Wednesday, October 22, 2008

India launches first Moon mission

India has successfully launched its first mission to the Moon.

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

The launch is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.

It was greeted with applause by scientists gathered at the site.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says there has been a lot of excitement about the event, which was broadcast live on national TV.

Competitive mission

An Indian-built launcher carrying the one-and-a-half-tonne satellite blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at about 0620 local time (0050 GMT).
One key objective will be to search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the Moon, especially at the poles.

Another will be to detect Helium 3, an isotope which is rare on Earth, but is sought to power nuclear fusion and could be a valuable source of energy in future.

Powered by a single solar panel generating about 700 Watts, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) probe carries five Indian-built instruments and six that are foreign-built.

The mission is expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m; $78m).

The Indian experiments include a 30kg probe that will be released from the mothership to slam into the lunar surface.

1 - Chandrayaan Energetic Neutral Analyzer (CENA)
2 - Moon Impact Probe (MIP)
3 - Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM)
4 - Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC)
5 - Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
6 - Chandrayaan 1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS)
7 - Solar Panel

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) will record video footage on the way down and measure the composition of the Moon's tenuous atmosphere.

"Chandrayaan has a very competitive set of instruments... it will certainly do good science," said Barry Kellett, project scientist on the C1XS instrument, which was built at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory in the UK.

C1XS will map the abundance of different elements in the lunar crust to help answer key questions about the origin and evolution of Earth's only natural satellite.

Researchers say the relative abundances of magnesium and iron in lunar rocks could help confirm whether the Moon was once covered by a molten, magma ocean.

"The iron should have sunk [in the magma ocean], whereas the magnesium should have floated," Mr Kellett told BBC News.

"The ratio of magnesium to iron for the whole Moon tells you to what extent the Moon melted and what it did after it formed." The instrument will look for more unusual elements on the Moon's surface, such as titanium. This metallic element has been found in lunar meteorites, but scientists know little about its distribution in the lunar crust.

Chandrayaan will also investigate the differences between the Moon's near side and its far side. The far side is both more heavily cratered and different in composition to the one facing Earth.



The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket will loft Chandrayaan into an elliptical "transfer orbit" around Earth.

The probe will later carry out a series of engine burns to set it on a lunar trajectory.

The spacecraft coasts for about five-and-a-half days before firing the engine to slow its velocity such that it is captured by the Moon's gravity.

Chandrayaan will slip into a near-circular orbit at an altitude of 1,000km. After a number of health checks, the probe will drop its altitude until it is orbiting just 100km above the lunar surface.

India, China, Japan and South Korea all have eyes on a share of the commercial satellite launch business and see their space programmes as an important symbol of international stature and economic development.

Last month, China became only the third country in the world to independently carry out a spacewalk.

But the Indian government's space efforts have not been welcomed by all.

Some critics regard the space programme as a waste of resources in a country where millions still lack basic services.

Mangled torsos of the blast victims, the injured at hospitals, CM visiting the victims, grieving family members comforting each other sum up the story of the terror attack at Ragailong


