Current Affairs - 18 October 2021
1. Nasa launches Lucy mission to study ‘solar system’s evolution’
- The US space agency NASA has launched a first-of-its kind mission called 'Lucy Mission' to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids.
- The mission life of Lucy is 12-year, during which the spacecraft will fly by a total of eight ancient asteroids to study about solar system’s evolution. These will include one main-belt asteroid and seven Jupiter Trojan asteroids.
- The Lucy mission will mark NASA’s first single spacecraft mission in history to explore so many different asteroids.
- The Lucy probe was launched on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 16, 2021.
- Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids are two large clusters of space rocks that scientists believe are remnants of primordial material that formed the solar system’s outer planets.
Foot Notes:
About NASA:
Headquarters: United States
Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Founded: 29 July 1958, United States
2. Sri Lanka Seeks $500 Million Line of Credit from India to purchase Fuel
- The Government of Sri Lanka has sought a USD 500 million credit line from India to pay for its crude oil purchases, as the country is facing severe foreign exchange crisis in the island nation, after the pandemic hit the nation’s earnings from tourism and remittances.
- The USD 500 million credit line is part of the India-Sri Lanka economic partnership arrangement.
- The facility would be used for purchasing petrol and diesel requirements.
Foot Notes:
About Sri Lanka:
Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
3. Hubble finds evidence of persistent water vapour in Jupiter’s moon ‘Europa’
- The Hubble Space Telescope Observatory of NASA have revealed the presence of persistent water vapour in ‘Europa’, the icy moon of Jupiter. However, the presence of a water vapour atmosphere is found only in one hemisphere.
- The findings may further help to explore whether Europa’s atmosphere could support life.
- The result is based upon Hubble observations spanning from 1999 to 2015.
4. Canadian Actor William Shatner becomes oldest person in history to fly to space
- Legendary Canadian actor William Shatner has become the oldest person to go to space.
- The 90-year-old Shatner blasted into the space on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket on October 13, 2021.
- The Canadian was joined by three other fellow passengers, Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries on the 11-minute journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere and back again.
- The four of them reached an altitude of 66.5 miles (107 kilometers) over the West Texas desert in the fully automated capsule ‘New Shepard ‘.
Foot Notes:
About Canada:
Capital: Ottawa
Currency: Canadian dollar
Prime minister: Justin Trudeau
5. China launches historic Shenzhou-13 crewed mission with 3 astronauts for 6 months
- The Chinese space agency has launched Shenzhou-13 crewed mission, the country’s first long-duration stay aboard.
- The three-person crew are expected to spend six-months in space, to set up new record for the time spent in space by Chinese astronauts.
- The members of the crew includes Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guanfu, who will spend the time in space in testing the station’s technology and conducting spacewalks.
- Wang Yaping is China’s first female astronaut on board the space station .
- The Shenzhou-13 crewed spaceship launched by a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, located in Inner Mongolia.
Foot Notes:
About China:
President: Xi Jinping
Capital: Beijing
Currency: Renminbi
6. Jonas Gahr Store Assumes Charge as Prime Minister of Norway
- Jonas Gahr Store, the Leader of the Labour Party in Norway, has assumed the charge of the Prime Minister of Norway with effect from October 14, 2021.
- In September 2021, Store’s Labour Party won the parliamentary elections, following which incumbent Prime Minister Erna Solberg and her government stepped down.
Foot Notes:
About Norway:
Capital: Oslo
Currency: Norwegian krone
7. India beat Nepal 3-0 to win 2021 SAFF Championship
- India beat Nepal, 3-0, to win 2021 SAFF Championship final title, held on October 16, 2021, at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives.
- This is the eighth SAFF Championship title claimed by the Indian men’s national football team. Previously the team had won the title in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015.
- Sunil Chhetri , Suresh Singh Wangjam and Sahal Abdul Samad were the goal scorer for the Indian team in final.
- Top Scorer in the championship Sunil Chhetri (Captain) – 5 goals.
- Meanwhile, Sunil Chhetri scored his 80th international strike at the championship to equal his score with iconic Lionel Messi and became the second-highest goal-scorer in international football among active players.
Foot Notes:
About Nepal:
Capital: Kathmandu
Currency: Nepalese rupee
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime Minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba
8. Imtiaz Ali appointed as ambassador of Russian Film Festival in India
- Director-producer Imtiaz Ali has been roped in as the ambassador of the Russian Film Festival in India. As part of the festival, ten notable Russian films of various genres will be premiered for Indian audiences on Disney+ Hotstar from October 16 to November 27.
- Russia and India have cultural ties that go back a long way. Film stars like Raj Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty have been very popular in Russia and at the same time, Russian music and cinema have been a part of popular culture in India.
9. India’s first social crypto token, Chingari’s ‘$GARI’ launched by Salman Khan
- Micro-content, short video application, Chingari unveiled its’ first-ever crypto token, ‘$GARI’ at a public event at Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai. Bollywood megastar Salman Khan unveiled $GARI, along with announcing his collaboration with the app as a brand ambassador for its NFT marketplace and token reward program.
- Talking about the token, Salman tweeted, "I am officially launching Chingari’s in app GARI Tokens reward programme & its NFT Marketplace. You can buy my Video NFTs, exclusively on the GARI NFT Marketplace. Cheers to a new chapter in Content Creation & Monetisation!!! #ChingariKiGari #GariTokens".
10. Mount Harriet in Andaman to be named Mount Manipur in tribute to freedom fighters
- As a tribute to the freedom fighters of Manipur, the Union government has decided to rename Mount Harriet, an island peak in Andaman and Nicobar islands. It will now be known as Mount Manipur
- Union home minister Amit Shah made an announcement in this regard while addressing a public function at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands .
- Manipur played a significant role in resisting the British in the Northeast during the 1857 revolution and in 1891. Manipur never gave up and the people there continued to fight. The state was the only one to implement its own constitution. Manipur war hero Yubraj Tikendrajit and General Thangal were publicly hanged in Fida, Imphal. The British thought that by hanging them, they had crushed the freedom movement but it did not happen. After that, Maharaja Kulachandra Dhwaja Singh and 22 freedom fighters were sent to Kalapani and kept on Mount Harriet.
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