Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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The Union Cabinet approved a Third Launch Pad (TLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. TLP will support ISRO’s Next Generation Launch Vehicles (NGLV) and human spaceflight missions. It will serve as a backup for the Second Launch Pad (SLP) and support LVM3 vehicles with advanced stages. The project costs ₹3984.86 crore and is expected to be completed in four years. TLP will boost launch frequencies, enabling India’s space goals, including the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and crewed lunar landing by 2040. It enhances India’s capacity for heavier and advanced launch vehicles.

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Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars formed a rare arc in the night sky, called a ‘planet parade.’ A planet parade occurs when multiple planets are visible in the night sky simultaneously. This phenomenon, also known as a conjunction, makes planets appear close together or even touching, though it is a perspective illusion. Planets have unique motions and move at different rates, making simultaneous visibility uncommon. Such alignments involving four or more planets are rare and do not happen annually, as highlighted by NASA.

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Scientists detected supersonic winds of 33,000 km/h on the gas giant exoplanet WASP-127b. WASP-127b is located 520 light-years away in the Milky Way and orbits a sun-like star every four days. It is a hot Jupiter, orbiting just 5% of the Earth-Sun distance, with one side always facing its star. Its atmosphere reaches 2,060°F and contains hydrogen, helium, carbon monoxide, and water. WASP-127b is 30% larger than Jupiter but only 16% of its mass, making it extremely puffy. It has the fastest equatorial jet stream winds recorded on any known planet.

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IIT-Madras researchers have extracted silicon carbide (SiC) from simulated moon soil, aiding future lunar habitat construction. Silicon carbide (SiC), also called carborundum, is a synthetic crystalline compound of silicon and carbon. It is extremely hard, has high thermal conductivity, and offers excellent resistance to wear, oxidation, and chemical reactions.

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Pune district in Maharashtra is the worst-hit region for Zika virus in India, with 125 out of 151 cases reported in 2024. Maharashtra recorded 140 cases, followed by Karnataka (10) and Gujarat (1). The Zika virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, which also transmit dengue and yellow fever. It can cause microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. The virus was discovered in the Zika Forest, Uganda (1947), and the first human case was reported in 1952. A major Zika outbreak occurred in Brazil (2015).

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Niger has become the first African country to eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness. It joins Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Guatemala as WHO-verified onchocerciasis-free nations. Onchocerciasis is a parasitic disease affecting the eyes and skin, causing severe disability. It leads to disfiguring skin conditions, vision loss, and permanent blindness in severe cases. The disease has severely impacted livelihoods for decades. Over 99% of cases still occur in 31 African countries.

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Astronomers discovered Gaia BH3, a massive black hole close to Earth, using the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia telescope. Gaia Mission, launched in 2013, aims to create the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way, surveying 1% of its 100 billion stars. It orbits the Sun at Lagrange Point 2 (1.5 million km from Earth), avoiding atmospheric distortion. Gaia scans the sky every two months using two telescopes. It helps detect exoplanets, main belt asteroids, and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) by tracking stellar movements and brightness changes.

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China has successfully demonstrated artificial photosynthesis in space, with their astronauts on the Tiangong space station producing oxygen and rocket fuel using this technology. The astronauts used a process mimicking natural photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and rocket fuel components using solar energy. The experiment was conducted on China’s Tiangong space station. This breakthrough is considered a major step forward in space exploration, as it could enable future missions to generate necessary resources in space.

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Shri. S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, inaugurated the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Chip Design at Noida. It aims to enhance India’s semiconductor design and VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integration) capabilities. The Centre will provide research, innovation, and training to develop a skilled workforce. Facilities include a Project Lab for chip design and a Smart Classroom for immersive learning. A VLSI-based Intellectual Property (IP) demonstration showcased its commitment to semiconductor advancement.

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Brucellosis, a bacterial disease, caused the death of an 8-year-old in Kerala. It is caused by Brucella bacteria, mainly infecting cattle, goats, sheep, swine, and dogs. Humans get infected through direct contact with animals, consuming contaminated animal products, or inhaling airborne agents. Unpasteurised milk and cheese from infected animals are the most common sources. Symptoms include fever, weakness, weight loss, and discomfort, often mild and undiagnosed.