Chandrayaan 3 launch, why landing on the Moon is a nightmare (GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon on July 13 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
- The spacecraft will embark on a nearly two-month-long journey to the Moon at the end of which it will attempt a 'soft landing' on the lunar surface.
Soft landing:
- Earlier in 2023, Japan's ispace encountered a problem in this crucial phase of its attempt to land on the Moon. Its Hakuto-R lunar lander failed to slow down in time due to an altitude miscalculation, leading to mission failure.
- India's Chandrayaan-2 had experienced a similar fault caused by a software glitch.
- The scientist explains that once a Moon-bound lander separates from the propulsion module and begins its descent towards the lunar surface, it must carefully control both the speed at which it drops to the surface as well as the rate at which it swings sideways.
- The lander's speed needs to be reduced autonomously to three meters per second to ensure a soft landing. Thrusters (engines) will be fired to achieve this reduction in speed and control the lander's orientation during descent.
Why is the Moon so challenging?
- While the Moon lacks an atmosphere, it does possess gravity, approximately one-sixth (1/6th) of Earth's. Understanding the peculiarities of lunar gravity is crucial for planning and executing successful lunar missions.
- The reduced gravitational force necessitates even more precise control of the descent rate, as there is less natural deceleration. This puts the burden of landing on the lander's thrusters which must fire for the right amount of time and with the right force. Failure to manage the spacecraft's descent speed appropriately can lead to rapid and potentially dangerous descent.
- The Moon's surface, bombarded for millions of years with foreign objects, poses the greatest challenge for landing due to its vast craters and loosely held regolith (soil and rocks). Different landing options are therefore chosen beforehand, including primary, alternate, and secondary contingency landing sites.
- The terrain within the landing radius plays a crucial role in achieving a successful touchdown.
Case of Chandrayaan-3:
- Chandrayaan-3 is equipped with two lander hazard detection and avoidance cameras, inputs from which will be used to make the final decision on where to land.
- Crucially, while the decision-making data will be sent to mission control, the actual decision will be taken by the lander itself because of the time delay in sending inputs to the craft from Earth.
India proposes 5 Percentage zero carbon marine fuel mix by 2030, to set realistic aim
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 80th session is ongoing at IMO Headquarters in London.
Agenda:
- Amongst key agenda items, the MEPC 80 session is expected to adopt an upgraded IMO greenhouse gas strategy.
- The revised IMO GHG Strategy will contain concrete greenhouse gas reduction targets for the sector and is expected to outline a basket of technical and economic measures to be developed to set global shipping on an ambitious path towards phasing out greenhouse gas emissions.
Highlights of India’s address:
- India asked the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to focus on a realistic target to ensure that net zero carbon fuels occupy 5 per cent of the Marine fuel mix by 2030, without any additional checkpoints during this explorative and take-off period.
- Any any unrealistic target will place undue pressure on the governments to resort to flawed policies, industry to make haste and unsustainable investments, and the research to push through half-cooked and immature technological solutions, all of them will have long term, irreparable repercussions on this industry.
- That is why India, which falls under the extremely risky category in the climate change vulnerability index, had submitted an MEPC document, proposing a way forward for the reduction strategy to be phased in progressively while ensuring the transition is smooth, achievable and inclusive, without leaving anyone behind.
- While taking a positive stand on the proposal for a financial levy on Greenhouse gas emissions, India said that the motive behind such measures should not be one with an aim to penalise the industry but to encourage the transition to green energy.
Revenue generation proposals:
- India also cautioned the fellow delegates that any economic measure alone or as part of a basket of measures may not achieve the Paris Agreement goals without a severe impact on trade unless the availability of affordable future fuels, cost-effective future fuelled engines and trained manpower to operate them is ensured.
- It also called for revenue generation proposals and strategic distribution of revenues so generated to deserving sectors.
Way Forward:
- India, thus demanded the deliberation to take all such financial proposals on board and subject them to intense deliberations in the coming sessions, to come up with a more meaningful and inclusive proposal prior to its adoption on a future date.
About MEPC:
- The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) addresses environmental issues under IMO’s remit.
- This includes the control and prevention of ship-source pollution covered by the MARPOL treaty, including oil, chemicals carried in bulk, sewage, garbage and emissions from ships, including air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Other matters covered include ballast water management, anti-fouling systems, ship recycling, pollution preparedness and response, and identification of special areas and particularly sensitive sea areas.
Soil microbiomes should be included in One Health goals, Study
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- A group of soil experts and researchers have called for including soil microbiomes under the One Health goals that function at the nexus of human, wildlife and the shared environment health.
- One Health approach recommends global strategies to identify and manage the spread of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Role of Soil microbiomes:
- Soil microbiomes play a crucial role in maintaining healthy water and environmental stability. Moreover, they underpin global food security that eventually affects the overall sustainability of terrestrial life in multiple ways.
- These microbiomes provide a habitat for microorganisms that benefit the environment by delivering important ecosystem and host functions. But they also work as a reservoir of human pathogens that induce antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and are sources of organic and inorganic pollutants.
Impact on immune human immune system:
- Soil microbiomes impact human and animal immune systems by interacting with them through food chains. They also directly influence the quality of the environment through air and water.
- Grazing herbivores are exposed to soil microbiomes via direct ingestion or the consumption of plant microbiomes, which provides a microbial source for the gut microbiome that can impact overall health and immune-system priming.
- Organic waste like plant litter and debris such as gravel, sand and others deliver microorganisms back to the soil, thereby closing the microbial loop. However, any disruption in this can lead to diseases in the host.
Microbial hazards:
- Soil microbiomes also hold reservoirs for crucial microbial hazards of human, plant and animal pathogens. Soil-borne pathogens such as Yersinia pestis, Clostridium botulinum and Bacillus anthracis are present in soil across the globe. They cause hundreds of millions of infections each year via direct or indirect interactions with human, animal and plant food cycles.
- The researchers fear such disruption can lead to an endemic or pandemic, depending on varying microbial virulence and ecological, social as well as environmental conditions.
Five-step approach:
- The scientists recommend an integrated and interdisciplinary five-step approach among global bodies to fill the gaps and overcome the challenges.
- They suggested the establishment of a knowledge-hub network by integrating the United Nations Global Soil Partnership (UNGSP) and organisations such as the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, UNEP, World Organisation for Animal Health, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, International Network of Soil Biodiversity and International Network of Soil Pollution among others for data collection, knowledge sharing and making policy recommendations.
- It further recommended integrating, storing and sharing soil microbiome data to fill gaps in understanding the distribution of soil-borne pathogens and ARGs worldwide. Such efforts could prove useful in devising an automated system to detect and flag human pathogens. The information could benefit policymakers to chalk policies and provide crucial insights on the potential microbial threats in soil systems.
- International agencies such as UNGSP, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) can coordinate with global expertise to initiate periodic soil assessments relevant to One Health.
- The also includes developing a coordinated mechanism that periodically and systematically engages concerned stakeholders, including the public, to highlight the critical role soil microbiomes play in One Health.
- The final step addresses the barriers or challenges faced in coordinating with the agencies and the effective collection, facilitation, storage and sharing of data. It appeals to different political and global economic situations to join hands to achieve the same.
Way Forward:
- The One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) must be expanded to include soil health and microbiome experts, and resource distribution must be improved as a critical means to support the efficient and effective implementation of activities and principles of the One Health approach.
