ISRO's analogue space mission kicks off at Leh
Bengaluru, Nov 1: ISRO on Friday said its analogue space mission has taken off at Leh in Ladakh, where it will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat as India prepares to send a human to the moon.
The initiative is a collaborative effort of the Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and supported by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
The month-long mission, kicked off mid-October, comes in the wake of India's plans to set up lunar habitats, which could provide a base to launch inter-planetary missions.
The geographical features of Ladakh are considered to closely resemble Martian and lunar landscapes and are an ideal training ground for scientific missions aimed at exploring planets "India's first analog space mission kicks off in Leh...this mission will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat to tackle the challenges of a base station beyond Earth," ISRO said in a post on X.
The team of AAKA Space Studio is testing environment suits and conducting geological studies in Leh's low-oxygen environment, simulating space-like conditions, studies that could be crucial for future space missions.
The team is also studying how the human body adapts to the harsh weather conditions in Ladakh that could be useful in understanding how astronauts could get used to space like conditions.
🚀 India’s first analog space mission kicks off in Leh! 🇮🇳✨ A collaborative effort by Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and supported by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, this mission will simulate life in an… pic.twitter.com/LoDTHzWNq8
— ISRO (@isro) November 1, 2024
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
