Tag: Moon Mission

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a flight of events from 3 July 2025 to 26 July 2025.

America: the Big, the Rap, the Flash; guilty Russia; Wimbledon Tennis; Israel, Syria, India, Spain, and Moon Landing.

America

The Big

President Trump’s sweeping legislation-over which he and Elon Musk sparred and went to war-the so called ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ was passed by the Republican Party controlled House on 4th July by a razor-thin margin, delivering Trump a major legislative victory. It’s expected that the bill will slash almost USD 1 trillion from Medicaid-which could leave nearly 12 million Americans uninsured by 2034-while locking in tax cuts, mostly for the wealthy, and adding USD 3.3 trillion to the deficit. The bill then headed to the President’s desk for signature and after the great, beautiful scrawl it was made into Big Law.

Meanwhile, exasperated by the workings of Trump and the twists and turns of party politics, Elon Musk announced the launch of a new Political party called the ‘America Party’. It challenges the two-party system of Democrats and Republicans. And Musk said the Third Party will focus on deficit reduction and will be fiscally conservative. The party’s platform is to reduce debt, modernise the military with Artificial Intelligence(AI), cut regulations, and encourage more births -the human population is in decline, and we are heading toward extinction! The America Party would focus on two or three Senate Seats and eight to ten House Districts to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, and represent the general will. Musk said the Party would run in the 2026 elections, comparing his strategy to that used by the Greek General Epaminondas in the Battle of Leuctra, “a concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield”.

Trump brushed it off as ‘ridiculous’ and said, Elon Musk has ‘run off the rails’ and is a ‘train wreck’. Great, big colourful words that only Trump uses best.

A third Political Party or Front, has never made headway in America. Will ‘America Party’ break the two?

The Rap

In September 2024, American Rapper, Record Producer, and Music Mogul, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was arrested in the Southern District of New York and indicted on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. He was held in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

This year, after seven long weeks of star testimonies and vigorous nods and combing of evidence, a jury (of mostly men) found Combs not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking-the most serious charges against him. But they convicted him on two lesser charges of transporting someone for prostitution. Prosecutors claimed that Combs led a criminal organisation for over two decades, forcing people around him into ‘freak-offs’, and using his status to fulfil his sexual desires. His defense team didn’t deny the drug use or domestic violence but argued the other allegations were overblown. In the end, the jurors said the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he forced anyone to engage in non-consensual acts. Combs, who maintained his innocence, pumped his fist in the air and thanked the jurors. Bail has not been granted, as yet, and Combs remains in jail and faces up to 20 years in prison, which will be known in October 2025 when the sentence is to be pronounced. What else remains to be combed?

The Flash

In one of the worst natural disasters in America’s history, Flash Floods in Texas saw water swell like never before and swallow trees, bridges, and roads. By the end, one could see a bridge overwhelmed and overtaken by raging water, and debris slamming into it. That was not rising water: it was a wall of death. 10–15 inches of rain fell in hours. The ground couldn’t absorb it. The rivers couldn’t hold it. Gauges failed. It hit hard and fast. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes and crested at 39.50 feet, early in the morning while people were sleeping. This wasn’t ignorance. This was sudden, violent and unstoppable. No one saw the severity of this coming. No one could stop it. It was an act of God.

Over 130 have died in the flash flooding. 27 young girls, teenage counsellors and staff perished after a wall of water surged through Camp Mystic, a Christian Summer camp for girls, being held on the banks of the Guadalupe River, in Kerr County. At Camp Mystic, like elsewhere in the county, residents were reliant on an outdated and patchwork early warning system of alerts. Some were from the National Weather Service (NWS), which many concede, they never received. Other messages came from local authorities, some sent only after an inexplicable delay, which others along the Guadalupe’s banks say they did not see in any case. Investigators of the catastrophic Hill Country flooding may never be able to pinpoint a precise moment that sealed the fate of the camping girls.

While we explore the skies and beyond, we certainly need to take a closer look at dear Earth. By this time, should we not be able to read Planet Earth like the plan of our hand?

Russia is Guilty

On 9th July, Europe’s top Human Rights Court found that Russia shot down a regular civilian flight, Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, Flight MH17, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members. The European Court of Human Rights also delivered damning judgments against Russia in three other cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands accusing Russia of atrocities in Ukraine going back more than a decade.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur-was shot down on 17 July 2014, using a Russian-made BUK 9M38 surface-to-air missile. This was fired during the war in Donbas, Eastern Ukraine, from territory controlled by separatist rebels backed by Russia-fighting the Ukrainian Government.

The Donbas War is a phase of the Russian-Ukraine War which began in April 2014, when Russian paramilitaries seized several Ukrainian Towns. Ukraine launched an operation against the separatists but failed to re-take territory. Due to the armed conflict in the region some airlines had began avoiding eastern Ukrainian airspace, in early March 2014.

The Court said that the evidence suggested that the missile had been intentionally fired at flight MH17, most likely in the mistaken belief that it was a military aircraft. The Court found that Russia’s refusal to acknowledge its involvement in the Flight MH17 disaster violated international law and its failure to properly investigate the matter significantly aggravated the suffering of the relatives and friends of the dead. In May, the United Nations’ Aviation Agency also found Russia responsible for the disaster.

Russia excels at being the ‘grizzly’ bad-boy of the world and gets away with everything?

