#isro

Nepal's Himalayan Region Faces Catastrophic GLOF Threats Amid Climate Crisis A devastating glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) struck the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, 2026, wiping out entire villages, hydropower projects, and bridges in a matter of minutes. The disaster, which claimed dozens of lives and left hundreds missing, has reignited global concerns about the growing vulnerability of the Himalayan region to GLOFs. This event follows a series of catastrophic floods in Sikkim in 2023 and Uttar Kashi in 2025, highlighting the escalating risks posed by climate change and glacial instability. GLOFs occur when natural dams formed by glacial moraines—accumulations of rock, sediment, and ice—collapse, releasing massive volumes of water, debris, and ice from glacial lakes. These lakes form as glaciers retreat, with meltwater pooling behind unstable moraine barriers. When these barriers fail, often due to heavy rainfall, ice calving, or seismic activity, the resulting flood can surge downstream at speeds exceeding 30 kilometers per hour, causing widespread destruction. The 2026 Nepal disaster exemplifies this process, with a glacial lake’s sudden breach unleashing a torrent of water and debris that devastated the region. The frequency and intensity of GLOFs have increased dramatically in recent decades. According to the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Himalayan glaciers have been retreating at an accelerated rate since 1970, with ice loss doubling since 2000. Satellite data from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) identifies over 2,431 glacial lakes in the region, 130 of which are located in India. If global warming continues at its current pace, scientists warn that one-third of Himalayan glaciers could disappear entirely by 2050, leading to a surge in GLOF events.#nepal #isro #tibet #icimod #rishiganga

India's Private Rocket Company Aims to Revolutionize Space Access with 'Cab to Orbit' Vision Skyroot Aerospace, India's first space tech unicorn with a $1.1 billion valuation, is set to make history with its first orbital launch on Saturday. The company's Vikram-1 rocket, named after Vikram Sarabhai—the father of India's space program—will attempt to reach Low Earth Orbit from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) Sriharikota launch facility. Scheduled for liftoff at 11:30 India time [06:00 GMT], the mission marks a pivotal moment for India's private space sector, positioning the nation as the third country, alongside the U.S. and China, to have a private company capable of orbital launches. The seven-story rocket, designed to carry payloads of up to 350kg, aims to fulfill Skyroot's vision of offering a "cab service to space." This model allows companies to book dedicated missions for small satellites, bypassing the traditional reliance on large rockets with fixed schedules. Co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana described the approach as akin to hailing a taxi instead of waiting for a train, emphasizing the need to reduce the lengthy wait times for satellite launches. "Access to space remains a major bottleneck," Chandana told the BBC, noting that satellite operators often face delays of months or even years for launch opportunities. The Vikram-1 mission, part of Skyroot's test flight series called Aagman (Sanskrit for "arrival"), will deploy six payloads into orbit. These include scientific instruments such as a robotic arm for space debris removal, an Earth observation camera, and satellites from a German company.#isro #skyroot_aerospace #vikram_1 #pawan_kumar_chandana #sriharikota

ভারতের মহাকাশ মিশনে প্রভাব ফেলছে ইসরোর ‘ব্রেন ড্রেন’ ভারতের মহাকাশ গবেষণা সংস্থা ইসরোর কর্মীদের প্রতি ক্রমবর্ধমান পদত্যাগের প্রবণতা বৃদ্ধি পেয়েছে যা দেশের গুরুত্বপূর্ণ মহাকাশ প্রকল্পগুলির উপর প্রভাব ফেলছে। গত কয়েক মাসে ইসরো থেকে অন্তত ১০০ জন বিজ্ঞানী পদত্যাগ করেছেন যা কেন্দ্রীয় মহাকাশ বিভাগ (ডিওএস) কর্তৃক নতুন করে প্রশ্ন তুলে ধরেছে। এই পরিস্থিতির মুখে ডিওএস একটি নতুন মেমোরান্ডাম জারি করেছে যেখানে গগনযান এবং অন্যান্য গুরুত্বপূর্ণ মিশনে যুক্ত বিজ্ঞানীদের স্বেচ্ছাবসর ও পদত্যাগ সংক্রান্ত নির্দেশনা আরও কঠোর করা হয়েছে। এই নির্দেশনার মূল উদ্দেশ্য ছিল গুরুত্বপূর্ণ প্রকল্পগুলির জনবল ধরে রাখা। আগে ইসরোর বিভিন্ন কেন্দ্রের পরিচালকদের পদত্যাগের আবেদন অনুমোদনের ক্ষমতা ছিল, কিন্তু সংশোধিত নির্দেশিকা অনুযায়ী এই ক্ষমতা প্রত্যাহার করা হয়েছে। এখন থেকে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ প্রকল্পে যুক্ত বিজ্ঞানীদের সব ধরনের পদত্যাগ এবং স্বেচ্ছাবসরের আবেদন বিস্তারিতভাবে পর্যালোচনা করে মহাকাশ বিভাগের স্তরে চূড়ান্ত অনুমোদন দিতে হবে। এই পদক্ষেপের মাধ্যমে কেন্দ্রীয় কর্তৃত্ব বৃদ্ধি করা হয়েছে যাতে মহাকাশ মিশনে প্রয়োজনীয় জনবল ধরে রাখা সম্ভব হয়। গগনযান প্রকল্প এবং অন্যান্য গুরুত্বপূর্ণ মিশনগুলি বিশেষ করে প্রভাবিত হয়েছে এই পদত্যাগের ঢেউয়ে। গগনযান ভারতের প্রথম স্বদেশি মানব মহাকাশ মিশন যা বিশ্বের মধ্যে একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ সাফল্য হিসেবে গণ্য। এই প্রকল্পে অংশগ্রহণকারী বিজ্ঞানীদের সংখ্যা কমে যাওয়া বিশেষ চিন্তার বিষয়। ডিওএস এই সমস্যার সমাধানে নতুন নীতি গ্রহণ করেছে যাতে প্রকল্পগুলির সাফল্য বৃদ্ধি করা সম্ভব হয়। বিজ্ঞানীদের পদত্যাগের কারণ হিসেবে মহাকাশ প্রযুক্তি সংস্থাগুলি এবং স্টার্টআপ কর্মসূচি সম্পর্কে আগ্রহ বৃদ্ধি হওয়া উল্লেখযোগ্য। মহাকাশ বিভাগ উন্মুক্ত করে দেওয়ার পর থেকে স্টার্টআপ এবং মহাকাশ প্রযুক্তি সংস্থাগুলি ইসরো বিজ্ঞানীদের নিয়োগে আগ্রহী হয়েছে। এছাড়াও উৎক্ষেপণযান প্রযুক্তি হস্তান্তরের কারণে সংস্থার বাইরে দক্ষ মহাকাশ পেশাদারদের চাহিদা বৃদ্ধি পেয়েছে। প্রাক্তন ইসরো কর্মকর্তারা সতর্ক করে বলেছেন যে শুধুমাত্র প্রশাসনিক বিধিনিষেধ আরোপ করে এই সমস্যার সমাধান করা সম্ভব নয়। তাঁদের...#india #startups #isro #dos #gaganyaan

