India with its 12 Mirage-2000 fighter jets decimated multiple terror camps across the Line of Control in Pakistan. The Mirage-2000 is one of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) most versatile and deadliest aircraft and it was first commissioned in 1985.Soon after inducting the Mirage, IAF gave it the name – Vajra – meaning lightning thunderbolt… Continue reading Why Mirage of ’80s is IAF’s ‘weapon of choice’
Category: Factly: Science and Technology
This category contains all Current Affairs Factly Articles for Prelims, related to Science and Technology. You can find all relevant Science and Technology related updates on this page. This page is specifically useful for UPSC Prelims exam.
NASA greenlights SpaceX test flight to ISS
NASA has given SpaceX the green light to test a new crew capsule by first sending an unmanned craft with a life-sized dummy figure to the International Space Station.The mission is called as Demonstration Mission-1 or DM-1 where Crew Dragon test capsule is scheduled to take off in falcon 9 rocket to the ISS. This… Continue reading NASA greenlights SpaceX test flight to ISS
Israel sends world’s first privately funded mission to moon
Israel has launched the Beresheet- world’s first largely privately funded spacecraft to land on the moon. If the landing is successful, Israel will become the fourth nation to soft land on moon after the former Soviet Union (Luna 2, 1959), the USA (Ranger 4, 1962) and China (Chang’e 4, 2018) Beresheet was flown by Space… Continue reading Israel sends world’s first privately funded mission to moon
Apache copter delivery in July: Boeing
Boeing officials has said that India will receive the first batch of Apache attack helicopters and one C-17 transport aircraft in July-August this year. The AH-64 Apache is a multi-role combat helicopter and is used by the US Army and a number of international defence forces. It is equipped with all-weather and night-fighting features apart… Continue reading Apache copter delivery in July: Boeing
Neptune has a new moon
Scientists have recently theorised the origin of Hippocamp- one among Neptune’s moons. Originally designated as S/2004 N 1 and Neptune XIV, this moon was found in images taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 2004–05 and 2009. It was then confirmed in further images captured in 2016. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space… Continue reading Neptune has a new moon
New space company to facilitate Isro tech transfer to industry
The union cabinet approved the setting up of a new company under the Department of Space (DoS), to commercially exploit the research and development work carried out by the various centres of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). The new company will be licensed by the DoS/Isro, which will in turn sub-license the technology and… Continue reading New space company to facilitate Isro tech transfer to industry
Astrocomb to help hunt for planets, aliens
Scientists from National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) have developed an Astrocomb. It is a custom made frequency comb which can precisely measure frequencies or colours of light. The instrument will help the precision needed for discovering and characterising planets orbiting M dwarf stars. M dwarfs (also known as red dwarfs) are the most… Continue reading Astrocomb to help hunt for planets, aliens
Desi lab harvest meat that even PETA activists will love
Mumbai has become the world’s first city to host a research centre dedicated to lab-grown meat. The Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai has planned to establish a Centre of Excellence in Cellular Agriculture. The centre will be backed by US-based Good Food Institute- an international non-profit that promotes plant and cell-based meat through research. The… Continue reading Desi lab harvest meat that even PETA activists will love
2 more states to set up drug price units
Punjab and Gujarat will set up Price Monitoring & Research unit (PMRU). It would be set up by National pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, the apex body which controls and monitors drug prices, in collaboration with the Department of Health and State drug controller. PMRU is aimed at a) monitoring the notified prices of medicines, b) detection… Continue reading 2 more states to set up drug price units
Govt plans ‘One Health’ to check antibiotics use in animals, humans
At the One Health India Conference, 2019, the government has announced its plan to launch One Health India Initiative. The initiative calls for an intersectoral approach to tackle the most urgent health threats such as Brucellosis, Tuberculosis, Anthrax, and Antimicrobial Resistance in India and across the globe. The initiative seeks to deal with human and… Continue reading Govt plans ‘One Health’ to check antibiotics use in animals, humans
