Space Mining
From shy to living India's space dream: Shubhanshu Shukla's journey
IAF's Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla grew as a "shy and reserved" person, hearing stories of the 1984 spaceflight of Rakesh Sharma in his childhood days. On Sunday, Shukla, India's second astronaut to travel to space after Sharma, was signing autographs for school students and obliging fellow air warriors queuing up to get clicked with him. Life, like his recent space sojourn in a spacecraft orbit, has indeed come full circle for Shukla. The occasion was the felicitation of Shukla and three other chosen Gaganyaan astronauts by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Air Force Auditorium in Subroto Park here. During the event, Shukla, who goes by the callsign 'Shux', shared his journey of joining the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the experiences and challenges he faced while being part of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). "I grew up as a shy and reserved person. We used to hear stories of the spaceflight of Rakesh Sharma in our childhood days," he said. Shu
 "From shy to living India's space dream: Shubhanshu Shukla's journey")
Big rockets, a big telescope and big changes in space await in 2025
The space firm founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos has a powerful rocket called New Glenn that may at last get off the ground in 2025
 "Big rockets, a big telescope and big changes in space await in 2025")
Algo Rhythm: Space technology startups soar high, says Tracxn report
In 2024, space tech startups have raised $10.8 million yet
 "Algo Rhythm: Space technology startups soar high, says Tracxn report")
Aditya-L1 mission's 'PAPA' detects first solar wind impact from the Sun
Advanced sensors of a payload on board India's maiden solar mission Aditya-L1 have successfully detected the impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), according to ISRO. The payload -- Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) -- is an energy and mass analyser designed for in-situ measurements of solar wind electrons and ions in the low energy range, the space agency noted. It has two sensors: the Solar Wind Electron Energy Probe (SWEEP, measuring electrons in the energy range of 10 eV to 3 keV) and the Solar Wind Ion Composition Analyser (SWICAR, measuring ions in the energy range of 10 eV to 25 keV and mass range of 1-60 amu). The sensors are also equipped to measure the direction of arrival of solar wind particles. The data collected by PAPA, developed by the Space Physics Laboratory and Avionics Entity of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, revealed the occurrence of CME events, notably on December 15, 2023, and during February 10-11, 2024. "The CME on December 15, 2023, was a ..
 "Aditya-L1 mission's 'PAPA' detects first solar wind impact from the Sun")
Israeli govt approves operations of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite services
The Starlink company, owned and operated by SpaceX, operates communication services that include broadband internet via satellites and independent of communication centers located on the ground
 "Israeli govt approves operations of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite services")
Space research: Glory and beyond
In the grand tapestry of the cosmos, India is weaving its own tale -a pursuit of space knowledge fuelled by curiosity, national pride, necessity, and growth opportunities
 "Space research: Glory and beyond")
An investment with infinite returns
The answer to the question of whether we should spend on a space programme is yes, and we should consider spending even more
 "An investment with infinite returns")
'India should not lag behind in outer space mining'
US is poised to approve the first commercial space mission beyond the Earth's orbit, paving the way for a space start up co-founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur to go ahead with its proposed Moon mission
 "'India should not lag behind in outer space mining'")
