India’s Moon Mission: Chandrayaan-2

After Indian Cricket team’s shock exit from the semi-finals of World Cup Cricket, the nation has something to cheer for-India’s pride and glory, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is going to launch Chandrayaan-2 mission at 2:50 am on July 15^th from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The present Mission is an advanced version of Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the moon launched on October 22^nd, 2008.

Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan in Sanskrit means “Moon Craft”. Moon orbiter of Chandrayaan-1 helped in determining presence of water molecules on the surface of the Moon. Equipped with instruments needed for collecting data on Moon’s geology, minerology and topography, the spacecraft orbited Moon 3400 times and transmitted data back to mission centre. From the mapping orbit located at an altitude of 100 kilometres, space craft, deliberately crashed Moon Impact Probe into Moon’s south pole to detect presence of water.

After 10 months of its launch, ISRO lost contact with the orbiter. Though Chandrayaan-1 failed to complete is mission life of two years, it had many achievements to its credit. It was ISRO’s first interplanetary mission. The instruments aboard the mission detected water in the thin lunar atmosphere, water ice near surface of the poles and the over 70,000 images captured during its life span helped in creating three-dimensional map of Moon and its past tectonic activity. This highly successful scientific mission besides establishing ISRO’s technological prowess motivated scientists to intensify Moon exploration.

Background

Encouraged by the new findings of Chandrayaan-1, scientists finalised the payloads by 2013 and prepared ground for Chandrayaan-2. Originally conceived as a joint mission between ISRO and ROSCOSMOS (Russian Space Agency) the mission, Chandrayaan-2 was rescheduled to 2016 after Russia couldn’t develop lander for the mission. Subsequently after failure of its Mars Mission, Russia withdrew from the Chandrayaan-2 mission. India then decided to carry out the mission independently and scheduled the launch for March 2018. But was delayed to April, then June and finally the team made some comprehensive changes in the mission in October pushing the launch date to 2019. In the meantime, India carried out its second interplanetary mission to Mangalyaan in November 2013. ISRO took the World by storm by launching Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) successfully in its very first attempt incurring a cost of mere $74 million (11% of NASA’s Mars Mission).

Chandrayaan-2

The Mission altogether contains three parts- Chandrayaan Orbiter, Vikram Lander and Pragyaan Rover. Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter carrying the lander and rover module, weighing 3.8 tonnes will be hoisted into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by the indigenously developed cryo-vehicle, Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk-III). GSLVs are specially designed to inject satellites weighing more than 4 tonnes to geosynchronous orbit. The three-stage rocket containing a pair of S-200 solid boosters, a core liquid L-110 stage and upper cryogenic engine are perfectly suited for the new parameters of the mission. Having conducted two successful launches earlier, ISRO decided to use Mk-III launch vehicle for the lunar mission. Unlike Chandrayaan-1 the current mission is technologically more challenging and complex. Accuracy is the key. Even a slightest error of one kilometre can be disastrous.

After 17 minutes of lift-off, the upper cryogenic engine will inject the orbiter into earth’s parking orbit. In the next 53 days, Orbiter will travel 3.84 lakh kilometers to reach the designated lunar orbit. During the first 16 days of lift-off, the propulsion system of orbiter will fire “earth-bound burns” to propel it into higher orbits. Subsequently for the next five days, the orbiter will travel towards the moon. With another firing, the orbiter sucked up by lunar gravity will be hoisted to a peri-lunar orbit. The Orbiter will finally enter the 100km circular orbit around moon after four lunar-burn manoeuvres. It will go around the moon for 27 days. The orbiter with a mission life of one year besides carrying the lander-rover composite module has the essential communication equipment to relay message between lander, rover and mission centre on Earth.

On September 6^th/7^th after travelling 3.84 lakh kilometres, the orbiter will prepare the module for soft-landing.  After going through the numerous images captured by the Chandrayaan-1, scientists have pinned down on a region for touchdown, which is a plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, 70 degrees South of equator and 350 km north of South pole. It has a slope of less than 12 degrees ideally suited for landing. A nerve-wrecking time frame of 15 minutes will be challenging for soft-landing of the lander. As per programmed set of events for the soft landing, four days before landing, lander will separate from the orbiter and reach an orbit 30kmX100km. In the scheduled 15-minute window, lander will decelerate its speed rapidly and lose altitude. 100mt from the lunar surface, lander will hover for 25seconds to take a call on final spot for touchdown. Firing all five engines for 13 seconds, it will touch lunar surface. 15 minutes after landing it will send first photograph and four hours after landing, rover will crawl out to conduct experiments for 14 earth days or one lunar day.

India’s Chandrayaan-2 is immensely significant for being the first mission attempting to soft-land on Moon’s South pole. Poles with permanently shadowed craters termed as “lunar cold traps” with water ice have fossilised records of the evolution of moon and solar system. Exploring these regions can greatly enhance knowledge of our nearest space neighbour, Moon. South pole is the region which is explored the least. Coming shortly after Israel’s Beresheet crash while landing on lunar surface, on April 11^th, space enthusiasts are closely observing India’s Moon Mission.

