Current Affairs - Technology

The Titans Space mission is a U.S.-based initiative set to launch in the year 2029. This mission, lasting around five hours, will involve two full orbits around the Earth, allowing the crew to witness two sunrises and two sunsets. It also promises nearly three hours of uninterrupted zero gravity, providing valuable conditions for scientific observation and experimentation. The mission is under the command of William McArthur Jr., a seasoned NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Army Colonel, ensuring experienced leadership for this significant spaceflight. The year 2029 is crucial as it marks the planned execution of this ambitious mission.

Google has introduced a transformative AI Mode in India, powered by its custom Gemini 2.5 model. This new feature significantly enhances the search experience by enabling users to perform complex, multimodal, and conversational queries. With innovations like query fan-out technology, the system breaks down intricate questions into subtopics and processes them in parallel, offering more accurate and comprehensive results. This represents a major advancement over traditional keyword-based search engines, allowing users to interact in a more natural and intuitive way. By launching this in India, Google emphasizes the country’s growing role in shaping global tech innovation.

IIT Delhi, in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), successfully demonstrated a cutting-edge entanglement-based free-space quantum secure communication system. This involved Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) over a 1 km distance through the air, achieving a secure key rate of 240 bps. The system was resilient to environmental challenges like atmospheric turbulence and background noise, marking a key milestone in India’s National Quantum Mission. This innovation strengthens India’s ability to establish quantum-secure networks for defence and cybersecurity applications and signifies a leap forward in the practical deployment of quantum communication technologies.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) won a ₹511 crore Transfer of Technology deal from ISRO to manufacture and commercialize Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs). This deal represents a pivotal shift in India’s strategy to promote commercial space operations by involving public sector industries in the production and operation of satellite launch vehicles. HAL was chosen as the top bidder after a thorough evaluation process and will receive two years of hands-on training and support from ISRO. Following this phase, HAL is expected to produce SSLVs independently, with future plans to manufacture 6–12 SSLVs annually, contributing significantly to India’s space commercialization goals.

Noida International Airport has taken a pioneering step by partnering with Anlon Technology Solutions to deploy India's first indigenously built runway rubber removal machine (RRM), named Cleanjet. This machine is critical for maintaining runway safety by effectively removing rubber deposits from aircraft landings. Built on an Eicher Pro 6028 chassis, the Cleanjet represents a significant advancement in domestic airport infrastructure technology. By adopting this locally manufactured solution, Noida is setting new benchmarks in aviation safety, efficiency, and the promotion of indigenous innovation in the country’s growing aviation sector.