AMIGOS IAS Daily Current Affairs (24^th Sept 2024)

India’s upcoming Venus Mission

GS 3: Science and Technology: Space Mission

Why is it in the news?

• India is set to launch its first mission to Venus in March 2028, following the Union Cabinet’s recent approval. This mission, led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is India’s second interplanetary effort after the successful Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013.
• The primary goal is to study Venus from orbit, utilizing scientific instruments from both India and international partners to examine the planet’s surface, subsurface, atmosphere, ionosphere, and solar interactions.

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Importance of Studying Venus

• Studying Venus is crucial as it is often referred to as Earth’s twin due to similarities in mass, density, and size. Insights gained from Venus can help scientists understand planetary evolution, including Earth. Venus is believed to have once had water but has since become dry and inhospitable.
• Its extreme conditions include surface temperatures around 462 degrees Celsius, high atmospheric pressure similar to ocean depths on Earth, and an atmosphere composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide, with clouds of sulfuric acid. Additionally, Venus rotates slowly, taking about 243 Earth days for one complete rotation.

Mission Timeline

• The mission’s timeline is essential, as Earth and Venus align for interplanetary travel every 19 months. Originally planned for 2023, the launch is now set for March 2028.
• The spacecraft will carry around 100 kg of scientific payloads and will follow a trajectory similar to previous ISRO missions.
• After gaining speed in Earth’s orbit, the satellite will be slingshot toward Venus, taking about 140 days to reach its destination. This mission will also implement aero-braking for the first time in ISRO’s history.

Understanding Aero-Braking

• Aero-braking will place the satellite into a highly elliptical orbit of 500 km by 60,000 km around Venus, which is too high for effective scientific experimentation.
• To lower the orbit to either 300 x 300 km or 200 x 600 km, the satellite will skim the upper layers of the Venusian atmosphere at around 140 km altitude. This manoeuvre creates drag, gradually reducing the orbit.
• Precise calculations are necessary to avoid plunging too deep, which could cause the satellite to burn up, or skimming too shallow, which could prolong the descent unnecessarily. The process is expected to take about six months, with the satellite finally exiting the atmosphere to conserve fuel.

Scientific Payloads and Objectives

• The mission will carry a range of scientific payloads, with proposals for at least 17 Indian experiments and seven international ones selected by 2019.
• These include an L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar for surface imaging, a thermal camera, and experiments to study interplanetary dust particles and high-energy particles that ionize the Venusian atmosphere.
• Additional instruments will analyze the composition, structure, variability, and thermal state of Venus’s atmosphere.

Global Interest in Venus

• India is not the only country interested in Venus; various nations have conducted missions to the planet in the past, including the United States, the former USSR, and Japan.
• The US has plans for at least two future missions, DaVinci in 2029 and Veritas in 2031, while the European Space Agency (ESA) has its EnVision mission scheduled for 2030.

SC: Viewing child sexual abuse material constitutes an offense

GS 2: Polity and Governance: SC ruling on child pornography

Why is it in the news?

• The Supreme Court ruled that viewing, downloading, storing, possessing, distributing, or displaying pornographic material involving children constitutes a criminal offense under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act.
• This decision followed an appeal by the non-governmental organization Just Right for Children Alliance against a Madras High Court ruling that had suggested mere possession or storage of such material was not an offense.

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• A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, emphasized that the sexual abuse of a child extends beyond the act itself, perpetuating harm through recordings that remain accessible online.
• Justice J.B. Pardiwala, who authored the comprehensive 200-page judgment, noted that the awareness of being watched by countless strangers deepens the psychological trauma for victims, impeding their ability to heal and find closure.
• The Supreme Court urged Parliament to consider amending the POCSO Act to replace the term “child pornography” with “Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material” (CSEAM).
• The court stressed that this terminology better captures the gravity of the crime, as these images and videos are records of real incidents of exploitation and abuse. The use of the term “child pornography” was criticized as a misnomer that trivializes the serious nature of the offense.
• Further, the court stated that there is no distinction between viewing CSEAM and the actual act of child sexual abuse, as both involve the exploitation of a child for the abuser’s gratification. It pointed out that the High Court overlooked Section 15 of the POCSO Act, which criminalizes the storage and possession of such material, equating it to intent to distribute.
• The Bench highlighted Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, which penalizes not only the transmission and publication of obscene materials but also the creation and collection of such content.
• The judgment also addressed tactics used by offenders to evade detection, such as circulating links to child pornography. To counteract these evasion strategies, the court introduced the principle of “constructive possession,” holding individuals accountable if they have the power and knowledge to control or modify such material at any time.