Lander, Vikram is named after the founder of Indian Space Program, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai will act as communication link between the rover, orbiter and Earth. It houses instruments for measuring lunar seismic activity, ILSA; Thermal probe; Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere; Imaging System; Radio Occultation Experiment and instrument provided by NASA- retoreflector.

Rover, Pragyaan meaning Wisdom in Sanskrit is an autonomous unit weighing 27 kilograms. It has six wheels, a radio antenna to communicate, solar panels and carries Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope, Alpha particle induced radio Spectroscope and Imaging System. It can travel up to 500 meters. Of the 14 instruments on board, 13 are Indian. The cost of entire mission is 630 crores ($87 million).

Barring China’s Chang’e, last year, no mission has soft-landed on lunar surface. A successful soft-landing will put India in an exclusive club of the US, Russia, China and Japan who have reached Moon and elevate its status as an emerging space power. India’s moon mission coincides with the 50 years of America’s conquest of Moon on July 20^th 1969, when America’s Eagle landed on lunar surface and Neil Armstrong walked over it. For all the trails and tribulations faced by Indian space program, a successful Chandrayaan will be a giant leap forward. India’s unmanned mission to Moon will be a fitting centenary tribute to Dr. Vikram Sarabhai who envisioned potential of space exploration and its quintessential role in powering telecommunication, weather forecasting, education and broadcasting.

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Deep Sea Mining

Nature has been a source of incredible wealth. From times immemorial, mankind greedily plundered nature for material gains. Breaching yet another pristine frontier, countries are making plans to ransack deep blue seas. Termed as Deep- Sea mining (DSM), employing advanced technology, at breath-taking pace nations are vying to harvest nodules and rocks that constitutes the seabed. DSM entails extraction of minerals located 400 to 6000 metres below the sea level.

Almost 44 years ago, on July 4^th, 1974, CIA launched a covert sea operation with an aim of stealing Russian submarine, K-129 a ballistic nuclear missile carrier, almost 2500 km from north west of Hawaii, six years ago. To divert the attention of Russian spies and give the operation a deliberate spin, CIA under the garb of harvesting rocks in the seabed launched an operation-Project Azorian. In the run up to the operation, CIA sent scientists for conferences on Ocean mining and roped in billionaire inventor, Howard Hughes, to build a vessel for scientific exploration. The great PR strategy of CIA stuck chord with the US universities, that mulled introducing specific courses on deep sea mining. Even UN jumped in and offered to provide a rules-based approach to determine rights to ocean minerals. Outwardly, while the vessel was fitted with all the machinery needed for excavating the seabed, Hughes Glomar Explorer housed a monstrous capture vehicle with giant set of claws to retrieve the sub and keep it hidden. By July 30^th, away from the prying eyes of the World, Americans located the sub. But the capture vehicle suffered a damage while lifting the sub. The giant claw broke under immense strain midway and most of the sub slipped back. The team managed to recover only the front portion. Despite the difficulties and the huge costs involved in carrying out the project, American desperately wanted to steal the sub for obvious military reasons. To get hold of Russian nuclear missiles and to penetrate their naval communications, unmindful of the consequences, CIA went ahead with this cost prohibitive exercise. When CIS broke the details of the project after a year, mining companies who made extensive plans of mining seas were crestfallen and the stocks tumbled. But CIA’s success proved that with sophisticated engineering techniques and lavish funds DSM can be possible. Ever since, companies invested heavily in research expeditions to probe the sea bed for minerals.  

For the first time, scientists abroad, Royal Naval Ship, HMS Challenger found that deep sea bed contains huge mineral deposits. First dredging exercise revealed presence of nodules rich in manganese, nickel and iron in the ocean beds of Indian and Pacific Ocean. Soon scientists confirmed that a tonne of sea bed is 10 times richer in mineral content than mines on land. Independent investigations by different teams confirmed this fact who declared sea beds as treasure houses of minerals and rare earth elements (REE).

By 1960s, scientists floated the idea that oceans should be used for peaceful purposes and their mineral wealth should be shared equally by the humanity. While the issue of ocean mining hardly evinced any interest in countries then, extensive use of mobile phones, solar panels, batteries, wind vanes, electric cars and other gadgets increased demand for indispensable REE. Nations are now competing for the scarce REE’s in the earth’s core. Owing to the rapid scale of sophistication appetite for Lithium, Cobalt, Copper has surged to phenomenal levels. Pitched battles are witnessed between nations for the limited supply of Cobalt. Republic of Congo which currently has 60% of global resources has now become a den for corruption, human rights abuse. Responding to Amnesty International’s report that sought a solution for exploitative mining and alleged dominance of smuggling mafia in Congo, Michael Lodge, Chairman of ISA, International Seabed Authority called for a relook at deep sea mining. To streamline various activities related to sea mining, intergovernmental body, ISA, came into existence in 1994 with headquarters at Kingston. It formulates rules and regulations for mineral related activities in the international seabed region, area beyond the limits of jurisdiction of individual countries.

