Science & Technology - 2 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Active Volcanoes on Venus

Context

• A new analysis of archival radar images taken around three decades ago has found direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on the surface of Venus.

About

• Scientists made the new discovery by pouring over images of Venus taken by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft between 1990 and 1992. 
• During their examination, they looked at the planet’s Atla Regio area, where two of the biggest volcanoes of Venus, Ozza Mons and Maat Mons, are located. 

What are the findings?

• A vent situated on the north side of a domed shield volcano that is part of the larger Maat Mons volcano that changed significantly in shape and size between February and October 1991.
• The “computer models of the vent in various configurations to test different geological-event scenarios concluded that only an eruption could have caused the change.

Significance of Findings

• The volcanoes act like windows to provide information about a planet’s interior, the new findings take scientists a step further to understand the geological conditions of not just Venus but also other exoplanets. 
  • An exoplanet is a planet outside our own Solar System, sometimes referred to as an extrasolar planet.
• The findings give a glimpse of what more is to come regarding Venus as in the next decade, three new Venus missions would be launched, including the European EnVision orbiter and NASA’s DAVINCI and VERITAS missions. 

What is a Volcano?

• A volcano is a vent or fissure in Earth’s crust through which lava, ash, rocks, and gases erupt. 
• A volcano can be active, dormant or extinct. An eruption takes place when magma (a thick flowing substance), formed when the earth’s mantle melts, rises to the surface. 
• The magma is lighter than solid rock, it is able to rise through vents and fissures on the surface of the earth. After it has erupted, it is called lava.
• Not all volcanic eruptions are explosive since explosivity depends on the composition of the magma. 
• When the magma is runny and thin, gases can easily escape it, in which case, the magma will flow out towards the surface and if the magma is thick and dense, gases cannot escape it, which builds up pressure inside until the gases escape in a violent explosion.

About Planet Venus

• Earth’s Twin: Venus is Earth’s closest planetary neighbour which is similar in structure but slightly smaller than Earth, it is the second planet from the sun. Therefore, Venus has been called Earth’s twin.
• Thick & Toxic Atmosphere: Venus has an atmosphere 50 times denser than Earth’s. Venus is wrapped in a thick, toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide that traps in heat.
• Inhabitable:  Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. The temperature of Venus is too high, and its atmosphere is highly acidic, just two of the things that would make life impossible. Surface temperatures reach a scorching 880 degrees Fahrenheit (471 degrees Celsius), hot enough to melt lead.
• Other Features: It has no moons and no rings. Venus’ solid surface is a volcanic landscape covered with extensive plains featuring high volcanic mountains and vast ridges. It spins from east to west, the opposite direction from all other planets in our solar system but the same as Uranus.

Starberry-Sense

Context

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have developed a low-cost star sensor for astronomy and small CubeSat class satellite missions. The star sensor named Starberry-Sense can help small CubeSat class satellite missions find their orientation in space.

Star Sensor

• Any satellite needs to know where it is pointed in space, and the instrument used for this purpose is called a star sensor.
• The position of stars in the sky is fixed relative to each other and can be used as a stable reference frame to calculate the orientation of a satellite in orbit. This is done by correctly identifying the stars in the sky towards which the star sensor is pointed.
• The star sensor is essentially a celestial compass.

High cost of Star Sensors

• In recent years CubeSats and small satellite missions have gained huge popularity. These missions utilize commercially available components for their design and development, but the typical cost of a commercially available star sensor often exceeds the total budget for a CubeSat.

Starberry-Sense

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and their collaborators have now developed a star sensor for astronomy and small satellite CubeSat class missions.
• Based on commercial/off-the-shelf (COTS) components, this star sensor costs less than 10% of those available in the market. The brain of the instrument is a single-board Linux computer called Raspberry Pi, which is widely used among electronics hobby enthusiasts.
• They could demonstrate that instruments built from easily available components can be qualified for space.
• The system was developed around the very popular Raspberry Pi Zero (a 1 GHz single-board computer, smaller than a credit card) as the main processing unit and its camera module. The entire setup is housed inside a protective aerospace-grade aluminum enclosure.
• StarBerry-Sense captures sky images and identifies the stars in the field by comparing their location with an onboard catalog of bright stars.
• The information is then used to identify which part of the sky the star sensor is looking at, helping locate the orientation of the satellite.