Wimbledon 2025

This year’s Wimbledon tennis tournament saw new Champions walking the grass carpet and creating new records, new firsts, on a green background.

In a comeback, after recovering from cancer, the Royal Patron of Wimbledon, Catherine-Kate Middleton-Princess of Wales, handed over the Trophies, bouncing on court and making blue and white fashion statements with young Royals in tow. Something to watch besides the balls?

Kate became Patron of the All England Tennis Club in 2016, taking over from Queen Elizabeth. As Patron, she regularly attends the Women’s and Men’s Finals. However, she wasn’t there when Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini for the women’s title, last year. And she was catching-up, quickly.

This year, the Women’s Singles Title winner is Poland’s, Iga Swiatek who defeated America’s Amanda Anisimova, with a brutal 6-0, 6-0 scoreline, in just 57 minutes. This is the first double bagel in a Wimbledon final, since 1988, and only the second in a Grand Slam Final in over a century. Iga Swiatek is the first Polish woman to claim the Wimbledon singles champion in the Open Era. The defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, lost in the third round to America’s Emma Navarro.

In the Men’s Singles, Italian Jannik Sinner demonstrated superb resilience by recovering from a set down to win his first Wimbledon title. It was a phenomenal performance, toppling the two-time defending champion, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 6-4. Sinner is the first Italian Wimbledon singles champion in the Open Era, and he now stands as a four-time Grand Slam Champion. He breaks his ­overall tie with an assortment of famous names, including Arthur Ashe, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka. Perhaps, most important, he ends his rival, Alcaraz’s, run of five consecutive wins against him, adding a new dimension to a rivalry that seems set to decide the majority of major tournaments in the near future. This is also Sinner’s first Grand Slam title away from hard courts, after two victories at the Australian Open and last year’s US Open.

Then, there is a ‘sin’ angle. This is Sinner’s first grand slam victory and overall title since his three-month doping ban between February and May this year. Sinner had tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol last year before successfully arguing, during his initial tribunal in August, that the positive test had been a result of contamination, receiving no suspension. After the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) chose to appeal the case, Sinner’s team and WADA eventually entered a case resolution ­agreement, essentially a ­settlement, agreeing on the three-month suspension.

The prize money for the Wimbledon Championship is a record £53,500,000 with the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Singles, each receiving £3,000,000. The runner-up receives £1,520,000.

Other Stories

The Ukraine-Russia War plods on with US President, Donald Trump, mediated loud ceasefire attempts falling on deaf ears, and failing to inspire Russia. Now, the US is arming Ukraine to the teeth, to fight Russia, tooth and nail!

The ongoing Israel-Hamas War, to avenge the 7 October 2023 barbarism on Israel, rescue the 50 remaining hostages, and obliterate the terrorist Hamas, is still a hard work in progress. Israel is going in for the kill while humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip gets strangulated: the usual blame-game between the United Nations (UN) and Israel. But the UN can do better with tons of aid already in the Gaza remaining undistributed.

Over the past weeks, France said it plans to recognise Palestine as a State at the UN General Assembly Meeting in September, which drew fire from those on the side with Israel. Wait until the Palestine State actually comes into being, said Italy.

In Syria, a fresh wave of deadly sectarian violence erupted with fighting in the province of Suweida between Druze and Bedouin militias-two groups with long-running disputes-as well as government forces ‘joining the party’. The latest violence started on 13 July with the abduction of a Druze merchant. A few days later, Israel launched air strikes on Damascus, Suweida, and Deraa seeking to protect the Druze against government-affiliated forces. One week on, more than 1,100 people have been killed in Suweida. All sides – Druze, Bedouin and Syrian Government forces-have been accused of atrocities, but mainly the Government.

The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious minority in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The Druze faith is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs. Half of its roughly one million followers live in Syria, where they make up about 3% of the population. Druze in Israel are largely considered to be loyal to the state, owing to their participation in military service. There are some 152,000 Druze living in Israel and the Golan Heights.

Towards the end of July, Thailand and Cambodia’s decades old border dispute escalated into deadly clashes after both sides accused each other of opening fire, and then exchanged fire along the disputed border. More than a dozen people have been killed and more than 135,000 civilians evacuated from the region. Tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbors have been boiling for months over disputed sections of their 800 km land border, demarcated partly by Cambodia’s former colonial ruler France, and which runs near several archaeologically significant Hindu religious sites that both countries claim.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi set out on a historic 5 nation – Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, Namibia-visit, between 2 July and 9 July. This was to fill the period gaps left by other PMs, deepening trade and improving bilateral hand-shake and hugging ties, and attending the BRICS Summit in Brazil. This was also the longest diplomatic visit outside India, in 10 years, by India’s PM.

The first visit to Ghana in 30 years; the first visit to Trinidad & Tobago in 27 years, where India’s PM also picked-up the nation’s highest national award – The Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago; the first diplomatic visit to Argentina in 57 years; and in the final leg, the first visit by an Indian PM to Namibia, in nearly 30 years. That’s decades of ‘distance generating love’, and the visit heats it up. Did India get that far from all these countries?

