Dornier 228
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has delivered two Dornier 228 planes to the Guyana Defence Force.
- Dornier-228 aircraft – Multi-purpose, fuel efficient, rugged, light weight twin turboprop aircraft with a retractable tricycle landing gear.
- Modified Dornier 228 aircraft – Acquired to undertake in-house calibration of Navigational aids available after implementation of Modernised Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) at IAF bases.
Kumittipathi rock painting
Miscreants have damaged rock art paintings at the cave at Kumittipathi, Tamil Nadu.
- Kumittipathi rock painting – 3000 years old rock paintings in Tamil Nadu
- Other Features –
- Inorganic white pigment, along with natural gum, has been used to paint the figures.
- It depicts an elephant, a chariot and the lives of early dwellers.
- Significance – While most of the rock painting sites in Tamil Nadu are found on rock shelters, those at Kumittipathi are drawn inside a cave.
Hydroponics
Hydroponics has emerged as a linchpin in the expansion of India’s sustainable food sector.
- Hydroponics – It is a soil-less farming technique where plants are grown using a water-based nutrients.
- Benefit – Can save water, land, and other resources, enhanced plant yields, etc.
- Issues – Lack of technical knowledge, higher initial set-up cost, need of constant human intervention, etc
Coordinated Lunar Time
NASA to create Coordinated Lunar Time for the moon and other celestial bodies.
- Aim – To provide a consistent time-keeping benchmark for lunar missions and space activities.
- An Earth-based clock on the moon would lose an average of 58.7 microseconds per Earth-day due to time dilation.
- Time Dilation – Time passes at different rates for different observers, depending on their relative motion or positions in a gravitational field.
Plankton Crash
The red color of Promenade beach in Puducherry last year was connected to plankton crash, an expert panel told National Green Tribunal (NGT).
- Noctiluca Scintillans – A type of phytoplankton that turns to red color when experience a crash, leading to the release of colored pigment from their cells.
- These pigments then stick to rocks and the sea floor, forming a biofilm-like layer and causing ‘red tides’
- Plankton crashes – Occurs due to a lack of nutrients or lack of CO2 in the earlier part of the production cycle.