Closing Remarks

• The main advantage of the Starberry-Sense system is the low cost and the short development cycle with Commercial-off-the-shelf components which are readily available.
• Its modular design allows for quick and easy customization for various requirements. For e.g., even though StarBerry-Sense is meant for space-based applications, a modified version will be interfaced with the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE), located at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), Hanle, Ladakh.
• The Starberry-Sense is ready for launch on the PS4-Orbital Platform by ISRO and can be used for CubeSats and other small satellite missions in the future.

GPT-4

Context

OpenAI has recently launched its ChatGPT Plus subscription for Indian users, providing them with early access to the latest language model GPT-4.

• This move comes at a time when tech giants are competing to offer the best generative AI to the customers.

How is GPT 4 Different from Other Previous Models?

• According to OpenAI, GPT-4 is more advanced than its predecessors when it comes to creativity, visual comprehension and context.
  • It also possesses the ability to collaborate with users on various creative projects, including music, screenplays, technical writing, etc.
• It can process up to 25,000 words of text and facilitate extended conversations.
• GPT-4 can encompass more than just text – it also accepts images as input.
  • On the contrary, GPT-3 and GPT-3.5 only operated in one modality, text, allowing users only to ask questions by typing them out.
• GPT-4 is more multilingual and OpenAI has demonstrated that it outperforms GPT-3.5 and other Large Language Models (LLMs) by accurately answering thousands of multiple-choice across 26 languages.
  • It handles English best with an 85.5% accuracy, but Indian languages like Telugu aren’t too far behind either, at 71.4%.

One Web India-2 Mission

Context

In its second commercial launch, ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organisation) heaviest launch vehicle LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) will launch a fleet of 36 OneWeb satellites, completing the first generation of the huge broadband constellation.?

LVM3-M3/OneWeb India-2 Mission

• This will be the 18th launch of OneWeb and will add to the UK-based company's (OneWeb) existing constellation of 582 satellites.
• ISRO’s commercial arm NSIL had signed a contract with OneWeb to launch 72 satellites in two phases.
• The first set of 36 satellites was launched in LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 mission on October 23, 2022.
• This is the second OneWeb fleet that India is launching. This initiated India’s journey into the commercial heavy lift-off space.

What is OneWeb Constellation?

• OneWeb Constellation operates in a LEO Polar Orbit.
• Satellites are arranged in 12 rings (Orbital planes) with 49 satellites in each plane.
• The orbital planes are inclined to be near polar (87.9 Deg.)
• The orbital planes are 1200 km above the Earth. Each satellite completes a full trip around the earth every 109 minutes.

India’s Science and Technology Innovation Ecosystem 

Context

• In order to connect and identify prospective young start-ups in India's science and technology innovation ecosystem, the YUVA Portal was recently created.
• Earlier, the "One Week - One Lab" campaign was introduced. Launched in Haryana's Karnal, the astronomy lab offers possibilities for persons with disabilities to flourish in a variety of skill, art, and craft disciplines.

What recent changes have occurred in the S&T innovation ecosystem in India?

• Indian superiority in technology, innovation, and start-ups is dominating the world, as the Prime Minister recently highlighted in his speech to the 108th Indian Science Congress.
• In terms of the most innovative economies worldwide, India is placed 40th out of 132 according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022.
• Sign Language of India AstroLab: The Indian Sign Language AstroLab promotes accessibility and inclusivity by providing virtual access to instructional materials in Indian sign language. It is outfitted with 65 pieces of equipment, including a huge telescope and audiovisual aids.

CSIR-NPL:

• The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) has played a role in standardising measurements of gas and airborne particles for monitoring atmospheric pollution. IST, created using an atomic time scale made up of Cesium atomic clocks and Hydrogen masers, is maintained by CSIR-NPL.
• The CSIR Labs are experts in several fields of research, including the geology, food, fuel, minerals, and materials, and they help progress science and technology in India.

One Week - One Lab Campaign:

• The "One Week - One Lab" programme seeks to promote students' scientific temperament as well as raise knowledge of the technologies and services provided by CSIR-NPL.
• More schools would be included in future encounters after 180 schools in the Delhi-NCR region were exposed to NPL laboratories for various activities.
• SHRI stands for Science and Heritage Research Initiative.
• The sound-proofing capabilities of Pattamadai mat, a mat formed by weaving or interlacing korai grass with the cotton threads, have been investigated under the SHRI programme for use in protecting recording studios and classrooms from outside noise disturbances.
• This could raise interest in the Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, traditional art.

