💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (July Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

GS Paper: GS3

  • Why are blue straggler stars different from the norm?

    Researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru have studied the eccentricities of blue straggler stars.

    What are Blue Straggler Stars?

    • A blue straggler is a main-sequence star in an open or globular cluster that is more luminous and bluer than stars at the main sequence turnoff point for the cluster.
    • Blue stragglers were first discovered by Allan Sandage in 1953 while performing photometry of the stars in the globular cluster M3.

    What did the Indian researchers study?

    • Eccentricity is the deviation of a planets’ or stars’ orbit from circularity — the higher the eccentricity, the greater the elliptical orbit.
    • For this, the researchers also made use of the observations by the UVIT instrument (Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope) of ASTROSAT, India’s first science observatory in space.

    (a) Stellar ageing of stars

    • To know what blue stragglers are, it is necessary to understand how stars are classified and their evolution, studied.
    • Our Sun, for example, is what is called a main sequence star, and, given its mass and age, it is expected that once it has converted all its hydrogen into helium, its core will get denser, while outer layers expand.
    • So, it will bloat into a red giant.
    • After this phase, its fuel spent, it will shrink, becoming a smaller, cooling star called a white dwarf star at the end of its life.

    (b) Sequencing of stars

    • To study the behaviour of the star, you could plot a graph of the colour of a star, which is an indication of its surface temperature, against its magnitude, which is related to the total energy given off by it.
    • If you do this for all the stars in a globular cluster, a large number of stars are seen to find a place within a band known as the main sequence.
    • Our Sun is a main sequence star, too, and the expectation is that all main sequence stars follow a pattern of evolution pretty much like our Sun’s fate, which was described earlier.
    • There are a few stars that, just at the stage of their lives, when they are expected to start expanding in size and cooling down, do just the opposite.
    • They grow brighter and hotter and blue in colour, thus standing out from the cooler red stars in their vicinity in the colour-magnitude diagram.
    • Since they lag behind their peers in the evolution, they are called stragglers, more specifically, blue stragglers, because of their hot, blue colour.

    Outcome of the research: Reasons for Blue Stragglers behaviour

    • The puzzle of why a blue straggler is more massive, and energetic than expected may be resolved in several ways.
    • One that these do not belong to the family of stars in the cluster, and hence are not expected to have the group properties.
    • Second, the straggler draws matter from the giant companion and grows more massive, hot and blue, and the red giant ends up as a normal or smaller white dwarf.
    • The third possibility is that the straggler draws matter from a companion star, but that there is a third star that facilitates this process.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Digital Service Tax

    Context

    Over the past four years, 137 countries have engaged intensively with the OECD to find a solution to the tax challenges arising from digitalisation. Like any international agreement, finding a middle ground has been difficult and a series of compromises have been made.

    What makes it difficult to tax the digital economy?

    • Operation across the border: The unique feature of the digital economy is that firms can operate seamlessly across borders and users and their data contribute to their profits.
    • However, this made it harder to tax such an economy.
    • It was not clear how profits were to be pinned down to any jurisdiction.
    • Political issues: Taxing digital economy became a political issue because the largest technology firms are tax residents of developed countries and redefining digital presence as the basis of taxation would potentially allow large markets like India more right to tax.
    • Developing vs. developed countries: Developing countries wanted that profits from digital operations should be fractionally apportioned to markets while developed countries believe that a fraction of residual profit, mainly arising from marketing functions, should be taxed in markets.

     Equalisation levy and DST issue

    • The divergence in developed and developing countries as explained above compelled countries to implement unilateral measures.
    • India was the first country to implement a gross equalisation levy on turnover.
    • This is not covered by tax treaties.
    • So, while the income tax act does not apply to the levy, credit is available for the tax paid by the company in its home country.
    • Similarly, several other countries have announced or implemented a digital services tax (DST).
    • In 2021, India expanded the scope of the equalisation levy.
    • The US initiated the US Trade Representative investigations which found DST to be discriminatory, and then announced retaliatory tariffs.

    Two-pillar approach and issues with its adoption

    • The DSTs encouraged the US to actively participate in finding a consensus-based solution.
    • As talks progressed, the OECD announced that the issue of allocation of taxing rights would be actively considered and adopted a two-pillar approach.
    • Pillar One approach: The first pillar was to define the rules for taxing digital companies.
    • Sovereignty issue: Pillar One was to go beyond digital companies and apply to large companies with annual revenue over € 20 billion. To ensure certainty to taxpayers, the solution will require excessive global coordination.
    • Whether this will undermine sovereignty, remains to be seen.
    • Therefore, it is important to consider if the consensus approach is worth pursuing.
    • EL may still apply to companies not covered by OECD proposal: In fact, the EL may apply to companies that are not covered by the OECD proposal, leaving one to wonder whether it will truly address the tax challenges from digitalisation. 
    • Complications: Corporations that argue in favour of simplicity must also consider the potential benefits from an EL like tax that sets aside the complications of attributing profits to complex functions.
    • The OECD approach creates a fiction of reallocation, where the profits reallocated through Pillar One could in fact be compensated for by taxing back global profits taxed below 15 per cent.

    Conclusion

    As per Pillar One proposal, DSTs will be removed once the OECD approach is ratified in 2023. It is imperative therefore that countries assess the price of compromise.

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Indians can now make Payments using UPI in UAE

    Tourists or migrants to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Indian bank accounts will be able to make UPI payments at shops, retail establishments and other merchants in the gulf nation.

    What is UPI?

    • Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) facilitating inter-bank transactions.
    • The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and works by instantly transferring funds between two bank accounts on a mobile platform.

    How does the service work?

    • The NPCI and UAE’s Mashreq Bank’s NEOPAY have partnered for this service
    • It will be mandatory for users to have a bank account in India with UPI enabled on it.
    • The users will also need an application, like BHIM, to make UPI payments.

    Will UPI be accepted everywhere in the UAE?

    • Payments using UPI will only be accepted at those merchants and shops which have NEOPAY terminals.

    Does NPCI have other such international arrangements?

    • NPCI’s international arm NIPL have several such arrangements with international financial services providers for its products, including UPI and RuPay cards.
    • Globally, UPI is accepted in Bhutan and Nepal, and is likely to go live in Singapore later this year.
    • In Singapore, a project to link UPI with the city-state’s instant payment system PayNow is being undertaken by the RBI and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
    • The linkage is targeted for operationalization by July this year.

    Back2Basics: Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)

    • BHIM is an Indian mobile payment App developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
    • Named after B. R. Ambedkar and launched on 30 December 2016 it is intended to facilitate e-payments directly through banks and encourage cashless transactions.
    • The application supports all Indian banks which use UPI, which is built over the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure and allows the user to instantly transfer money between bank accounts of any two parties.
    • It can be used on all mobile devices.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q. With reference to digital payments, consider the following statements:

    1. BHIM app allows the user to transfer money to anyone with a UPI-enabled bank account.
    2. While a chip-pin debit card has four factors of authentication, BHIM app has only two factors of authentication.

    Which of the statements given above is/ are correct? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”ra78wdcdft” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • UK to issue Open General Export Licence (OGEL) to India

    In the backdrop of the rapid geopolitical turmoil, PM Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson agreed on a new and expanded India-UK defence partnership and vowed to seal an ambitious free trade agreement by the end of the year.

    What is the news?

    • The UK is creating an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for India to reduce bureaucracy and slashing delivery times for defence procurement.
    • It will partner with India on new fighter jet technology as well as in the maritime sphere to detect and respond to threats.

    What is OGEL?

