Quiz: Lands kept apart, or together, by a sliver 1 / 6 | Clockwise from top left, these are the cities of Auckland, Manila, Seattle, and Madison. What do they have in common in line with this quiz’s theme? 2 / 6 | Name the narrow waterway that separates Europe from Asia and which has … Read more
GSLV-F16 carrying the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Photo: X/@isro via PTI The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with the 2,392-kg satellite is scheduled to lift off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5.40 p.m. IST on … Read more
Q: Name this NASA mission during which astronauts on the moon became the first to drive a lunar rover on July 31, 1971. A: Apollo 15 Q: Name the eight‑wheeled rover the Soviet Union launched in 1970, which became the world’s first robotic rover on the moon. From November 17, 1970, to September 14, 1971, … Read more
When SpaceX was negotiating a deal with the Bahamas last year to allow its Falcon 9 rocket boosters to land within the island nation’s territory, Elon Musk’s company offered a sweetener: complimentary Starlink internet terminals for the country’s defence vessels, according to three people familiar with the matter. The rocket landing deal, unlocking a more … Read more
A drone view shows a hotel under construction ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil. File | Photo Credit: Reuters The United Nations’ climate bureau held an urgent meeting on Tuesday (July 29, 2025) over concerns that sky-high accommodation prices for this year’s COP30 climate summit in Brazil could price poorer countries out … Read more
Only 16% of all senior citizens seeking cataract surgery at four LVPEI centres used any insurance, a new study has found. | Photo Credit: Mohammed Yousuf India’s population is growing older and eye problems such as cataracts already cause nearly half of all vision‑loss in people over 60. However, fewer than one in eight Indian … Read more
About 19 minutes after lift-off, the GSLV-F16 rocket will inject the NISAR satellite into a 743-km sun-synchronous orbit. Photo: X/@isro The countdown for the NISAR satellite mission started at 2.10 p.m. on Tuesday (July 29, 2025). The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with the 2,392-kg satellite is scheduled to lift off from the second launch … Read more
This photo provided by NASA shows part of the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite resting in a thermal vacuum chamber in August 2020 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif. | Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP The countdown for the NISAR satellite mission started at 2.10 p.m. on Tuesday (July 29, … Read more
Radha Krishna Kavuluru highlighted the mission’s importance as ISRO’s first major partnership with NASA for an Earth observation satellite. File Photo: X/@iamkrishradha The NISAR mission, a collaborative effort between ISRO and NASA, will demonstrate Indian space engineering capabilities for Earth observation on a global scale, a top scientist has said. The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic … Read more
For nearly two decades, no one had spotted the world’s smallest-known snake. Some scientists worried that maybe the Barbados threadsnake had become extinct, but one sunny morning, Connor Blades lifted a rock in a tiny forest in the eastern Caribbean island and held his breath. “After a year of searching, you begin to get a … Read more