Discovery of New Microorganisms in the Stratosphere

Three new species of bacteria, which are not found on Earth and which are highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation, have been discovered in the upper stratosphere by Indian scientists. One of the new species has been named as Janibacter hoylei, after the Distinguished Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle, the second as Bacillus isronensis recognising the contribution of ISRO in the balloon experiments which led to its discovery and the third as Bacillus aryabhata after India’s celebrated ancient astronomer Aryabhata and also the first satellite of ISRO.

Payloads on Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan-1 has 11 payloads on board. Five of them are indigenous and remaining six are  from other nations being carried free of cost. One among them is Chandrayaan-1 x-ray spectrometer (C1XS) realised primarily through ESA funds with partial support from ISRO.  The hardware has been developed at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK in collaboration with the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore. The primary goal of the C1XS instrument is to carry out high quality X-ray spectroscopic mapping of the Moon, in order to find solutions to key questions on the origin and evolution of the Moon. C1XS will use X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (1.0-10 keV) to measure the elemental abundance, and map the distribution, of the three main rock forming elements: Mg, Al and Si. During periods of enhanced solar activity (solar flares) events, it may be possible to determine the abundance of minor elements such as Ca, Ti and Fe on the surface of the Moon.

Search for earth like planet - Kepler Mission

The Delta II rocket carrying the Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft lifted off on time at 10:49 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spectacular nighttime launch followed a smooth countdown free of technical issues or weather concerns.

Kepler's mission: to peer closely at a patch of space for at least three-and-a-half years, looking for rocky planets similar to our own. The spacecraft will target an area rich with stars like our sun, watching for a slight dimming in the starlight as planets slip through the space between.

"Kepler is a critical component in NASA's broader efforts to ultimately find and study planets where Earth-like conditions may be present," said Jon Morse, the Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The planetary census Kepler takes will be very important for understanding the frequency of Earth-size planets in our galaxy and planning future missions that directly detect and characterize such worlds around nearby stars."

Comet Lulin

Comet Lulin is a non-periodic comet. It was discovered by Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng from Lulin Observatory. Non-periodic comets are defined for these purposes as comets that have an orbital period of 200 years or more, including single-apparition comets that pass through the Inner Solar System only once.

free counter