Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa (SESAME) Program

• NASA envisions a swarm of cellphone-size robots swimming through the water beneath the thick icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa or Saturn’s moon Enceladus, looking for alien life, through NASA’s Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa (SESAME) program.
• SESAME supports the formulation and maturation of system concepts and the associated technologies capable of accessing liquid water by penetrating the surface ice.
• Identify ice penetration systems capable of facilitating the detection of evidence of life by providing access to liquid water located 100s meters to 10s kilometers below the surface of the ice.
• Identify the technology component(s) representing the most significant technical risk to the overall penetration system.
• Reduce the identified key component technology risks through the proposed development effort.
• Develop prototype hardware and assess the hardware performance via analysis and complementary experiments.

Large Hadron Collider

• The Large Hadron Collider is a giant, complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things.
• Structurally, it is a 27-km-long track-loop buried 100mts underground on the Swiss-French border.
• In its operational state, it fires two beams of protons almost at the speed of light in opposite directions inside a ring of superconducting electromagnets.
• The magnetic field created by the superconducting electromagnets keeps the protons in a tight beam and guides them along the way as they travel through beam pipes and finally collide.
• Just prior to the collision, another type of magnet is used to squeeze the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions.
• Since the LHC’s powerful electromagnets carry almost as much current as a bolt of lightning, they must be kept chilled.
• The LHC uses a distribution system of liquid helium to keep its critical components ultra-cold at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius, which is colder than interstellar space.

Biosecurity

• Biosecurity is the prevention of disease-causing agents entering or leaving any place that can pose a risk to farm animals, other animals, humans, or the safety and quality of a food product.
• Some external biosecurity measures include isolation of new animals prior to entering the herd, control of wildlife and pests, air filtration systems, limiting visitors, supplying clean clothes to all guests, shower-in/shower-out, and managing vehicle traffic.

Anthrax

• Anthrax, also known as a malignant pustule or woolsorter’s disease, is a rare but serious disease caused by the rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.
• It occurs naturally in soil and, according to the WHO it is primarily a disease of herbivores, with both domestic and wild animals being affected by it.
• Anthrax is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it is naturally transmissible from animals (usually vertebrae) to humans.
• People can get the disease through contact with infected animals or animal products that are contaminated with bacteria.
• According to the WHO, Anthrax is generally regarded as non-contagious.
• There have been instances of person-to-person transmission, however, such instances are extremely rare.

Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator

• It is regarded as the precursor to future combat drones.
• While being operated in a completely autonomous mode, it exhibited a perfect flight, according to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• The flying wing structure of the technology demonstrator refers to a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that houses its payload and fuel in its main wings and does not have a defined fuselage-like structure found in conventional aircraft.
• The officials added that the flying wing type of aircraft has a key operational advantage because it has low reflective cross-sections resulting in a low radar signature, making it a stealth machine.
• Because of the shape, the aircraft also has very low drag or air resistance.
• However, this unique design also comes with its issues related to stability and thus requires additional systems.
• The vehicle is powered by a small turbofan engine which is an air-breathing type jet engine.