ISA, which has observer status to UN has divided the ocean bed into blocks and 29 exploration areas. Companies from 19 countries have purchased mineral prospecting licences for 15 years as of now. ISA proposed three types of mining- Polymetallic manganese nodules, Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts and polymetallic sulphide mining at hydrothermal vents. For the first time, a venture Nautilus Minerals commenced its exploration in Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Fiji after negotiations with respective governments off the Bismarck sea. While the mining hasn’t started yet, all the preparations for rock breaking are going at frenetic pace. The stretch identified in the seabed is covered by hydrothermal vents, which are shelters for vast communities of extremely rare marine life like shrimps, snails and tubeworms. Use of gargantuan machinery during mining is bound to damage the marine habitat of the region, poverty-stricken countries lured by attraction of money have accepted the deal. Though the mining company has undermined the fears of residents whose lives and livelihoods are irretrievably linked with sea waters. Disturbed by the impact of the exploratory phase that led to sharp decline in sharks, citizens of Tonga, Papua New Guinea have launched protests and campaigns against DSM.

After Japan’s successful attempt to mine ore deposits in 2017, which included- Zinc, Copper, Gold and Lead off the coast of Okinawa close to hydrothermal vents, there is a global rush for DSM. Elucidating the impacts of such mad rush, a paper published in Harvard Environmental Law Review warned nations of the adverse impacts of DSM on environment, lives of indigenous people and the biodiversity of marine habitat.

Hydrothermal vents act as environmental sinks with microorganisms in the vicinity sequestering huge amounts of carbon and methane (Green House Gas). Recently researchers discovered over 300 animal species endemic to vents making each vent unique. They now hypothesize that perhaps life must have evolved from hydrothermal vents which can thrive even higher temperatures of upto 113C. Destruction of the vents might lead to release of sequestered methane triggering a doomsday climatic event. Latest scientific breakthroughs revealed that deep seas absorb the excess heat generated by GHGs. Oceans have been instrumental in mitigating the climatic change impacts.

DSM which involves use of heavy machinery that would chip, scrap and break the rocks. All these events invariably disturb the sea bed, generate large sediment plumes and discharge wastes into seas. Till now, mankind irreversibly damaged the oceans and seas through deep sea oil and gas extraction, discharge of wastes including nuclear wastes, dumping plastics, leakage of oils from vessels etc. Scientists claims unlike surfaces of Moon, Mars or Venus which were meticulously mapped, the invaluable diversity of marine life is largely unknown. Mariners are just beginning to understand the climatic role of hydrothermal vents. These geographical formations hold a key to unravel the secrets of evolution and adaptation of life of earth. At this juncture, dishevelling the deep-sea bed for commercial purposes may be counterproductive and tragic.

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Ode to Timeless brilliance

Often phenomenal scientific advancements and pathbreaking discoveries with a tremendous potential fail to make indelible impression on common man. Plagued by absence of meticulous minds that can translate wonders of science into simple words, innumerable contributions of ingenious intellects remain obscure. Endowed with a unique combination of brilliance and humor, Cosmologist and inveterate science popularizer, Stephen Hawking set a new precedent in scientific outreach. Born on the 300^th birth anniversary of Galileo, Hawking breathed last on International Pi Day and Albert Einstein’s birthday, seems a cosmic connivance to pay homage to science’s brightest star. Demystifying the complex theories of Universe, Hawking, educated people about science and emerged as a new phenomenon and a celebrity scientist. Besides shaping the modern-day Cosmology with his scientific insights, he inspired millions of people. Trumping the debilitating illness which confined him to wheel chair for over five decades, he exuded rare brilliance and relentlessly engaged in scientific pursuits and popularization of science.

Unshaken by the disability inflicted by a rare disease, ALS (Amylotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s syndrome, that gradually cripples brain-muscle coordination at a young age of 21, he made seminal contributions to the field of Cosmology. Defying doctors’ prognosis of survival for few years, he lived for the next fifty years. His first breakthrough, Hawking’s radiation in 1970 that postulated black holes emit radiations but will lose energy and then disappear created ripples in scientific field. This was against Quantum mechanics, which propounded that energy/information can’t be lost. This black hole paradox has created a vertical split among Astro-Physicists. Hawking believed black hole may have head of hairs while the other group backed the no-hair model based on Einstein’s theory of relativity. In 2015, revising his own calculations, Hawking proposed the concept of soft hair on black holes indicating that information doesn’t disappear in blackhole but is stored at event horizon. Not all physicists were convinced of this new description. But the crux of the issue is that he has been tirelessly working on the black hole paradox for over 45 years despite living in the shadow of death. ALS left him completely paralyzed reducing the bodily control to flexing of finger, movement of eyes but mental faculties were intact. He lost his voice muscles progressively and for the last three decade he has been communicating through an exclusive voice synthesizer.