Then on returning, in a brilliant reverse swing, PM Modi topped-up with a visit to the United Kingdom(UK) on 24 July where he signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement between the countries. This will see growth in every part of the UK-delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.The deal will see tariffs lowered so businesses can expand more easily in one of the fastest growing economies in the world-India, while UK consumers will benefit from lower prices and greater choices. India’s PM also welcomed nearly £6 billion in new investment and export wins, which will create 2,200 jobs across the UK. For Britain, eager to score a post-Brexit win, the deal is its most economically significant trade agreement since leaving the European Union. For India, it marks its first major free trade pact outside Asia. For both countries, the agreement signals a long-term economic partnership.

It’s not over, not yet. Before returning to India from Britain, the PM dropped-in at Maldives, to warm-up things up after a period of cold unfriendliness crept-in between the nations over the past year. Cheers to that!

Spain’s Pain: Brutal heat scorched Spain in the first week of July, a blistering reminder of the climate change that is battering the world-stretching finances even a government debt climbs to new heights.

Humans landed on the moon for the first time 56 years ago on 20 July 1969, which is celebrated as Space Exploration Day, the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. On this Day in 1969, the Apollo 11 crew of America’s NASA, successfully accomplished the first human landing on the Moon, touching down in the Sea of Tranquility. Six and a half hours later, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history as the first humans to walk on the lunar surface. Armstrong took the first step with that that iconic phrase, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.

More scorching stories about giant leaps coming-up in the weeks ahead. Watch that step, with Freewheeling.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-26

About: the world this week, 23 June 2024 to 29 June 2024: Israel readies another battle front; WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange gets freedom; Kenya in turmoil; China returns with goods from the Moon’s far side; and Diamond hunting in India.

Everywhere

Israel

Israel is sounding the world that its intense phase of fighting against Hamas is nearing an end. And in a sense is making strategic future plans. But the war will keep firing-on until Hamas stops controlling the Gaza. One plan is to move Israel’s troops to the northern part where a fight with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah is brewing. Looks like Israel is gearing up to fight its war on several battle fronts.

Israel said it is interested in a ‘partial deal’ with Hamas that could free some of the 120 hostages still held in ‘horrific captivity’ for over 265 days. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has said it would continue raining rockets on Israel until there’s a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.

WikiLeaks

Julian Assange, 52, is an award-winning Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He rose to the limelight in 2010, when WikiLeaks published a series of sensitive leaks from United States (US) Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Of footage of a US airstrike in Baghdad, classified US military logs from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and US diplomatic cables.

In November 2010, Sweden issued a European arrest warrant for Assange on allegations of sexual assault. He lost an appeal, breached bail, and took refuge in the Ecuador’s Embassy in London, in June 2012. Ecuador granted him asylum in August 2012 on the grounds of political persecution and on fears that he might be extradited to the US.

Julian Assange launched the WikiLeaks Party in Australia-while in confinement in the Ecuadoran Embassy-and stood for the Australian Senate in 2013, but failed to win a single seat. Later, Swedish prosecutors dropped the sexual assault investigation in 2019. And in the same year, Assange’s asylum was withdrawn following a series of disputes with Ecuadorian authorities. Then the London police promptly arrested him. He was found guilty of breaching the United Kingdom’s Bail Act and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison.

The US tried to have Assange extradited, indicting him on charges of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and conspiring with hackers. And charging him with computer intrusion conspiracy related to the leaks provided by Chelsea Manning – piling up a total of 18 criminal charges. Assange remained in prison in London from 2019 to June 2024, as the US Government’s extradition request was contested in the British Courts.

Now, this June 2024, Julian Assange agreed to a ‘Plea Deal’ with US prosecutors. During a three-hour hearing, Assange pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents under the Espionage Act, in order to avoid potential imprisonment. But said he believed the US Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects free speech, shielded his activities.

He pleaded guilty in the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands -on the US Pacific island territory of Saipan. And thereafter walked out from court, as a free man.

Under the terms of the deal, US Justice Department prosecutors sought a sentence that allows for his immediate release. He was ordered to instruct WikiLeaks to destroy the information given by Chelsea Manning, providing an affidavit. The US territory in the western Pacific was chosen due to Assange’s opposition to travelling to the mainland US and for its proximity to Australia.

Assange then returned to Canberra, Australia, this Wednesday, in a private jet. His UK and Australian lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, thanked the Australian government for its years of diplomacy in securing Assange’s release after a 14 year saga, in what she called ‘criminalisation of journalism’. It is remarkable that Australia’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ secured freedom for Assange.

Kenya

Kenya is on the boil. Kenyans have been struggling to cope with several economic shocks caused by the lingering impact of the Covid19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, two consecutive years of drought, and depreciation of the national currency.

With this in the background, Kenyan President William Ruto’s Government introduced a Finance Bill in Parliament, which aimed to raise an additional USD 2.7 billion in taxes as part of an effort to lighten Kenya’s heavy debt load. Interest payments alone consume 37% of annual revenue. Parliament approved the finance bill, moving it through to a third reading by lawmakers. The next step was for the legislation to be sent to the President himself, for signing into law.

However, opposition to raising of taxes quietly built-up, descended into unprecedented, never-before seen protests and violence in Kenya. Police had to fire on demonstrators who tried storming Parliament and threw stones at Police lines. The protests began in a festival-like atmosphere, but as crowds swelled, police fired tear gas in Nairobi’s Central Business District and the poor neighbourhood of Kibera. Police also fired tear gas in Eldoret, President Ruto’s hometown in western Kenya, where crowds of protesters filled the streets and many businesses shut-shop, fearing violence.

