IAS Daily Dose: Current Affairs 2013 for UPSC IAS Exam

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States opened a new chapter in the history of interplanetary exploration when its $2.5 billion nuclear-powered robot, Curiosity, beamed back pictures from the surface of Mars.

The one-tonne mobile lab is the largest rover ever sent to Mars, and its high-speed landing was the most daring to date, using a rocket-powered sky crane to lower the six-wheeled vehicle gently to the red planet’s surface.

The rover is set for a two-year mission to explore the planet, including a long climb up a mountain to analyse sediment layers that are up to a billion year-old.

In the final moments, the craft accelerated with the pull of gravity as it neared Mars’ atmosphere, made a fiery entry at 13,200 miles (21,240 km) per hour and then slowed with the help of a supersonic parachute.

After that, an elaborate sky crane, powered by rocket blasters, kicked in, and the rover was lowered down by nylon tethers, apparently landing upright on all six wheels.

The spacecraft had been collecting data on radiation during its eight-and-half month journey following launch in November 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Road to Tripura via Bangladesh

India and Bangladesh are poised to sign an agreement which will allow Indian vehicles to use a road link via the neighbouring country. This move is part of the bilateral trade agreement signed between India and Bangladesh in March 2006.

Now, vehicles take a long route to reach Tripura from West Bengal. Once the agreement is signed, Indian vehicles can use roads via Dhaka, which will drastically reduce the travel time. Besides, it will provide connectivity to the Trans-Asian highway.

As per the proposed draft agreement, passenger, cargo and personal vehicles will be allowed to ply across the border only through authorized operators on reciprocal basis.

Russia to strengthen its navy in Arctic

Russia will build a string of naval bases along its northern coast as it prepares to claim a vast swath of the oil-rich Arctic.

By 2020, Russia is to deploy a combined-arms force of naval, border and coastal guard units to protect its economic and political interests in the Arctic.

President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would build dozens of warships by 2020 to better protect its natural resources in the Arctic.

Russia, which is entitled to a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone in the Arctic, plans to submit its claim for a 150-mile additional territory on the grounds that the seabed is continuation of its continental shelf. This claim is disputed by other Arctic powers — Norway, the United States, Canada and Denmark.

Russia also plans to open year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route, which stretches for 5,600 km along Russia’s Arctic coast from Murmansk in the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait in the Far East.