Author: Science India Bureau
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the state-of-the-art Earth obs er vat ion spac e craft EOS-05, aboard the GSLV-F17 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 4 September. The launch of this advanced Earth-observation imaging satellite marks the first time that India has successfully placed an imaging satellite specifically designed to operate from a geosynchronous orbit, approximately 36,000 km above the Earth. The mission is being regarded as a major technological advance in India’s remote-sensing and space-based monitoring capabilities. The 51.7-metre-tall GSLV-F17 lifted off from the Second Launch Pad at Sriharikota, carrying the approximately…
Image Courtesy: NASA NASA has launched one of its most ambitious space observatories yet, designed to look deeper into some of the universe’s greatest mysteries. From mapping invisible dark matter and investigating dark energy to discovering planets beyond our solar system, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could dramatically expand humanity’s understanding of the cosmos. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was launched on August 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The telescope is now undertaking a three-month journey of about one million miles to the second Sun-Earth…
Noted Indian Theoretical Physicist Prof Deepak Dhar has been awarded the 2026 Dirac Medal by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, for his important work in statistical mechanics. Dhar is an INSA Distinguished Professor and is known for his research on statistical physics and stochastic processes. He is among four physicists selected for this year’s award for their contributions to theoretical physics. The other recipients are Bernard Derrida, Honorary Professor at the College de France; Marc Mezard, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Bocconi University; and Haim Sompolinsky, Professor of Neuroscience and Physics at the Hebrew University…
Image Courtesy: NIOT TECH TALK / MULTI-FUNCTIONAL NANOBOTS In a significant advance towards precision cancer therapy, Indian researchers have developed multifunctional nanobots that can be remotely guided using near-infrared (NIR) light to target and destroy breast cancer cells. The research addresses a major challenge in cancer treatment: delivering therapy precisely to a tumour while limiting damage to healthy tissue. Conventional chemotherapy circulates drugs throughout the body and can therefore cause substantial side effects. Nanomedicine has sought to overcome this problem, but many existing nanoparticles still depend largely on passive accumulation inside tumours and have limited ability to penetrate tissue or…
Image Courtesy: PIB YOUNG SCIENTIST / DR WALIUR RAHAMAN When scientists want to understand what the Earth looked like hundreds or thousands of years ago, there are no written records to turn to. Instead, they read clues preserved in rocks, sediments, oceans and ancient ice. Dr Waliur Rahaman has spent much of his scientific career learning how to decipher these clues. It is for this field of study, involving geochemistry and paleoclimatology, that he has been awarded the Vigyan Yuva– Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award 2025 in Earth Sciences. A Scientist-F in the Isotope Geosciences division of the National Centre for…
Images Courtesy: Twitter On the morning of August 26, 2026, massive flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border wreaked an unprecedented catastrophe, the consequences of which will take a long time for the Himalayan country to recover from. On August 26, a massive failure involving ice, rock and mountain slope material in the Langtang region of Nepal unleashed a violent cascade into the Lhende Khola, a high altitude river near the Nepal-Tibet border, which feeds as a tributary into the Bhotekoshi river. The resulting torrent travelled almost 100 kilometres downstream, gathering enormous quantities of rock, sediment, mud and debris as it…
Image Courtesy: NASA/ Wikipedia/ Public Domain The scientists have found the first atmosphere surrounding an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of a distant star. The researchers say that their discovery provides the strongest evidence yet that worlds with conditions similar to Earth could exist beyond our solar system. The gas detected in the atmosphere is helium, which would not be able to support life, but other gases may also be present. According to news reports, the astronomers have found the first confirmed atmosphere around a rocky planet in another star’s habitable zone. The exoplanet, LHS 1140 b,…
Image Courtesy: PIB YOUNG SCIENTIST / PROF SURHUD SHRIKANT MORE When the Government of India announced recipients of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar 2025, one name stood out in the field of physics—that of Prof Surhud Shrikant More of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune. He was chosen for the prestigious Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for his exceptional contributions to astrophysics and cosmology, particularly his work on galaxy formation, dark matter and the large-scale structure of the universe. For Prof More, the award is the culmination of a journey that began in rural Maharashtra. Growing up in…
Image Courtesy: NIOT TECH TALK / HIGH-ALTITUDE HEXACOPTER DRONE For decades, India’s weather forecasting infrastructure has relied heavily on satellites, ground-based observatories and radiosonde balloons. While these systems have played a crucial role in meteorological observations, scientists have long sought a method that can repeatedly gather atmospheric data from the same location with greater precision. The answer has come in the form of a high-altitude hexacopter drone developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai. Weighing just 16 kilograms, the drone has been engineered to fly up to an altitude of five kilometres, carrying sophisticated instruments capable…
The 25th Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) and 7th Rashtriya Adhiveshan of Vijnana Bharati were held at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, on 12 June, and 13 & 14 June respectively. The Rashtriya Adhiveshan was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, who emphasised the importance of Indian science. He said science has been an integral part of Indian society from ancient times and made immense contribution. He said Indian farmers practiced innovative methods in agriculture and contributed to the country’s economic growth. The resolution of Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) released during the Adhiveshan asserted that Science, Technology…