Current Affairs 28 July 2021 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 28 July 2021 focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

Russia’s Nauka Module For UPSC

Source : Indian Express
Science and Tech (Space)

What is discussed under Russia’s Nauka Module For UPSC ?

1. About Nauka
2. About Pirs
3. About ISS 
4. What is a space station ?

Why in News ?

Russian module on the International Space Station (ISS) used as a docking port for spacecraft and as a door for cosmonauts to go out on spacewalks, was detached from the 22-year-old floating laboratory.

• Russia’s space agency Roscosmos will be attaching a significantly larger module called Nauka.

Key Facts

• Nauka was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan using a Proton rocket is scheduled to be

  

  integrated with the ISS.

• About Nauka Module
  • 42 feet long and weighs 20 tonnes.
  • Nauka meaning science in Russian.
  • Biggest space laboratory Russia has launched to date
  • Primarily serve as a research facility.
  • It is also bringing to the ISS another oxygen generator, a spare bed, another toilet, and a robotic cargo crane built by the European Space Agency (ESA).
  • It took eight days to reach the ISS.
  • It will take up to 11 Russian spacewalks over seven months to fully integrate Nauka with the ISS.
• About Pirs
  • Meaning pier in Russian
  • Considerably smaller structure that was only used as a docking port for Russian spacecraft.
  • Allowed for cosmonauts to enter or leave the ISS for spacewalks.
  • Pirs was pulled away from the ISS using a Progress MS-16/77P cargo ship, which had remained docked to the module.
  • Pirs and its cargo ship will get burned up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, and are expected to fall harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean.

About ISS 

• What is a space station ?
  • Space station is essentially a large spacecraft that remains in low-earth orbit for extended periods of time.
  • It is like a large laboratory in space, and allows astronauts to come aboard and stay for weeks or months to carry out experiments in microgravity.
• ISS is a pathbreaking collaborative effort between five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada).
• 20 years since its launch, humans have continuously lived and carried out scientific investigations on the $150 billion ISS under microgravity conditions, being able to make breakthroughs in research not possible on Earth.
• 243 people from 19 countries have so far visited the ISS.
• The floating laboratory has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas, carrying out cutting edge research in various disciplines
• The major research including
  • Biology
  • Human physiology
  • Physical, material and space science.

China-Pak Joint actions in Afghanistan

Source : Indian Express
International Relation/Terrorism

What is discussed under China-Pak Joint actions in Afghanistan ?

1. What is the reason ?
2. About Joint Action
3. India and Afghan

Why in News ?

China and Pakistan have decided to launch joint actions in Afghanistan to stop the war-torn country from becoming a hotbed for terrorism and drive out terrorist forces from there.

Key Facts

• The decision was taken during a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.

  

• What is the reason ?
  • Economic
    • As Afghanistan’s neighbours China and Pakistan are directly impacted by the Afghan situation.
    • It is necessary for the two countries to strengthen cooperation and respond to changes.
  • Security Challenges
    • Recent bomb attack on a shuttle bus carrying Chinese engineers.
    • Thousands of Chinese personnel worked in the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan installations, projects and personnel in Pakistan
  • Presence of terrorist militant group
    • Firmly combat the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other terrorist forces, and resolutely stop Afghanistan from becoming a hotbed of terrorism.
    • 12th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the UN issued last month confirmed the presence of the ETIM militants in Afghanistan.
    • Growing presence of Uyghur Militants
• What are the Joint Actions ?
  • China and Pakistan will actively promote peace through talks, advance effective intra-Afghan talks.
  • Take substantive steps towards political reconciliation and building a broad-based and inclusive political framework.
  • Promote coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries.
  • Explore the building up of Afghanistan-related cooperation platforms, and help Afghanistan achieve peaceful reconstruction and live in amity with all its neighbours.

Impact over India’s Afghan Interest

• India has been very critical of the Taliban coming into power and shown resistance to publicly dealing with the Taliban.
• Projects in Afghan
  • Afghan Parliament
  • Zaranj-Delaram Highway
  • Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam)
• Strategic Partnership Agreement October 2011
  • Aims to support the government and the people of Afghanistan in realizing their goal to ensure a peace, stable and democratic country.
  • India has trained Afghan military personnel and gifted four military helicopters to the Afghan government as per the terms of the accord.
  • To avoid the return of jihadi groups, like al Qaeda, which could strike in India.
  • Proceeding from a desire to further strengthen their traditional and historical ties to mutual benefit.
  • To impart a long term commitment to their multifaceted bilateral relations and to actively develop them in political, development, economic, trade, scientific, technological, cultural and other fields in the years ahead.

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