    • The open General Licence is a type of license that is used for the export license that is issued by the government for domestic suppliers.
    • The items that are to be exported in India are categorised into three types. They are prohibited items, restricted items, and freely importable items. These classifications are made based on the nature and use of the products.
    • The application processing and grant of OEGL will be taken care of by the Department of Defence Production. The process will vary for each case.
    • The primary aim of the OEGL is to give a boost to the defence exports of India. This will also improve the ease of doing business and imports and exports.
    • The countries allowed under the OGELs are: Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Poland and Mexico.

    Items to be exported

    • The items permitted under OGEL includes components of ammunition & fuse setting device without energetic and explosive material; firing control & related alerting and warning equipment & related system; and body protective items.
    • Complete aircraft or complete unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and any components specially designed or modified for UAVs are excluded under this license.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)

    The government is reportedly considering a regulatory framework for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) to lay the ground for the possible listing of Indian companies through this route in the future.

    What are SPACs?

    • An SPAC, or a blank-cheque company, is an entity specifically set up with the objective of acquiring a firm in a particular sector.
    • They aim to raise money in an initial public offering (IPO) without any operations or revenues.
    • The money that is raised from the public is kept in an escrow account, which can be accessed while making the acquisition.
    • If the acquisition is not made within two years of the IPO, the SPAC is delisted and the money is returned to the investors.
    • While SPACs are essentially shell companies, a key factor that makes them attractive to investors are the people who sponsor them.
    • Globally, prominent celebrities have participated in SPACs.

    Why in news?

    • According to reports, the Company Law Committee was set up in 2019 to make recommendations to boost ease of doing business in India.
    • This committee has made this suggestion regarding SPACs in its report submitted to the government recently.
    • The concept of SPAC has existed for nearly a decade now, and several investors and company promoters have used this route to take their investments public.
    • The vehicle gained momentum in 2020, which was a record year for SPAC deals; this record was broken in 2021.

    Where does India stand?

    • Early last year, renewable energy producer ReNew Power announced an agreement to merge with RMG Acquisition Corp II, a blank-cheque company.
    • This became the first involving an Indian company during the latest boom in SPAC deals.
    • As things stand now, the Indian regulatory framework does not allow the creation of blank cheque companies.
    • The Companies Act, 2013 stipulates that the Registrar of Companies can strike off a company if it does not commence operations within a year of incorporation.

    Risk factors around SPACs

    • The boom in investor firms going for SPACs and then looking for target companies have tilted the scales in favour of investee firms.
    • This has the potential, theoretically, to limit returns for retail investors post-merger.
    • SPACs are mandated to return money to their investors in the event no merger is made within two years.
    • However the fineprint of several SPAC prospectuses shows that certain clauses could potentially prevent investors from getting their monies back.
    • Historically, though, this has not happened yet.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • New research about Jupiter’s moon Europa

    A team of researchers from Stanford University have said that on one of Jupiter’s moons Europa, a prime candidate for life in the solar system might have abundance of water pockets beneath formations called double ridges.

    About Europa

    • Europa is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon and its diameter is about one-quarter that of the Earth.
    • Even though Europa has a very thin oxygen atmosphere, it is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to find present-day environments that are suitable for life beyond the Earth.
    • It is also believed that underneath Europa’s icy surface the amount of water is twice that on Earth.
    • NASA notes that scientists believe Europa’s ice shell is 15-25 km thick and is floating on an ocean, which is estimated to be 60-150 km deep.
    • Interestingly, while its diameter is less than the Earth’s, Europa probably contains twice the amount of the water in all of the Earth’s oceans.
    • NASA is expected to launch its Europa Clipper in 2024.
    • The module will orbit Jupiter and conduct multiple close flybys to Europa to gather data on the moon’s atmosphere, surface and its interior.

    What is the new finding?

    • It is already known that Europa, whose surface is mostly solid water ice, contains water beneath it.
    • The researchers are now saying that the double ridges – the formations which are most common on Europa’s surface and are similar to those seen on Earth’s Greenland ice sheet .
    • They are formed over shallow pockets of water.

