UPSC Prelims News 5th September 2022

Table of Contents

UPSC Prelims News of 5th September 2022

Context: Complaint has been registered some political leaders for entering Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the Deoghar airport.

Entry inside airports

Apart from a valid passenger carrying ticket, an individual can enter airport premises only with Aerodrome Entry Permit (AEP).
Airport entry privileges for MPs: According to the 2007 order issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation, Members of Parliament can get free access to the Terminal building and Visitors Gallery by producing their MPs Identity Card.
- However, there is no clarity in order whether MPs were allowed to enter ATC premises.

Air Traffic Control (ATC):

The ATC is the traffic control room for aircrafts at airports from where ground-based air traffic controllers direct aircraft movements.
The main objective of ATC is to streamline airport operations and prevent collision between aircrafts.
Traffic controllers track aircrafts using radars and communicate with pilot on radio, giving them instructions on take-off and landing.
Entering ATC:
- A prior approval is needed for an individual to enter the ATC building. A person is allowed to enter ATC tower and building after due procedure.
- Access authorization is granted based on case to case basis. All individuals may not necessarily be allowed to enter ATC.

Context: The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has announced to set up India’s first Dark Sky Reserve in Hanle, Ladakh.

The agreement:

Memorandum of Understanding as been signed between the Union Territory administration, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru for setting up Dark Sky Reserve.

Dark Sky Reserve

A Dark Sky Reserve is a designation given to a region/place that has policies in place to ensure that a tract of land or region has minimal artificial light interference.
International Dark Sky Association: It is a U.S.-based non-profit that designates places as International Dark Sky Places, Parks, Sanctuaries and Reserves, depending on the criteria they meet.

Why has Hanle valley been selected for Dark Sky Reserve?

The Hanle Valley of Changthang is a dry, cold desert with sparse human population and is located close to the Hanle monastery.
The cloudless skies and low atmospheric water vapour make it suitable for optical, infrared, sub-millimetre, and millimetre wavelengths observations.
IAO: Hanle hosts Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) and is regarded as one of the world’s most optimal sites for astronomical observations.
- The IAO is located on Mt. Saraswati in the Nilamkhul Plain in the Hanle Valley of Changthang.
- The Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT), the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment Telescope (MACE), High Energy Gamma Ray telescope (HAGAR) and GROWTH-India are some of the important telescopes located at IAO.
- They have been used to study stars, galaxies, exoplanets and the evolution of our Universe.

Context: An IAD, designed and developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), has been successfully test flown by ISRO.

What is an IAD?

Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator or IAD in short is a technique used for an atmospheric entry payload.
An inflatable envelope and an inflatant (anything that inflates the envelope, like air or helium) make up the IAD. While entering the atmosphere, it inflates like a balloon and decelerates the lander.
In simpler words, IAD is designed to increase drag upon entering the atmosphere of any planetary body, like Earth, Mars, or even Moon.
Its use was first proposed by NASA more than 50 years ago for planetary entries.

Significance:

The IAD has huge potential in variety of space applications like recovery of spent stages of rocket, for landing payloads on to Mars or Venus and in making space habitat for human space flight missions.

About: The Martand Sun Temple also known as Pandou Laidan is a Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (the chief solar deity in Hinduism) and built during the 8th century CE. Martand is another Sanskrit synonym for Surya.
Location: The temple is located five miles from Anantnag in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Who built it? It was built by the third ruler of the Karkota Dynasty, Lalitaditya Muktapida, who ruled Kashmir from 725 AD to 753 AD.
Architecture: It was an excellent specimen of Kashmiri architecture, which had blended the Gandharan, Gupta and Chinese forms of architecture.
- It has three distinct chambers—the mandapa, the garbhagriha, and the antralaya—probably the only three-chambered temple in Kashmir.
Current status: The temple appears in the list of centrally protected monuments as Kartanda (Sun Temple).