Hawking’s absolute determination, indomitable will and single-minded approach to unravel mysteries of Universe have propelled him to make radical discoveries earning him a place in Royal Society at young age of 32. He became Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a post previously held by Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Babbage, and Paul Dirac, one of the founding fathers of Quantum Mechanics when he was 37 years old. He revolutionized the field of Cosmology with dynamic ideas. In 1982 he showed that Quantum fluctuations or minute variations in distribution of matter seeded the formation of stars and planets. While Hawking’s seminal discoveries in Cosmology elevated him to towering heights in scientific field, his book, “A brief history of time” published in 1988 catapulted him to stardom and immense popularity. The book besides meticulously deciphering marvels of Universe quenched the spirit of enquiry of youngsters and science enthusiasts making it the most popular book in science. Over 10 million copies of the book were sold in past 20 years. It remained on The New York Times best seller list for unprecedented 237 weeks, making it to the Guinness Book of World records. Galvanized by the popularity of the book, Errol Morris made it into a documentary. Hawking authored 12 books in all, popularizing various aspects of Universe, made appearances in several TV shows- the Star Trek, The Simpsons and the Big Bang Theory. German composer, Rolf Riehm composed a 35-minute piece titled “Hawking” and held ode to his “ceaseless extension of limits”. In 2014, commemorating, his inspired living, James Marsh made Hawking’s biopic “The Theory of Everything”, an Academy award winner.

Hawking’s visibility as scientist is unparalleled and any pronouncement by him, makes it to the headlines. He believed that humanity should spread out into space but warned people of alien invasions and full development of artificial intelligence. He feared development of AI that equals or surpasses human intellect can spell doom for entire humanity. Being eternally optimistic, enthusiastic, and open to new collaborations, Hawking became part of Breakthrough Initiatives funded by Russian billionaire, Yuri Milner focused on space exploration and search for alien life.

Hawking won Albert Einstein Award, the Wolf Prize, the Copley Medal, and the Fundamental Physics Prize. In 2016, when Israeli physicist announced finding a convincing evidence for Hawking radiation, people expected Hawking to win a Nobel. But experts ruled that results were not conclusive, hence the Nobel Prize eluded him. Physicists are hopeful that study of black holes through gravitational waves might provide clinching evidence for Hawking’s black hole paradox. In his illustrious scientific stint, besides black holes, Hawking worked on nature of gravity and origin of Universe. He pointed that black holes are not black as they are made out to be.

Incidentally, some of his ideas about Universe its evolution, origin and more specifically Big Bang theory earned him wrath of religious leaders. Hawking openly dismissed the role of God as creator and comforts of religious beliefs. Similarly, he courted controversies for his anti-Semitic stance, strong support to BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) of Israel, declaring women a complete mystery, oblique references to Monica Lewinsky during his lecture at White House.

Hawking was bold, courageous, and remained undaunted by controversies. He traveled across the globe, visited every continent including Antarctica, celebrated 60^th birthday in hot air balloon, crashed his wheelchair while speeding in Cambridge corridor, as a prelude for space travel on Virgin Galactic’s Space Ship two, Hawking took a ride in zero-gravity aircraft in 2007. Despite his physical constraints, his spirit wasn’t disabled, he lived life to the fullest. A contemporary incarnate of amazing will power and determination, Hawking made the planet richer with his knowledge. Though he physically left his body, his vivacious scientific spirit, will pervade eternal cosmos as a brightest star…

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Space X's phenomenal success opens new frontiers for Private Players in Space Science

Space is a fascinating realm. Incidentally any milestone in space exploration catches the imagination of young and old alike. On Feb 6^th Space X, launched the World’s powerful rocket carrying a pay load, the original cherry red Tesla Roadster electric car playing the Space Oddity destined for the red planet Mars. Unlike conventional rocket launches that carry satellites slated for different orbits or interplanetary space travel, the rocket hoisted a car driven by a mannequin Star Man making it more special. To brandish rocket’s incredible load carrying capacity, Space X wanted a huge payload and what best could have served its business interests other than choosing its own product. They zeroed in on roadster, the revolutionary electric car of Musk to promote its brand and technological proficiencies.

Falcon Heavy lifted off from the NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre Cape Canaveral, the place from where powerful Saturn V rockets for Lunar Mission 1969 took off. Clearly, the third stage of Falcon blast off over performed steering the Roadster beyond the heliocentric orbit of the Mars into the asteroid orbit. Roadster having missed its original destination, will now orbit between Mars and Jupiter for eternity and might eventually turn into space debris. But this iconic launch Space X Falcon Heavy has created a history. Till 1991, Cold war rivals US and Soviet Union intensely competed to show case their dominance in every avenue and space was no exception. Their fierce competition yielded numerous scientific breakthroughs that drastically changed the contours of space exploration which has been exclusive domain of the governments. Now Space X’s spectacular launch potentially opened the territory of space for private companies.

The launch was phenomenal in terms of technological advancement. Two of three boosters of the rockets descended majestically to the designated launch area vertically are recovered and refurbished for use in next launch. Recovery of the first stage boosters is a tremendous achievement and speaks volumes of Elon Musk’s vision of reusable rockets which can tremendously reduce economies of scale. Reusability of the boosters used in the Falcon Heavy that can carry a payload of 63,800kg to Low Earth Orbits (LEO) is believed to reduce cost of launching satellites by over a quarter. Aside cost reduction, Space X has now set the bar high for its competitors.

Space X’s incredible feat is now renaissance of sorts for space science and exploration. Having already proven its capabilities in delivering cargoes to the International Space Station and successfully carried out 45 missions and planned 70 missions worth $10 billion.  Space X Falcon 9 reusable rockets have been making significant progress in satellite launching business by reducing the cost by 30% or $18.6 million with every launch. Enamored by its achievements, Space X is now working on Dragon Capsule, Falcon Heavy rocket and the BFR rocket system for its ambitious project of carrying humans on inter planetary destinations. Musk has special interest in red planet and Space X is geared up to send humans to Mars by 2019. Overwhelmed by the recent Falcon Heavy near flawless launch, Musk threw a gauntlet, challenging other rivals for a space race. He encouraged companies indicating that Space X, as a commercial entity managed with internal funds of $500 million and prompted billionaires to invest in Space Science.

Though the entry of private players into the arena of space science has been decades long, federal laws prevented them from launching their own satellites till 1984. In 2010, President Obama’s decision of ending the space shuttle program changed the situation opening the territory of Space for private players. Ever since, private companies relentless vied to fill the void imparting a commercial angle to space exploration. Among the prominent early entrants into space science include Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon who launched Blue Origin and billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. In 2015, Blue Origin successfully launched the first reusable rocket. Main stay of these two companies has been space tourism. While Musk was keen on exploring the possibility of putting up human settlements in other planets and space mining.  As of now, Space X has emerged as the leader proving its abilities by placing heavy satellites in low earth orbits at low costs.

Entry of private players has now significantly changed the dimension of space science. Reusable rockets reduced cost of satellite launches and the dream of low cost space travel no longer seems unrealistic. Steadily, an ecosystem replete of private players equipped with new technologies, started blooming across different corners of the World. These include a new genre of smaller satellite launch companies and satellite manufacturers planning to work in tandem with big players. Rocket is akin to hardware, while satellites are the software programs. Private players are slowly replacing the huge geosynchronous communication satellite which are hoisted by powerful rockets with smaller satellites placed in Low Earth Orbits (LEO) to get decent image resolution bringing down the costs to a fraction. Prominent players revolutionizing information technology with small satellites are a Finnish Company ICEYE and New Zealand based Rocket Lab which has it own launch pad on North Island’s Mahia Peninsula. As against the average satellite launch cost of $220 million, Rocket Lab intends to send small satellites for as less as $5million and as frequently as once in a week. They are even employing 3-D printing for building rocket engines.

Parallelly, billionaires across the World are now getting enthused by the prospect of exploring the infinite realm of mysteries, the Space and to use space for the benefit of earth. The list of enthusiastic new entrants includes- Robert Bigleow who intends to send an inflatable hotel to orbit the Moon, Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Starshot initiative to probe the Alpha Centauri (closet star to our Solar System), Larry Page and Eric Schimdt’s asteroid mining mission and Ashurbeyli’s Space Nation project. Ashurbeyli aspires to build first space nation, Asgardia and any individual over 18 years from any part of the World can apply for citizenship. He intends to send arks of pensioners into space and eventually colonize the moon. Investments are now pouring into space sector into the global space economy worth $329 billion with three-fourths coming from private players. Clearly, Space X’s tremendous success has bolstered the spirits of iconic dreamers and inveterate space enthusiasts.

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Monkey clones raises ethical concerns of human cloning

The alarming pace of discoveries which garnered momentum with unraveling of structure of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) the basic blue print of living organisms in the year 1953 has transformed Life Sciences. This phenomenal discovery besides cracking the fundamental unit of inheritance (genes), ignited the latent curiosity of manipulation of genetic material among scientists. Incidentally the collective efforts accelerated the genesis of a gamut of molecular biology techniques culminating in the evolution of new branch of study, Genetic Engineering which encompasses all the processes aimed at altering the genetic code of an organism. Till 1970s, selective breeding was widely practiced to manipulate genetic material. Initially, biomedical techniques like artificial insemination, invitro fertilization (test-tube babies) were included under genetic engineering. The discovery of restriction enzymes in 1968, an indispensable tool for gene cloning accelerated the pace of genetic engineering. Eventually genetic engineering invariably refers to gene cloning.  Cloning refers to the process wherein a target DNA (gene) is inserted into a circular piece of DNA or plasmid of a bacterium and generation of hundreds of identical copies of gene. DNA cloning is used in production of biopharmaceuticals, gene therapy and gene analysis. The term cloning became immensely popular when scientists at University of Edinburgh cloned the sheep Dolly in 1996.

