Current affairs are very important for the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) exam because they help candidates understand contemporary issues and developments both nationally and internationally.
1. Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS)
ATAGS howitzer became a part of the 21-gun salute during the 75th anniversary of the country’s freedom.
• It is an indigenous howitzer gun developed by the DRDO.
• It set a world record for the longest unassisted projectile range of 48 kilometers.
• It has advanced features like high mobility, quick deployability, auxiliary power mode, advanced
communication system, automatic command and control system with night capability in direct fire mode.
• The ATAGS project was started in 2013 by DRDO to replace older guns in service in the Indian Army with a
modern 155mm artillery gun.
2. Hayabusa-2
Scientists are scrutinizing the material brought to Earth from an asteroid named Ryugu by the Japanese space probe Hayabusa-2.
Now scientists are saying water and organic materials might have been brought to our planet from the outer edges of the solar system. Hayabusa-2 was launched in December 2014 for a six-year voyage to study the asteroid Ryugu.
• It is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese state space agency JAXA.
• It is a successor to the Hayabusa mission, which returned asteroid samples for the 1st time in June 2010.
3. Artemis-1 Lunar Mission
Three different Artemis missions are there.
First was an uncrewed mission formerly known as Exploration Mission-1.
The second will be a crewed mission to be launched in 2024.
Third will be targeting to land astronauts to the moon in 2025.
Significance of Artemis Missions
• With these missions, NASA will land the first woman and person of color on the Moon.
• NASA will build an Artemis Base Camp on the surface and the Gateway in lunar orbit. These elements will
allow robots and astronauts to explore more.
•The mission was formerly known as Exploration Mission-1.
•It is a planned uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission.
•It will test the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule.