It is a service specific Air Force exercise between India and Russia.
The 2018 edition is going to be conducted in Jodhpur.
It is the second in the series of bilateral joint exercise between Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Aerospace Force (RFSAF).
Chang’e-4
Chang’e-4 mission was launched by China to explore the far side of the Moon.
The mission will incorporate an orbiter, a robotic lander and rover.
It will be China's second lunar lander and rover.
It is a global first probe named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology.
Unlike the near side of the moon that is “tidally locked” and always faces the earth, and offers many flat areas to touch down on, the far side is mountainous and rugged.
VISIONS – 2
The VISIONS-2 mission, short for Visualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral Atom Sensing-2, is a sounding rocket going to be launched by NASA.
It aims to explore how the Earth’s atmosphere is slowly leaking in to space.
Sounding rockets are unique among scientific spacecraft for their superior dexterity.
The current mission’s precursor, VISIONS – 1 was launched from Alaska in 2013.
It studied oxygen outflow from aurora that forms on Earth’s night side, the part of the planet that is temporarily pointed away from the Sun.
Seismic Airgun Blasting
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of USA has recently granted permits for seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean.
The blasting will be used to conduct surveys that will provide data to oil and gas industry businesses.
It will harm the marine creatures as the companies search for potential oil and gas reserves off the Atlantic coast.
The testing will involve the use of seismic air guns which fire continuous blasts to ascertain whether deposits of oil and gas are present.
Scientists have warned that the extreme disruption caused by airguns can harm a wide range of aquatic life, including sea turtles, fish and zooplankton.
