NIAS Fortnightly on Science, Technology & International Relations

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CWA # 528, 10 August 2021
NIAS Fortnightly on Science, Technology & International Relations
Space Tourism

  STIR Team

Vol.1, No. 6, 10 August 2021

Cover Story
by Harini Madhusudan

Space Tourism: The reality and potential

In July 2021, two suborbital missions by private companies, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, marked a new era in human spaceflight. Both companies have been working to build their models for commercial space travel. While the popular narrative has complained about these missions as being a show of wealth and power by billionaire investors amid the ongoing global crises, the two missions by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos should be seen as an achievement in the private space sector. It is much less a show of wealth and power and more of a display of the future of the utilization of Outer Space. 

Space Tourism is defined as "human space travel for recreational purposes." Between 1990 and 2009, less than ten space tourists have made space flights, most of which were orbital space flights. Each of these missions was priced at a range of US $20-25 million per trip. There has been a renewed interest in sending humans to Outer Space because of the increase in investments by private companies. Space X, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin are pushing the progress in these technologies with their varied interests and objectives. The past decade has seen a steady growth of the private industry, which is now seen pacing forward, some more than many space-faring nations, in the Space Race. 

I
The two missions in July 2021

On 11 July 2021, Sir Richard Branson reached the edge of the atmosphere aboard Virgin Galactic's passenger plane. The company's spacecraft VSS Unity was released by its carrier aircraft VMS Eve. The 1.5-hour mission included Richard Branson, two pilots, and three Virgin Galactic employees. The spacecraft was released by the carrier at 40,000 feet, fired its rocket engine and climbed to the edge of space at three times the speed of sound. It then performed a slow backflip in microgravity. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 86.1 kilometres, and the crew experienced weightlessness for about six minutes. 

On 20 July 2021, Jeff Bezos travelled on a ten-minute journey on a capsule with the biggest windows flown in space for a stunning view of the earth. The mission was on Blue Origin's rocket ship New Shepard and had a diverse crew of four members, the oldest person to have been to space and the youngest person, along with Bezos and his brother. Two minutes into the launch, the capsule separated from the rocket and continued upwards toward the Karman Line; the crew experienced up to four minutes of weightlessness while having a great view of the earth from above. The mission did not involve a pilot, and iconic items from aviation history were a part of the mission, which included a piece of canvas used on the Wright brothers' first plane, a medallion made from the vehicle that performed the first hot air balloon flight in 1783 and a pair of goggles used by pilot Amelia Earhart. 

Kármán line is an internationally accepted space boundary and is interpreted to lie at an altitude of 100 km. Among the two missions, the Blue Origin crossed the Karman Line, and the Virgin Galactic followed the US Federal Aviation Administration's standard of 80 kms. The highlight of these missions is the development and display of the different technology of reusable vehicles, which are designed differently in comparison to other traditional space vehicles. Suborbital missions are not required to complete an orbital revolution or reach escape velocity; hence the vehicles need to be efficient and unique to the missions. In terms of the design of the vehicles, the New Shepard takes off and lands vertically, in contrast to the mother-ship deployment of SpaceShipTwo providing alternative options for potential consumers. Reusable technology has been the focus of China's investments too. In mid-July 2021, China tested an experimental vehicle designed as a potential hypersonic vehicle capable of reaching any corner of the world within an hour by flying at least five times the speed of sound at a suborbital altitude. In the case of China, technological development is not specifically related to space tourism, but its larger aim at becoming a space superpower. 

The main advantage of reusable planes, aside from the sustainability factor, is the expected fall in costs of operating suborbital missions. They would also be different from conventional rockets in terms of maintenance and have a shorter preparation time. (Arthur Scott-Geddes, "Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic or SpaceX: which space tourism venture has the right stuff?" 16 July 2021, The National News,) (Michael Sheetz, "Richard Branson reaches space on Virgin Galactic flight," 11 July 2021, CNBC,) (Paul Rincon, "Jeff Bezos launches to space aboard New Shepard rocket ship," 20 July 2021, BBC)
 

II
History and evolution of Space Tourism

In 1984, Charles D Walker became the first non-government astronaut to fly along with his employer by paying US$ 40,000. This was part of the US Space Shuttle Program, and through the 1980s, NASA ran a spaceflight participant program that allowed people from other industries who played roles different from the government or scientist to fly. This program was short-lived. Similarly, the Soviet space program also worked on broadening their pool of cosmonauts through their Soviet Intercosmos Program. This was aimed at training cosmonauts from Warsaw Pact countries, the countries with whom the Soviet had favourable relations with, allies, and a few non-aligned countries. These cosmonauts received complete training for a successful mission but had flight durations smaller than Soviet participants. The European Space Agency was also a part of this program. 

