The Daily Populous

Tuesday February 20th, 2018 evening edition

image for Chandrayaan-2 mission cheaper than Hollywood film Interstellar

Chandrayaan-2 mission: Rover to spend 14 days on moon's surface, says Isro chief Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is leaving no stone unturned to make the Chandrayaan-2 mission a success.

The exercise involves a prototype of the lander simulating a soft landing from a height of 70-80 metres.

NEW DELHI: India's upcoming Rs 800-crorewill be cheaper than Hollywood's 2014 sci-fi movie 'Interstellar' that cost Rs 1,062 crore ($165 million).

"Isro will try to launch the Chandrayaan-2 mission, involving a soft-landing on the moon's surface and rover walk, sometime in April.

Dr Sivan said, "We are trying for a dawn-to-dusk landing and rover walk on the lunar's mission for maximum utilisation of the scientific mission.

If we are not able to land in April due to various factors, then the mission will be launched in November.

Analysing these rocks and the surface will help us explore the moon better and enrich our understanding of the universe." »

Coal Plant Closures Accelerate Under President Trump

Authored by greentechmedia.com

“Our customers want us to partner with them to provide cleaner energy and new technologies, while continuing to provide reliable, affordable energy.

In November, Charles Patton, AEP's executive vice president of external affairs, said the future for coal plants “is very limited.”.

According to the Sierra Club, though, more coal capacity closed in the first 45 days of 2018 than in Obama’s entire first term. »

Anti-gay 'vote Putin' video goes viral in Russia

Authored by france24.com

A homophobic video urging Russians to re-elect President Vladimir Putin has gone viral less than a month before the country's election.

The video, which appeared on social media on Friday, tells voters that if Putin's rivals win they will take Russia into a "nightmare" future in which they are forced to co-habitate with gay men.

It has had more than three million views on the Facebook page of pro-Kremlin political analyst Alexander Kazakov. »

Does GMO corn increase crop yields? 21 years of data confirm it does—and provides substantial health benefits

Authored by geneticliteracyproject.org

That's exactly what a group of Italian researchers has done in a new meta-analysis that compared GMO corn with conventional varieties.

The analysis of over 6,000 peer-reviewed studies covering 21 years of data found that GMO corn increased yields up to 25 percent and dramatically decreased dangerous food contaminants.

The authors suggest that increased adoption of GMO corn by developing countries could provide farmers and consumers with substantial economic and human health benefits. »