Prelim Bits 23-08-2018

Hurricane Lane

• Lane is a category 5 hurricane which is currently heading towards Hawaiian Islands in Pacific Ocean.
• The winds of the hurricane are expected to reach speed above 157 miles per hour causing catastrophic damages in the island.
• The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes in western hemisphere into 5 categories by the intensities of their winds.
• The wind scale is used only to describe hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean and northern Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line. 

Insight Spacecraft

• InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is designed to study deep interiors of Mars.
• The lander is expected to rest on “Elysium Planitia”, which is a flat-smooth plain just north of the equator in Mars.
• This mission is part of NASA's Discovery Program for highly focused science missions that ask critical questions in solar system science.
• It is the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth of Mars crust, mantle and core.
• It also measures tectonic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars.
• It will be a first test of miniaturized CubeSat technology at another planet, which researchers hope can offer new capabilities to future missions.
• It has recently crossed halfway in its enroute to Mars and expected to land in November.
• The instruments aboard the spacecraft include
  1. A seismometer - used to detect quakes on Mars,
  2. A self-hammering probe - To measure the amount of heat escaping from the planet’s interior.
  3. Cameras to take a “selfie” of the mission’s equipment.

OSIRIS-REx

• The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft was launched in 2016.
• Its target is Near-Earth Asteroid called Bennu.
• It will bring sample back to Earth for study by 2023.
• It will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.
• It recently began its final approach towards Bennu.

Near-Earth Asteroid

• Asteroids, or minor planets, are small and often irregularly shaped celestial bodies.
• Most of them orbit the Sun in the so-called main asteroid belt, between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.
• An asteroid is coined a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) when its trajectory brings it within 1.3 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun and hence within 0.3 AU of the Earth's orbit.
• NEA are also known Potentially Hazardous Asteroid.
• The largest known NEA is Ganymed.

Reasons for Intense Rainfall in India

• NASA using its satellite data has provided an estimate of the intense rainfall that affected India from August 13 to 20.
• The first band extends across the northern, western and eastern part of peninsula which is associated with the general monsoon circulation.
• The second band is closely aligned with the southwest coast of India and the Western Ghats.
• It appeared more concentrated and intense due to an area of low pressure embedded within the general monsoon trough.
• Another contributing factor to the heavy rains in the second band is the Western Ghats.
• Western Ghats along the West Coast of India intercept the moisture-laden air drawn from the warm waters of the Northern Indian ocean and the Arabian Sea as part of the southwest monsoon circulation.
• Global Precipitation Measurement – It is a joint mission of Japanese Space Agency and NASA to make frequent observation of Earth’s precipitation.

Restrictions  in Imports and Exports

• Central Government has recently amended the Import policy, imposing restrictions on bio-fuel imports.
• The free import of biofuels will now be allowed only for non-fuel purposes.
• The restricted biofuels will include ethyl alcohol and other denatured spirits, biodiesel, petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals other than crude.
• The import of above items, which was free earlier, will now be allowed only for non-fuel purposes on an actual user basis.
• The government in its recent notification has revised the status of export of rare earth compounds.
• Export of rare earth compounds classified as beach sand minerals, permitted anywhere in the export policy earlier, will be regulated now.
• It has been brought under state trading enterprise and will be canalised through Indian Rare Earths Limited.

Source: The New Indian Express, BusinessLine