In April 2001, an American businessman Dennis Tito became the world's first space tourist when he flew to the International Space Station and stayed there for about seven days. Tito had paid for a mission to the Mir space station, the precursor of the International Space Station. In the 1990s, a collaborative initiative between a Russian Company, MirCorp and the American Company Space Adventures Ltd was the first initiative dedicated to Space Tourism. MirCorp was a private venture in charge of the Mir Space station. To generate funds for the maintenance of the ageing space station, MirCorp decided to sell a trip to the Mir Space station, and Dennis Tito became the first paying passenger. Tito paid $20 million for his journey; however, before the mission would happen, it was decided to deorbit the Mir. Tito's mission was then diverted to the International Space Station after the interval of the Space Adventures Ltd. After an arduous training for the mission, he reached the ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz TM- 32 and spent seven days, becoming the world's first space tourist. 

Following Tito's orbital mission, the term 'tourist' was changed to a spaceflight participant to distinguish commercial spaceflight travellers from career astronauts. This is because the participants all undergo similar training for their missions, and Tito is said to have disliked being termed a 'tourist.' Between 2001 and 2009, up to seven millionaires and business people reached the ISS on their orbital missions. After 2009, these missions were halted owing to the rise in costs and the crowding of the space station. In 2021, Space Adventures has decided to fly two passengers to the ISS. 

Suborbital missions have gained prominence through the years to make space tourism a profitable proposition. The idea was to invest in infrastructure and vehicles designed to take passengers to an altitude of 100 kilometers. Suborbital missions make space tourism more commercially viable. Massive funds were offered to companies that were working on sustainable technology. Ansari X prize offered a $10 million reward to any nongovernmental organization that launched a crewed spacecraft into space two times in two weeks, ensuring reusability. In 2004, SpaceShipOne, funded by Virgin Galactic, won this prize, marking the beginning of the suborbital flights in commercial spaceflight and tourism. 

Since 2007, Space Adventures have offered Lunar Tourism opportunities. For USD 100 million, they have offered a flight around the Moon on a Soyuz Spacecraft. Space X has been working on missions to the Moon in terms of a flight around the Moon and missions that allow landing on the Moon and offer a stay for a few days. Suborbital missions with reusable technology are also expected to help a lot of scientists with their research on microgravity. Additionally, some commercial ventures are helping transport objects and launch satellites to outer space for paying customers. (Erik Seedhouse, "Space Tourism," 27 July 2021, Brittanica.com,) (Arthur Scott-Geddes, "Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic or SpaceX: which space tourism venture has the right stuff?" 16 July 2021, The National News,) (Dylan Taylor, "the Future of Space Tourism," 31 March 2021, Expert Voices on Space.com,) (Rebecca Heilweil, "How bad is space tourism for the environment? And other space travel questions, answered," 25 July 2021, Recode by Vox)
 

III
Three kinds of Space Tourism

Space tourism can be categorized into three types based on their utility. 

Orbital missions require spaceflight that travels at a speed of 28,000 km/h in orbit at 200 km above the earth. These space flights have to achieve orbital velocity. The incredible speeds and the intricacies involved in the missions make orbital spaceflight expensive and technically complex. 

Suborbital space flights, unlike orbital flights, require much lower speeds. These rockets do not have the power to reach orbital velocity. They are designed to fly up to a certain height and then come back once the engines are shut off. To reach 200 km above the earth, the suborbital vehicle flies at 6000 km/h, drastically less than an orbital mission but more than the speed of a commercial plane that flies at, say, 925 km/h.

Lunar Space Tourism is another type of tourism that offers private audiences an option of a trip to the Moon. This includes a trip around the Moon and trips that allow passengers to land on the surface of the Moon. Space X has been investing in Lunar space tourism, and the first flight is expected as early as 2023. 

While Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are in a race to achieve regular private suborbital flights in the near future, Space X is working on Orbital and Lunar Space missions. (Adam Mann, "What's the difference between orbital and suborbital spaceflight?" 11 February 2020, Space.com,) (Erik Seedhouse, "Space Tourism," 27 July 2021, Brittanica.com)


IV
Legal aspects of Space Tourism

The significant aspects of Space Tourism include commercial activity ranging between a long-term stay in orbital facilities and short-term orbital or suborbital flights, including parabolic flights that offer passengers short periods of weightlessness. Hence, space tourism can include either an aircraft or a spacecraft. The immediate challenge of Space Tourism is the delimitation of airspace and outer space, which would determine the authorization, registration, liability to passengers and third parties, and the status of the passengers. The legal regimes of air law and space law overlap in terms of space tourism. 

Air law involves specific regulations for passenger and vehicle regulations in both national and international law. However, it is not the same with international space law. Furthermore, in terms of national space laws, not much is known other than the national laws of the US. Additionally, there is no clear physical line between airspace and outer space. Though the area above 110 km is regarded as Outer Space, the status of the zone between 80 km and 110 km is controversial. In suborbital flights, air law applies to the aircraft before and after separation, but it is unclear whether the space vehicle can be considered an aircraft or a part of the aircraft, and in some cases, it is regarded as a "space object," and ideally space law would be applied to the space object after separation from the aircraft. Similarly, if a rocket is used to launch a space capsule, the rocket and the space capsule would need to be distinguished, and space law would be applied accordingly. 

Under Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty, States are obligated to authorize and supervise their national space activities. This would include the use of national space legislation, with a legal licensing regime for their private activities in Outer Space. However, many national legislations lack specific regulations about Space Tourism. In the case of liability, passengers usually enter into a contractual relationship with the operator. Simultaneously, based on the model of the vehicle, legal systems of Air Law and Space Law are applied. In the case of Space Law, the liability convention of 1972 is applied to the space object. In the case of passenger liability for damages occurring while onboard the aircraft, the Montreal Convention with its two-tier system of liability would apply. Furthermore, if these liabilities are inapplicable, liability would be established based on national laws. 

Another question is to determine their status on par with an 'astronaut,' or a 'personnel of a spacecraft.' None of these is determined under the international space law. The Rescue Agreement has laid a few obligations in the case of an emergency. The state of registration would exercise jurisdiction and control of every person on board a space object, and the states may choose to grant privileges and immunities of the personnel participating in these private missions. Under the US national Law for Space Tourism, any company proposing to launch paying passengers from American soil on a suborbital rocket must receive a license from the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST).

In 2010, the SICA Act was passed in New Mexico, which says spaceflight operators cannot be held liable in the "death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of space flight activities". Operators are, however not covered in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct. In terms of Resource Collection and ownership, countries/ individuals have the right to freely explore the Moon, and any resources collected are property of that country when they return. This is despite the fact that the Art II of OST says, "outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." It is also essential to note that many aspects of liability and ownership are extremely vague in the legal aspects of Outer Space Tourism, which may need to be addressed as the importance of space tourism increases, along with the question of passenger and vehicle insurance. (Samridhi Talwar, "Space Tourism and its tryst with legality," 19 July 202, NLUJ Law Review,)(Stephan Hobe, "Legal aspects of Space Tourism," 2007, Nebraska Law Review)


V
Economics of Space Tourism

Economic challenges have been one of the main factors for the slow pace of the growth in Space Tourism, even the human spaceflight projects. These missions involve many risks and are therefore extremely expensive to process, despite the fall in the cost of a mission. In the year 2020 alone, the space industry saw record-breaking investments in the Space sector. A report by McKinsey shows that investors have poured up to $9 billion into private companies, despite the COVID pandemic. Private companies have over the years demonstrated the potential, safety and performance of their systems and technology for various operations, including providing services to government agencies. However, there would not be any returns of investment in tourism, and the demonstrations by the companies like SpaceX, Axiom, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin have intensified the investments in this sector. One of the biggest achievements of the commercial space industry is that they are helping reduce the burden of investment by the governments while also providing subsidiary services to the government initiatives in many cases. 

