AKSHARAM NEWS

  For NASA and many space researchers across the world, Mars has been a long-shot aim, but they believe the Red Planet could one day be a prospective human colony. According to NASA's estimations, the theoretical journey time for people to reach Mars is roughly 9 months, with a minimum distance between Earth and Mars of 54.6 million kilometres. Engineers in Canada, on the other hand, have developed a revolutionary laser-propulsion system that claims to cut journey time in half to just 45 days. According to a study, humans can travel to Mars in 45 days. McGill University academics and engineers claim to have developed a revolutionary laser-propulsion-based spacecraft that may transport passengers from Earth to Mars in just over six weeks. The researchers propose a directed-energy propulsion system based on Earth that would jet-shot a spacecraft from Earth to Mars in the allotted time. The researchers claim that by using the method, they will be able to accelerate a spaceship v...

New Delhi, India: For the second time in a week, India refrained on a UN resolution related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India refrained against a UN Security Council resolution calling for a rare special emergency session of the UN General Assembly to address Russia's actions towards Ukraine on Sunday. New Delhi also praised Moscow and Kyiv for agreeing to hold talks on the Belarus border. India abstained on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia's aggression on Friday night, stating that conversation is the only way to resolve differences and expressing "regret" that diplomacy was abandoned. So far, India has refrained from condemning the Russian invasion directly. Why is India taking such a cautious approach to Ukraine? Here are five of them: • The Ukraine crisis has put India on a tightrope, putting it under pressure from both "old friend Russia" and "new friends in the West." • Russia is India's largest prov...

Over his country's invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin was stripped of his honorary taekwondo black belt, a personal humiliation on top of international economic and sporting sanctions. World Taekwondo condemned the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, stating the "brutal attacks on innocent lives" violated the sport's values of respect and tolerance. "As a result, World Taekwondo has decided to revoke Mr. Vladimir Putin's honorary 9th dan black belt given in November 2013," the governing body stated in a statement. It also stated that it would join the International Olympic Committee in prohibiting the use of the Russian flag and anthem in international sporting events. The International Judo Federation announced on Sunday that Putin's title as honorary president and ambassador would be suspended "in light of the current military crisis in Ukraine." Russian national teams and clubs have been barred from competing...

  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a study on Monday stating that 3.6 billion people are extremely vulnerable to climate change. According to the research, human-induced climate change is producing hazardous and pervasive upheaval in nature, harming the lives of billions of people around the world. The report is the most recent in a series from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that summarises the most recent worldwide consensus on climate science. However, the focus of this report is on how environment and civilizations are being affected, as well as what they may do to adapt.\ According to scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, people and ecosystems that are least prepared to cope are being struck the hardest. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, "I've read a lot of papers, but none compare to the new IPCC climate report, which is an atlas of human misery and a sting...

  The same gene that causes us to be lured to the lovely scent of roses also causes us to feel prickly when we unintentionally contact the thorns. SMU (Southern Methodist University) researchers discovered that a gene associated to experiencing touch could also be an olfactory gene. The result was reached after researching a tiny, translucent worm that resembles the human nervous system in many ways. The research was published in the 'Nucleic Acids Research' publication. "This gene has previously been identified as a possible chronic pain treatment target. Now that we know the gene is involved in olfaction, it could be used to cure or understand olfactory disorders like the mysterious loss of smell that many COVID-19 patients have experienced "Adam D. Norris, a co-author of the study from SMU, said Norris is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at SMU, where he holds the Floyd B. James Chair. He collaborated with the study's lead autho...

On Sunday, the US and NATO slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to put his nuclear forces on high alert as dangerous and unacceptable, while the White House stated that fresh penalties against Russia's energy sector are not ruled out. Putin cited "aggressive words" from NATO members and extensive sanctions imposed by Western nations in issuing the order to prepare Russia's nuclear weapons for higher readiness for launch. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States' ambassador to the United Nations, told CBS's "Face the Nation" programme that Putin's actions have worsened the crisis and are "unacceptable." "We're continuing to look at additional and even stronger actions against the Russians," Thomas-Greenfield added. Putin's nuclear order was also seen as an escalation by a senior US defence official, who said it was "putting in play forces that, if there's a miscalculation, could make things...