Israel strikes in Lebanon

GS 2: International Relations: Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

Why is it in the news?

• In what has been described as the deadliest day in Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on September 23 resulted in at least 274 deaths and over a thousand injuries.
• United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concerns about Lebanon potentially becoming another Gaza due to the escalating violence.

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• Recent exchanges of fire between Israel and Lebanon have intensified, particularly involving Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group, which has been launching attacks in support of the Palestinian cause.
• The situation escalated after Hezbollah retaliated for the assassination of its senior commander by Israel in July, leading to increased cross-border attacks. The Israeli military has warned residents in southern Lebanon to evacuate in anticipation of a broader air campaign against Hezbollah.
• Thousands of Lebanese have fled, marking the largest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Israeli President Isaac Herzog emphasized that while Israel does not seek war, it has the right to defend its citizens from what he described as Hezbollah’s threats.
• Experts suggest that while tensions are high, neither side has indicated a desire for full-scale war. Instead, the actions appear to be a tactic to pressure one another, with Hezbollah seeking to compel Israel to negotiate with Hamas regarding military actions in Gaza.

Hezbollah Hezbollah, founded during the Lebanese Civil War, is described as the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor, primarily opposing Israel and Western influence in the region. It has deep ties to Iran, which provides substantial funding and support. The group plays a significant role in Lebanese politics, holding 13 seats in the parliament, but has faced increasing domestic opposition amid Lebanon’s ongoing economic crises. Recognized as a terrorist organization by both the U.S. and Israel, Hezbollah maintains a substantial arsenal, estimated to include around 130,000 rockets and missiles.

South America faces record-breaking wildfire crisis

GS 3: Environment and Biodiversity: Wildfires in S. America

Why is it in the news?

• South America is experiencing its worst forest fire season in nearly two decades, with satellite data from Brazil’s INPE identifying 346,112 fire hotspots as of September 11—exceeding the previous record of 345,322 set in 2007.
• The situation is particularly dire in Brazil, which accounts for 60% of the region’s fires. Since January, vast areas of the Amazon rainforest have burned, impacting Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and others.

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• According to data from a Brazilian NGO, over 11 million hectares have burned, roughly twice the size of Uttarakhand with major ecosystems affected includes the Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal wetlands.
• Bolivia has reported the second-highest number of fires this month, with over 3.8 million hectares damaged by September 13, according to INPE data.
• Peru, Argentina, and Paraguay have also suffered significant fire damage. Smoke from these wildfires has created toxic clouds covering 10 million square kilometres, larger than the entire United States.
• Residents in cities like Montevideo have experienced poor visibility and black rain—precipitation darkened by ash and soot—with reports indicating similar phenomena in at least 11 provinces of Argentina.
• Air quality has significantly declined in cities across southern Brazil, northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and northeastern Uruguay.
• Karla Longo, an air quality researcher at INPE, warned that exposure to smoke could lead to increased hospital visits for respiratory issues and potentially thousands of premature deaths. A 2023 study estimates that inhaling wildfire smoke contributes to about 12,000 early deaths each year in South America.
• This severe fire season can be attributed to several factors. South America typically sees a peak in wildfires from August to October, coinciding with farmers burning land for cultivation. However, this year has been particularly challenging due to extreme drought conditions affecting Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia.
• Approximately 59% of Brazil is currently facing drought, with rivers in the Amazon basin at historic lows. These dry conditions, worsened by the recent El Niño event, have facilitated the rapid spread of fires.
• High rates of deforestation in the Amazon also exacerbate wildfire severity, as land clearing creates conditions conducive to fire spread. The World Resources Institute states that deforestation alters regional weather patterns, leading to larger and more severe droughts that make forests more vulnerable.
• Additionally, climate change is intensifying the crisis; a study by World Weather Attribution indicates that climate change has made the current drought in South America 30 times more likely, contributing to extreme high temperatures and reduced rainfall.