In chaotic scenes in the capital Nairobi, protesters overwhelmed the police, entered the Parliament compound and set parts of it on fire. Protests and clashes also took place in several other cities and towns across Kenya, with many calling for Ruto to quit and voicing their opposition to the tax rises. Clearly, it became the biggest assault on Kenyan democracy, in decades.

In a televised address to the nation, Ruto said the tax debate had been ‘hijacked by dangerous people’, but persisted with the Finance Bill.

Ruto won an election almost two years ago on a platform of championing Kenya’s working poor. But, has been caught between the competing demands of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund, which is urging the government to cut deficits to obtain more funding, and a hard-pressed population. Opposition politicians called on Ruto to step down.

Feeling the heat, the government then made some concessions, promising to scrap proposed new taxes on bread, cooking oil, car ownership, and financial transactions. But that was not enough for the protesters. The finance ministry says the concessions would blow a 200 billion Kenyan shilling (USD 1.56 billion) hole in the 2024-25 budget, and compel the government to make spending cuts or raise taxes elsewhere.

Then, after all the tough talk, in the middle of the week, President Ruto did a U-turn and withdrew the contentious Finance Bill, saying he will not sign the Bill into law. He said he heard the voice of the people, and has conceded.

But then, Kenyan police had to put up roadblocks on streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as some protesters vowed to ‘occupy’ the State House; despite the president’s climbdown on proposed tax hikes that sparked a week of demonstrations.

Raiders of the Moon

China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module returned to Earth this Tuesday, successfully completing its historic mission to collect the first-ever samples from the far side of the moon. The re-entry module landed, via parachute, in the designated zone in China’s Northern Inner Mongolia region just after 2 pm local time. A search team located the module minutes after its landing. And first visuals showed a worker carrying out checks on the module, which lay on grassland, beside a Chinese flag.

The module is expected to contain up to 2 kilograms of moon dust and rocks from the lunar far side, which will be analysed by researchers in China before being opened for access by international scientists.

Diamonds of India

For about 3,000 years, India was the only source of diamonds in the world, until deposits were discovered in South Africa and Brazil. In India, diamond resources are concentrated in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

Madhya Pradesh has 90.17% at 28,709,136 carats, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 5.73% with 1,822,955 carats and Chhattisgarh at 4.10% with 1,304,000 carats, of resources, according to Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). The total resources of diamonds in the country, as in the year 2015, was estimated at 31,836,091 carats with 756,765 carats gem grade, 840,823 carats industrial grade, and 30,238,503 carats unclassified grade.

The Central Government controlled National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is the only authorised miner of diamonds in India, which organises and controls the mining.

Panna, a region in Madhya Pradesh, about 400 kilometres away from the state capital, Bhopal, is known for its diamond mines, which have been supplying precious diamonds for thousands of years.

Behind that glitter lurks the dark reality of the local people facing poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, and migration in Panna’s backward Bundelkhand region, which also faces severe distress due to water woes. Rich in minor forest produce such as tendu leaves (used for wrapping the tobacco of cigarettes and beedis) and mahua (a kind of tropical tree), the region is also a natural habitat for wildlife including tigers, leopards, Indian fox, sloth bear, and other animals.

NMDC Panna, is the only diamond mine in the country with more than 74 hectares of mechanised mining. The diamonds come mainly from the Diamond Mining Project at the Majhgawan mine – the only mechanised diamond mine in India, which started operations in 1971. The Majhgawan Diamond Pipe, as it is called, is located at about 15 km from the Panna town. It is equipped with facilities of, Ore Processing Plant, heavy media separation unit, X-ray sorter for diamond operations, and a disposal system.

However, the smaller mines of Panna are open cast mines that use traditional techniques and hand tools. The process involves four steps – digging, collecting soil mixed with small stones, washing the soil away with water, and finding diamonds among the stones. Big rocks are broken with hand tools to get smaller stones.

Hundreds of mine owners and thousands of workers are involved in diamond mining in the region.

In Panna, ‘finding diamonds; involves a specific procedure. First, individuals must obtain a License from the diamond office by submitting photos, proof of Identity, address, and finally paying a fee. The License is valid for one year at the designated mine site. License holders are allotted a 8×8 metre plot for digging. Any diamond found must be submitted to the Govt Designated Office for quality and price assessment before it goes to auction, where the government takes a 12.5% royalty. And there are around a dozen mine sites designated by the district mineral department.

Finding a diamond is not easy, and it may take a lifetime for a person to find a single piece of precious stone, unless Lady Luck smiles on you.

Late last week, on 22nd June, a stroke of extraordinary luck struck a poor farmer who unearthed a dazzling 6.65-carat diamond in the Pati diamond mining area of Panna. The farmer Deshraj and his wife, residents of Gaureya Kakrahati, immediately deposited it at the local diamond office. Inside, a gem expert, meticulously examined the diamond under a magnifying lens, ensuring its authenticity and quality and testing it for its clarity and brilliance, using specialised tools. Then the diamond was carefully placed on a precision scale, the digital display confirming its impressive 6.65-carat size. Deshraj was overjoyed at the newfound fortune. The diamond will be auctioned in the upcoming diamond auction.

