ISRO Chandrayaan-2 launch Live Updates: Countdown to India’s moon mission; lift-off at 2.43 pm

Chandrayaan-2 Launch Live, ISRO Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission Launch Live Streaming Online Updates: India's first exploratory mission to the Moon was aborted on July 15. A 20-hour countdown is underway for the launch at 2.43 pm.


Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission Launch Live Updates: A week after the Chandrayaan-2 mission was aborted, India will at 2.43 pm Monday make a second attempt at launching its first exploratory mission to the Moon. Scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will have a window of only a few minutes to launch Chandrayaan-2, making it necessary that all operations in the run-up to lift-off are conducted with extreme precision.

About 15 minutes after take-off, the 43-metre tall rocket, named ‘Baahubali’, will inject the spacecraft into the Earth’s orbit. Chandrayaan-2 will spend 23 days in Earth’s orbit, where it will undergo 15 crucial manoeuvres. The journey to the Moon is expected to take around seven days, before it spends 13 days in lunar orbit. In the first week on September, a module of the spacecraft is expected to land on the Moon.

Chandrayaan-2 launch shortly: ISRO preps for 2.43 pm lift-off

We have less than an hour now for the launch of Chandrayaan-2 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The filling of Liquid Oxygen in cryogenic stage(C25) of GSLV MkIII-M1 has been completed.



Chandrayaan-2: What is this ‘launch window’ that ISRO is targeting?

The window of opportunity for the launch of India’s first lander mission to the Moon is extremely small — barely a few minutes — and the scientists have very little flexibility in the final minutes before lift-off. Why is this? Since everything in space is in motion, and because there are no straight lines in space flight, a successful launch is a matter of detailed and complex mathematical calculations.

Dark side of the Moon: Chandrayaan-2 is heading for the Moon's south side

Chandrayaan-2, which means 'moon-craft' in Sanskrit, is heading for the south side of the Moon. This is a site where no mission has gone before. This is the part of the Moon which holds the possibility of presence of water. So far, Moon landings have been in areas close to its equator as it receives more sunlight, which is required for solar-powered instruments. If Chandrayaan-2 becomes successful, India will become only the fourth nation to land a rover on the lunar surface after the US, Russia, and China.

Launch of Chandrayaan-2: Three hours to go!

There is just under three hours to go for the launch of Chandrayaan-2, India's mission to the Moon. In case you're just joining us, ISRO second Moon shot is scheduled for 2.43 pm this afternoon. Stay with us as we bring you the latest news and updates!


11:24 (IST)
22 Jul 2019
Chandrayaan-2: Here’s what APJ Abdul Kalam said on India’s lunar mission

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam, a former aerospace scientist who was widely known as the ‘Missile Man of India’, had given suggestions to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA scientists on Chandrayaan-2 nearly 10 years ago.

Chandrayaan-2: Surviving days and nights on the moon

The moon has extremes of both hot and cold temperatures. Near the its equator, daytime temperatures reach 120 degrees Celsius, while at night it is about -130 degrees Celsius. So, how do missions survive the lunar night? Virat Markandeya explains.

Why the world’s in a second race to the moon

It is now 50 years from the first landing on July 20, 1969, that humans have finally decided to go back to the moon. The stage is now set again for a race to the moon over the next decade, and, this time, it is likely to be markedly different from the earlier one. In all probability, it will involve multiple participants, be more collaborative than competitive, and will be guided by the overall objective of utilising the resources of the moon, setting up permanent facilities for scientific explorations and using it as a launch pad to take humans deeper into space,

Chandrayaan-2 launch today: A timeline

Here's a quick timeline of dates of ISRO's Rs 100 crore Chandrayaan-2 moon mission:

* 23 days in Earth's orbit
* Seven days to journey to the Moon
* 13 days in lunar orbit
* Lander module to separate from Orbiter on Day 43, or September 2
* September 6: Landing on the Moon

Chandrayaan-2 — Orbiter, Lander and Rover

Chandrayaan-2 is a moon-lander and rover mission. The spacecraft, which will orbit the Moon from 100 kilometres away, is also carrying a Lander and Rover. The Lander will carry the Rover to the surface of the Moon. The Rover will crawl on the surface, at one centimetre per second — eventually to 500 metres — to collect and transmit data back to Earth. Powered by solar panels, both will have an expected mission life of about 14 earth days, by which time the experiments are expected to be terminated.



Chandrayaan-1: What did India's first moon mission accomplish?

Chandrayaan-2, which will be launched today, is an extension of Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the moon. It operated for nearly a year between October 2008 and August 2009. During this time, the orbiter helped discover evidence of water molecules on the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to investigate the presence of water, as well as fossil footprints, on the Moons which could hold the answers to the origins of the earth and solar system.