    Significance of the recent findings

    • The central implication is that the shallow water pockets beneath the double ridge increase the potential habitability of the moon.
    • The ice shell, which is potentially miles thick, has been a difficult prospect for scientists to sample.
    • But according to the new evidence, the ice shell is believed to be less of a barrier and more of a dynamic system.
    • This means that the ice shell does not behave like an inert block of ice, but rather undergoes a variety of geological and hydrological processes.
    • This suggests active volcanism and thus a possibility for life.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Russia’s new nuclear missile ‘Sarmat’

    Amidst stiff resistance from Ukraine in the ongoing war and harsh sanctions imposed by the West, Russia went ahead and tested its new Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Sarmat.

    What is Sarmat?

    • The RS-28 Sarmat (NATO name Satan-II) is reported to be able to carry ten or more warheads and decoys
    • It has the capability of firing over either of the earth’s poles with a range of 11,000 to 18,000 km.
    • It is expected to pose a significant challenge to the ground-and-satellite-based radar tracking systems of the western powers, particularly the USA.
    • The ten warheads are Multiple Independently-Targetable Re-entry Vehicles and each has a blast yield of .75 MT.
    • The Sarmat will also be the first Russian missile which can carry smaller hypersonic boost-glide vehicles. These are manoeuvrable and hard to intercept.
    • It is a liquid-fuelled missile as compared to US ICBMs which have moved on to solid fuel systems.

    Who is it named after?

    • The Sarmat is named after nomadic tribes that roamed the steppes of present-day Southern Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan in the early medieval period.
    • Sarmatians were highly developed in horsemanship and warfare.
    • It goes on to say that the administrative capabilities and political expertise of Sarmatians contributed to their gaining widespread influence and by the 5th century BC.
    • They held control of the land between the Urals and the Don River.
    • In the 4th century they crossed the Don and conquered the Scythians, replacing them as rulers of almost all of southern Russia by the 2nd century.

    Was Russia known to be developing this missile?

    • It was widely known that Russia was developing a new ICBM to replace its older ones.
    • An announcement in this regard was made by Vladimir Putin in 2018 while making his State of the Nation address to the Federal Assembly.
    • He had stated at the time that the first Regiment fully armed with Sarmat ICBM will be operational by the end of 2022.
    • The deteriorating relations between Russia and the Western Powers is said to have given an impetus to its development.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • How the Central and State governments procure Wheat?

    Wheat procurement is now underway in various states of the country.

    Wheat Procurement in India

    • The main purpose of procuring for the central pool is ensuring the MSP as well as the country’s food security by making food available to the weaker sections at affordable prices.
    • The Centre procures wheat by paying the minimum support price (MSP) announced for the crop.
    • The States do it under two systems:
    1. The centralised one, also called the non-decentralised procurement system (non-DCP) and
    2. The decentralised one, also called DCP

    (1) Non-DCP

    • Under this system, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) directly or through state government agencies procure wheat from the purchase centres established across the states based on various parameters like moisture, lustre, broken/shrivelled etc.
    • In Punjab and Haryana, farmers sell their crop to the central agency or state agencies through Arhtiyas (commission agents).
    • The wheat procured by the state agencies is handed over to the FCI for storage or for transportation to the consuming states.
    • The FCI, which is the central nodal agency for wheat procurement, pays the cost of procured wheat to the state agencies.

    (2) DCP

    • The decentralised system was brought in the late 1990s to promote local procurement and save the transportation cost and time.
    • The state government or its agencies procure, store and distribute wheat against the Centre’s allocation for targeted PDS and other weaker sections etc. with the state.
    • The excess stocks procured by the state and its agencies are handed over to the FCI for the central pool.
    • The expenditure incurred by the state government on the procurement, storage and distribution of stocks under the decentralised system are reimbursed by the Centre.

