth in fine detail 🌏
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) January 9, 2024
The joint @NASA-@ISRO mission – called #NISAR – will give us insight into what triggers earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and other natural hazards. It’s set to launch from India in coming months. pic.twitter.com/eIeNuRjXVD
(Credit - X/@NASAJPL)
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) project has reached an important milestone with the arrival of its crucial radar antenna reflector in Bengaluru, India. The reflector is a drum-shaped structure measuring over 39 feet (12 meters) in diameter, which is designed to focus microwave signals to and from Earth's surface. This unique technology will help scientists scan nearly all of the planet's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days via NISAR mission. The reflector underwent specialized checkup in California, where engineers applied reflective tape as well as implemented associated precautionary measures to reduce potential temperature increase, which might affect the reflector's health after deploying into orbit. The NISAR satellite is scheduled for launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in early 2025.
In a remarkable discovery, scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Caltech have detected the first-ever "black hole triple" system. The newly discovered system, named V404 Cygni, is situated around 8,000 light-years from Earth. The system comprises a central black hole consuming a tiny star in a close 6.5-day orbit, just like known binary systems. "We think most black holes form from violent explosions of stars, but this discovery helps call that into question," said Kevin Burdge lead author of the study adding: "This system is super exciting for black hole evolution, and it also raises questions of whether there are more triples out there.” Using the Gaia satellite's accurate measurements, the research team confirmed that the distant star moves in tandem with the inner binary system, highlighting a gravitational connection.
With rising arctic temperature, polar bears are exposed to a huge risk of contracting more viruses, bacteria and parasites. By analyzing samples collected between 1987 and 1994 and during 2008-2017, the scientists observed significantly higher chemical signals of infections. "Bears in general are pretty robust to disease. It's not typically been known to affect bear population, but I think what it just highlights is that things [in the Arctic] are changing,” explained wildlife biologist Dr Karyn Rode from the US Geological Survey. The study provides clues about rise in diseases due to climate change and global warming.