 EXPLAINED: Why Chandrayaan-2 was aborted last week

Due to a sudden drop in pressure in one of the tanks containing helium gas on the GSLV Mk-III rocket, ISRO decided to abort the Chandrayaan-2 moon mission on July 15. The rocket, which will be launched today, will deliver Chandrayaan-2 in Earth's orbit. This spacecraft consists of three modules — Orbiter, Lander and Rover.


Narrow window for ISRO for launch of Chandrayaan-2 today

Scientists from ISRO have a small window of opportunity to launch Chandrayaan-2 this afternoon. After the mission was deferred on July 15, the next most suitable time was for "barely a couple of minutes" this afternoon. "So, all operations in the run-up to the launch have to be completed with extreme precision. There is no room for any delay,” a former ISRO scientist said.

 Chandrayaan-2 launches today at 2.43 pm; stay tuned!

Welcome to our live blog on the launch of Chandrayaan-2, ISRO's mission to the Moon. A 20-hour countdown is underway for lift-off, which is scheduled at 2.34 pm. Follow our live blog through the day for the latest news and updates.

SRO Chandrayaan-2 Launch Live Updates:
Chandrayaan-2 will spend 23 days in the Earth’s orbit, after which its journey to the Moon will take seven days. For the next 13 days, it will remain in lunar orbit, going around the Moon in an orbit of 100 km. The Lander module would separate from the Orbiter on Day 43, or September 2, and could continue to go around the Moon for another few days in a lower orbit.

The actual landing will happen on September 6, as originally scheduled, or in the early hours of September 7.

Chandrayaan-2 is India’s first attempt to land on the lunar surface. Its first Moon mission Chandrayaan-1, which was launched in 2008, was an Orbiter mission. But one of the instruments on board, called Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was made to crashland on the lunar surface. The MIP was one of the two instruments of Chandrayaan-1 that provided irrefutable evidence of the presence of water on the Moon.

Source -indianexpress.com

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German nurse who murdered 87 patients given life sentence

A court in the northwestern city of Oldenburg on Thursday found 42-year-old Niels Hoegel guilty of murdering 85 patients, aged 34 to 96, and sentenced him to life in prison.

Niels Hoegel liked to bring about cardiac arrests in his patients by injecting them with overdoses of heart medication and other drugs because he enjoyed the feeling of being able to resuscitate them. Sometimes he succeeded in bringing them back, but in at least 87 cases they died, making him what is believed to be modern Germany's most prolific serial killer.

He had earlier been convicted of two other killings.

"Your guilt is incomprehensible," presiding judge Sebastian Buerhmann said as he handed down the verdict. "I felt like an accountant of death."

Hoegel worked at a hospital in Oldenburg between 1999 and 2002 and another hospital in nearby Delmenhorst from 2003 to 2005, and the killings took place between 2000 and 2005, the dpa news agency reported.

Hoegel was convicted in 2015 of two murders and two attempted murders and is already currently serving a life sentence. There are no consecutive sentences in the German system, but Buerhmann noted in his verdict the "particular seriousness" of Hoegel's crimes, a finding that all but ensures he will remain incarcerated after the standard 15-year term is up.

During his first trial, Hoegel said he intentionally brought about cardiac crises in some 90 patients in Delmenhorst because he enjoyed the feeling of being able to resuscitate them. He later told investigators that he also killed patients in Oldenburg.
That prompted a wider investigation involving both hospitals, and police and prosecutors reviewed more than 500 patient files and hundreds of more hospital records. They also exhumed 134 bodies from 67 cemeteries, and questioned Hoegel multiple times, concluding that he had used a variety of drugs to attempt resuscitation of his patients, and was fully aware they might die.

Prosecutors noted that many of Hoegel's victims were not terminally ill patients, but were on the path to recovery.

"The fact is sometimes the worst fantasy is not enough to describe the truth," Buehrmann said.

In all, Hoegel was tried in Oldenburg on 100 counts of murder, but the court found him not guilty on 15 counts for lack of evidence, which Buerhmann noted with regret to the family members present.

"We were not able to shine light through part of the fog that lay over this trial," Buehrmann said. "That also fills with a certain sadness."
Pleas are not entered in the German system but during the seven-month trial, Hoegel admitted to 43 of the killings, disputed five and said he couldn't remember the other 52.

Hoegel testified that he had a "protected" childhood, free of violence. He said his grandmother and his father, who were both nurses, had been his role models for going into the profession.

"Now I sit here fully convinced that I want to give every relative an answer," Hoegel said during the trial. "I am really sorry."

An expert testified during the trial that while Hoegel suffered from personality disorders, he was psychologically competent to stand trial and serve his sentence.

In his closing statement to the court on Wednesday, Hoegel reiterated his earlier apology, expressing shame and remorse, and saying he realized how much pain and suffering he had caused with his "terrible deeds."

