Daily Quiz #10 UPSC Prelims Marathon – July 11, 2019

Explanation: The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is the next step in the search for planets outside of our solar system, including those that could support life. The mission will find exoplanets that periodically block part of the light from their host stars, events called transits. TESS will survey 200,000 of the brightest stars near the sun to search for transiting exoplanets. TESS launched on April 18, 2018, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
TESS scientists expect the mission will catalog thousands of planet candidates and vastly increase the current number of known exoplanets. Of these, approximately 300 are expected to be Earth-sized and super-Earth-sized exoplanets, which are worlds no larger than twice the size of Earth. TESS will find the most promising exoplanets orbiting our nearest and brightest stars, giving future researchers a rich set of new targets for more comprehensive follow-up studies.
Mission Approach
TESS will survey the entire sky over the course of two years by breaking it up into 26 different sectors, each 24 degrees by 96 degrees across. The powerful cameras on the spacecraft will stare at each sector for at least 27 days, looking at the brightest stars at a two-minute cadence. From Earth, the moon occupies half a degree, which is less than 1/9,000th the size of the TESS tiles.
The stars TESS will study are 30 to 100 times brighter than those the Kepler mission and K2 follow-up surveyed, which will enable far easier follow-up observations with both ground-based and space-based telescopes. TESS will also cover a sky area 400 times larger than that monitored by Kepler.
In addition to its search for exoplanets, TESS will allow scientists from the wider community to request targets for astrophysics research on approximately 20,000 additional objects during the mission through its Guest Investigator program.
The Transit Method
The transit method of detecting exoplanets looks for dips in the visible light of stars, and requires that planets cross in front of stars along our line of sight to them. Repetitive, periodic dips can reveal a planet or planets orbiting a star. Transit photometry, which looks at how much light an object puts out at any given time, can tell researchers a lot about a planet. Based on how much of a dip in light a planet causes in its star, we can determine that planet’s size. Looking at how long it takes a planet to orbit its star, scientists are able to determine the shape of the planet’s orbit and how long it takes the planet to circle its sun.
TESS will create a catalog of thousands of exoplanet candidates using this transit photometry method. After this list has been compiled, the TESS mission will conduct ground-based follow-up observations to confirm that the exoplanets candidates are true exoplanets and not false positives. These ground-based telescopes will collaborate with other ground-based telescopes to measure the masses of the planets. Using the known planet size, orbit and mass, TESS and ground-based follow-up will be able to determine the planets’ compositions. This will reveal whether the planets are rocky (like Earth), gas giants (like Jupiter) or something even more unusual. Additional follow-up with ground- and space-based missions, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, will also allow astronomers to study the atmospheres of many of these planets.
TESS team partners include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, Orbital ATK, NASA’s Ames Research Center, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Explanation: It was conceived by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to enable India attain self-sufficiency in field of missile technology. It was approved by Government of India in 1983 and completed in March 2012. The 5 missiles developed under this program are:
•Prithvi: Short range surface to surface ballistic missile.
•Agni: Ballistic missiles with different ranges, i.e. Agni (1,2,3,4,5)
•Trishul: Short range low level surface to air missile.
•Nag: 3rd generation anti-tank missile.
•Akash: Medium range surface to air missile.

Explanation: Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata were in for a pleasant surprise as the total solar eclipse on July 2 proved their prediction correct in its major features. While their aim was to check whether their prediction of the shape of the corona had been realized, imaging the solar corona, or the Sun’s atmosphere was the motivation for many others. The corona can only be viewed during a total solar eclipse. This total solar eclipse was visible only within a narrow strip of land stretching over Chile and Argentina. The model built up by the IISER Kolkata team can be used to predict space weather. It will also be useful in analyzing data from the proposed Indian space mission – Aditya-L1 – which is meant to study the Sun’s corona.

Explanation: The Department of Space (DOS) has the primary objective of promoting development and application of space science and technology to assist in all-round development of the nation. Towards this, DOS has evolved the following programmes:
1. Launch Vehicle programme having indigenous capability for launching spacecrafts.
2. INSAT Programme for telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, development of education etc.
3. Remote Sensing Programme for application of satellite imagery for various developmental purposes.
4. Research and Development in Space Sciences and Technology for serving the end of applying them for national development.

Organization: With the setting up of Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962, the space activities in the country were initiated. In the same year, the work on Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) near Thiruvananthapuram was also started. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was established in August 1969. The Government of India constituted the Space Commission and established the Department of Space (DOS) in June 1972 and brought ISRO under DOS in September 1972.
The Space Commission formulates the policies and oversees the implementation of the Indian space programme to promote the development and application of space science and technology for the socio-economic benefit of the country. DOS implements these programmes through, mainly, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), North Eastern-Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC) and Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL). The Antrix Corporation, established in 1992 as a government owned company, markets the space products and services.

The establishment of space systems and their applications are coordinated by the national level committees, namely, INSAT Coordination Committee (ICC), Planning Committee on National Natural Resources Management System (PC-NNRMS) and Advisory Committee of on Space Sciences (ADCOS).

The Secretariat of DOS and ISRO Headquarters are located at Antariksh Bhavan in Bangalore. Programme offices at ISRO Headquarters coordinate the programmes like satellite communication, earth observation, launch vehicle, space science, disaster management support, sponsored research scheme, contracts management, international cooperation, safety, reliability, publications and public relations, budget & economic analysis, civil engineering and human resources development.

Explanation: The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is an agency of the Government of India, charged with the military’s research and development, headquartered in New Delhi, India. It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defense Science Organization. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defense, Government of India.