In early 2021, NASA announced that it was offering $45 million in support to 350 small businesses and research institutions to develop technologies that would guide the future of the commercial space industry. Now seems the best time for the private space companies to find ample opportunities for growth, with a combination of government support. The future innovation in the space industry would necessarily be from the private sector due to the dynamism of the markets. The commercial space industry is also set to expand beyond offering services and tourism, where investors would look for opportunities for other economic activities like asteroid mining, sample collections, manufacturing, hospitality, or look beyond lunar space tourism as potential opportunities. The outer space economic sector is popularly referred to as the cislunar economy. With so many promising ventures, it would be interesting to observe if the economy would be able to sustain itself by the next few decades. 

Besides, there are a few opportunities of utilizing the technology in everyday use, where commercial suborbital trips can be used for long-distance air travel, which would cater to a wider consumer base. The economic vision of space tourism though, seeks to commercialize quick journeys, experiences of weightlessness. It also offers the idea of hypersonic flights, the idea of space vacations, space hotels, whose infrastructure are being made by several private investors. For example, the Aurora Station is a planned luxury hotel that promises to host six guests at a time for the cost of $9.5 million. This would include a 12- day stays in low-earth orbit. Classes in Space Tourism are currently being taught at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and Keio University in Japan, and several organizations like the Space Tourism Society, Space Future, HobbySpace have been formed to promote the idea of tourism. Training infrastructure and engineering jobs are also being created to add value to the economy of Space Tourism. (Prakash Chandra, "Economics, not the sky, is the limit for space tourism," Economic Times, 21 July 2021) (Chris Daehnick and Jess Harrington, "Wall Street to Mission Control: can space tourism pay off?" 12 May 2021, Mckinsey&Company.)


VI
Environmental concerns of space tourism

The space tourism industry is criticized for its disregard of the environmental impact of such recreational flights. It is believed that the carbon footprint from these journeys would be a hundred times more than that of regular flights. With the success of the two suborbital missions, private missions to the Moon will be offered to the hundreds of multi-millionaires who have pre-booked their trips. Virgin Galactic alone plans to send close to 400 trips a year with its model of suborbital flights. These missions would cause critical environmental damage, with high rates of emission per passenger. Hybrid fuels are known to produce black carbon that impacts the ozone layer. 

Blue Origin announced that the liquid hydrogen and the oxygen fuel used in their flights are less damaging to the environment as it emits mainly water and a few combustion products. However, the rockets used in Virgin Galactic are expected to have generated pollution worth a ten hour trans-Atlantic flight in its 1.5-hour journey. The rocket motors also generate soot, emit aluminium oxide particles and hydrochloric acid, all of which are known to damage the atmosphere. 

Eventually, the growth of the industry would lead to the emergence of regulating systems that would monitor the growth of space tourism. Currently, very little is known about the scale of the industry and the direction in which it is headed. Environmental regulations, licensing, insurance policies, and liability are all aspects of Space Tourism that would require a collective intervention to ensure safety and durability of the commercial space industry. (Tereza Pultarova, "The rise of space tourism could affect Earth's climate in unforeseen ways, scientists worry," July 2021, Space.com,) (Chris Daehnick and Jess Harrington, "Wall Street to Mission Control: can space tourism pay off?" 12 May 2021, Mckinsey&Company) (Rebecca Heilweil, "How bad is space tourism for the environment? And other space travel questions, answered," 25 July 2021, Recode by Vox)

 

In Brief
by Lokendra Sharma and Akriti Sharma 

Russia: Science laboratory module 'Nauka' docks at the ISS

On 29 July, the Russian 'Nauka' module docked with the International Space Station (ISS). It was launched by Roscosmos from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on 21 July, aboard the Proton-M launch vehicle. Nauka, which means 'science' in Russian, is 43 feet long and weighs about 23 tons. It was under development for decades, and it was originally planned for launch in 2007. Nauka is the largest Russian module to date and will perform several functionalities: a laboratory, an oxygen generator, a sleeping quarter and a robotic arm (built by the European Space Agency). Also, it will reduce the dependence of Russia's section (of ISS) on power supplied from the American side since Nauka has wings with solar panels. 