Deshraj, who had obtained a mining lease from the diamond office, had previously discovered a 1.35-carat diamond just days before this remarkable find. His perseverance is noteworthy, and it is expected that both his diamonds have been secured and will be featured in the next auction.

The Panna diamonds have not made much of a buzz in India or abroad because the precious stones are ‘average’ quality, But that does not stop the rush to find diamonds. The best stones found in the district usually fall in the ‘G’ Grade on a D-Z scale of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) colour-scale. According to the GIA scale, ‘D’ – colourless-grade diamonds are the highest valued while ‘Z’-light coloured- are of the lowest value. The ‘G’ Grade diamonds of Panna are considered just average. But a stone worth lakhs of rupees or even above a crore of rupees is found once in a while. It is such finds, which receive big publicity, that attracts miners.

One of the most famous diamonds in the world, from India, is the Koh-i-noor Diamond – boasting a weight of 105.6 carats- believed to be have been mined in Kollur Mines, Golconda, Andhra Pradesh State, during the Kakatiya Dynasty’s rule in the 17th century. The diamond, now sitting on the British Crown, has a spectacular history and a thrilling story on how it got to its ‘present position’. The diamond originally weighed 191 carats, but it was re-cut to enhance its fire and brilliance in 1852 by Britain’s then Royal Jeweller.

More precious stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Find your own diamond with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-34

About: the world this week, 20 August to 26 August 2023; India’s Mission Possible – first country to land an unmanned space-craft at the South Pole of the Moon and explore…and other stories.

Everywhere

Mission Possible

It was an unbelievable historic moment for India on 23 August 2023, at 6.04 pm, when its unmanned Spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 achieved the most import mission objective of flawlessly landing on the dark, South Pole of the Moon – and lighting it up. No country in the world has been able to do this up to now, and India becomes the first country to explore this ‘small-pox’ like ridden surface of the Moon.

India joined the United States, Russia, and China in being able to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon. And do the Rover ‘moon-walk’.

Chandrayaan-3 was launched on 14 July 2023 from the Indian Space Research Centre’s (ISRO) launch facility at the island of Sriharikota, off the coast of Andhra Pradesh State. It was set on course to the Moon with a Propulsion Module carrying the Moon-Lander Vikram, with the Moon-Rover Pragyan, inside Vikram’s belly.

After revolving around the Earth in gradually increasing orbit raising manoeuvres Chandrayaan crawled out of Earth’s gravity and without-hitch made the trans-lunar journey to the Moon’s orbit, on 1st August. Then following a series of orbit adjustments and in a reverse of what it did around the Earth, it gradually circled itself close to the Moon to ‘fall within its gravity’. Then Vikram separated from the Propulsion Module on 17 August, and in a series of de-boosting manoeuvres it was brought to the desired low orbit from which it could ‘strike the Moon’.

Last week, when Chandrayaan-3 was about 103 km away from the Moon, it established contact with the previous Mission’s Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, which incidentally is still around and apparently ‘rich in knowledge of the neighbourhood’. And gathered all possible ‘tricks of the trade’ to ensure success of the Mission.

The speed of Vikram was reduced in calculated steps following a well-planned trajectory, combining horizontal and vertical velocities controlled by the ISRO Mission Centre in Bengaluru, India. Once Vikram was positioned at the designated landing point at an altitude of about 30km, at 5.44 pm on 23rd August, the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) was initiated. Prior to this step and a few hours ago, all required commands were uploaded to Vikram from ISRO’s Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) facility.

The ALS is a critical part of the Mission and takes control of Vikram, when it is without Mission Control support, relying entirely on its own sensors and instruments with the onboard computer to make the final calculations for a soft landing. Upon receiving the ALS command, Vikram activated its throttleable engines for a powered descent, with the ISRO team closely monitoring on ground Earth.

Vikram then entered what is called ‘the powered braking phase’. This involves using its four thruster engines by ‘retro firing’ them to gradually reduce its speed, preventing a crash due to the Moon’s gravity. At an altitude of around 6.8 km Vikram shut down two of its engines to provide reverse thrust as it descended further. When it reached an altitude of about 150-100 meters, it employed its sensors and cameras to scan the lunar surface for obstacles to cleverly initiate the landing.

The process saw the Vikram initially reduce its horizontal velocity, re-orient itself for a horizontal position to a vertical one for vertical landing, and then reduce its vertical velocity to land at a safe speed. In a span of 19 minutes, the craft slowed itself from an initial velocity of 1.6 kilometres per second to 1 to 2 metres per second. And then, it just touched-down softly.

After landing and allowing the moon dust to settle- to prevent fogging of Vikram’s cameras-and after taking its first ‘Moon breaths’ in the thin air of the Moon, Vikram got to work. The lunar gravity being barely one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, it took a while for the dust to settle.

Vikram then opened-up: a two-segment ramp was rolled down for the Rover – which is inside Vikram – to roll-out, after which the Rover’s solar panel was quickly deployed to harness the sun’s power for the strength of walk. And then the six-wheeled Pragyan walked down the ramp and onto the surface of the Moon leaving India’s indelible imprint on the moon, as its wheels carry the Indian State Emblem and the logo of ISRO.

Everything happened exactly to plan as a nation of 1.4 billion watched, with tears of joy in the eye.

Vikram and Pragyan are expected to have a mission life of approximately one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days, to conduct studies of the lunar environment. However, ISRO hopes to extend the mission duration by another lunar day.

