Science & Technology

New Delhi, Oct 5; PTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday held the India-Russia annual summit after which eight pacts, including on cooperation on India's ambitious human space mission project Gaganyaan, were signed.

Official sources said the two countries also signed the USD 5 billion S-400 air defence system deal after talks between the two leaders in Hyderabad House.

5 Oct 2018; AFP: Wind turbines, designed as an alternative to fossil fuels, still contribute to climate change due to the way they redistribute heat and moisture in the atmosphere, according to a study published Thursday.

Researchers from Harvard University found that powering the entire United States with wind energy would cause a 0.54 degree Celsius ground temperature rise in the area where the turbines were located, and a 0.24C increase across the continental United States.

NEW DELHI, October 5. /TASS/. Head of Russia’s State Space Corporation (Roscosmos) Dmitry Rogozin will meet with NASA Administrator James Bridenstine at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 10 to discuss the future of the International Space Station (ISS).

"We will hold talks with Bridenstine at Baikonur on October 10. We will discuss the future of the ISS," he told reporters.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian space capsule with three men onboard has safely landed in a barren steppe in Kazakhstan after a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-08 carrying Russia’s Oleg Artemyev and NASA’s Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold touched down at 5.44 p.m. Kazakh time (1144 GMT).

The two Americans performed three space walks to carry out maintenance during their 197-day stay at the orbiting lab. Artemyev conducted one spacewalk together with a fellow Russian.

KOROLYOV /Moscow Region/, October 4. /TASS/. The Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft with three participants in the prolonged space expedition 55/56 has separated from the International Space Station (ISS) and begun the journey home, Mission Control near Moscow told the media on Thursday.

"The Soyuz MS-08 has been detached from the ISS. According to the telemetry data, the procedure was normal. The commander said he had no critical remarks to make," Mission Control's spokesman said.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 4 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has nominated prominent Indian-American nuclear expert Rita Baranwal to head the nuclear energy division at the department of energy.

If approved by the Senate, Baranwal will be an assistant secretary of energy, responsible for nuclear technology research and the development and management of the department's nuclear technology infrastructure, the White House said in a statement.

New Delhi, Oct 3 (PTI) To promote and enthuse participation of sharpest technical minds and tap innovative potential in emerging technological domain, the Indian Air Force is launching a competition to develop and design drones, Air Force Chief B S Dhanoa said Wednesday.

"The Indian Air Force is launching a competition to develop and design drones," the Air Force Chief said in press conference.

STOCKHOLM; 3 Oct 2018; DW: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was on Wednesday awarded to two Americans and a British man.

Frances H. Arnold (US), George P. Smith (US) and Sir Gregory P. Winter (Britain) will share the award.

The three scientists helped develop proteins that  "solve humankind's chemical problems," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said, adding that they "have taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to humankind."

TOKYO; 3 Oct 2018; (AP) — A German-French observation device safely landed on an asteroid on Wednesday after a Japanese spacecraft released it as part of a research effort that could find clues about the origin of the solar system, Japanese space officials said.

The Japan Space Exploration Agency said the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or MASCOT, was released from the unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 and successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu.

MOSCOW, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia has delivered to Syria S-300 air defense systems to improve safety of its military personnel deployed in the country, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.

"We have completed the delivery of S-300 systems. This includes 49 pieces of equipment: lighting locators, basic detection systems, control vehicles and four launchers," Shoigu said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian Security Council, according to a Kremlin transcript.