Space
First human spaceflight in a polar orbit
▪ Recently, SpaceX successfully launched a private astronaut crew on a historic polar-orbiting mission aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
▪ First human spaceflight in a polar orbit: Unlike traditional missions that follow an equatorial orbit, this mission will orbit Earth from pole to pole.
▪ This trajectory allows full observation of Earth’s surface over time, making it crucial for climate studies, global surveillance, and research.
▪ Polar Orbit (PO) – A Polar Orbit (PO) is a type of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that ranges between 200 km to 1,000 km in altitude.
✓ Unlike equatorial orbits, satellites in a polar orbit travel from one pole to the other rather than from west to east.
✓ Polar orbits allow satellites to cover the entire Earth’s surface over time as the planet rotates below them.
Latest Inventions on Science & Technology
National Gene Bank
▪ The Government of India has announced the creation of a Second National Gene Bank to conserve 10 lakh crop germplasm. This initiative aligns with the “Investing in Innovations” theme of the Union Budget 2025-26.
India’s First National Gene Bank
▪ It was established in 1996 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Bureau of Plant
Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR) in New Delhi.
▪ It is the second-largest Gene Bank globally, following the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
▪ It supplies plant genetic resources to both public and private entities engaged in crop improvement and genetic conservation.
About Gene Bank
▪ A Gene Bank is a specialized storage facility designed to preserve seeds, pollen, and plant tissues to safeguard plant species from extinction and ensure their availability for future needs.
