Heena Sharma Blog

  The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently demonstrated free-space quantum communication over a distance of 300 m for the first time. The demonstration included live videoconferencing using quantum-key-encrypted signals. This is a major achievement for unconditionally secured satellite data communication using quantum technologies. Isro said that a number of key technologies were developed indigenously to accomplish this major feat, which included the use of an indigenously developed navigation satellite system, with an operational name of NavIC, a receiver for time synchronisation between the transmitter and receiver modules, and gimbal mechanism systems instead of bulky large-aperture telescopes for optical alignment. Read More

  Using data collected at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and orbit analysis from the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, scientists have confirmed that Near-Earth Object (NEO) 2020 SO is, in fact, a 1960's-Era Centaur rocket booster. The object, discovered in September by astronomers searching for near-Earth asteroids from the NASA-funded Pan-STARRS1 survey telescope on Maui, garnered interest in the planetary science community due to its size and unusual orbit and was studied by observatories around the world, according to an official release. Further analysis of 2020 SO's orbit revealed the object had come close to Earth a few times over the decades, with one approach in 1966 bringing it close enough to suggest it may have originated from Earth. Comparing this data with the history of previous NASA missions, Paul Chodas, CNEOS director, concluded 2020 SO could be the Centaur upper stage rocket booster fro...

Our senses are stuck in the past . There’s a flash of lightning, and then seconds pass until we hear the rumble of distant thunder. We hear the past. We are seeing into the past too . While sound travels about a kilometre every three seconds, light travels 300,000 kilometres every second. When we see a flash of lighting three kilometres away, we are seeing something that happened a hundredth of a millisecond ago. That’s not exactly the distant past. But as we look further afield, we can peer further back. We can see seconds, minutes, hours and years into the past with our own eyes. Looking through a telescope, we can look even further into the past. A second back in time If you really want to look back in time, you need to look up. The Moon is our nearest celestial neighbour - a world with valleys, mountains and craters. Read More Business Standard

Nasa InSight will study the interior of Mars and will teach us valuable science as we prepare to send astronauts to the Moon and later to Mars. This accomplishment represents the ingenuity of America and our international partners, and it serves as a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team. The best of NASA is yet to come, and it is coming soon," CNN quoted Bridenstine as saying. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is the first outer space robotic explorer and will study the crust, mantle, and core of the fourth planet in our solar system. The lander, launched on May 5, 2018, from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and took a six-month cruise from Earth to Mars ever since, is NASA 's first spacecraft to land on Mars since Curiosity. "We've studied Mars from orbit and from the surface since 1965, learning about its weather, atmosphere, geology and surface chemistr...