Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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Indian astronomers recently photographed interstellar comet C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), also called 3I/ATLAS, using the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) in Hanle, Ladakh. The telescope is part of the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), also known as Hanle Observatory. Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) is located in the Hanle Valley, Ladakh, at 4500 metres above sea level. It was inaugurated in 2001 and is managed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru. The observatory is situated in a dry, cold desert with minimal human interference and clear skies.

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In July 2025, Kerala’s rubber plantations faced a major threat from a beetle-fungus alliance causing severe leaf fall, tree drying, and reduced latex output. Researchers at the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur, identified the parasite as the ambrosia beetle (Euplatypus parallelus). It hosts two fungi — Fusarium ambrosia and Fusarium solani, marking the first report of F. solani with adult ambrosia beetles. The beetles bore tunnels in trees, farm fungi, and feed on fungal mycelia, while fungi weaken the tree’s structure with enzymes. These beetles were first reported in India in 2012 from cashew trees in Goa.

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Recently, 16 chitals (spotted deer) died at Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Pune due to Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), as confirmed by lab reports. Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting all cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, goats, sheep, deer, and pigs. It is caused by an aphthovirus from the Picornaviridae family. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) first gave official recognition to this disease.

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Recently, Bengaluru-based space company Protoplanet launched the Human Outer Planetary Exploration (HOPE) station in Ladakh’s Tso Kar region. HOPE is a moon and Mars simulation research station mimicking off-Earth terrain and environment. It is located in the high-altitude cold desert of Tso Kar basin, Ladakh. The project is developed by Protoplanet with technical and financial support from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It aims to study human psychological, physiological, and epigenetic responses in extreme isolation. It supports India’s long-term space goals including a crewed lunar mission by 2040 and a space station by 2035.

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Recently, African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak was confirmed at a pig farm in Ravas Brahmanan village, Patiala, Punjab. District authorities have taken immediate action to contain the spread. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic pigs and wild boars. It does not affect humans or other animal species. It causes high mortality (up to 90–100%) and severely impacts pig farming. It originated in sub-Saharan Africa and has spread to Europe, Asia, and Africa. In India, it was first detected in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in Feb–Mar 2020.

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Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the Block 2 BlueBird communication satellite in 3–4 months. BlueBird is developed by U.S.-based AST SpaceMobile. The launch will take place from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, using Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), formerly GSLV-Mk III. This follows ISRO’s successful launch of NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission on July 30 using GSLV. BlueBird is an advanced American satellite designed for direct smartphone-to-satellite communication. It enables users to make calls and access internet directly from space without ground towers.

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Indian space-tech startup Dhruva Space is set to launch its first commercial satellite mission named LEAP-1. LEAP-1 will carry payloads for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Earth observation. It uses the indigenously developed P-30 satellite platform, which was space-qualified on ISRO’s PSLV-C58 in January 2024 during the LEAP-TD mission. The mission is jointly developed by Dhruva Space, Akula Tech (Australia), and Esper Satellites (Australia).

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Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) certified Kenya as having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. It is a parasitic disease spread by infected tsetse fly bites, endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. It has two forms: Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (92% cases, chronic, found in West and Central Africa) and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (8% cases, acute, found in East and Southern Africa). Rural communities relying on farming, fishing, herding, or hunting face higher risk. WHO has validated the gambiense form’s elimination in Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Chad, Guinea, and now Kenya.

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Two Indian aquanauts recently conducted deep-sea dives in the Atlantic Ocean under Samudrayaan Project. They collected over 100 kg of cobalt-rich polymetallic nodules from 1,173 meters depth in the Andaman Sea. Deep Ocean Mission was launched by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on 7 September 2021 with ₹4,077 crore for 5 years. The mission develops technologies for exploring and using deep ocean resources sustainably. It supports India’s Blue Economy with potential to push maritime economy beyond ₹100 billion. It aligns with United Nations Decade of Ocean Science (2021–2030).

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NASA has launched “Surya”, an artificial intelligence (AI) model to improve space weather forecasting. Surya was developed in collaboration with IBM and trained on over nine years of data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It analyses massive streams of solar activity to detect early signs of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Solar storms can disrupt satellites, communication systems, aviation, GPS navigation, and power grids on Earth. Surya generates visual forecasts up to two hours in advance with higher accuracy than traditional methods. The model is open-source to enable global researchers to improve space weather defense.