The Surge in dengue cases

GS 3: Science and Technology: Dengue

Why is it in the news?

• Dengue cases have surged globally, with over 12 million cases and 6,991 deaths reported by August 2024, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is more than double the 5.27 million cases recorded in all of last year, which itself was a record.
• Severe cases can lead to internal bleeding and even death, making the rise particularly alarming, especially as dengue is now the only infectious disease with increasing annual mortality rates.

About Dengue

• Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. While most people experience mild symptoms, the disease can cause severe fever, headaches, muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting, and rashes.
• Over the past two decades, there has been a tenfold increase in reported cases, with an editorial in The Lancet suggesting that current figures are likely an underestimate.

Current Situation in India

• In India, cities have reported a surge in dengue cases in recent months. By the end of June 2024, over 32,000 cases and 32 deaths were reported, with an anticipated increase since then.
• Nearly 50% rise in reported cases noted compared to the same period in 2023. Additionally, dengue has spread from eight states and Union Territories in 2001 to every state and UT by 2022, with Ladakh recording its first cases that year.

Factors behind the Surge

• The Lancet editorial identifies urbanization, climate change, and the movement of people and goods as key factors in the spread of dengue.

Urbanization

• Dengue spreads rapidly in densely populated urban areas, where the Aedes aegypti mosquito thrives in clean, stagnant water. Increased cases are typically observed during and after the monsoon season. Moreover, in New Delhi, the recent rains and warm spells create ideal conditions for mosquito proliferation.

Climate Change

• Rising temperatures due to climate change allow mosquitoes to breed in previously unsuitable locations, including higher altitudes. This shift increases the prevalence of dengue vectors and enhances the virus’s robustness.
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that warmer conditions expand the range of these mosquitoes and facilitate faster viral amplification and increased survival rates.

Movement of People

• Global movement of people and goods significantly contributes to the spread of dengue. Improved testing and reporting may also account for rising case numbers.
• Other infections, like chikungunya and Zika, which share the same mosquito vector, have also increased. Hence, there is a need to study whether prior infections affect mosquito immunity, potentially raising transmission rates for all three diseases.

Prevention Strategies

• Individuals should eliminate stagnant water around their homes to prevent mosquito breeding.
• Protecting oneself from bites is crucial, as Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are active during the day; wearing full clothing during the monsoon can help.
• Public health systems must prioritize surveillance and outbreak prediction to reduce cases and fatalities.

Vaccines for Dengue

• There are vaccines against dengue, including Sanofi’s Dengvaxia and Takeda’s QDenga, though neither has been approved in India.
• The country is developing its own vaccines, with advanced candidates from the Serum Institute of India and Panacea Biotec, both using a genetically engineered weakened virus from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Indian Army enhances logistics with robotic mules and high-altitude tents

GS 3: Miscellaneous

About the news

• The Indian Army has introduced 100 robotic mules in forward areas to enhance logistics capabilities, particularly in high-altitude environments.
• These robotic mules are described as high-endurance, agile, and durable ground robots designed for a wide range of defense applications. They can navigate various obstacles, cross rivers, and operate effectively in extreme temperatures, ranging from minus-40 to 55 degrees Celsius.
• In addition to the robotic mules, logistics drones are currently undergoing trials aimed at streamlining support and movement to remote areas.
• The Army is also evaluating new high-altitude tents, referred to as Peak Pods, developed by DTECH 360 Innovations.
• These tents are specifically designed for sub-zero temperatures and have been tested at three high-altitude locations: Leh (11,500 feet), Daulat Beg Oldie (16,700 feet), and Durbuk (12,500 feet).
• This initiative addresses the critical habitat needs of soldiers deployed in Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield.