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Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Hybrid Rocket Launch 2023
Yesterday, I witnessed the setting up of India’s first hybrid rocket carrying 150 satellites built by students from across the country. The venue was the seashore off East Coast Road, near Thiruvidandai, Tamil Nadu. Proud to have witnessed today (Sunday, 19th February 2023) up close from the launch site of the Rocket carrying 150 Pico Satellites in a single hybrid rocket. The satellites were designed by students and the rocket was designed and developed by private developers headed by Anand Megalingam with advice from #ISRO. Pico Satellites are extremely small satellites, measuring from 0.1 kg to 10 kg each. In this case, the satellites were designed to measure the weather…
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Soft Launch of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission 2023
Today, the 19th of December 2022, was a historic day for Indian students interested in space science. It was the soft launch of “Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission 2023” by Her Excellency, Honourable Governor of Telangana and the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Dr (Smt) Tamilisai Soundararajan at the Kamarajar Manimandapam, Puducherry. She was joined by Hon’ble Speaker of Puducherry Assembly Sri Embalam R Selvam, Dr Mylswamy Annadurai (Padma Shri Awardee) of ISRO and other dignitaries. I was happy to be part of the planning for the mission and to have delivered the vote of thanks during the event. Apart from countless others working on the mission,…
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78000 years old human burial found in Kenya
மனிதர்கள் எப்போது மற்ற விலங்குகளைப் போல் அல்லாமல் சடங்குகளை, குறிப்பாக ஈமச் சடங்குகளைச் செய்யத் துவங்கினார்கள் என்று கண்டுபிடிக்கத் தொல்பொருள் ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்கள் பல காலமாக முயன்று வருகிறார்கள். இதைத் தெரிந்துக் கொள்வதால் என்ன பயன்? இந்த வினாவிற்கு விடைத் தெரிந்தால், பரிணாம வளர்ச்சியைப் பற்றிய மற்ற பல புதிர்களுக்கு அது வழிக்காட்டக்கூடும். இறந்தவர்களை (சடலங்களை) அப்படியே விட்டுவிட்டுப் போகாமல் இருப்பவர்கள் குழுவாக/குடும்பமாக வாழ்ந்திருக்கக்கூடும், நாகரிகம் வளர தொடங்க இந்த அமைப்பு ஒரு முக்கிய அடித்தளம். எதற்கு இதையெல்லாம் இங்கே எழுதுகிறேன்? சமீபத்தில் தொல்பொருள் ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்கள் மனிதக் குல தொட்டில் என அழைக்கப்படும் ஆப்பிரிக்காவின் கென்யா நாட்டில், கடற்கரைக்கு அருகில் இருக்கும் ஒரு மலைக்குகையில் 78,000 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன் இறந்த ஓர் இரண்டு (அல்லது முன்று) வயது குழந்தையின் மிச்சங்களைக் கண்டுப்பிடித்துள்ளார்கள். “மோடோடோ” (ஸ்வாஹிலி மொழியில் குழந்தை என்று அர்த்தம்) என்று பெயரிடப்பட்டுள்ள அந்தக் குழந்தையின் மிச்சங்களில் அப்படியென்ன சிறப்பு?. இங்கே மிச்சம் என்று தான் சொல்கிறார்கள், சடலம் என்று சொல்ல பெரியதாக எதுவுமில்லை, சிறு சிறு…
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Launch of the Tianhe module to the Chinese Space Station
With a deadly pandemic raging outside, this may not be the time to look above us into the skies. But a future cold war like situation, is building up there. The International Space Station (ISS) is one of the marvels of humanity, a global initiative – only the Chinese are the large nation to get left out & no Chinese has been onboard ISS due to a US Congressional ban. ISS was a successor to the Soviet Mir program and ISS was built at a cost of over US$150 Billion over decades with major contributions from the USA, Russia, Europe, Japan & Canada. Last week, China took the first major…
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Launch of 100 Femto Satellites in Rameswaram, India
I feel privileged to be part of the program today organized by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation to launch 100 Femto satellites in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. These tiny satellites weigh around 14 to 50 grams and were launched using balloons to study various elements in the atmosphere and its impact on seeds and other materials sent. The satellites were assembled by students of government and private schools around the country. The technology for the program was made possible by Space Zone India. About four records were made in the day and are due to be recognized by Asia Book of Records and World Book of Records, London including for…
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A 500 metre tall coral reef discovered in over 120 years
The picture you see on top of this page is me on an under-water walking trip in the Great Barrier Reef, off of the coast of cairns in Australia. This was during my vacation to Australia in June 2002, almost two decades ago! And it was one of the most breathtaking experiences in my life. Below is probably one of the happiest scientific news in this pandemic year. Scientist in Australia have discovered a 500-metre tall coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef, this is the first reef to be discovered in over 120 years. The reef was discovered by Australian scientists aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor. We…
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Ask an Astronaut by Tim Peake
Ask an Astronaut by Mr Tim Peake: This is a free-flowing book, mostly Q & A format, addressing numerous questions we may have about travelling to space, what it takes to be an astronaut, and how is life in space. I enjoyed this book a lot, gave me strong hope that humanity which has overcome odds to go to space and moon will certainly survive the current crisis and come out stronger than ever. Mr Tim from the U.K. was an astronaut representing European Space Agency (ESA) abroad the International Space Station (ISS) for a 186-day Principia mission in 2016. If you thought that was impressive, check his earlier experiences…
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Even the fungi are cunning merchants!
Science is fascinating and sometimes unbelievable too like in this case. If we think exploitation is a human trait born out of our greed, we are not alone, even fungi exhibit this behaviour! The fungus is a microorganism such as yeasts and moulds as well as the more familiar mushrooms. Check out this Economist article quoting a study just published in Current Biology by Toby Kiers of the Free University of Amsterdam: //In the soil, where plants’ roots meet fungal hyphae, there are trading posts. Like cunning merchants who know how to make a profit, fungi exploit resource scarcity by marking up their prices. They demand more nutrients from plants…