This is a great accomplishment by India’s ISRO – a job very well done. There was widespread jubilation and celebrations, across the country, on this incredible unforgettable achievement. Tons of hard work surely makes things appear light and easy!

Meanwhile, Russia’s unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon on 20th August after Russia’s Space Corporation, Roscosmos, lost contact with the spacecraft. Roscosmos said it had ‘ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon’. The craft was due to be the first ever to land on the Moon’s South Pole, but failed after encountering problems as it moved into its pre-landing orbit. It’s a communications failure and I’m sure Russia would find the reasons, which would be useful for future ‘Moon-Slayers’.

This is Russia’s first Moon mission in almost 50 years. The previous attempt was successful when its Luna-24 softly landed on the Moon on 18 August 1976. Once on the Moon Luna-24 collected a soil sample by using its robotic arm to dill about 2 metres in the nearby soil and stowing it away in a small return capsule. After spending nearly a day on the Moon, Luna 24 lifted off the next day entered Earth’s atmosphere and parachuted safely to land on 22 August 1976, about 200 km southeast of Surgut in Western Siberia.

The Russia-Ukraine War, and ‘Unforgiven’

Ukraine’s counter-offensive taking the battle into the heart of Russia, saw drones attack a skyscraper in Moscow. Before this drone attack another suspected attack on 18th August caused damage to an exhibition hall at Moscow’s Expo Centre, next to the city’s main skyscraper district. There have been over 150 suspected aerial drone attacks this year in Russia and in Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

In another news the head of the Wagner Mercenary Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin who briefly challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin by ‘marching his troops towards Moscow and ‘suddenly giving-up’ was killed – presumed dead – in an Air-crash along with 10 others. Unverified reports say that his private plane – an Embraer-135 – was flying from Moscow to S tPetersburg and was shot down by Russian air defences.

Prigozhin led an aborted mutiny against Russia’s armed forces in June this year and seemed to be ‘forgiven’, until this end.

Women’s Football: Maiden Win

Like I said the previous week, the Queen of Spain’s presence perhaps worked like magic and Spain beat England 1-0 to lift the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 for the first time. Spain become only the second country in the history of football -along with Germany – to win the Men’s and Women’s FIFA World Cups.

Spain’s Queen Letizia and her younger daughter, Princess Sofia, traveled to Sydney, Australia, for the World Cup finals on Sunday. And then took part in the celebrations on the field after Spain defeated England.

Spain’s skipper and defender-in-Chief, Olga Carmona opened the scoring-and the winning goal- in the 28th minute of the 1st half, shooting across England’s goalkeeper, Mary Earps. Later Spain’s star midfielder Jennifer Hermoso got an opportunity to make it 2-0, when Keira Walsh’s hand-ball was penalised with a spot-kick, but England’s goal-keeper saved the penalty.

There was a controversy about the trueness of ‘saving the goal’ but FIFA quickly resolved the issue, following a Video Assistant Referee check and another by the referee on the monitor. The Rules say, ‘The defending goalkeeper must remain on the goal line, facing the kicker, between the goalposts until the ball is kicked. When the ball is kicked, the defending goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, in line with, or behind, the goal line.’ After due diligence, FIFA determined that Mary Earps’ feet was on the line when the kick was taken.

Japanese player Hinata Miyazawa won the Golden Boot scoring five goals through the tournament. Spanish player Aitana Bonmati was voted the tournament’s best player, winning the Golden Ball, whilst Salma Paralluelo was awarded the Young Player Award. England goalkeeper Mary Earps won the Golden Glove, awarded to the best performing goalkeeper of the tournament.

The closing moments of the Work Cup saw the kicking up of another controversy. During the presentation ceremony, Spanish football Chief Luis Rubiales, 46, gave Spanish midfielder Jennifer Hermoso an unsolicited kiss on the lips. Earlier, in the stands he was seen celebrating victory by grabbing his genitals.

Rubiales has since agreed to quit, after initially refusing, on being roundly condemned by the football world for his actions following the World Cup final.

Indian Chess

While Chandrayaan-3 was making its moves to kiss the Moon, and ‘Pragyan’ to start strolling on the Moon, another Indian – an original child prodigy- an 18 year old going by the name of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was making his own calculations to land the FIDE (International Chess Federation) World Chess Championship Title.

He became only the second Indian and the the youngest player ever to enter the World Chess Final to face World No 1 Norwegian, Magnus Carlsen after defeating the World No 2 and World No 3, all in the same event.

Praggnanandhaa had stunned World No 3, Fabiano Caruana on Monday in the tie-break in the semifinals. He became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.

However this landing on the chess board was not soft and after two-drawn matches Praggnanandhaa lost to Magnus Carlsen in the first tie-breaker.

India is on the move. Tomorrow is another day!

More mission possible stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Invest in India, think Chess and stay with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-32

About: the world this week 6 August to 12 August 2023; Selling Gifts in Pakistan; Bangladesh’s Dengue Outbreak; Hawaii’s Wild-Fires; Moon Missions; India’s Parliament; Women’s Football; and Steps to Healthy Living.

