These current affairs are written in a easy to remember format and are useful for competitive exams like - UPSC Civil Services, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPPSC, State PSCs and other competitive examinations.
NASA's new spacecraft NEA Scout
NASA announced that its new spacecraft, named NEA Scout, has completed all required tests and has been safely tucked inside the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
NEA Scout is one of several payloads that will hitch a ride on Artemis I, which is expected to be launched in November, 2021.
Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, or NEA Scout, is a small spacecraft, about the size of a big shoebox.
Its main mission is to fly by and collect data from a near-Earth asteroid. It will also be America's first interplanetary mission using a special solar sail propulsion.
Artemis I
Artemis I will be an uncrewed testflight of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.Under the Artemis programme, NASA has aimed to land the first woman on the Moon in 2024 and also establish sustainable lunar exploration programs by 2030.
Science & Tech
Liverpool removed from UNESCO's world heritage list
The English city of Liverpool has been removed from UNESCO's list of world heritage.
The city is only the third place to be removed from the prestigious list.
The only other sites stripped previously of the title are a wildlife sanctuary in Oman in 2007 and the Dresden Elbe valley in Germany in 2009.
The heritage label gives historic sites access to UN conservation funding as well as featuring in tourist guidebooks across the world.
Art & Culture
"Wally Funk" becomes oldest person to reach space
Wally Funk (82) became the oldest person to reach space, she was one of the Mercury 13 group of women trained to become NASA astronauts in the 1960s but was passed over because of her gender.
She was one of Jeff Bezos' three co-passengers aboard his company Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle to take a historic suborbital flight.
The Amazon founder was accompanied by a hand-picked group: his brother, an 18 year-old from the Netherlands and an 82-year old aviation pioneer from Texas - the youngest and oldest to ever fly in space.
Science & Tech
National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)
National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) would be renovated and reorganised as a part of the commemoration of the 75th Independence Day next year.
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is the premier art gallery under Ministry of Culture, GoI.
The main museum at Jaipur House in New Delhi was established on 29 March 1954, with subsequent branches at Mumbai and Bangalore.
The Delhi branch is one of the world's largest modern art museums.
Art & Culture
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2016 on 14th July, 2021.
1) The amendment requires an insolvency professional (IP) conducting Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) to disclose all former names and registered office address(es) so changed in the two years preceding the commencement of insolvency along with the current name and registered office address of the corporate debtor (CD), in all its communications and records.
2) The amendment provides that the interim resolution professional (IRP) or resolution professional (RP) may appoint a professional, other than registered valuers, if he is of the opinion that the services of such professional are required and such services are not available with the CD.
3) The RP is duty bound to find out if a CD has been subject to avoidance transactions, namely, preferential transactions, undervalued transactions, extortionate credit transactions, fraudulent trading and wrongful trading, and file applications with the Adjudicating Authority seeking appropriate relief.
Read More: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
Economy
New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG)
DRDO successfully flight-tested the New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG), a surface-to-air Missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the coast of Odisha.
The flight trial was conducted with all weapon system elements such as Multifunction Radar, Command, Control & Communication System and launcher participating in deployment configuration.
Production agencies Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) also participated in the trials.
Science & Tech
Man Portable Anti-tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)
DRDO successfully flight-tested indigenously developed, third generation low weight, fire and forget Man Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM).
The missile was launched from a man portable launcher integrated with thermal site and the target was mimicking a tank.
The missile is incorporated with state-of-the-art Miniaturized Infrared Imaging Seeker along with advanced avionics.
Science & Tech
World Universities Summit
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu addressed the World Universities Summit organized by O.P. Jindal Global University.
The theme of the summit was "Universities of the Future: Building Institutional Resilience, Social Responsibility and Community Impact".
Social Issues
What is "Karman Line" ?
Karman Line is the widely-accepted boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space.
It is the internationally recognized boundary of space which lies around 100 kilometres above mean sea level.
The International Space Station orbits around 330-410 kilometres above mean sea level.
Richard Branson's spaceflight on the Virgin Galactic VSS Unity went till a height of 86 km. This is below the Karman Line and hence the claim of space travel has been disputed by some.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Shepard rocket wento as high as 107 km, which take him beyond the Karman Line and any contention around if he did reach space or not.
Science & Tech