The docking of Nauka, however, was not an easy one. The module encountered problems during its 8-day long journey from the earth. According to the New York Times, Nauka had to be docked manually, when it was a few feet away despite being capable of autonomous docking. However, the main trouble came after a few hours when its thrusters began firing unexpectedly, spinning the ISS about 45 degrees. Eventually, the controllers were able to get the situation in control by firing other thrusters. There was no immediate damage to the structure of the ISS. An investigation into the incident will be led by Roscosmos. NASA, on the other hand, undertook efforts to ascertain whether there had been any damage to the body of the ISS and has postponed the launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft which was scheduled for 30 July. 

Interestingly, this launch comes amid worsening relations with the US and Russian statements indicating their departure from the ISS in 2025. Russia and the US are also considering having their own space stations, and this need has been only heightened with the recent launch of a core element of the Chinese space station 'Tiangong' in April 2021. Having operated 'Mir', the longest-running space station (in the 1990s) before the ISS surpassed it in 2010, Russia plans to have its own space station after its exit from the ISS.  

What is the ISS? 

The ISS, launched in 1998, was a result of a one-of-its-kind partnership between the major space-faring countries and their space agencies — NASA of the US, Roscosmos of Russia, JAXA of Japan, ESA of Europe and CSA of Canada. It has completed more than two decades of continuous operations and has hosted more than 240 astronauts, cosmonauts and even space tourists from 19 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Orbiting the earth at an altitude of over 400 km, it is the largest satellite in low earth orbit. Worth USD 100 billion, it provides a platform to conduct various scientific experiments in the microgravity environment.

(Oleg Matsnev and Kenneth Chang, "Russia's New 23-Ton Module Docked, Then Sent the Space Station Spinning", The New York Times, 29 July 2021; ""There is contact!" -Russia's new Nauka space module docks with ISS", Reuters, 29 July 2021; "Explained: What is Nauka, the module Russia sent to the International Space Station?", The Indian Express, 27 July 2021)


COVID-19: The Delta variant wreaks havoc worldwide

On 31 July, four million cases of COVID-19 were reported to World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO epidemiologists, the Delta variant is "dangerous and the most transmissible SARS-CoV-2 virus to date". In the past few weeks, the infections caused by the Delta variant have increased significantly globally. In Southeast Asia, the Delta variant has pushed the countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar to a breaking point. Additionally, Europe, Australia, the USA, Asia have also seen a spike in the Delta variant caseload. It has accelerated the Pandemic worldwide.

The WHO has identified four variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. B.1.617.2, or the Delta, was first detected in India in October 2020. It has now spread to more than 182 countries in the world due to its high transmissibility rate. It is 40-60 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is more transmissible than common cold, influenza, and the virus that causes SARS, smallpox, and EBOLA. Moreover, the viral loads of the variant are 1000 times higher than any other variant. Consequently, the risk of hospitalization, illness, and death are higher for the variant. It has spread faster in the unvaccinated population than in the vaccinated population. The symptoms of the variant include headache, fever, cough, cold, and loss of smell. Some serious symptoms include hearing impairment, blood clots, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Vaccination has significantly increased the protection against the risk of hospitalization, illness, and death. It is highly debatable whether the two doses of vaccination are 100 per cent effective against the variant. Different vaccines have different efficacy rates against the Delta variant. However, according to the data, the vaccine efficacy rates after two doses are 64-96 per cent for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, 72-95 per cent for Moderna, 67 per cent for the Johnson&Johnson and 67 per cent for AstraZeneca. However, it is as of now unclear how the variant affects the human body and its response to the various vaccines. Moreover, there are concerns over the delta plus subvariant of the delta variant and its transmissibility rate.(Casey Crownhart, What we know about how the delta variant of covid is spreading, 9 August 2021) (Ashley Hagen, How Dangerous Is the Delta Variant (B.1.617.2)?, 30 July 2021) (Yasemin Nicola Sakay, Here's How Well COVID-19 Vaccines Work Against the Delta Variant, 2 August 2021)