Everywhere

Pakistan’s Gifts

Former Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan, Imran Khan, 70, was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, in the ’Toshakhana’ case. And he has been barred from Politics for five years. The case is that Imran Khan misused his office, during his tenure as PM from 2018 to 2022, to buy and sell gifts in the State’s possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees. Protocol requires PM’s to store all gifts in the State’s ‘safe house’, while Khan is accused of having sold them at a profit. The objects include watches, perfumes, diamond jewellery, and dinner sets. Imran Khan said he legally purchased the items.

He now sits in jail -on the bench- waiting for some magic decision by the Higher Courts where he has made a third-umpire kind of appeal. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Parliament has been dissolved and the Elections are pitched ahead at a convenient distance.

Bangladesh’s Dengue Outbreak

Dengue, also called ‘break-bone fever’, is a mosquito-borne viral infection disease that is common in warm, tropical and subtropical regions of the World.

The dengue causing virus (DENV – single strand RNA of the Flaviviridae family) spreads to people through the bite of an infected Aedes species (Aegypti or Albopictus) female mosquito. Almost half of the world’s population live in areas with a risk of dengue and is often a leading cause of illness in these areas. These mosquitoes also spread Zika, Chikungunya, and other viruses.

Mosquitoes become carriers of the disease when they bite a person infected with the virus. Such infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to other people. Bites from infected mosquitoes are the only mode of transmission. Infected mosquitoes continue to transmit the dengue virus with each blood meal for the rest of their lives.

But then, where did the Dengue Virus first come from?

Scientists hypothesise that the dengue viruses evolved in non-human primates and jumped from these primates to humans in Africa or Southeast Asia between 500 and 1000 years ago. They probably originated in monkeys and spilled over to humans.

Mosquitoes acquire the virus when they feed on a viraemic (virus present in the blood) host, after which the virus infects many tissues, in a susceptible species, including the salivary glands. The incubation period of the dengue virus is 3–14 days, with an average of 4–7 days. Humans are the main amplifying host of the virus. In tropical and sub-tropical urban areas, the viruses are maintained in a seemingly never-ending human-mosquito cycle.

Dengue is endemic in at least 100 countries in Asia. i.e., the infection is constantly present; and the disease occurs regularly in the community.

Mosquitoes typically lay eggs near stagnant water in containers that hold water, like buckets, bowls, animal dishes, flower pots, and vases, which serve as breeding grounds for further spread of mosquitoes bites, and the disease.

Symptoms of dengue include high fever, headache, rash, and muscle and joint pain. In severe cases there is serious bleeding and shock, which can be life-threatening and require hospital care. Treatment includes fluids and pain relievers.

Those who become infected with the virus a second time are significantly at a greater risk of developing a severe disease condition. A person can be infected with dengue multiple times in their life.

There is no treatment for the infection itself, but the symptoms that a patient experiences can be managed. There is no vaccine or drug that specifically treats dengue.

Now, over to Bangladesh where dengue is spreading like wild-fire.

Urbanisation, migration, and climatic changes are spurring a surge in dengue virus infections and Bangladesh is facing the effects. It registered record numbers of dengue cases and deaths amid an accelerating outbreak. The country has reported 61,500 cases of dengue so far in 2023, 85% of which date from July, as well as about 290 deaths. Reports have emerged of health-care facilities being overwhelmed. Moreover, although the risk of dengue is present throughout the year in Bangladesh infections typically peak in August and September.

The El-Nino phenomenon, which is associated with increased temperatures in Southeast Asia, started this year in June 2023. And has been linked to major dengue epidemics. A hot and wet climate is perfect for dengue. Countries like Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand are currently seeing a lot of transmission.

Dengue became established in Bangladesh sometime around the year 2000. Cases have historically been concentrated in the three largest cities: the capital Dhaka, Chittagong, and Khulna. Infection rates were far lower for people living outside urban areas. However, as Bangladeshis become increasingly mobile, they experienced a greater spread of dengue. People bring the mosquitoes back to their communities as well as the viruses that can be transmitted by the mosquitoes.

Dhaka has been particularly badly hit by the current outbreak. It is one of the most densely populated cities in the world and is rapidly growing. Dengue thrives in conditions of unplanned urbanisation.

Says a Professor in the Department of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, “There is a water supply problem in Dhaka, so people keep water in buckets and plastic containers in their bathrooms or elsewhere in the home. Mosquitoes can live there all year round. Our waste management system is not well planned. Garbage piles up on the street; you see a lot of little plastic containers with pools of water in them. We also have multi-storey buildings with car parks in the basements. People wash their vehicles down there, which is ideal for the mosquitoes”.

Construction sites abound in Dhaka, with plenty of water lying around. Vector control is the responsibility of the city authorities who are doing their best with the spraying and fogging.

The Aedes Aegypti mosquito has now developed resistance to malathion, the insecticide used in Dhaka. The mosquito has already shown resistance to pyrethroid in Bangladesh. The use of mass spraying is not very convincing and there is not much evidence that removing breeding spots and applying insecticide reduces dengue. A mosquito bites during the day, which limits the effectiveness of bed-nets; it is excellent at hiding and needs little more than a thimble-full of standing water to proliferate. Once it is inside a residence, it is extremely difficult to eradicate.

With the evolution of the dengue virus, it does not cause critical symptoms in many instances. Because of this, people often ignore it, but the disease must be diagnosed early so that it can be treated before it gets complicated.