"To each and every one of you I sincerely apologize for all that I have done," he said.

Source - indiatoday.in

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Aligarh: Girl's family alleges rape, police rules out sexual assault

In the most barbaric incident of recent times, a three-year-old girl was strangled to death with her eyes gouged out and hands broken in Aligarh of Uttar Pradesh over a dispute of just Rs 5,000.

The incident came to light on June 2 when stray dogs started to drag out the mutilated body of the child from a garbage dump in Tappal town of Aligarh. The parents of the minor girl filed a missing person's complaint on May 31.

According to police, the girl was brutally murdered by two of her neighbours, Zahid and Aslam. Aligarh senior superintendent of police (SSP) Akash Kulhari said Zahid had borrowed some money from the girl's father but failed to return the entire loan.

"When the girl's father asked for the money, Zahid threatened him with dire consequences. And finally, with the help of his friend Aslam, Zahid killed the girl," Kulhari said.

The two accused have been arrested. When the police interrogated Zahid, he confessed to his crime. Aslam has other cases of rape, molestation and kidnapping against him. The body was found in a horrible state with the minor's eyes gouged out, broken hands - not far from the child's home.

The post mortem revealed that there were many causes of death like suffocation, beaten marks on the left chest, fracture in the left leg, ribs were broken, injury in the head, the right arm was cut from the shoulder, soft tissue was damaged of both eyes and worms all over the body.

The body was in a decomposed condition. These injury marks prove that the child faced the brutality. Although the family has alleged rape, the SSP said that rape has not been proved yet. The police have formed a special investigation team of six members.

The SIT will submit its report within three weeks. Forensic and special operation group team will also be a part of the investigation team. The authorities suspended five policemen for negligence and began proceedings to invoke the stringent NSA against the two accused.

Source - indiatoday.in

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Brexit: Ministers back Theresa May amid reports of a coup

Chancellor Philip Hammond said talk of a change was "self indulgent" while Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said the PM "is in charge".

David Lidington - one of those touted as a possible replacement - insisted: "I am 100% behind the prime minister."

Mr Barclay told the BBC a general election would become more likely if MPs vote this week for a Brexit option the government does not want.

MPs are expected to get the chance to hold a series of so-called indicative votes on possible alternatives to Mrs May's withdrawal deal, but the Brexit secretary said they would "not be binding".

'Serious manoeuvring
Newspapers claim cabinet ministers are plotting a coup against the prime minister, aiming to replace her with a caretaker leader until a proper leadership contest is held later in the year.

The suggestion is that Tory MPs might reluctantly back Mrs May's Brexit deal if they know she will not be in charge of the next stage of negotiations with the EU, but there are differing accounts of who the preferred candidate to replace her is.

The Sunday Times reports that Mr Lidington, Mrs May's de factor deputy who voted Remain, is being lined up, while the Mail on Sunday said the Brexiteer Environment Secretary Michael Gove was the "consensus choice".

The BBC's political editor, Laura Kuenssberg says there is "serious manoeuvring" going on.
The prime minister has come under growing pressure to quit following a week in which she was forced to ask the EU for an extension to Article 50, and criticised for blaming the delay to Brexit on MPs.

The withdrawal deal she has negotiated with the EU has been overwhelmingly rejected in the Commons twice, and it remains unclear whether she will bring it back a third time next week after she wrote to MPs saying she would only do so if there was "sufficient support".

One senior backbencher told the BBC's Iain Watson that even standing aside would not be enough for her deal to be voted through, and that Mrs May might as well

He denied reports he was hoping to parachute in Mr Lidington as caretaker, adding: "To be talking about changing the players on the board, frankly, is self indulgent at this time."

Mr Hammond said he understood MPs were "very frustrated", but "one way or another Parliament is going to have an opportunity this week to decide what it's in favour of".

Mr Lidington insisted Mrs May was "doing a fantastic job" and he had not desire to take over from her.

Former Conservative leader and prominent Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith told the BBC's Andrew Marr the disloyalty some cabinet ministers were showing to her was "appalling".

They should be censured, sacked, or at the very least "they should be apologising and they should shut up," he added.

'Crisis'
The leadership row comes ahead of a week where the PM is expected to lose further control over the Brexit process.

In the coming days, as many as six other options, in addition to Mrs May's deal, could be put to indicative votes in order to see which are most popular. They are:

Revoking Article 50 and cancelling Brexit
Another referendum
The PM's deal plus a customs union
The PM's deal plus both a customs union and single market access
A Canada-style free trade agreement
Leaving the EU without a deal
Mr Hammond said he would remove revoking Article 50 and a no-deal Brexit from the list, as "both of those would have very serious and negative consequences for our country".

On the subject of a second referendum, he said: "It is a coherent proposition and deserves to be considered, along with the other proposals."

