The NASA-ISRO Satellite Aperture RADAR (NISAR) mission is an Earth observation satellite jointly built by the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) at NASA and ISRO, India. The mission would enable detailed observation of earth’s land and ice mass at an unprecedented scale and precision.

The satellite, set to launch in early 2024, is at ISRO’s Satellite Integration and Test Establishment at Bengaluru, where it just passed a key test.

Starting in 2006, North Korea has made a series of nuclear tests in its hidden backyard. The country’s latest one was conducted in 2017 at Punggye-ri, some 3.6 kilometres northwest of its first nuclear test site. Despite its success, the test results provided loose estimates of the source parameters like the energy produced and the depth of the explosion. Since this was the most extensive test conducted by North Korea, it has evoked special attention among the scientific community in the last two years. While many studies have tried to reckon these parameters, the results were shrouded in uncertainty. Besides, the country’s political abnegation of seismometers called for an exigent need for a more accurate means of estimating the blast site’s characteristics. In a recent study, published in the Geophysical International Journal, a team of scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) seems to have done just that.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar,  Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, and the University of Southampton, UK have tried to understand the effects of changes in land use and land cover on regional temperatures in Odisha, which frequently experiences heatwave, cyclones, droughts and floods.

Dr. U R Rao was born on 10th March 1932, at Adamaru in the state of Karnataka. After completing his undergraduate at Anantpur, Rao moved to Banaras HIndu University for his Masters and then to Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad to complete his PhD under  the guidance of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.

Transistors are the backbone of the zillion electronic devices that we use today. While development of these semiconductor devices dates back to four decades, it's applications are ever increasing. Internet of Things is the new application that is transforming the development of transistors. In view of this, scientists at IIT Bombay and SCL ISRO have developed a new kind of Bipolar Junction Transistor that is completely indigenous. The researchers believe a home made technology can see its application in strategic sectors like space and defence.

India is no stranger to air pollution, with the capital, New Delhi, being identified as one of the most polluted cities in the world, several times. The harmful effects of this deteriorating air quality can be seen in the increasing number of patients with respiratory disorders. Now, a team of scientists have designed a novel gas sensor using MEMS technology that is compact, highly sensitive, consumes very little power and accurately detects gaseous pollutants like CO, CO₂, NO₂ & SO₂.

ISRO hit a century of sorts with its launch of 104 satellites in one go. This has been a world record and everyone is proud of ISRO for what it has achieved. Have you wondered what enabled this scientific and technological achievement? Much of the ground work happened at Indian Institute of Science in primarily three scientific and engineering departments - aerospace, materials and electrical communication engineering. Aerospace Engineering helped in building and launching the satellites. Materials Engineering, then Metallurgy helped in arriving at the right composites, alloys and materials for the outer cover for launch vehicles and satellites that helped them to weather extreme conditions. The Electrical Communication Engineering Department helped with the technology to control and communicate with the satellites. It is interesting to note that all three were established during 1940s and before India became independent in 1947. In many ways from the science and technology to building capacity, IISc has been playing a key role.