S&T Nuggets 

By Sukanya Bali and Avishka Ashok

Technology

China: Supreme Court turns back on biometric detailing 
On 30 July, the Washington Post published an article analyzing the acceptance of facial recognition software in China. The issue gained importance when a Chinese court ordered the Hangzhou Safari Park to delete the biometric data of a law professor who sued the zoo for collecting his personal information with no legal basis and not protecting it efficiently. China being the inventor of advanced tracking and compulsively collecting consumers' personal data, the move came as a surprise as the court reinforced customers' privacy and attempted to protect citizens from unwarranted tracking. The Vice-President of the Supreme People's Court said: "The public is increasingly worried about the abuse of facial recognition technology. The calls for strengthening protection of facial information are increasing." (Facial recognition technology faces crackdown in China - The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 30 July 2021)

Israel: The rise of secret surveillance software 
On 29 July, Forbes revealed information about 'Paragon Solutions', a US funded-Israeli surveillance system that attacks messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Signal. The surprising fact about the company is that most of its employees are in stealth mode, and even more surprising is the company heads, all of whom are former Israeli intelligence. The former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is also a part of the board. It receives massive support from the US-based Battery Ventures. While the company gradually builds itself, it enables its clients to remotely hack into encrypted conversations and provides longer access to the target device. Microsoft President referred to the surveillance industry and said: "An industry segment that aids offensive cyberattacks spells bad news on two fronts. First, it adds even more capability to the leading nation-state attackers, and second, it generates cyberattack proliferation to other governments that have the money but not the people to create their own weapons. In short, it adds another significant element to the cybersecurity threat landscape." (Thomas Brewster, Meet Paragon: An American-Funded, Super-Secretive Israeli Surveillance Startup That 'Hacks WhatsApp And Signal' (forbes.com), Forbes, 29 July 2021)

Artificial Intelligence: Testing AI technology and all that it promises 
On 31 July, the Wall Street Journal published an article on the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence. The creators of AI claim that the technology is after all, not "intelligent." On many fronts, AI has not achieved the great heights that its propagators vouched for at the beginning of this technology, AI continues to be manned by the computing and data inputs. However, we are yet to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) which is capable of mimicking human abilities. At present, all our achievements in the field of AI are limited to data inputs which respond to specific keywords and respond accordingly. (Christopher Mims, Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't Intelligent - WSJ, The Wall Street Journal, 31 July 2021)

Chip shortages: Supply chain inefficiencies cause car companies to pause production 
On 5 August, the Economist published a report on the impact of chip shortages on the car industry. The Pandemic has caused obstacles in the supply chains, causing a shortage in the chip industry. The semiconductor chip, which is an essential part of the car making industry, has caused many cars companies to shut production momentarily. Major companies such as Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Stellantis, General Motors have been affected by the shortage resulting in a downfall in production. Even though the shortages are being addressed, the impact will continue to cause losses through 2022. It has also caused a delay in the making of environmentally friendly cars or electric cars, which require twice as many chips. Car companies are now adopting Tesla's model of creating their own chips. However, inefficiencies in the supply chain are bound to affect these attempts as well. (Semiconductors pose an unwelcome roadblock for carmakers, The Economist, 5 August 2021)

China: Government attacks Edu-tech after fintech and internet giants
On 27 July, the value of the yuan fell due to foreign investors dumping mainland-traded shares after the Chinese government-imposed restrictions on online education companies from profiting and using offshore vehicles from trading their shares abroad. After suspending fintech and internet giants, the Chinese administration seems to be targeting edu-tech. The previous history with companies such as Ant Group, Alibaba, Didi and Tencent has made global investors weary, making sudden shifts in the share markets. The move caused a 19 per cent drop in the stocks of Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index. The communist regime seems to be uncomfortable with the lack of control over the internet backed industries such as the online education forums. The main intention of the government is to tackle the high costs of online courses that prevent parents from having a second child. Thus, the online edu-techs will now be forced to leave profits behind and offer cheaper courses as a non-profit organization. (China's techlash gains steam. Again | The Economist, 28 July 2021)