In fact, Dolly had three mothers: one provided DNA, another egg and the third one was a surrogate mother. Using the technique of somatic cell nuclear technique (SCNT), nucleus from the mammary gland is inserted into an unfertilized egg, whose nucleus was removed. This hybrid cell was implanted in a surrogate mother. The success of Dolly prompted scientists to use this technique for other animal species like dogs and pigs. While cloned animals are widely hailed as symbols of scientific excellence, the fear creating designer babies and an army of clones began to haunt the scientific community.

On 24^th January China announced the creation two cloned monkeys Zhong Zhong, Hua Hua, the first primate clones developed with a technique similar to one used in Dolly. To achieve this humongous feat, scientists at Institute of Neurology (ION) Shanghai made few modifications. They erased chemical modifications of DNA that potentially turn the embryonic cell into a specialized cell. Similarly, they used DNA from fetal cells and added few factors to turn on genes responsible for embryonic development. They thus created 79 clone embryos and implanted them into 21 surrogate mothers and obtained two clones of long tailed monkeys, Macaca fasicularis. Cloning primates is extremely arduous and has abysmally low success rate.  Scientists across the World lauded their Chinese counterparts on their outstanding achievement who unabashedly expressed concerns that this technique might be used to clone humans. Besides humans the subclass of primates (the big brained mammals) includes monkeys, apes, lemurs, bushbabies and lorises.  Allaying fears, scientists at ION clarified that they have created the clones to study genetic factors responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. By creating a population of genetically identical monkeys’ scientists want to deactivate the genes responsible for causing diseases individually and study its effect. Besides there is huge demand for cloned monkeys to test drugs.

Primates have been preferred models for studying human mental disorders and degenerative diseases. Hundreds of monkeys are used to investigate Parkinson’s disease. Incidentally, genetic closeness and similarity makes the study of primates significant and informative. Genome sequencing revealed that humans are 96% similar to the apes. A section of scientists believe that the latest development is highly significant since SNCT technique can be used to save endangered animals.

Human cloning includes therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning involves cloning of human cells or tissues for medical purposes like transplants while reproductive cloning is about making an entire clone of a human being.  

Amidst burgeoning reports of production of various animal clones and rapid advancements in genetic engineering international community contemplated the possibility of elaborating a convention for addressing the concerns on human cloning. Accordingly, in 2005 UN General Assembly has adopted a declaration urging member states to prohibit all forms of human cloning “in as much as they are incompatible with human dignity and protection of human rights”. But the declaration was toothless since it was non-binding and owing to the ambiguity of wordings, countries failed to arrive at a consensus. Compelled by the urgency to address the ethical concerns of cloning, countries began to urge UN for a binding treaty for prohibiting human cloning. As of now, countries are still divided with each country legislating its own laws. As of 2015, seventy countries are reported to have banned human cloning. EU, Canada explicitly bans human reproductive cloning. India doesn’t have specific law on cloning. It allows therapeutic cloning and use of embryonic stem cells and issued guidelines banning reproductive cloning. UK grants licenses to Universities for carrying out research on diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease and permits research on human-animal hybrid embryos. As of now US promotes stem cell research and development of pluripotent stem cell lines not involved in creating a human embryo.  Though there are no federal laws banning human cloning completely, human reproductive cloning is banned in fifteen states while three states prohibit use of federal funds for the same.

With the development of primate clones, human cloning seems to have moved away from the realms of science fiction to a real possibility. Currently, certain sections of scientific community fervently back therapeutic human cloning for its potential benefits in organ transplanting. Similarly, childless heterosexual couples suffering from genetic disorders are pitching for reproductive human cloning.

Human cloning while offering promise of ameliorating genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis, Down disease, Tay-Sach’s disease can enliven slew of fictional realities of designer babies and genetic upgrades like smarter babies posing serious ethical concerns. It is a tight rope walk. In absence of a binding international concerns, nations are free to make their own legislations and issue guidelines to laboratories. Crux of regulating human cloning lies in strict enforcement. In any case, scientists must exercise discretion and shoulder the responsibility of defining their research activities for the betterment of society.

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Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO)s: Hard to ignore

The idea of existence of alien life, exploration of extra-terrestrial life and spotting of vague flying objects always enticed the scientific community. Fueling scientific passions, a genre of writers began producing a manifold variety of scientific fiction to whet the inherent curiosity and inquisitiveness of the science enthusiasts. Soon, flying saucers or flying discs/ Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO)s became extensively used terms in common parlance. Colloquially, references to UFO became synonymous to an alien space craft. While there has always been a latent obsession towards UFO, the issue started gaining more momentum ever since US government’s public disclosure.

On 16^th December 2017 US Defense Department conceded that it funded a program on UFO till 2012 which existed in various avatars. The $600 million Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) which was shut down in 2012, started in 2007 at the behest of Nevada Senator Harry Reid. New revelations suggest the program was run by an aerospace company run by billionaire entrepreneur Robert Bigleow, a friend of Reid who is currently working with NASA for developing an expandable raft for humans in space. Upon repeated questioning senator Reid confided that black money was used to fund the program on UFO which was classified and designated as “restricted special access program”. Backing the program in 2009 government argued that “what was considered as science fiction is now a science fact”. AATIP which was started with much fanfare was mysteriously terminated suddenly in 2012. Now hell broke loose with several Pentagon officials questioning government funding since earlier projects on UFOs were called off for negative conclusions. 

In US, for long, scientific communities and defense personnel locked horns over the existence of UFOs. Scientists asserted that the overwhelming banner of UFO included not only rare sightings but unusual phenomenon that are largely unexplained by science. Experts argued often certain unusual natural phenomenon which are categorized as UFOs merited serious investigation and should be taken up case by case. Debunking the myth of UFOs researchers implored government to exercise caution and not attribute everything to the existence of alien creatures.

Post-world war II, US initiated projects to extensively investigate UFO’s on grounds of national security which intensified during the cold war era.  In 1948, US instituted Project Sign, a highly classified program to probe the extraterrestrial origins of flying saucers and was dismantled within a year without making the details of study public. This was soon followed by Project Grudge which was replaced by Project Blue Book which was officially closed in 1970 marking the end of US government’s official support to UFO program. Ambiguous denouements of the projects frustrated defense personnel who soon withdrew from these projects. But nonetheless enthusiastic astronomers and scientists soon formed private scientific consortiums and pursued investigations of UFO with renewed vigor. Parallelly, bewitched by the mysteries of alien life, NASA started looking for signs of life in the Solar System. Currently, UFO investigations in US are collectively taken up by SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) which searches for signs of life by monitoring electromagnetic radiations, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and Mars Science Laboratory.

Despite the overwhelming frenzy to reconnoiter and explore UFOs, focused investigations on the same are not discussed openly even now. UFO study is still considered a stigma by US defense personnel who questioned the justification behind allotment of huge amounts of funds for UFO investigations.

Interestingly though existence of UFOs is often dismissed as conspiracy theory, fib of occultism and fictitious, harrowing experiences of Naval personnel and Sailors have prompted institutions and countries to investigate UFOs. Now countries like France, Sweden, Russia, China, UK, Canada and Latin American countries are pursuing UFO investigation in a big way. Soon the study of UFOs has graduated into a neologism referred to as Ufology. In a major boost towards searching for extraterrestrial life, in 2015 Stephen Hawking, spearheaded a new program, Breakthrough Initiatives funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner to search for intelligent alien life.

While contrarian views regarding UFOs their relevance, existence and need for investigations continue to trigger huge debate, a new sighting by sky observers is enthralling scientists. The team of Breakthrough Listen has identified a 260ft long cigar shaped space craft hurtling through the Solar system at speeds of 196,000mph in October 2017. Ever since scientists have been closely monitoring the interstellar object initially believed to be an asteroid or a comet. Discovered by Pan-Starrs Project at the University of Hawai, it was termed as Oumuamua, a Hawaiian term meaning scout or messenger. International Astronomical Union (IAU) designated this object as I1/2017U1, I as in Interstellar, 1 since it is first object to enter our Solar System from the outer confines. Scientists found that the object has been emitting electromagnetic radiations not produced in nature. Though scientists haven’t arrived at unanimity with regards to its origin they found that the interstellar object is unusual for a rock. Travelling at speeds several fold more than light, it is unlikely to be bound by gravitational force of Sun. Its architecture suggests that it was designed to minimize damage from interstellar dust and gases. Based on its speed and trajectory, scientists estimated that it will soon bypass Jupiter and exit our Solar System. Investigations contended the object to be first ever craft to have visited our solar system suggesting the possibility of existence of alien civilizations. This discovery added more heft to the claims of Stephen Hawking who unequivocally believed in the existence of advanced aliens and their colonization of planets whichever they can reach. This new celestial discovery can span out be a turning point in the study of UFOs.

For decades, several scientific groups believed that UFOs are real and represent advanced technology. But none of the groups could convincingly authenticate their claims. Rapid advancements in science, synergistic cooperation between various institutions backed by financial resources is now offering new hope for UFO enthusiasts. While UFO investigation is still considered a taboo, the longing excitement to unravel vast expanses of Universe and alien civilizations continues to propel science zealots to relentlessly fathom the enchanting mysteries of unexplored realms. 

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Breaking of Antarctic Larsen C Ice Shelf: An inimical off-shoot of Climate Change

Debates of climate changed picked up traction with ignoble US president announcing the withdrawal of America from the Paris Climate Accord. Protesting the indifference of politicians towards the climate change environmentalists expressed their discontentment with massive protests at Hamburg where G-20 leaders assembled for the summit meet. Days after conclusion of the summit, European Space Agency, Sentinel-1 mission, announced that Larsen C ice-shelf, the fourth largest in the World (5800 sq km) comprising of 12% of total area of Antarctica broke off from the frozen continent.

