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Newswand: Important days in Tirumala in October as follows.
October 2: Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti
October 6: Mahalaya Amavasya
October 7 to 15: Srivari Brahmotsavalu
October 13: Durgashtami
October 15: Vijaya Dasami
October 16: Baagh Sawari utsavam
October 28: Start of Tirumala Nambi utsavam
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Newswand: Renovation of rooftop of Alipiri footpath would be completed by the time of the Brahmotsavams of Lord Venkateswara Swami for the benefit of the pilgrims.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam executive officer Dr KS Jawahar Reddy has said that the rooftop renovation works of the Alipiri footpath being taken up to facilitate comfortable Yatra for the pilgrims to Tirumala will be completed by Srivari Brahmotsavams in October. Devotees would be allowed as soon as the works are completed.
The EO who inspected the footpath works on September 29 along with additional EO AV Dharma Reddy said a walk through the footpath will provide a rich experience to all devotees with several added amenities. He said TTD has taken up several development works on the footpath like greenery, sanitation, lighting etc.
He later directed the engineering officials to remove the debris of concrete material lying at several places on the footpath immediately.
Earlier the TTD EO also inspected the development works at Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple to Namala Gopuram on the footpath and made suggestions to officials.
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Newswand: NASA’s Lucy, the agency’s first spacecraft to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, is getting ready to take off.
According to NASA’s official communication, functions of Lucy have been tested, fuel is filled, and NASA is preparing to pack it into a capsule for launch Saturday, Oct. 16.
Named after characters in Greek mythology, these asteroids circle the Sun in two swarms, with one group leading ahead of Jupiter in its path, the other trailing behind it. Lucy will be the first spacecraft to visit these asteroids.
Lucy would travel about 634 million kilometers to reach the asteroids and would study them.
By studying these asteroids up close, scientists hope to hone their theories on how our solar system’s planets formed 4.5 billion years ago and why they ended up in their current configuration.
“With Lucy, we’re going to eight never-before-seen asteroids in 12 years with a single spacecraft,” said Tom Statler, Lucy project scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Lucy team members have spent the past eight weeks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparing the spacecraft for flight. Engineers have tested the spacecraft’s mechanical, electrical, and thermal systems and practiced executing the launch sequence from the mission operations centers at Kennedy and Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado. In early August, engineers installed the spacecraft’s high-gain antenna, its second most prominent feature after the expansive solar arrays, which will allow the spacecraft to communicate with Earth.
On Sept. 18, propulsion engineers finished filling Lucy’s fuel tanks with approximately 1,600 pounds (725 kilograms) of liquid hydrazine and liquid oxygen, which make up 40% of the mass of the spacecraft. The fuel will be used for precise maneuvers that will propel Lucy to its asteroid destinations on schedule, while the solar arrays – each the width of a school bus – will recharge the batteries that will power spacecraft instruments.
The Lucy spacecraft will soon be packed into the two halves of the launch vehicle fairing, which will close around it like a clamshell. After the spacecraft is encapsulated, the Lucy team will be able to communicate with it electrically through an “umbilical cord.”
In early October, the encapsulated spacecraft will be transported to the Vehicle Integration Facility at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where it will be “mated” with the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket. The Atlas V will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41.The rocket will carry Lucy outside Earth’s atmosphere to begin the long journey to the Trojan asteroids.
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Newswand: The winds in the outermost “lane” of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot are accelerating – a discovery only made possible by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which has monitored the planet for more than a decade.
The massive storm’s crimson-colored clouds spin counterclockwise at speeds that exceed 400 miles per hour – and the vortex is bigger than Earth itself. The red spot is legendary in part because humans have observed it for more than 150 years.
Researchers analyzing Hubble’s regular “storm reports” found that the average wind speed just within the boundaries of the storm, known as a high-speed ring, has increased by up to 8 percent from 2009 to 2020. In contrast, the winds near the red spot’s innermost region are moving significantly more slowly, like someone cruising lazily on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
We use Earth-orbiting satellites and airplanes to track major storms on Earth closely in real time. “Since we don’t have a storm chaser plane at Jupiter, we can’t continuously measure the winds on site,” explained Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who contributed to the research. “Hubble is the only telescope that has the kind of temporal coverage and spatial resolution that can capture Jupiter’s winds in this detail.”
“We find that the average wind speed in the Great Red Spot has been slightly increasing over the past decade,” said Michael Wong of the University of California, Berkeley. “We have one example where our analysis of the two-dimensional wind map found abrupt changes in 2017 when there was a major convective storm nearby.”
What does the increase in speed mean? “That’s hard to diagnose, since Hubble can’t see the bottom of the storm very well. Anything below the cloud tops is invisible in the data,” explained Wong. “But it’s an interesting piece of data that can help us understand what’s fueling the Great Red Spot and how it’s maintaining energy.” There’s still a lot of work to do to fully understand it.
