UPSC Prelims Facts – 19 February 2024

UPSC Prelims Facts

Intuitive Machines mission launched, 52 years after the last Apollo lunar mission.

  • IM-1 flight – Private mission carrying lander Nova-C (Odysseus) and 6 NASA payloads of instruments
  • Launched by – SpaceX
  • Significance – Attempt to soft land near Moon’s south pole at Malapert A crater.
  • US, Soviet Union, China, India and Japan are the only countries that have carried out successful soft lunar touchdowns.
  • Previous unsuccessful private attempts –
    • Beresheet (Israel)
    • Hakuto-R mission (Japan)
    • The Peregrine lander (USA)

OpenAI unveils new text-to-video generator Sora

  • Sora – A new Generative AI (Gen-AI) model
  • Developed by – OpenAI
  • Significance –
    • Convert text prompt into Video.
    • Generate videos up to a minute long while maintaining visual quality and adherence to the user’s prompt.
    • Added complexity of analyzing moving objects in 3D space.
  • Gen-AI – Refers to category of AI algorithms that generate new outputs based on data they have been trained on.

Researchers have discovered a new speciescalled Amphipodin Odisha’s Chilika Lake

  • Named as – ‘Parhyale’ odian
  • Features –
    • Brown colour
    • Has 13 pairs of legs out of which the first pair is used for capturing prey.
  • Belongs to – Crustacea.
  • Crustaceans – Large group of Arthropods which include crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, etc.
    • They are invertebrates with a hard exoskeleton and a segmented body that is bilaterally symmetrical
    • Mostly free-living freshwater or marine animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice).

Artificial Intelligence integration in e-Jagriti portal is expected to help in reduce pending cases in consumer court.

  • e-Jagriti portal – Unified platform that caters to the needs of all stakeholders in Consumer Grievance redressal mechanism.
  • Designed to – Optimise the existing procedures by minimising redundancy, reducing human interventions, and automating end-to-end workflows.
  • Ministry – Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

ISRO confirmed successful de-orbiting and atmospheric re-entry of Cartosat-2 at its end-of-life.

  • Launched in – 2007
  • Significance – Advanced remote sensing satellite capable of providing scene-specific spot imagery.
  • De-orbiting of Cartosat-2 – ISRO lowered itsperigee (point in the orbit of a satellite at which it is nearest to the earth) using leftover fuel to comply with international guidelines on space debris mitigation.

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