    Role of Arhtiyas

    • Apart from paying the MSP, the Centre also reimburses the arhtiyas’ commission, administrative charges, mandi labour charges, transportation charges, custody and maintenance charges, interest charges, the gunny bag cost and statutory taxes.
    • The cost of excess stocks handed over to the FCI is reimbursed to the state government or agencies as per the Centre’s policies.
    • Procurement agencies ensure that the stocks brought to mandis are purchased as per the specifications fixed by the government and farmers are not compelled to sell their crop below the MSP.
    • But if a farmer gets a better price from private players, he can sell to them.

    From how many states is wheat procured for the central pool?

    • There are 15 states on the procurement list for the central pool, but the contributions from seven of the states are negligible.
    • Only Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are the main contributors to the central pool.
    • Bihar also contributed to some extent in the last season.

    How much wheat is procured for the central pool by the FCI every year?

    • According to the records of the FCI, from 2011 to 2021, procurement for the central pool was between 25-40 per cent of the total wheat production.
    • The procurement has doubled in the past one decade as 22.5 million tonnes of wheat was procured in 2011 and 43.3 million in 2021.
    • The current season of procurement is going on.

    What is the procurement scale against the total production of wheat in India?

    • In 2011 the total production of wheat was 88 million tonnes while it was around 109 million tonnes in 2021.
    • And the government’s procurement was 26 per cent and around 40 per cent in 2011 and 2021 respectively.
    • The procured grain is used for export purposes, the public distribution system and maintaining a particular stock for an emergency period.
    • The remaining 60 per cent of the production goes to the bakery industry and other wheat-related businesses.
    • Farmers also keep some of this wheat for their self-consumption.

    What is the share of wheat contribution of various states to the central pool?

    • Barring 2020, Punjab has been the number one wheat contributor to the central pool.
    • The state has increased its contribution from 102.09 lakh tonnes in 2011 to 132. 22 lakh tonnes in 2021.
    • Haryana has also increased its contribution from 63.47 lakh tonnes to around 84.93 lakh tonnes in the same period.
    • Madhya Pradesh’s contribution was 35.38 lakh tonnes in 2011, which jumped to the highest among all states—129.42 lakh tonnes—in 2020 and was 128.16 lakh tonnes last year.
    • Uttar Pradesh’s contribution increased from 16.45 lakh tonnes to 56.41 lakh tonnes, and Rajasthan’s contribution rose from 4.76 lakh tonnes to 23.40 lakh tonnes in the same period.

    Note: Punjab (despite its small size compared to MP, UP) is also the leading wheat producer state in India.

    Back2Basics: Minimum Support Price (MSP)

    • MSP is a form of market intervention by the GoI to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
    • The MSP are announced at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
    • MSP is price fixed to protect the producer – farmers – against excessive fall in price during bumper production years.
    • In case the market price for the commodity falls below the announced minimum price due to bumper production and glut in the market, govt. agencies purchase the entire quantity offered by the farmers at the announced minimum price.
    • The minimum support prices are a guarantee price for their produce from the Government.
    • The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution.

    Methods of calculation

    • In formulating the level of MSP and other non-price measures, the CACP takes into account a comprehensive view of the entire structure of the economy of a particular commodity or group of commodities.
    • The CACP makes use of both micro-level data and aggregates at the level of district, state and the country.
    • Other factors include cost of production, changes in input prices, input-output price parity, trends in market prices, demand and supply, inter-crop price parity, effect on industrial cost structure, effect on cost of living, effect on general price level, international price situation, parity between prices paid and prices received by the farmers and effect on issue prices and implications for subsidy.

    Procurement agencies

    • Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the designated central nodal agency for price support operations for cereals, pulses and oilseeds.
    • Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is the central nodal agency for undertaking price support operations for Cotton.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • INS Vagsheer: Key features, capabilities

    The sixth and last of the French Scorpene-class submarines, INS Vagsheer, was launched into water at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai.

