Science

Chandrayaan-3, India’s lunar mission, has successfully landed in a 3.85-billion-year-old crater on the Moon, marking a significant achievement for the country’s space exploration efforts. This ancient crater, formed during the Nectarian period, is one of the oldest on the Moon's surface and has not been explored by any previous missions. The Pragyan rover is now providing valuable geological insights, revealing that one half of the crater is buried under ejecta from the South Pole-Aitken basin. The mission underscores India's growing capabilities in space science, having made its soft landing on the Moon's south pole on August 23, 2023, at a site designated as Shiv Shakti Point.

A SpaceX mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday to bring astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back from the International Space Station (ISS), where they have been stranded for months. The spacecraft is carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, while Williams and Wilmore are set to return after spending over eight months in space, significantly longer than the week they initially expected.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched three PARAM Rudra supercomputers on Thursday, marking a significant advancement in India’s scientific and technological landscape under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). Developed at a cost of ₹130 crore, these supercomputers have been deployed in Pune, Delhi, and Kolkata to support pioneering research across various scientific fields. Modi emphasized the importance of technology, stating, “There is no sector which does not rely on technology and computing capability.” He noted that the PARAM Rudra supercomputers are crucial for achieving self-reliance in high-performance computing (HPC). They will enhance research capabilities in institutions like the Giant Metre Radio Telescope in Pune and the Inter-University Accelerator Centre in Delhi.