”UPSC Prelims Bits Today” covers various topics from UPSC Prelims Syllabus and is very helpful and time managing for UPSC Aspirants.
The framing of this daily current affairs compilation article is easy to read and understandable.
NASA’s DART Spacecraft
Why in news?
US space agency – NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft successfully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos at breakneck speed.
What is NASA’s DART Mission?
- The DART mission intentionally crashed on an asteroid to test a unique defence technology.
- The target was Dimorphos, a 160-metre-tall asteroid. DART slammed into the harmless asteroid 9.6 million kilometres away at 22,500 kilometres per hour.
- The crash is aimed at giving Earth a defence tool against future asteroids headed our way.
- The 325 million dollar project was the first attempt to move a natural object in space but it will take days or perhaps weeks to assess how much the asteroid’s path was altered.
- The DART is a vending machine-sized spacecraft that was launched in November, used novel navigational techniques.
Typhoon Noru
Why in news?
In Philippines, thousands of people have been evacuated and government offices have been closed as super typhoon Noru lashes the country’s eastern islands.
What are tropical cyclones?
- These storms bring very strong winds and a lot of rain. They form over warm oceans and pick up energy as the warm air picks up water and rises.
- When the warm ocean air rises it starts to cool and clouds form. This is called an area of high pressure.
- As this air rises, there is a lot less air close to the ocean surface. We call this an area of low pressure. More air then moves in to fill the gap where the low pressure is.
- This then warms and rises causing a spinning cycle as more air then moves in to full that space. As this warm air continues to rise and cool, more and more clouds form.
What is the difference between Cyclones, Hurricanes and Typhoon?
- Tropical cyclones are powerful spinning storms. Depending on where in the world they form, they have different names.
- Tropical cyclones that form in the Caribbean or North American region are known as hurricanes.
- Those that form in the Far East, close to places like China and Japan are known as typhoons and those that form in the Indian Ocean are called cyclones.
- If a tropical cyclone forms above, or north of the equator, it spins in an anti-clockwise direction. If it forms below, or south of the equator, it spins in a clockwise direction. This is all because of the way the Earth turns on its axis.
Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20
Why in news?
‘Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20’ extended for further period of six months.
Know about ‘Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20’
- Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 was unveiled in 2015.
- The policy provides guidelines for enhancing exports to push economic growth and create jobs and incentives under different schemes such as Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG).
- It also emphasizes on improving the ease of doing business.
