CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The researchers from the Yale Undergraduate Aerospace Association (YUAA), led by 21-year-old Keshav Raghavan, are among the 16 teams across the country whose CubeSats will be flown into space on missions planned to launch in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Detailed explanation-2: -NASA runs the extensive Small Spacecraft Technology Program as well as the CubeSat Launch Initiative. Previously selected CubeSats have studied near-Earth objects, space weather, Earth’s atmosphere and much more. In 2018, NASA launched its first pair of CubeSats designed for deep space – Mars Cube One, or MarCO.

Detailed explanation-3: -Despite their name, cosmic rays are not rays at all. When these were first discovered, scientists assumed they were rays beaming through space, similar to sunlight, and the misnomer stuck. In fact, they are tiny atomic particles released by distant and ancient interstellar events, such as supernova explosions.

Detailed explanation-4: -NASA’s CubeSat Launch initiative (CSLI) provides low-cost access to space for U.S. educational institutions, informal educational institutions such as museums and science centers, non-profits with an education/outreach component, and NASA centers for early career workforce development.

Detailed explanation-5: -A NASA CubeSat will launch into low-Earth orbit to demonstrate a new type of propulsion system. Carrying a pint of liquid water as fuel, the system will split the water into hydrogen and oxygen in space and burn them in a tiny rocket engine for thrust.