NASA invites people to submit names to go onboard its new solar mission
Washington: NASA is inviting people around the world to submit their names online to be placed on a microchip aboard NASAs historic Parker Solar Probe mission, to be launched this summer.
The mission will travel through the Sun's atmosphere, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions -- and your name will go along for the ride. The submissions of names will be accepted until April 27, the US space agency said in a statement on Thursday.
"This probe will journey to a region humanity has never explored before. This mission will answer questions scientists have sought to uncover for more than six decades," said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for Science Mission Directorate at NASA.
The spacecraft -- about the size of a small car -- will travel directly into the Sun's atmosphere about four million miles from the star's surface.
The primary goals for the mission are to trace how energy and heat move through the solar corona and to explore what accelerates the solar wind as well as solar energetic particles.
To perform the investigations, the spacecraft and instruments will be protected from the Sun's heat by a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield.
The state-of-the-art heat shield will keep the four instrument suites designed to study magnetic fields, plasma and energetic particles, and image the solar wind at room temperature.
In May 2017, NASA renamed the spacecraft from the Solar Probe Plus to the Parker Solar Probe in honour of astrophysicist Eugene Parker.
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Doordarshan's Logo change to Saffron sparks controversy
New Delhi: Two days after unveiling its new logo with a shift from ruby red to saffron, DD News, the flagship channel of state-run Doordarshan, has come under criticism from Opposition parties for alleged "saffronisation."
While DD News described the change as a visual aesthetic update, Opposition leaders questioned the timing, just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
On Tuesday evening, DD News posted a video of its new logo on its official social media handle, stating, "While our values remain the same, we are now available in a new avatar. Get ready for a news journey like never before. Experience the all-new DD News!"
"We have the courage to put: Accuracy over speed, Facts over claims, Truth over sensationalism…Because if it is on DD News, it is the truth! DD News – Bharosa Sach Ka," it added.
Reacting to the logo change, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar, former CEO of Prasar Bharati, said, "National broadcaster Doordarshan colours its historic flagship logo in saffron! As its ex-CEO, I have been watching its saffronisation with alarm and feel — it’s not Prasar Bharati any more, it’s Prachar (publicity) Bharati!"
Sircar criticized the ruling party's programs receiving more airtime compared to those of the Opposition. He called it "visual entrapment" by the regime, citing the example of the Rajya Sabha hall in the new Parliament building turning saffron.
In response, Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi defended the change, calling the new logo's color "catchy orange."
"It's not only a new logo, the entire look and feel has been upgraded — we have a new set, new lighting, seating arrangement and equipment," Dwivedi said.
Doordarshan's current logo for DD National is blue and saffron. Officials noted that when Doordarshan was launched in 1959, it had a saffron logo. Over the years, other colors such as blue, yellow, and red were used for the logo, while its design remained consistent — two petals with a globe in the center.
