Current Affairs on Technology

In UK's prestigious Founders Award ceremony, Shuji Nakamura, inventor of the which product, bagged the award for Outstanding achievement in Science and Technology: Blue LED

What milestone in the history of spaceflights was achieved in the successful launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s to the International Space Station (ISS) on 8 April 2016: It was the first spaceflight in which its reusable main-stage booster landed on an ocean platform minutes after the launch

PM Narendra Modi unveils Asia’s largest optical telescope 'ARIES' (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences) at which place in India?: Nainital

Explanation: It was remotely activated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel from Belgium. ARIES thus became the Asia’s largest and first of its kind optical telescope Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) was unveiled at Devasthal in Nainital District, Uttrakahnd. Aries telescope was joint collaborative technological effort between Indian and Belgian scientists.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 20 January 2016 successfully launched the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System?:-  IRNSS-1E

Explanation:-  IRNSS-1E was launched successfully by PSLV-C31 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, Andhra pradesh on 20th january 2016. The satellite will provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to the Indian sub continent.

This satellite was the 5th satellite to be launched under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) series that seeks to establish a regional navigation satellite system on the lines of the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States.It is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. It would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS), which will be provided to all users, and Restricted Services (RS) that will be provided to authorised users only.

The four earlier satellites launched under the IRNSS series were IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C and 1D, which were launched by PSLV-C22, PSLV-C24, PSLV-C26 and PSLV-C27 in July 2013, April 2014, October 2014 and March 2015 respectively.

 

DRDO successfully test-fired anti-tank missile Nag at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in?:- Rajasthan

Explanation:-  In fresh trials, India has test-fired its indigenously developed Nag anti-tank guided missile it successfully hit the target 4 km away during a night trial in the Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan. 

During the test, the Thermal Target System (TTS) was used as target for the missile. The TTS simulated a target similar to an operational tank as thermal mapping from tank to TTS was carried out for generating thermal signature.

According to scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the trial validated the enhanced 4-km range capability of Imaging-Infrared seeker, which guides the missile to the target after its launch. It is a third generation fire-and-forget and can be fired anti-tank missile. It can be fired during night and day as well. It is equipped with top attack capability to nullify the explosive reactive armour (ERA) of a battle tank. It weighs 42kg having 1.90m length and can be fired against both moving and fixed targets.

Manoj Bhargava an Indian-American billionaire philanthropist recently came in to news for which path-breaking new invention?: Invention in the form of a stationary cycle that can generate free electricity

Explanation: Manoj Bhargava on 28 November 2015 has unveiled his new invention – a stationary cycle that is capable of generating electricity through pedalling. The pedalling thus turns a flywheel, which spins a generator that charges the attached battery. Therfore, resulting to this excerice of one hour of pedalling can meet a rural household’s electricity needs for 24 hours, including running lights, a small fan and charging a cell phone, all without electricity bills, fuel costs or pollution. The price of one such cycle is expected between Rs. 12,000-15,000 and will be available by March 2016. Bhargava informed that production of this path-breaking cycle will be done in India.

NASA on 29 September 2015 has confirmed that Scientists have found which first evidence on the surface of Mars during the planet's summer months?: Briny water may flow on the surface of Mars

Explanation: NASA's ongoing Mars rover Curiosity has already found evidence that Mars had all the ingredients and suitable habitats for microbial life to exist at some point in its past. herefore, now again on 29 Sept. 2015 have found the first evidence that briny water flowed on the surface of Mars as recently as last summer, raising the possibility that the planet could support life.The slopes, first reported in 2011, appear during the warm summer months on Mars, then vanish when the temperatures drop.