— GayatriChandrashekar The primary reason is gravity, which acts like an invisible tether. Every molecule of gas in our atmosphere, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc., has mass. Earth’s core exerts a gravitational pull that attracts these molecules towards the center of the planet. Even though earth travels at 1,07,000 kmph around the sun, the atmosphere...
Tag: Science
How will budget boosts, EU access remake AYUSH beyond India? | Explained
The story so far: On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a slew of resources for AYUSH in the 2026-27 Union Budget. A week earlier, India’s new free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union opened the door for Indian doctors and products to enter the European market more easily. What has AYUSH received...
Loud music may damage your hearing before you realise it
The thrill of live performances and the euphoric atmosphere of large music events may leave behind more than just memories. New research published in Scientific Reports suggests that prolonged exposure to loud music can cause long-lasting hearing damage. The study conducted by Nele De Poortere, a postdoctoral researcher, and her colleagues at Ghent University in...
Japan retrieves rare earth mud from deep seabed in test mission
Japan’s government said on Monday (February 2, 2026) that it has successfully retrieved rare-earth-rich seabed mud for the first time from depths of around 6 km (4 miles) during a test mission. A Japanese scientific drill ship departed on January 12 for the remote Minamitori Island to explore rare-earth-rich mud deposits, part of Tokyo’s effort...
Singapore to launch space agency in response to global investment surge
Singapore will launch its own space agency on April 1 as it bids to “fully harness the value and opportunities of the growing global space economy”, the Trade Ministry announced on Monday (February 2, 2026). “Singapore’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, micro-electronics, precision engineering and artificial intelligence position us well to capture new opportunities in...
What is suborbital tourism?
A: On January 31, Blue Origin, the private space company owned by Jeff Bezos, announced that it was suspending its New Shepard suborbital space tourism programme for at least two years to focus on its “lunar capabilities” instead. Suborbital tourism is a form of space travel where paying passengers fly to the edge of space...
Indian scientists make affordable dipstick test to track AMR in sewage
Scientists from the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, have developed an affordable way to check for antimicrobial resistance in sewage. In their study, detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications on December 29, the scientists analysed sewage samples from 381 sites in Assam, Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal,...
NASA hit by fuel leak during practice countdown of moon rocket
NASA ran into a leak while fueling its new moon rocket Monday (February 2, 2026) in one final make-or-break test that will determine when astronauts can launch on a lunar fly-around. The launch team began loading the 98-meter rocket with super-cold hydrogen and oxygen at Kennedy Space Centre at midday. More than 2.6 million litres...
ISRO tests thrust chamber for LOX-Methane Engine
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has conducted the testing of a sub-scale thrust chamber for LOX-Methane Engine which would be inducted in the next generation of launch vehicles. The test was conducted at the Thrust Chamber Test facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri on January 27, 2026. “The sub-scale thrust chamber and single...
Investigation into PSLV failures ‘ongoing’, next launch date in June: Minister
The investigation into the causes behind the consecutive failures of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is ongoing, and an external team is also involved in the probe. But none of the companies that had satellites onboard the doomed rockets have expressed reservations over their reliability. ISRO is considering a...
