CURRENT GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: SEP 2012

ABBREVIATIONS
IDF: Infrastructure Debt Fund.
MAHLI: Mars Hand Lens Imager (camera)

AWARDS
Lal Bahadur Shastri Award, 2012
Tessy Thomas, the key defence scientist in the Agni series of missiles, has been conferred the award for her outstanding contribution for making India self-reliant in the field of missile technology. The award is given annually for excellence in public administration, academics and management. It carries a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, a plaque and a citation.

RESEARCH
Home cure for dengue
The juice of the humble papaya leaf has been seen to arrest the destruction of platelets that has been the cause for so many deaths due to dengue.  

Ayurveda  researchers have found that enzymes in the papaya leaf can fight a host of viral infections, not just dengue, and can help regenerate platelets and white blood cells. Scores of patients have benefited from the papaya leaf juice, say doctors.

Papaya has always been known to be good for the digestive system. Due to its rich vitamin and mineral content, it is a health freak’s favourite. But its dengue-fighting properties have only recently been discovered.

Chymopapin and papin-j enzymes in the papaya leaf—help revive platelet count, say experts.

The juice has to be prepared from fresh papaya leaves. De-vein the leaves and grind the green, pulpy part into a paste. You can also use a mixer. The paste is very bitter and you would probably have to mix it with fruit juice. 

Doctors recommend 20-25 ml (about four to five teaspoons), twice a day, for at least a week to get the best results.

SPACE RESEARCH
Williams creates Spacewalk record
Indian-American NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her Japanese counterpart Akihiko Hoshide successfully restored power to the International Space Station on their second attempt on September 5, 2012. With this Spacewalk, Williams surpassed Peggy Whitson’s record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut.

Whitson worked outside for 39 hours and 46 minutes over the course of six spacewalks. Williams has conducted six spacewalks for a total of 44 hours and 2 minutes.

ISRO’s 100th mission
The Indian space odyssey crossed a historic landmark on September 9, 2012, when a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) put in orbit two foreign satellites. It marked the 100th space mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which started the journey in 1975 with the launch of its first satellite “Aryabhata.”

Among those who watched the majestic rocket lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, 100km north of Chennai, was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

PSLV-C21 injected two satellites into orbit—the French SPOT-6 and the Japanese micro-satellite Proiteres. 

SPOT and Indian remote sensing satellites (launched earlier) are the two leading earth observation satellite series. SPOT 6 is the heaviest foreign satellite ever to have been launched by the ISRO, which has made launching of satellites as a significant business activity, earning precious foreign exchange to the country.

It was PSLV’s 21st consecutively successful flight. PSLV-C21 is India’s 38th satellite launch vehicle to lift off from Sriharikota. India has so far put in orbit 62 Indian satellites. The total adds up to 100. 

GSAT-10 launched
India’s advanced communication satellite GSAT-10 was successfully launched on September 29, 2012, on board Ariane-5 rocket, from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana.

GSAT-10, with a design life of 15 years, is expected to be operational by November and will augment telecommunication, Direct-To-Home and radio navigation services.

At 3,400 kg at lift-off, GSAT-10 is the heaviest built by Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation. It was ISRO’s 101st space mission.

GSAT-10 is fitted with 30 transponders (12 Ku-band, 12 C-band and six Extended C-Band), which will provide vital augmentation to INSAT/GSAT transponder capacity. 

It also has a navigation payload—GAGAN (GPS aided Geo Augmented Navigation)—that would provide improved accuracy of GPS signals (of better than seven metres) to be used by Airports Authority of India for civil aviation requirements.

This is the second satellite in INSAT/GSAT constellation with GAGAN payload afterGSAT-8, launched in May 2011.