TERROR STRIKES : 17 killed in blast near Cdos barrack
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Oct 21 : At least 17 people including surrendered militants and civilians were killed when a powerful bomb suspected to be fitted to a Luna moped exploded near the high security Ra-gailong gate today at about 7.30 pm under Imphal West police.
Eleven were killed at the spot while 2 passed away at RIMS and another two at Shija Hospital.
The four killed in the terror attack are identified as Konthoujam Roben alias Meiraba (28) of Nambol Awang Jiri, a surrenderee, declared brought dead at RIMS; Khurshid Alam (41), a tailor by profession and hailing from Madhubani district of Bihar (passed away at RIMS); Ram Babu (17) son of Ugghra of Bihar, died at the spot and Raju Prasad (20) son of Vaidyanath of Buxar district, Bihar and staying at Ragailong.
Chief Minister O Ibobi who visited the dead and injured at RIMS said that the attack was an act of cowardice and assured that the Government will pay adequate compensation to the dead and injured. The Government will not take things lying down, he asserted.
The blast site was strewn with mangled and mutilated bodies and blood and human flesh were scattered all over.
Bare torsos, putrid smell of human flesh and cries of despair greeted this reporter when he arrived at the spot.
About five bodies, blown to pieces were seen lying together in a heap outside the gate of Ragailong. Another two were seen inside the gate towards the Ragailong village.
Cries and screams rend the air as frantic people searched among the remains of human flesh to see if any of their beloved ones were among those felled by the explosion.
Asmat Ara a young housewife told this reporter that she heard a loud explosion followed by cries and screams of pain and anguish and without a thought for her own safety rushed out to look for her husband. Her husband Khurshid Alam was found in a pool of blood and he was rushed to RIMS where he passed away shortly.
S Anand who was more fortunate and escaped with a minor injury said he was taking a walk after dinner when he heard a loud report and then saw the mangled bodies.
DGP Y Joykumar accompanied by IG (LO-I) and SSP of Imphal West arrived at the spot and took stock of the situation. He however refused to take any question from the reporters.
Ragailong is a highly fortified area. To its west is the Commando barrack while to the east is a transit camp of the Assam Rifles while further north there is the 2nd MR complex.
The body count may increase as many are undergoing treatment at different health centres. At JN hospital out of 16 admitted, 6 are in the ICU while another 13 are battling for life at RIMS. Five more are at Shija.
A spokesperson of department of propaganda and publicity of PREPAK has denied any hand in the blast. The BJP has condemned the blast.
Apart from the Chief Minister, Works Minister K Ranjit, Education Minister L Jayenta, IFCD Minister N Biren, MLA Bijoy Koijam and S Keba visited RIMS.

Centre mulls granting ST status to Tea-Tribe of Assam

New Delhi, Oct 21 : The Centre has processed the recommendations of the Assam government for inclusion of various communities including ‘Tea-Tribe’ of the state in the STs list, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

“Ministry of Tribal Affairs has processed the proposals/recommendations of the Government of Assam for inclusion of various communities including Adivasi/Tea-Tribe in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Assam,” Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Rameshwar Oraon stated in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

Silvius Condpan of Congress had asked the minister about the steps taken so far by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the matter of granting ST status to the “Adivasi/Tea-Tribe” community of Assam in response to the recommendation of the state government made on more than one occasions.

“The matter is being processed as per the modalities approved by the government on June 15, 1999 for determining the claims for inclusion in or exclusion from and other modifications in the orders specifying Scheduled Tribes,” Oraon said.

Oraon, however, did not give any specific reply to the question from Condpan who asked “whether it’s true that government is unable to go ahead with it (proposal for giving ST status to Tea-Tribes of Assam) because of objections raised by Registrar General of India.”

India blast ‘kills at least 13′


Imphal, Oct 21 : At least 13 people have been killed and 20 injured in a blast in the north-east Indian city of Imphal, police say.

The explosion happened near a police commando barracks in the city, which is the capital of Manipur state. Police say most of the victims are civilians.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes two days after a suspected militant grenade attack outside the chief minister’s home.

Correspondents say Manipur is home to about a dozen rebel groups.

Some are fighting for the state’s independence, others for autonomous tribal homelands.

Unesco recommends India on river island Majuli


New Delhi, Oct 21 : Unesco has asked India to compile a list of monasteries in Majuli, one of the largest freshwater river islands of the world in Assam, parliament was told Tuesday.

Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni said the World Heritage Committee of Unesco, while dismissing the inscription of the river island on the 2008 World Heritage list, recommended that a complete list of the 31 surviving Sattaras, or Vaishnavite monasteries, on the island be made.

‘A complete list of the 31 surviving Sattaras on the island as a preliminary to considering which Sattaras might have the potential to demonstrate outstanding universal value and allowing an International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) evaluation mission to visit the property are some of the recommendations of the World Heritage Council,’ Soni told the Rajya Sabha.
Majuli, in the Brahmaputra river, with a population of 160,000 people, majority being tribals, has a rich heritage and has been the abode of Assamese Vashnavite culture with tremendous option for spiritual and eco-tourism in the northeast. The island is a bio-diversity hotspot and has rich ecology with rare breeds of flora and fauna.

In July this year, the mountain railways of India, which includes Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka-Shimla Railway and Matheran Hill Railway, made it to the World Heritage List. Majuli, however, which was also nominated by India, did not.

‘The council has also recommended an appraisal of the overall river basin in which Majuli lies and the potential impact of upstream development, deforestation and building of dams, in order to ascertain whether managed retreat is the only realistic approach to the flooding and erosion process,’ Soni said.

She added that at this point, it is not clear if the island will be re-nominated for the World Heritage List.