IASST:

• Scientists at the IASST have created a biodegradable, biopolymer nanocomposite that can sense relative humidity and can be used as smart packaging materials, particularly for the food industry.
• NIDHI, or the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations
• A five-year, end-to-end plan is in place to treble the number of incubators and start-ups.

National Start-Up Prizes:

• Through encouraging innovation and competition, this programme recognises and rewards exceptional start-ups and ecosystem facilitators that contribute to economic dynamism.

National Quantum Mission

Context

Recently, the union cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) to aid scientific and industrial research and development in quantum technology.

What is National Quantum Mission?

• About:
  • It’ll be implemented by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science & Technology.
  • The mission planned for 2023-2031 aims to seed, nurture, and scale up scientific and industrial R&D and create a vibrant & innovative ecosystem in Quantum Technology (QT).
  • With the launch of this mission, India will be the seventh country to have a dedicated quantum mission after the US, Austria, Finland, France, Canada and China.
• Salient features of NQM:
  • It will target developing intermediate scale quantum computers with 50-100 physical qubits in 5 years and 50-1000 physical qubits in 8 years.
    • Just like bits (1 and 0) are the basic units by which computers process information, ‘qubits’ or ‘quantum bits’ are the units of process by quantum computers.
  • The mission will help develop magnetometers with high sensitivity for precision timing (atomic clocks), communications, and navigation.
  • It will also support design and synthesis of quantum materials such as superconductors, novel semiconductor structures and topological materials for fabrication of quantum devices.
  • The mission will also help developing:
    • Satellite based secure quantum communications between ground stations over a range of 2000 km within India.
    • Long distance secure quantum communications with other countries
    • Inter-city quantum key distribution over 2000 km
    • Multi-node Quantum network with quantum memories
  • Four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs) would be set up in top academic and National R&D institutes on the domains of Quantum Technology:
    • Quantum computation
    • Quantum communication
    • Quantum Sensing & Metrology
    • Quantum Materials & Devices
• Significance:
  • This will accelerate QT led economic growth and make India one of the leading nations in the development of Quantum Technologies & Applications (QTA) ranging from healthcare and diagnostics, defence, energy and data security.
  • It will work towards indigenously building quantum-based computers which are far more powerful and are able to solve the most complex problems in a highly secure manner.

What is Quantum Technology?

• Quantum technology is a field of science and engineering that deals with the principles of quantum mechanics, which is the study of the behaviour of matter and energy at the smallest scale.
  • Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics that describes the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic level.

What are the Advantages of Quantum Technology?

• Increased Computing Power: Quantum computers are very much faster than the computers we today have. They also have the capability to solve complex problems that are currently beyond our reach.
• Improved Security: Because they rely on principles of quantum mechanics, quantum encryption techniques are much more secure than traditional encryption methods.
• Faster Communication: Quantum communication networks can transmit information faster and more securely than traditional networks, with the potential for completely unhackable communication.
• Enhanced AI: Quantum machine learning algorithms can potentially enable more efficient and accurate training of Artificial Intelligence models.
• Better Sensing and Measurement: Quantum sensors can detect extremely small changes in the environment, making them useful in areas such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and geological exploration.

What are the Disadvantages of Quantum Technology?

• Expensive: The technology requires specialized equipment and materials which make it more expensive than the traditional technologies.
• Limited Applications: Currently, quantum technology is only useful for specific applications such as cryptography, quantum computing, and quantum communication.
• Sensitivity to Environment: Quantum technology is highly sensitive to environmental interference, such as temperature changes, magnetic fields, and vibrations.
  • Qubits are easily disrupted by their surroundings which can cause them to lose their quantum properties and make mistakes in calculations.
• Limited Control: It is difficult to control and manipulate quantum systems. Quantum-powered AI could create unintended consequences.
  • Quantum-powered AI systems could potentially arrive at conclusions that are unexpected or difficult to explain as they operate on principles that are fundamentally different from classical computing.

Conclusion

Overall, while quantum technology has enormous potential, there are still many challenges that must be overcome before it can be widely adopted.