Astronomers have pursued ongoing studies of the “king” of solar system storms since the 1870s. The Great Red Spot is an upwelling of material from Jupiter’s interior. If seen from the side, the storm would have a tiered wedding cake structure with high clouds at the center cascading down to its outer layers. Astronomers have noted that it is shrinking in size and becoming more circular than oval in observations spanning more than a century. The current diameter is 10,000 miles across, meaning that Earth could still fit inside it.
In addition to observing this legendary, long-lived storm, researchers have observed storms on other planets, including Neptune, where they tend to travel across the planet’s surface and disappear over only a few years. Research like this helps scientists not only learn about the individual planets, but also draw conclusions about the underlying physics that drive and maintain planets’ storms.
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Newswand: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam would organize second edition of Akhanda Balakanda Parayanam on September 28 to invoke the Gods to protect the humanity from Covid Pandemic in view of warnings about third wave.
As part of its spiritual campaign to save humanity from pandemic Covid, TTD has been organising Parayanams from the last one and a half years. The second edition of Akhanda Balakanda Parayanam will be recited on September 28 at Nada Neeranjanam platform in Tirumala.
The SVBC would telecast this programme live for the benefit of devotees all over the world. Live telecast would be available from 7 am onwards on SVBC.
On September 28, Parayanam of 142 Slokas from 3 to 7 Sargas of the Balakanda will be rendered by the Vedic pundits of TTD, Dharmagiri Veda Vignana Peetham, SV Vedic University, National Sanskrit University, scholars etc.
In order to avert the impact of the third phase of Covid-19 on children as alarmed by Central and State governments, TTD commenced the Balakanda Parayanam from July 25, 2021 onwards.
The first phase of Akhanda Balakanda Parayanam was organized on September 2 while the second phase event will take place on September 28.
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Newswand: NASA’s Perseverance rover is capturing images of Mars like never before, helping the organization to know the history of the red planet.
It has been exploring Jezero Crater for more than 217 Earth days (211 Martian days, or sols), and the dusty rocks there are beginning to tell their story – about a volatile young Mars flowing with lava and water.
Seven powerful science cameras aboard Perseverance are taking pictures in various angles and distances and helping the researchers to understand the history of Mars./
Able to home in on small features from great distances, take in vast sweeps of Martian landscape, and magnify tiny rock granules, these specialized cameras also help the rover team determine which rock samples offer the best chance to learn whether microscopic life ever existed on the Red Planet.
Altogether, some 800 scientists and engineers around the world make up the larger Perseverance team. That includes smaller teams, from a few dozen to as many as 100, for each of the rover’s cameras and instruments. And the teams behind the cameras must coordinate each decision about what to image.
“The imaging cameras are a huge piece of everything,” said Vivian Sun, the co-lead for Perseverance’s first science campaign at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We use a lot of them every single day for science. They’re absolutely mission-critical.”
The storytelling began soon after Perseverance landed in February, and the stunning images have been stacking up as the multiple cameras conduct their scientific investigations.
Apart from other cameras, scientists use supercam to study mineralogy and chemistry, and to seek evidence of ancient microbial life. Perched near Mastcam-Z on Perseverance’s mast, it includes the Remote Micro-Imager, or RMI, which can zoom in on features the size of a softball from more than a mile away.
Once Mastcam-Z provided images of the scarp, the supercam RMI homed in on a corner of it, providing close-ups that were later stitched together for a more revealing view.
To Roger Wiens, principal investigator for supercam at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, these images spoke volumes about Mars’ ancient past, when the atmosphere was thick enough, and warm enough, to allow water to flow on the surface.
Scientists have picked up signs of igneous rock that formed from lava or magma on the crater floor during this early period. That could mean not only flowing water, but flowing lava, before, during, or after the time that the lake itself formed.
These clues are crucial to the mission’s search for signs of ancient Martian life and potentially habitable environments. To that end, the rover is taking samples of Martian rock and sediment that future missions could return to Earth for in-depth study.
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Newswand: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board chairman YV Subba Reddy has announced that 8000 numbers of online quota of Special Entry Darshan tickets will be released at 9 am on September 24.
In a statement released on September 22, he said an equal number of Slotted Sarva Darshan (SSD), 8000, tokens will be released in on-line for the period from September 26 to October 31 on September 25 at 9 am.
He said TTD will stop the issuance of off-line SSD tokens in Tirupati from September 26 onwards.
The TTD chairman said the above decision has been taken in view of the health security of local devotees as well from other regions in view of the Covid Pandemic.
As overcrowding at SSD token issue centres earlier had allegedly become a source of the spread of pandemic Covid during the second wave, TTD has taken this decision.
He also appealed that devotees coming with on-line Special Entry Darshan tickets or SSD tokens should posses either 2-dose vaccination certificates or should come with Covid Negative test report which they have taken three days before reporting on the day of their darshan.
He urged all devotees to note the Covid guidelines and strictly observe for their personal benefit as well others and co-operate with TTD.
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Newswand: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam is gearing up for annual Brahmotsavam of Tirumala Srivaru from October 7 to 15 to hold them with religious fervor and in grand manner.
The officials have been told to make all arrangements for the devotees who would arrive in big numbers to participate in the Brahmotsavams.