ISRO Developing Technology to Extend Lunar Lander Lifespan to 200 Days India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is advancing technology to enable lunar landers to survive on the Moon for up to 200 days, a major leap from the 14-day operational window achieved by the Chandrayaan-3 mission. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan revealed this progress during a discussion in Bengaluru, emphasizing the collaboration between ISRO and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to address the critical challenge of enduring the Moon’s extreme environmental conditions. The focus of this research is on developing advanced artificial heating systems to protect spacecraft components during the prolonged lunar night, when temperatures plummet to dangerously low levels. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which successfully landed India’s Vikram lander near the Moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023, marked a historic milestone as the first nation to achieve a soft landing in that region. However, the Vikram lander’s operational lifespan was limited to a single lunar day—approximately 14 Earth days—due to its reliance on solar energy. Once the lunar night began, the absence of sunlight caused temperatures to drop to extreme lows, rendering the lander’s electronic systems inoperable. This limitation highlighted the need for innovative solutions to sustain lunar missions beyond the brief solar-powered window. Narayanan explained that ISRO and the DAE are working on artificial heating technologies that could extend the operational lifespan of future landers to between 100 and 200 days. This advancement would allow spacecraft to endure multiple lunar day-night cycles, significantly enhancing India’s capabilities for sustained lunar exploration.#isro #v_narayanan #department_of_atomic_energy #chandrayaan_3 #vikram_lander

India’s navigation satellite system suffers major setback: 1 of 4 operational IRNSS satellites fails India’s indigenous navigation satellite system—Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)—has faced a significant challenge as one of its four operational satellites, IRNSS 1-F, reported a failure after 10 years of service. According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials, the satellite, launched in March 2016, ceased functioning due to a malfunction in its last remaining atomic clock. The failure marks another setback for the system, which relies on a minimum of four fully operational satellites to provide navigation services to the public and government agencies, including railways and the military. The IRNSS 1-F satellite, part of the NavIC constellation, was operating with only one of its three onboard atomic clocks until its last functional clock failed. ISRO stated that the satellite will continue to provide one-way broadcast messaging services in orbit, though its ability to support positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) functions is now compromised. The failure brings the total number of failed satellites in the NavIC system to six, with atomic clock malfunctions cited as the primary cause for the initial failures. ISRO’s official statement noted that the IRNSS 1-F satellite completed its design mission life of 10 years on March 10, 2026, and that the atomic clock stopped functioning on March 13, 2026. The agency emphasized that the satellite will remain in orbit to support societal applications, though its role in PNT services is now limited. This incident highlights ongoing challenges in maintaining the reliability of the NavIC system, which was conceived to provide an independent navigation capability for India.#isro #indian_space_research_organisation #navic #irnss_1_f #atomic_clock

The provided text is a news article and journalist profile that highlights two key elements: CSJMU's academic initiatives (Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University) Abhishek Singh's background as a journalist --- CSJMU's Academic Initiatives The article discusses new programs and partnerships at CSJMU, a university in India. Key points include: Innovation and Interdisciplinary Focus: The university is expanding its academic offerings, emphasizing technology, innovation, and interdisciplinary courses (e.g., combining science with communication). Industry Collaboration: CSJMU is partnering with industry leaders to provide students with practical training and real-world experience. Research and Development: The university is investing in research and development, particularly in fields like agricultural technology, aerospace, and healthcare. National and Global Engagement: The university aims to bridge academia with national and international stakeholders, including collaborations with institutions like ISRO, DRDO, and IITs. This reflects a strategic move to align education with modern industry needs and foster innovation. --- Abhishek Singh's Journalist Profile The text also profiles Abhishek Singh, a journalist with 16+ years of experience in media. Key details: Career Highlights: Covered education, sports, technology, and agriculture for major outlets like Dainik Jagran and Hindustan. Led national and international sports coverage, including interviews with cricket legends, athletes, and policymakers. Focused on research-driven reporting, particularly in technical education, healthcare, and innovation. Expertise: Combines a B.Sc (Maths) and Postgraduate in Mass Communication, enabling him to write about technical and educational topics with authority.#chhatrapati_shahu_ji_maharaj_university #abhishek_singh #dainik_jagran #hindustan #isro