Todays General Science 2014 General Knowledge 2014

US company SpaceX was forced on Monday to call off its latest supply mission to the International Space Station because of a helium leak on its Dragon cargo capsule.

Just an hour before the Falcon 9 rocket was due to make a 16:58 local time (20:58 GMT) lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center, the company called a halt to proceedings.

While a new launch date has not been announced, the next opportunity would be Friday.

"Today's launch is scrubbed due to a Helium leak on Falcon 9," SpaceX tweeted shortly before the planned blast-off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 4:58 pm (2058 GMT), adding that a fix would be implemented by the next launch opportunity on April 18.

Owned by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, SpaceX became the first commercial entity to reach the space station with its Dragon cargo ship in 2012.

SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation each won a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. And that of SpaceX is for at least 12 missions for $1.6 billion to carry supplies and cargo to and from the ISS. Both contracts were awarded after the decision to retire NASA's shuttle fleet.

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft has documented the formation of a small icy object within the rings of Saturn, which could may be a new moon, and may also provide clues to the formation of the planet's known moons.

Images taken with Cassini's narrow angle camera on April 15, 2013 show disturbances at the very edge of Saturn's A ring-the outermost of the planet's large, bright rings.

One of these disturbances is an arc about 20 percent brighter than its surroundings, 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) long and 6 miles (10 kilometers) wide.

Scientists also found unusual protuberances in the usually smooth profile at the ring's edge. Scientists believe the arc and protuberances are caused by the gravitational effects of a nearby object.

The object is not expected to grow any larger, and may even be falling apart. But the process of its formation and outward movement aids in our understanding of how Saturn's icy moons, including the cloud-wrapped Titan and ocean-holding Enceladus, may have formed in more massive rings long ago.

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Researchers have developed a new portable device that promises a greener future by readily analysing the composition of gases, solids and liquids using the light they emit.

Space scientist Hugh Mortimer and his partner Jolyon Tidmarsh's invention was originally designed to fly on future Mars probes, this little device is so sturdy it can withstand some of the harshest conditions on Earth, making it ideal for measuring air quality and roadside vehicle emissions, detecting gas leaks and monitoring industrial chemical processes.

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We all have been wondering about that strange “glow” spotted on Mars by Curiosity taking it as as some sort of sign of life. But NASA has debunked this idea saying that the glow was either a shiny rock or a glitch in the rover’s camera.

When the new photograph taken by the rover surfaced, UFO blogger Scott Waring had claimed that there are intelligent creatures living underground.

Now, after investigating the the image, NASA has found the glow to be simply a trick of light.

“One possibility is that the light is the glint from a rock surface reflecting the sun,” a NASA spokesperson was quoted saying.

“When these images were taken each day, the sun was in the same direction as the bright spot, west-northwest from the rover, and relatively low in the sky.

“The rover science team is also looking at the possibility that the bright spots could be caused by cosmic rays striking the camera’s detector.”

Its size makes it especially suited to fly on aerial drones for mapping theground below or monitoring colour variations in crops for more efficient use of pesticides and fertilisers.

Such 'spectroscopes' split up incoming light into its individual colours, with the unique pattern revealing the composition of the source. On Earth, they are already commonplace in food production and industry to determine the composition and purity of substances, as well as in the medical world to 'sniff' a patient and help diagnose illness.

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Researchers have revealed how black holes swallow stars.

Tamara Bogdanovic, Assistant Professor of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said black holes by themselves do not emit light and that their best chance to discover them in distant galaxies is if they interact with stars and gas that are around them.

Bogdanovic explained that this flare of light was found to have a characteristic behavior as a function of time, saying that it starts very bright and its luminosity then decreases in time in a particular way. Astronomers have identified those as galaxies where a central black hole just disrupted and 'ate' a star.

Bogdanovic relies on National Science Foundation-funded supercomputers like Stampede at the Texas Advanced Computing Center and Kraken at the National Institute for Computational Sciences.
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Scientists have reportedly located a heart shape on the Tharsis Bulge on Mars.

This heart shape was spotted by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter orbiting 170 miles above. It was located south of the huge shield volcano Ascraeus Mons which measures approximately 200 meters across.


Ramy El-Maarry, planetary scientist said that the feature, which is multi-layered and rises above the surrounding landscape, could be an ancient vent structure that has been more resistant to erosion than the surrounding area, which makes it resemble 'inverted' terrains.

India, China discuss border issue; eight pacts signed

i. India and China today held Delegation level talks in New Delhi in which the Indian side was led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while the Chinese side was headed by Premier Li Keqiang.

ii. Eight pacts were signed including one on Brahmputra river data sharing , Trade and economic cooperation other key highlights of talks between Prime Minister and his Chinese Counterpart on this occasion.

iii. India and China also discussed border issue including recent incursion in Ladakh.Urging China to remove trade imbalances, India sought opening of Chinese markets for Indian IT and pharma companies.

iv. Speaking on recent Chinese incursion in Ladakh area, Dr Singh said we took stock of lessons learnt from the recent incident in the western sector.

v. After talks with the Chinese premier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said we had wide ranging and candid discussions on various issues of mutual interest. He said while seeking an earlier resolution on boundary issue, both sides agreed that peace and tranquility on border should be preserved.Chinese Premier said India and China are two engines of World economy.

 India-US Homeland Security dialogue begins

i. The four-day India-US Homeland Security dialogue between Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his American counterpart Janet Napolitano begins today in Washington.

ii. Threats from terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and al-Qaeda, illicit financing and transnational crimes are high on their agenda. Both the sides are expected to take stock of the existing

mechanisms such as the Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism and the Counter-terrorism Cooperation Initiative in advancing Indo-US cooperation. The Home Minister will also have meetings with FBI Director Robert Mueller and US Attorney General Eric Holder.

Afghan President Hamid arrives on a three day visit to India

i. Afghan President Hamid Karzai  arrives in on a three day visit to India today.

ii. President Karzai will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders. 

iii. Various issues of bilateral and regional concern are on his agenda that will be discussed in the course of his meetings with the Indian leaders during the visit.

iv. The issues of security and infrastructure development in Afghanistan as well as the ongoing peace and reconciliation process will also be discussed during his meetings with Indian leaders.

v. On the eve of Mr Karzai's visit, Afghan government said, India is a long term strategic partner as the two countries signed a treaty to this effect in 2011 and are committed to cooperation in defense and civilian sectors.

Nunshi and Tashi Malik Became First Twins to Scale Mount Everest

i. Nunshi and Tashi Malik, two 21-year old Indians from Dehrahdun became first twins to scale Mount Everest on 19 May 2013. 

ii. They were among 135 other people, who reached the top of the Mount Everest, which is the highest mountain of the world at 8848 meter above sea level. 

iii. It is interesting to note that these twins reached the top of Mount Everest with two sherpas, who were also twins. Both these twin sisters were staying on mountains in that region in order to get acquainted with the atmosphere. Along with them, 11-member joint Indian and Nepal army expedition reached that summit too. 

Samina Baig Became the First Pakistani Woman to Scale Mount Everest

i. Samina Baig on 19 May 2013 became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest. She did this along with Nunshi and Tashi Malik, the first Indian twin sisters to scale the Everest.
ii. After reaching to the top of Everest, all three women hoisted Indian and Pakistani flags along side, depicting a message of collaborative action, friendship and peace.

The Nepal Mountaineering Department officials confirmed the feat, while at the same time, also explaining that 35 foreigners along with 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides scaled the Everest after climbing from highest camp on South Col, which is the pass between Mt. Everest and another neighbouring mountain.