TTD executive officer Dr KS Jawahar Reddy held a detailed review meeting at Annamaiah Bhavan in Tirumala on September 21.
During department-wise review on the arrangements for the mega festival, he directed the heads of all departments to ensure that the nine-day festival be performed with utmost religious fervour, in an attractive and unique manner.
Earlier, additional EO AV Dharma Reddy briefed that the important days includes Dhwajarohanam on October 7, Garuda Seva on October 11, Golden Chariot on October 12, Rathotsavam on October 14, Chakrasnanam and Dhwajavarohanam on October 15. The additional EO also said, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jaganmohan Reddy will be invited for the annual Brahmotavams like every year.
The EO asked the electrical and garden wing officials to plan innovative designs for decoration of GNC toll gate, temple, traffic islands etc. He also instructed the engineering wing to complete the Alipiri footpath works and repair works of room in SPRH area as per the schedule.
The EO said the devotees from weaker sections belonging to the areas where TTD has constructed 500 temples across the state shall be provided darshan not exceeding 1000 people per day during this annual Brahmotsavams and instructed the transport GM to make necessary arrangements for the same with a concrete action plan.
He also instructed the concerned to plan unique cultural events during these nine days festival at Nada Neerajana Mandapam.
During the department-wise briefing on arrangements, CE Nageswara Rao has explained that the checking of all the vehicles will be completed between September 27 and 30.
The temple Dy EO Ramesh Babu said, the cleaning of jewelry will be done on October 4 and 5 while the Annaprasadam wing Dy EO Harindranath said, the MTVAC will function between 8 am and 11 pm during Brahmotsavams.
The additional CVSO Siva Kumar Reddy stated that all the security measures were in place the big event.
Chief Priests Venugopala Deekshitulu, Krishna Seshachala Deekshitulu, Govindarajulu Deekshitulu, JEO Sada Bhargavi and other officials participated in the review.
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Newswand: NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will explore for water and other resources after being launched in 2023. The findings will help future crewed missions to establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface
In 2023, VIPER will land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole to map and explore the region’s surface and subsurface for water and other resources. Part of Artemis, VIPER will launch on a SpaceX Falcon-Heavy rocket for delivery to the Moon by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
The Moon’s South Pole is one of the coldest areas in our solar system. No prior missions to the Moon’s surface have explored it – scientists have thus far only studied the region using remote sensing instruments, including those on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.
Data from these and other missions helped scientists to conclude that ice and other potential resources exist in permanently shadowed areas of the Moon near the poles. After an extensive landing site selection process, the mountainous area west of Nobile Crater was chosen as VIPER’s landing site due to its rover-accessible terrain and array of nearby sites of scientific interest, including permanently shadowed areas.
Nobile Crater is an impact crater that was formed through a collision with another smaller celestial body, and is almost permanently covered in shadows, allowing ice to exist there. Smaller, more accessible craters surrounding Nobile’s perimeter, will also provide VIPER with ideal locations to investigate in its search for ice and other resources.
NASA’s team evaluated viable rover traverse paths, taking into account where VIPER could use its solar panels to charge and stay warm during its 100-day journey. The area near Nobile Crater provided a lot of flexibility.
The VIPER team aims to address how frozen water and other resources arrived on the Moon in the first place. They also plan to identify where they came from, how they remained preserved for billions of years, how they escape, and where they go.
VIPER’s Journey Across the Nobile Region
The area VIPER will study in the Nobile region covers an approximate surface area of 36 square miles (93 square kilometers), 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 km) of which VIPER is expected to traverse through during the course of its mission. During this time, the rover will visit carefully chosen areas of scientific interest that will provide further insight into a wide array of different kinds of lunar environments. The VIPER team will look to characterize ice and other resources in these areas using VIPER’s sensors and drill.
As VIPER moves among each area of scientific interest, it will collect samples from at least three drill locations. Analysis of these samples from a variety of depths and temperatures will help scientists to better predict where else ice may be present on the Moon based on similar terrain, allowing NASA to produce a global resource map. This map, and the other science VIPER will produce, will allow scientists to better understand the distribution of resources on the Moon and help inform future crewed missions to establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.
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Newswand: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter provided a 3D view of a rock-covered mound during its 13th flight on Sept. 4. The plan for this reconnaissance mission into the “South Seítah” region of Mars’ Jezero Crater was to capture images of this geologic target – nicknamed “Faillefeu” (after a medieval abbey in the French Alps) by the agency’s Perseverance rover team – and to obtain the color pictures from a lower altitude than ever before: 26 feet (8 meters).
About 33 feet (10 meters) wide, the mound is visible just north of the center of the image, with some large rocks casting shadows. Stretching across the top of the image is a portion of “Artuby,” a ridgeline more than half a mile (900 meters) wide. At the bottom of the image, and running vertically up into the middle, are a few of the many sand ripples that populate South Seítah.
Best viewed with red-blue glasses, this stereo, or 3D, view (also called an anaglyph) was created by combining data from two images taken 16 feet (5 meters) apart by the color camera aboard Ingenuity.
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