Submission + - Chandrayaan 2, Indian Spacecraft, Enters Moon's Orbit (ctvnews.ca)

Submitted by William Robinson on Tuesday August 20, 2019 @02:47AM

William Robinson writes: An unmanned spacecraft, Chandrayaan 2, India launched last month has begun orbiting the moon before it lands on the far side to search for water. The spacecraft is in orbit of 114 km x 18072 km and will continue circling the moon in a tighter orbit until reaching a distance of about 100 km x 30 km from the moon's surface. The lander will then separate from the orbiter and use rocket fuel to brake as it attempts to land in the south polar region of the moon on Sept. 7. The mission is carrying a total of 14 payloads—13 Indian and one passive payload from Nasa—with special focus of the orbiter on mapping craters in the polar region, besides checking for water again.

Comment Zoo Hypothesis and Dark Space (Score 1) 365

by varshar on Thursday September 17, 2015 @12:33AM (#50538399) Attached to: Advanced Civilizations Probably Don't Exist In Our Galactic Neighborhood

We're in the nursery.

They're on the other side.

When we grow-up, it'll be time to join the party.

Not before.

Submission + - Mangalyaan successfully put into Mars orbit

Submitted by knwny on Tuesday September 23, 2014 @11:13PM

knwny writes: India's Mars satellite Mangalyaan was successfully placed into orbit around Mars early on Wednesday following a 10-month journey from Earth. India thus joins the U.S., the European Space Agency and the former Soviet Union in having successfully completed a Mars mission. It is however the only one to have done so on the first attempt. Headed by the Indian space agency ISRO, Mangalyaan was made in 15 months at a cost of just around 70 million USD crore — the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken.

Comment An Indian Odyssey (Score 5, Interesting) 132

by varshar on Sunday December 01, 2013 @03:32AM (#45566437) Attached to: Indian Mars Probe Successfully Enters Sun-Centric Orbit

Excellent work by our scientists and engineers at ISRO.

Mangalyaan is thus far proving:

1. How reliable PSLV series is for commercial space-launch.

2. How far India has come in mastery over orbital mechanics - witness the precise application of Oberth effect. This isn't just your granddads Hohmann slingshot. At least not yet.

3. Setting benchmark pricing for Mars transit at USD 70 Mn. for 485 Kg payload viz. 144K USD per Kg.

4. Generating huge impact among school kids. Visits to Nehru planetarium are no longer about US this and Russia that... even though we owe them for being pioneers.

I look forward to the next logical extension viz. manned-mission with the Indian flag atop Olympus Mons.

Varun

Why Are Japanese Men Refusing To Leave Their Rooms? 770

Posted by Soulskill on Friday July 05, 2013 @11:42AM from the it's-all-bright-and-annoying-outside dept.

fantomas writes "The BBC reports on the Japanese phenomenon of Hikikomori: young people, mainly men, who are holed up in rooms in their parents' houses, refusing to go out and engage with society. 'A conservative estimate of the number of people now affected is 200,000, but a 2010 survey for the Japanese Cabinet Office came back with a much higher figure - 700,000. Since sufferers are by definition hidden away, Saito himself places the figure higher still, at around one million. The average age of hikikomori also seems to have risen over the last two decades. Before it was 21 — now it is 32.' Why is this happening? And is it a global phenomenon or something purely due to Japanese culture? (We're all familiar with the standing slashdot joke of the geek in their mom's basement, for example.)"

Comment Impact of countermeasures - NYT article (Score 1) 691

by varshar on Monday March 14, 2011 @09:07AM (#35478218) Attached to: Third Blast At Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant

NYT has a well-sourced article on possible impact of containment measures being used.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/japan-fukushima-nuclear-reactor.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

Air Force To Re-Open Pursuit of Cyber Command 142

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday October 07, 2008 @06:17PM from the taking-off-the-cyber-gloves dept.

GovTechGuy writes "Top Air Force leadership has decided to pursue forming a Cyber Command to defend Defense Department networks and to launch cyberattacks against foes, after putting the project on hold in August."

Comment Re:Not a single mention of nethack! (Score 1) 508

by varshar on Thursday September 14, 2006 @06:46AM (#16102772) Attached to: The Top 5 Games of All Time

Nuts to all constricted little "top 5 lists". Here're the top 135...

001-005. 1830 Railroads & Robber Barons, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Abuse, Alien Breed, Amazon - Guardians of Eden
006-010. Ascendancy, AssaultTrooper, B-17 Flying Fortress, Betrayal at Krondor, California Games 2
011-015. Cannon Fodder, Cannon Fodder 2, Chuck Yeager Air Combat, Civilization 2, Colonization
016-020. Crime Wave, Duke Nukem, Dune, Dune 2, Elite
021-025. Elite 3 - Frontier & First Encounters, Elite Plus, Eric the Unready, Falcon AT, Flashback
026-030. Hidden Agenda, Ignition, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jagged Alliance, Jagged Alliance - Deadly Games
031-035. Jazz Jackrabbit 2, King of Chicago, Kings Quest I, Kings Quest II, Kings Quest III
036-040. Kings Quest IV, Kings Quest V, Kings Quest VI, Knights of the Sky, Laura Bow 1
041-045. Laura Bow 2, Leisure Suit Larry 1, Leisure Suit Larry 3, Lemmings, Lemmings 2 - The Tribes
046-050. Lotus 3 - The Ultimate Challenge, MDK, Maelstrom, Maniac Mansion Deluxe, Master of Magic
051-055. Master of Orion, Metal Gear 2, Moonstone, Nethack, Oh no - More Lemmings
056-060. Operation Europe - Path to Victory 1939-45, Pandemonium, Panzer General, Perry Mason, Pinball Dreams 2
061-065. Pirates, Pirates Gold, Police Quest 1, Police Quest 2, Police Quest 3
066-070. Populous 2, Prehistorik 2, Prince of Persia, Prince of Persia 2, Quest for Glory 3
071-075. Raptor, Red Baron, Reunion, Rome, Settlers 1
076-080. Settlers 2 Gold, Silent Service 2, Silpheed, Skyroads 3D, Skyroads Xmas
081-085. Sopwith 2, Space Quest 1, Space Quest 2, Space Quest 3, Space Quest 4
086-090. Space Quest 5, Star Control 2, Star Flight 2, Star Trek, Star Trek TNG
091-095. Star Wars - Tie Fighter, Star Wars - X-Wing, Syndicate, System Shock 2, Test Drive - Triple Pack
096-100. Tetris, The Bards Tale, The Bards Tale 2, The Bards Tale 3, The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring
101-105. The Secret of Monkey Island, Transport Tycoon Deluxe for Windows, Tyrian 2000, Ugh, Ultima Collection
106-110. Weird Dreams, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Deluxe, Wing Commander, Wing Commander - Kilrathi Saga
111-115. Wing Commander - Privateer, Wolf, X-Com - Apocalypse, X-Com - Terror From The Deep, X-Com - UFO Defense
116-118. Xenon 2 - Megablast, Yes Prime Minister, Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

And for good measure,

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Battlefield 1942
Burnout 3: Takedown
Crimson Skies
Freespace
Half-Life 2
Homeworld
Mafia
Ico
Pacman
Shadow of the Colossus
Deus Ex: Conspiracy
M.U.L.E
Seven Cities of Gold
Tetris
Grim Fandango
Planescape: Torment

Cheers!
- varun