But Mr Barclay said there was a "crisis" because "Parliament is trying to take over the government".

He said if MPs vote for a Brexit outcome at odds with the Tory manifesto - for example, in favour of maintaining single market membership - "the risk of a general election increases, because you potentially have a situation where Parliament is instructing the executive to do something that is counter to what it was elected to do".

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Artificial intelligence

Advantages of AI:

Less Room for Errors
As decisions taken by a machine are based on previous records of data and the set of algorithms, the chances of errors reduce. This is an achievement, as solving complex problems that require difficult calculation, can be done without any scope of error.

Have you heard of digital assistants? Advanced business organizations use digital assistants to interact with users, something that helps save them time. This helps businesses fulfil user demands without keeping them waiting. They are programmed to give the best possible assistance to a user.

Right Decision Making
The complete absence of emotions from a machine makes it more efficient as they are able to take the right decisions in a short span of time. The best example of this is its usage in healthcare. The integration of AI tools in the healthcare sector has improved the efficiency of treatments by minimizing the risk of false diagnosis.

Implementing AI in Risky Situations
Certain situations where human safety is vulnerable, machines that are fitted with predefined algorithms can be used. Nowadays, scientists are making use of complex machines to study the ocean floor where human survival becomes difficult.

Can Work Continuously
Unlike humans, machine does not get tired, even if it has to work for consecutive hours. This is a major benefit over the humans, who need rest time to time to be efficient. However, in the case of machines, their efficiency is not affected by any external factor and it does not get in the way of continuous work.

Disadvantages of AI:

Expensive to Implement
When combining the cost of installation, maintenance and repair, AI is an expensive proposition. Those of who have huge funds can implement it. However, businesses and industries that do not have funds will find it difficult to implement AI technology into their processes or strategies.

Dependency on Machines
With the dependency of humans on machines increasing, we’re headed into a time where it becomes difficult for humans to work without the assistance of a machine. We’ve seen it in the past and there’s no doubt we’ll continue seeing it in the future, our dependency on machines will only increase. As a result, mental and thinking abilities of humans will actually decrease over time.

Displace Low Skilled Jobs
This is the primary concern for technocrats so far. It is quite possible that AI will displace many low skilled jobs. As machines can work 24*7 with no break, industries prefer investing in machines as compared to humans. As we are moving towards the automated world, where almost every task will be done by the machines, there is a possibility of large-scale unemployment. A real-time example of this is the concept of driver less cars. If the concept of driver less cars kicks in, millions of drivers will be left unemployed in the future.

Restricted Work
AI machines are programmed to do certain tasks based on what they are trained and programmed to do. Relying on machines to adapt to new environments, be creative and think out of the box will be a big mistake. This is not possible because their thinking zone is restricted to only the algorithms that they have been trained for.

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UP Minister demands Army deployment in Ayodhya

Lucknow: An Uttar Pradesh Minister on Saturday said that the Army should be deployed in Ayodhya to control the situation in the temple town.

Om Prakash Rajbhar, President of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), broke ranks with ally the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Expressing concern over the congregation of Shiv Sainiks, VHP cadres and RSS workers in the temple town for the `Dharam Sabha` slated for Sunday and the arrival of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, the Minister said that he endorsed the views of the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who demanded that the Supreme Court should issue an order for Army deployment in Ayodhya.
"I welcome the statement of Akhilesh Yadav and support his call for deployment of the Army," Rajbhar said.

He also inquired how hundreds and thousands of people were entering Ayodhya while Section 144 was clamped in the temple town.

"The police and the district administration seem to have failed in maintaining law and I feel time has come for the deployment of the Army," the Minister said.

Rajbhar drew criticism when he said that seers were doing drama about the Ram temple as "it was their bread and butter".

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee passes away at 93

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had been admitted to the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi for the past few weeks, died on Thursday. He was 93.

Mr. Vajpayee was admitted to the AIIMS on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.

A 10.30 a.m. bulletin released by AIIMS on Thursday said that he was critical and on life support systems. His condition had worsened since August 14, an official statement by AIIMS said on Wednesday evening.

Mr. Vajpayee had suffered a stroke in 2009 that weakened his cognitive abilities. Subsequently, he developed dementia.

On Thusday morning Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and BJP leaders, including Home Minister Rajnath Singh and party national president Amit Shah, had visited AIIMS to enquire about his health. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also visited the hospital. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was expected to arrive later in the day.

Mr. Vajpayee was the first BJP leader to be sworn-in as the prime minister and the first non-Congress PM to complete five year term.

Born on December 25, 1924 in Gwalior, Mr. Vajpayee was elected 10 times to the Lok Sabha from four different States (the first time in 1957 from Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh), and was twice a Member of the Rajya Sabha in a storied career.

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