    Launch of INS Vagsheer

    • It was launched by Veena Ajay Kumar (wife of Union Defence Secretary), in keeping with the naval tradition of launch and naming by a woman.
    • The six submarines were being built under Project-75 by the Mazagon Docks under technology transfer from the Naval Group as part of a $3.75-billion deal signed in October 2005:
    1. INS Kalvari was commissioned in December 2017;
    2. INS Khanderi in September 2019;
    3. INS Vagir in November 2020;
    4. INS Karanj in March 2021; and
    5. INS Vela in November 2021.
    • P 75 is one of two lines of submarines, the other being P75I, as part of a plan approved in 1999 for indigenous submarine construction with technology taken from overseas firms.

    Why ‘Vagsheer’

    • Vagsheer is named after the sand fish, a deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean.
    • The first submarine Vagsheer, from Russia, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on December 26, 1974, and was decommissioned on April 30, 1997.
    • The new Vagsheer will be officially named at the time of its commissioning.

    Specifications

    • Vagsheer can take up to eight officers and 35 men.
    • It is 67.5 metres long and 12.3 metres high, with a beam measuring 6.2 metres Vagsheer can reach top speed of 20 knots when submerged and a top speed of 11 knots when it surfaces
    • It has four MTU 12V 396 SE84 diesel engines, 360 battery cells for power, and a silent Permanently Magnetised Propulsion Motor.
    • The hull, fin and hydroplanes are designed for minimum underwater resistance and all equipment inside the pressure hull is mounted on shock-absorbing cradles for enhanced stealth.

    Features

    • Vagsheer is a diesel attack submarine, designed to perform sea denial as well as access denial warfare against the adversary.
    • It can do offensive operations across the spectrum of naval warfare including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and area surveillance.
    • It is enabled with a C303 anti-torpedo counter measure system.
    • It can carry up to 18 torpedoes or Exocet anti-ship missiles, or 30 mines in place of torpedoes.
    • Its superior stealth features include advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape.
    • It has the ability to launch a crippling attack using precision guided weapons, underwater or on surface.

    Road ahead

    • Vagsheer will be commissioned into the Indian Navy’s Western Command after 12 to 18 months when sea trials end.
    • It will be based with Western Naval Command, mostly in Mumbai.
    • The submarine will undergo a very comprehensive and rigorous set of tests and trials, for more than a year, to ensure delivery of a fully combat worthy submarine.

    Back2Basics: Various classes of Submarines in India

    In maritime terms, a class of ships is a group of vessels that have the same make, purpose and displacement.

    • Chakra Class: Under a 10-year lease from Russia since 2012
    • Arihant Class: Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines
    • Shishumar Class: Diesel-electric attack submarines Indian variant of the Type 209 submarines developed by the German Navy
    • Kalvari Class: Diesel-electric attack submarines designed by French company DCNS
    • Sindhughosh Class: Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines built with the help of Russia
    • Scorpene-Class: French submarines that can undertake various types of missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • ISRO develops Space Bricks from Martian Soil

    Researchers from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a way to make bricks from Martian soil with the help of bacteria and urea.

    Space Bricks

    • ISRO and IISc have collaborated to develop a novel scalable technique of manufacturing space bricks using Martian Simulant Soil (MSS).
    • The team first made the slurry by mixing Martian soil with guar gum, a bacterium called Sporosarcina pasteurii, urea and nickel chloride (NiCl2).
    • This slurry can be poured into moulds of any desired shape, and over a few days the bacteria convert the urea into crystals of calcium carbonate.
    • These crystals, along with biopolymers secreted by the microbes act as cement holding the soil particles together.
    • This method ensures that the bricks are less porous, which was a problem with other methods used to make Martian bricks.
    • The bacteria seep deep into the pore spaces, using their own proteins to bind the particles together, decreasing porosity and leading to stronger bricks.

    Their significance

    • In the past, the team had made bricks out of lunar soil using a similar method.
    • These ‘space bricks’ can be used to construct building-like structures on Mars that could facilitate human settlement on the red planet.

     

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)