Japan: Team of researchers synthesize plastic without toxic chemicals
On 2 August, the Asahi Shimbun reported that a team of researchers at Osaka City University, Tohoku University and Nippon Steel Corp. successfully synthesized plastic without toxic chemicals at atmospheric pressure with the help of carbon dioxide (CO2). The research is expected to help tackle rising global temperatures by utilizing the excessive CO2 released in daily human activities. The synthesized plastic can be used for making suitcases, sponges and other products. The researchers are now experimenting with other elements and attempting a similar synthetization process. The associate professor at the University said: "We have high hopes for this simple and easy method to become a key technology in turning CO2 into. I think we can apply this method to the synthesis of other materials." ( Fumi Yada, Scientists find new, greener method to synthesize plastic | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis, 2 August 2021)

South Korea: Evolving battery technology challenge lithium-ion batteries
On 28 July, the chief technology officer at SolidEnergy Systems (SES) Son Yong-kyu attended an interview with the Korean Herald where he spoke about the upcoming challenges in battery science. The lithium-ion batteries are reaching their potential and are being put up against the new battery technologies, which have the potential of making lithium-ion batteries redundant. SES creates lithium-metal batteries, considered to be the main competitors, which are 30 per cent stronger. However, Yong-kyu believes that both the batteries can co-exist in the market by compensating for each other's limits. The shift from ion to metal will not completely defeat ion battery producers' profits either, as the process only requires changes in two of its processes. (Kim Byung-wook, [Herald Interview] Lithium-metal batteries will save Li-ion industry: SolidEnergy Systems CTO (koreaherald.com), The Korea Herald, 29 July 2021)

 

Space
The US: NASA marks 50 years of Apollo 15 
On 31 July, Apollo 15 marked 50 years of David R. Scott and James B. Irwin's unpredicted stopover on the Moon. On 26 July 1971, NASA launched the moon exploration programme Apollo 15. NASA also had other memorable lunar missions like the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13, but Apollo 15 has a special place in the hearts of geologists and scientists because of the "Seat Belt Rock". This piece of rock made its way back to the earth because of Scott's last-minute decision to make a pit stop, defying permission from the mission managers. The mission's success is also credited to the foldable, durable and battery-powered vehicle built by Boeing and General Motors. (Rebecca Boyle, Apollo 15 anniversary: 50 years ago, NASA put a car on the Moon, The Economic Times, 28 July 2021)

The EU: Solar orbiter and BepiColombo to swing by Venus
On 9 August, the European Space Agency announced that two spacecrafts were scheduled to fly by Venus on the same day. The two are on a mission to study Mercury and the Sun's polar regions. Before reaching their destination, the two spacecrafts will contribute to the study of Venus by clicking pictures. However, the cameras in the spacecrafts are set at a particular angle, making it difficult to obtain high-resolution pictures of Venus. The Solar Orbiter will use Venus' gravity to put itself on track to observe the Solar poles and study the 11-year activity of the Sun. On the other hand, the BepiColombo will use the gravitational pull of Venus to slowly move into Mercury's orbit by 2025. (Two spacecraft of the European Space Agency to do a fly-by of Venus this week en route to the centre of the solar system, Frontline, 9 August 2021)

The UK: Defence Ministry grants funds to build a satellite to test optical communication 
On 9 August, the Ministry of Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) of the UK announced a contract worth USD 13.2 million for Titania Operational Concept Demonstrator. The satellite will study space-to-ground laser communications, which will enable the transfer of data at several gigabits per second. The program manager at DSTL said: "The Titania space mission will accelerate the development and adoption of space-based optical communications, allowing our armed forces the ability to operate in an increasingly contested environment." The satellite is scheduled for launch in 2021. (Jeff Foust, In-Space Missions wins contract for British military smallsat, Spacenews, 9 August 2021)

 

India: Satellite communication gains growing importance 

On 9 August, the Print, reported that satellite communication would become the next big project in the field of space research. Group Head and Senior Vice President of ICRA Sabyasachi Majumdar said that satellite communication would be the key factor for broadband inclusion in remote and isolated areas where a terrestrial network has not reached. He said, "Several foreign players are eying this market, and have launched/are in process of launching a constellation of satellites to cover the entire earth, including One Web, Starlink, and Amazon." The new technology will also help India in reducing the divide in the society which has further widened due to the Pandemic. (Satellite communication to be the next (r)evolution in broadband space: ICRA, The Print, 9 August 2021)

 