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation in Ukraine. He also asked India to increase its political clout in the UN Security Council. "I had a conversation with Prime Minister @narendramodi. Informed on Ukraine's efforts to repel Russian assault. On our territory, there are over 100,000 invaders. They fire on residential structures invisibly. I pleaded with India to lend us political support in the United Nations Security Council. In a tweet, he wrote, "Let's stop the aggressor together!" According to Ukraine's health minister, Russian forces attacking the pro-Western country have killed 198 civilians so far, including three children. "Unfortunately, according to operational data, we have 198 dead, including three children, and 1,115 wounded, including 33 children, at the hands of the invaders," Health Minister Viktor Lyashko posted on Facebook. The military reported earl...

Russians around the country took to the streets just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his soldiers into Ukraine. On Thursday evening, around 1,000 demonstrators gathered in the heart of Moscow, screaming "No to War!" while passing motorists honked their horns. At around 7 p.m. local time, protesters came to the streets in many other cities, including St. Petersburg near the renowned Gostiny Dvor retail arcade (16:00 GMT). The mood was tense, with a few people crying against a backdrop of heavily armed cops. The Associated Press reported that 1,745 people were held in 54 Russian locations, with at least 957 of them in Moscow. Hundreds more comments poured in, criticising Moscow's most forceful moves since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The attack was described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "special military operation" to protect people in eastern Ukraine from "genocide," a bogus assertion that the US h...

On Thursday, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar announced he will sue a casino for using his modified photographs to promote itself on social media. Tendulkar's photos are said to have been used to promote the 'Big Daddy' casino in Goa. "While my legal team is taking the necessary steps, I believed it was vital for me to share this information with everyone," the famed right-handed batter wrote on Twitter. "It has come to my attention that there are several adverts on social media sites featuring an altered photo of me recommending a casino," he added. Everyone should be on the lookout for deceptive photos on social media. pic.twitter.com/VCJfdyJome Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin rt) (@sachin rt) (@sachin rt) (@sachin rt 24 February 2022 Tendulkar, who has a slew of records to his name and has also served as a national captain, expressed his displeasure with his photographs being used to mislead others. "In my own role, I have never advocated ga...

  Mumbai: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Wednesday that the Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS), a payload on board the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, had discovered solar proton events (SPEs), which considerably increase radiation exposure to humans in space. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs), a tremendous torrent of ionised material and magnetic fields that reach Earth a few days later, causing geomagnetic storms and lighting up the polar sky with auroras, were also observed by the sensor on January 18. According to the ISRO, such multi-point measurements helps in the understanding of propagation and its impact on various planetary systems. Solar flares are dramatic explosions that occasionally spew out energetic particles (called Solar Proton Events or SPEs) into interplanetary space when the Sun is active. The majority of these are high-energy protons that have an influence on space systems and increase radiation exposure to astronauts. According ...

Moscow: In the midst of the current situation at the Ukraine-Russia border, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Moscow late Wednesday for a two-day visit. This comes as tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to rise following Russia's recognition of the eastern Ukrainian enclaves of Donetsk and Luhansk. As a result of Moscow's actions, some Western countries have imposed new sanctions on Russia for its military deployment in eastern Ukraine. Imran Khan's ill-timed visit, the first by a Pakistani Prime Minister in 23 years, is intended to press for the construction of a long-delayed, multibillion-dollar gas pipeline in conjunction with Russian corporations. During his visit, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss economic cooperation. Earlier reports in Pakistani media said that Moscow and Islamabad were discussing a plan for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit this year. According to a Pakist...