Perhaps the best hope for Bangladesh is a cost-effective vaccine. Presently, clinical trials are underway in a promising single-dose vaccine developed by the US National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA) in collaboration with the University of Vermont Vaccine Testing Center (Burlington, VT, USA) and Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA). Bangladesh has immediate no plans to roll out either the Sanofi Pasteur dengue vaccine – made by French multinational company Sanofi – which is only recommended for individuals previously infected with dengue, or the newer product developed by Takeda – a Japanese Company.

And these mosquitoes have been around for ages!

Hawaii’s Wild-Fires

Hawaii is an island state of the United States (US) – one of the 50 States – about 3200 km from the US mainland, in the Pacific Ocean. It is the only US state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state in the tropics. Hawaii is known for its beautiful beaches, its laid-back lifestyle, and its delicious food.

The idyllic Hawaii is besieged by unprecedented, apocalyptic wildfires that are raging across Hawaii’s Big Island and Maui. Lahaina, the historic seaside town that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii has been largely reduced to ash. Lahaina being a touristic and economic hub of about 9,000 people, hundreds of families have been displaced. “We have no more Lahaina. It’s gone,” said a resident.

Over 60 people have died and hundreds of structures have been destroyed as fires continue to rage the island. This is the worst natural disaster in the history of Hawaii.

The fires first began this Tuesday, and have since grown and spread in destruction, forcing hundreds of evacuations and leaving thousands without power. Most of the fires on Maui – fuelled in part by violent winds from Hurricane Dora, churning more than 800 miles away – have not yet been contained. New brush fires also erupted on Hawaii Island as officials work to extinguish the ongoing deadly wildfires.

The exact cause of the fires is unknown, although some experts believe human development on the island is at least partly to blame; including non-native grass planted by plantation owners unfamiliar with the native ecosystem, which is dry and prone to fires.

A NASA Satellite imagery showed that dry conditions and strong winds helped fuel destructive wild-fires in Maui.

When a lush Hawaii, caressed by the sea, can turn into a hot-bed furnace, no spot in the World can be considered safe from the effects of Climate Change.

Moon Missions

Last weekend, India’s Chandrayaan-3 was successfully manoeuvred into the lunar orbit. Now the spacecraft is being gradually pulled into the gravity of the Moon with ‘regular, controlled orbit lowering manoeuvres’ by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). A soft landing on the unexplored South Pole of the Moon is scheduled on 23rd August. ISRO is confident that the mission will be a success.

While India is slowly inching to the moon, this week Russia launched it’s first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years. A Soyuz 2.1 rocket carrying the Luna-25 spacecraft blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, 5550 km East of Moscow, this Friday. The landed was boosted out of Earth’s orbit towards the Moon over an hour later and the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos is now commanding Luna-25. The lander is expected to touch down on the Moon’s South Pole, on 21st August. Russia’s stated goal is to land where no-one else has landed and to find water on the Moon.

India has company out there. And there is a brewing ‘soft competition’ – no country has made a soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon.

India’s Parliament

Perhaps for the first time in a very long time, people were suddenly watching speeches by Members of Parliament (MP) in India’s two Houses of Parliament – the lower, Lok Sabha and the upper, Rajya Sabha.

This season was perhaps one of the noisiest ever and bedlam all the way through. Even a final parting ‘Flying Kiss’ by a ‘recently re-installed MP’ failed to spill love and only generated uproar and more heat. India’s Dairy King, Amul, said it best in a cheeky, delicious advertisement, ‘Frying Kiss. Amul – Wins Everyone’s Confidence’

The Opposition, like a deer caught in the headlights, brought a ‘No Confidence Motion’ on the Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping to put the Government on the mat ahead of Parliament Elections in 2024. The focus was on the ethnic violence in the State of Manipur. However, it gave the Government a fabulous opportunity to talk about its achievements and instead wrestle down the Opposition to the mat. Plus, the Government had the numbers in Parliament.

The government easily defeated the no confidence motion after a fiery speech by the PM at the climax of a three-day debate.

The motion was defeated in a voice vote called by the speaker of the Lok Sabha shortly after opposition MPs staged a walk-out.

Women’s Football

Four-time World Cup winners United States of America were knocked-out by Sweden in penalties 5-4 following a goal-less play-time in the knock-out stage.

Colombia are through to the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-finals, the last Eight, for the first time, beating Jamaica 1-0.

The Quarter final line-up is: Spain versus (vs) Netherlands; Japan vs Sweden, Colombia vs England, and France vs Australia happening on 11th and 12th August.

Spain beat Netherlands 2-1, to advance to the semi-finals as did Sweden likewise beating Japan 2-1.

The race for the Golden Boot, has Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa at 5 Goals, France’s Kadidiatou Diani at 4 goals, and others with three or two goals, on the field.

Steps to Healthy Living

It’s generally believed that walking at least 10,000 steps per day is one of the best ways for maintaining an active lifestyle: enough to extend your life due to ‘good health’. This is in keeping with the fundamental truth of any physical activity: any movement is better than no movement at all.

Now it’s been found that walking just 4,000 steps per day may be enough to help extend your life, according to a new research review published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The researchers found that more movement is better, with each additional 1,000 steps per day associated with a roughly 15% lower risk of premature death. But research suggests that workouts don’t need to be all that gruelling or lengthy to improve your health. Everything from walking to housework to dancing can contribute to well-being, studies have shown.

More burning stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay in-step with World Inthavaaram.