Ice-shelves are humongous repositories which are formed when glaciers on land begin to spread out over the sea. They essentially prevent the drifting of glacial ice into sea and thereby regulate sea level rise. In general, glacial ice, chips off to form icebergs. Now snapping of 12 trillion cubic meters of ice, larger than Haryana, is believed to change the landscape of Antarctica. While the immediate effects of this event are not ominous, scientists are carefully monitoring rest of the ice-shelf closely. The ice shelf which looks like a crooked finger is pointing towards tip of the South America is an extension of huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The ice-shelf when ripped off completely will exist as a 190-meter-thick iceberg nearly four times the height of Qutub Minar.

Indeed, fissures in the Larsen C ice-shelf first appeared in 2010. The tear which spread 10 meters per day gradually accelerated to 36 mt before finally snapped away on July 12th. Splintering of ice shelf has already begun and the smaller ice bergs are now heading towards Weddell Sea. Experts at Scripps Institute of Oceanography said that ice fragments might eventually move further north towards South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Breaking of ice-shelf is a natural process. Antarctica ice is tightly compressed at the edges of its rocky base and under the weight of huge ice accumulations, ice shelves break off from time to time. Hence breaking of ice shelves can’t be attributed to global warming directly. But what caught the attention of the scientists is the shortened frequency of the calving (breaking of ice-shelves) process. Ice shelves which form 75% of coastal Antarctica are susceptible to changes in atmospheric temperature from above and ocean warming from below. Though the role of warm climates in triggering calving is not scientifically established as of now, experts believe don’t belie its role.

Gigantic Icy continent is firmly edged by ice-shelves which form the coastal region while glaciers impound inlands. Thwaites glaciers, a gigantic bulk of ice part of the West Antarctica Ice Sheet, located further inland has become cause of intense concern. Rapidly changing climates led to melting and sliding of the glaciers into sea pushing up sea levels. Unchecked greenhouse gas emissions accentuate melting of glaciers. It is estimated that melting of West Antarctica Ice Sheet can increase sea level by 3 meters. On the contrary, ice-shelf breaking may not increase the sea-level since this portion of ice was already in water. Volume of water produced after the ice shelf melting is equal to volume of ice that was displaced. But calving of ice-shelf and its gradual melting will greatly destabilize the land ice. Though scientists are hopeful that ice-shelf will regrow but chipping away of huge chunks of ice-shelves at regular intervals will inadvertently make Antarctica less stable. If the newly calved iceberg drifts into warm oceans, it can just long for few decades. Ice shelves act as sinks for glaciers and their calving will eventually hasten melting of glaciers leading to increase in sea-level. In 2015, a report in reputed journal Science warned that ice-shelves in Antarctica are thinning at an accelerated pace and that ice-shelves ceased to gain volume.

Larsen Shelf is named after the Norwegian explorer Carl Anton Larsen who in 1890, sailed along the 1000km western coastal stretch. The Larsen shelf comprises of distinct shelves- Larsen A, B, C and D. In 1995, Larsen A broke away and melted completely in seven years.  The 10,000 years old Larsen B separated from Antarctica in 2002 and became an iceberg. Reports showed that Larsen B calving speeded up glacier collapse by 300 to 800%. Larsen C is five times the size of Larsen B. NASA scientist Cavin Schmidt said that complete melt down of Larsen C might increase sea level by 0.1mm.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes Fifth Assessment Report (5AR), indicated that temperatures in Antarctic peninsula where Larsen-C is located, are rising four to six times that of global average. Though role of global warming wasn’t scientifically established as of now, reputed scientific journal, Nature, opined that increased human (anthropogenic) activity in Antarctica is posing new threat. Surge in number of tourists visiting Antarctica is drastically changing the delicate ecosystem of Antarctica. Especially visitors to coastal regions has increased from 1.5 million in 2004-05 to 2.6 million in 2013-14. Interestingly, Antarctica is in news recently for being the venue for first ever wedding ceremony of expedition leaders of British Antarctica Survey (BAS).

As per IPCC reports twentieth century witnessed a linear increase of sea-level caused by warmer oceans and melting glaciers. In 21^st century rise of sea-level is exponential because of melting of fast flowing glaciers and subsequent breaking of ice-shelves of Greenland and Antarctica. Already islands in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and countries with huge coasts are facing the inimical effects of global warming. Besides the impending threats of inundation, rising sea-levels are critically endangering livelihoods of thousands of people living along the coasts. Fertile cultivable lands are rendered barren by salty depositions. Fresh water resources are becoming salty. 

Mounting evidences unequivocally indicate that unscrupulous human activity has irrevocably disturbed delicate balance of nature. The irreversible damage can be controlled through collective action and committed nurture. It is time international collaboration be ramped up to tame the disastrous cycle of events triggered by global warming. But sadly, overpowered by ritualistic nationalism, America, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases is dragging its feet. Abdicating responsibilities towards environment will push us closer to a brink of self-inflicted catastrophic consequences. Calving of Antarctic ice-shelf is an inimical distress signal lest the World choses to brush it off at its own peril.

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