At least 7 people have been killed and 9 others have been injured as a result of russian bombardment, according to ukraine. According to an IFX news agency report, the Russian defence ministry stated that Ukraine's air bases and military infrastructure have been neutralised. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, Ukraine's military stated five Russian jets and a Russian chopper were shot down in the Luhansk region. Early Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military campaign in Ukraine. Large explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other parts of Ukraine as Putin spoke. Later, in Kyiv, air sirens sounded, signifying that the city was under attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced martial law in Ukraine, claiming that Russia had launched missile strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and border guards. Putin's move comes just hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia will invade Ukraine in a matter of hours. Separatists had ...

  Nearly a month after putting in one of the country's most powerful supercomputers, India will build nine more to cement its position as a leader in high-powered computing. Several hundred universities and thousands of active researchers and academicians would have access to High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology. The new facilities will be built as part of the National Supercomputing Mission, which was established to improve the country's research resources and capabilities by establishing a supercomputing grid. "With the National Super Computing Mission (NSM), India is rapidly evolving as a leader in high-performance computing, with supercomputing infrastructure already installed in 10 premier institutions such as IITs, IISc, IISER Pune, JNCASR Bengaluru, various C-DACs, NABI Mohali, and benefiting researchers from a variety of other institutions," the ministry said in a statement. WHICH INSTITUTIONS ...

Astronomers will be waiting with held breath to peer at the universe through new eyes when the James Webb Telescope launches into space in around five months. The most fascinating observations will be aimed at determining whether or not we are alone in the cosmos. The telescope will be pointed at the TRAPPIST-1 system, an unusual planetary system that garnered international headlines five years ago. As the James Webb Telescope begins to observe the universe in the infrared, the system announced by Nasa in 2017 will be a hotbed for research. TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf star with a close-knit family of seven Earth-sized planets. "What kinds of planets could be able to support extraterrestrial life? The James Webb Space Telescope will study at TRAPPIST-1, a system of seven rocky planets orbiting a dim star, to help answer this question "On the anniversary of the extraordinary discovery, Nasa announced. Telescopes on the ground and in space were used to discover the system. W...

On February 19, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, atop the Antares rocket. After a three-day mission, the spacecraft, which was carrying roughly 3,764 kilos of cargo, docked at the ISS at 3:14 p.m. (IST) on February 21. While snacks were a big part of the payload, NASA also delivered a lot of hardware and science experiments that "will help astronauts stay healthy during long-duration space travel," according to NASA. What experiments did NASA send to the International Space Station? NASA's payload includes tests on plant development in orbit without the use of soil, as well as research into the effects of medications on cancer cells. According to a blog post published today by NASA, the payload includes a study of the effect of a medication on breast and prostate cancer cells, as well as a technology demonstration of lithium-ion secondary battery capacities u...

Months after first touching the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe is heading back into the midst of the storm. The probe will stop by for its 11th perihelion, or closest approach to the Sun in its orbit. The flyby is critical because the probe will approach the Sun from the Earth-facing side, providing unique prospects for future trips to our solar system's biggest star. The spacecraft will approach our star at a distance of 85,29,523 kilometres on February 25. Parker is learning more about our star with its science instruments as it approaches it closer than ever before, according to Nasa. At a speed of 3,592 kilometres per hour, the probe is rushing towards the Sun. "Parker Solar Probe reaches the Earth-facing side of the Sun during this near encounter. Earth-bound missions and other spacecraft have the potential to provide us with multiple perspectives on solar phenomena "In a tweet, the Parker investigation team stated. Out of the 24 orbits planned for the probe around ...

According to the European Space Agency, the Hubble Space Telescope has taken an image of the galaxy merger IC 2431, which is occurring about 618 million light years distant from Earth in the constellation Cancer (ESA). The gravitational interactions of these three galaxies result in a mix of star creation and tidal distortions, as shown in this image. Despite the fact that galaxies are merging, there will be very few instances of celestial bodies colliding because they are so far apart. NASA utilises the metaphor of grains of sand separated by the length of football fields in some of its educational materials to help students appreciate the immense scale of the distance between celestial bodies. When galaxies merge, they lose their original shape and take on a new one, which is usually elliptical. However, the dense cloud of dust that obscures the image's centre shows another event that occurs when galaxies merge: galaxies' clouds of gas and dust collide, occasionally leadi...