Climate and Environment 

Argentina: Corfo Lagoon turns bright pink due to pollution
On 26 July, it was reported that a lagoon in Argentina had turned bright pink due to the chemical pollutants and other environmental issues around the river. The color is likely to have been caused due to a chemical used to preserve prawns for export. Sodium sulfite is an anti-bacterial chemical used by the fisheries industry and factories. The waste from these industries is said to have contaminated the Chubut River, which feeds the Corfo Lagoon and other waters in the region. According to the law, these wastes must be treated before being released into water bodies. The residents of the area have been complaining about the issue and the foul smell, which seem to have been a recurring problem. But the water is not used for recreational use. (Pollution Turns Argentina Lagoon Bright Pink, NDTV, 26 July 2021)

Japan: The Bank of Japan promotes green initiatives
On 3 August, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda announced that the Bank of Japan wants to move fast and be as flexible as possible with its policies that support Green Initiatives. This adds the Bank of Japan to the list of central banks that have climate-related lending programs. The bank plans to offer interest-free funds to financial institutions with climate-linked loans, which can be rolled over until 2030. The year 2030 marks the year of Japanese commitment to ensuring a drop in gas emissions by 46 per cent from 2013 levels. The Bank of Japan maintained that fighting climate change would not fall within its traditional mandate of achieving price and financial stability. However, the Suga administration has been endorsing measures to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and the bank seems to be aligning with the same. (Sakurai Reiko, Why the Bank of Japan is going green, NHK, 3 August 2021)

Japan: Scientists release a computerized forecast of extreme weather conditions over the next 80 years
On 1 August, scientists from two universities in Kyoto generated a computer simulation of a scenario in which global warming rises by 4.8 degrees by 2100. The scenario was based on 24-hour rainfall from the present and projections when average global temperature rises by as much as 4.8 degrees compared with pre-industrial levels. The scientists developed four scenarios where the average global temperature rises between 2 and 4.8 degrees by 2100 in comparison with the pre-industrial period. With current levels of greenhouse gas emissions, the world's mean temperature is expected to rise by 3 degrees or more by 2100. The findings suggest that the new generation and their offspring will experience unprecedented heat waves that their ancestors never faced. The scientists said that extreme heat conditions could occur 400 or so times throughout a person's lifetime if temperatures rise by 4.8 degrees. (Akemi Kanda, Life in 2100: unimaginable heat, storms off the charts | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis, The Asahi Shimbun, 1 August 2021)

 

Health 

China: Researchers find that Wuhan could be far from the epicentre of the outbreak
On 30 July, ­nine scientists in China published the article 'Tracing the origin of SARS-COV-2: lessons learned from the past' in ChinaXiv, an open repository for scientific research. According to the research conducted by the Chinese researchers, there are multiple possible locations of the natural reservoir of the coronavirus, but Wuhan was not one of them. The article claimed that Wuhan was already at the risk of acquiring the virus from various cold storage facilities in the city that imported products from different parts of the world. The paper observes that the progenitor of the coronavirus could be present in animals from around the world and it could also be present in different domesticated animals such as horses, cattle, pigs, civets, pangolins, etc. Thus, the paper suggests that the virus could have originated in any such region where these animals are found in abundance. (Scientists stress multiple potential locations as natural reservoir of novel coronavirus, Global Times, 30 July 2021)

Japan: Scientists discover the creation of a favourable environment for cancer cells
On 1 August, the team of researchers at the Research Centre for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo announced that they had discovered the process of cancer cells creating a protective layer that propagates the spread of cancer cells even after cells die. According to the research conducted by the University of Tokyo, the key element is a protein called TCTP, which prevents the immune system from attacking cancer cells. If the characteristics of this cell can be further analyzed, new treatments to cure tumours can be developed. The research conducted by this team is valuable since the reason behind cells preventing an attack on the cancer cells was previously unknown. The team also discovered that stopping TCTP was capable of shrinking tumors. (Shigeko Segawa, Scientists find how cancer cells build favorable environment, The Asahi Shimbun, 1 August 2021)

About the Authors

Harini Madhusudan, Lokendra Sharma and Akriti Sharma are PhD scholars in the School of Conflict and Security Studies at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. Sukanya Bali and Avishka Ashok are Research Associated at NIAS.

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