Recent 6 months news in Science

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Potato Research Institute (ICAR-CPRI) has developed a nutrient-rich purple potato variety named “Kufri Jamunia”. It is enriched with Vitamin C, anthocyanins, carotenoids, zinc, and iron to improve nutritional security and combat hidden hunger.

It is to be noted that the institute has also developed “Kufri Neelkanth”, the first purple-skinned specialty potato variety known for high antioxidant content, and “Kufri Manik”, a deep red-skinned potato variety with yellow flesh rich in anthocyanins, zinc, and iron.

Samsung Semiconductor India Research has inaugurated a Quantum Research Lab on the IISc campus in Bengaluru to strengthen industry-academia collaboration in quantum technology research.

The lab is established with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) support from SSIR at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE) of IISc to advance research in quantum technologies and semiconductor devices under Prof Mayank Shrivastava.

ISRO has successfully completed a series of Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM) separation tests at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram.

The tests validated the design adequacy of the separation systems ahead of the first uncrewed mission “Gaganyaan-1 (G1)” which is scheduled to carry the Vyommitra half-humanoid.

QNu Labs, in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) and the IIT Gandhinagar, has successfully demonstrated the first free-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) link of India. The link is established over a distance of 5.56 km.

The demonstration utilized a Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking (PAT) system to maintain stable communication, achieving a Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER) of less than 5%. It is to be noted that secure encryption keys were generated at a rate of 230 to 260 bits per second (bps) and were integrated with the Vedic Kavach platform.

Hyderabad-based TakeMe2Space is set to launch the first networked orbital data centre mission of India in late 2028. The mission will be launched aboard the Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX.

It is to be noted that the organization has signed a launch service agreement with RIDE! Space, a France-based space technology firm specializing in launch mission management. The company plans to establish a constellation of 6 satellites over the following years to facilitate its orbital data operations.

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) has successfully launched 130 payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) as part of the Transporter-18 smallsat rideshare mission. The launch was carried out using a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA.

The mission included the launch of ‘MVP’, the inaugural in-orbit experiment under Google Project Suncatcher. It is to be noted that Project Suncatcher is a space research programme announced in 2025 to facilitate the development of a full orbital data centre.

The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar has become the first NIT in India to establish a dedicated campus-based astronomical observatory named the NIT Srinagar Observatory for Astronomy and Astrophysics (NSOAA).

The facility is equipped with a 14-inch Celestron C14 EdgeHD aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. It was inaugurated to promote observational astronomy, astrophysics research, student training, and public outreach.

Researchers from the Electrical Engineering department of the IIT Delhi have designed the first working and demonstrable indigenous micro Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in India.

The researchers demonstrated programmable graphics rendering using a custom floating-point GPU engine. It is to be noted that the engine was implemented entirely in Register Transfer Language (RTL) and mapped to a Spartan-7 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has inaugurated a research facility named ‘SpeedSeed Phenotyping and Resource Optimization for Unified Trait Analysis (SPROUT)’ at the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council - National Institute of Plant Genome Research (BRIC-NIPGR) in New Delhi.

The facility initially focuses on chickpea crops and integrates genomics, genome editing, and phenotyping to accelerate trait validation and breeding efficiency. It is to be noted that SPROUT uses SpeedSeed technology to reduce crop cycles to a duration of 40 days.

OpenAI has launched “GPT-6 Astra”, a next-generation AI model designed to function as a highly capable computer operator.

The organization has also expanded the AI ecosystem with the introduction of “Astra for Law”.

The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has inaugurated the NIELIT-Infineon Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Semiconductor Manufacturing.

It is to be noted that the CoE is established in collaboration with Infineon Technologies at the NIELIT facility in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

TypeSafe AI has introduced “Jev”, which utilizes a new architecture known as a “System One Model”. The model is designed to overcome the structural limitations found in traditional Large Language Models (LLMs).

It is to be noted that while LLMs are proficient in conversational tasks, they are often unsuitable for direct, programmatic backend software automation. Jev aims to bridge this gap.

NASA scientists have confirmed the discovery of the ‘McGetchin crater’ on the Moon using imagery from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The crater, formed by an asteroid or comet impact in May 2024, is recognized as the largest known impact crater formed in recent times within the solar system.

It is to be noted that the crater is named in honor of the late Thomas McGetchin, the former Director of the Houston-based Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Bengaluru-based GalaxEye has secured a US patent for the core technology behind its Optical Synthetic Aperture Radar (OptoSAR) imaging system.

It is to be noted that the company is the first Indian startup to be granted a US patent for satellite imaging technology.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) has launched “Sagar Manthan”, the first indigenous advanced Ocean Research Vessel (ORV) of India. The vessel was launched at the Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

It is to be noted that the project, having a total valuation of ₹840 crore, is being implemented under the “Deep Ocean Mission”. The ORV, which has a gross tonnage of 5,900 tonnes and a maximum speed of 14 knots, is expected to be fully operational by early 2028.

Isar Aerospace, a Germany-based aerospace company, has launched its Spectrum rocket from the Andoya Spaceport in Norway under its second-flight mission titled ‘Onward and Upward’. The rocket is designed to carry payloads of up to 1,000 kg to the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The mission successfully deployed 5 CubeSats, namely CyBEEsat (Germany), TriSat-S (Slovenia), Platform 6 (Bulgaria), FramSat-1 (Norway), and SpaceTeamSat1 (Austria).

The DRDO and the Advanced Centre of Research in High Energy Materials (ACRHEM) at the University of Hyderabad have secured an Indian patent for a next-generation solid rocket propellant fuel named “BAM-H24”.

The ISRO has successfully launched the “EOS-05” Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) onboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-F17 from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. It is to be noted that the EOS-05 is the first Indian imaging satellite deployed from a geosynchronous orbit.

It aims to strengthen domestic Earth observation and imaging capabilities. The GSLV-F17 is a 51.7 m tall 3-stage rocket with a total liftoff mass of 420.5 tonnes. The launch vehicle successfully injected the 2,367 kg satellite into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO).

The IISc Bengaluru, has established the Foundation for Quantum Computing Innovation (FQCI) to function as the Quantum Computing Thematic Hub (QC T-Hub) under the National Quantum Mission (NQM). It is to be noted that the NQM is implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

FQCI is tasked with developing skilled manpower and promoting entrepreneurship in quantum technologies through 5 specialized programmes: Quantum Computing (QC) Rise, QC Bridge, QC Leap, QC Accel, and QC Quest.

The NASA has successfully launched the “Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope” onboard the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The project was developed at a cost of $4.3 billion.

The telescope is destined for the Lagrange Point 2 (L2) and has a primary lifespan of 5 years. It is to be noted that the telescope is named after Nancy Grace Roman, the first Chief of Astronomy of the NASA and the “Mother of Hubble”, making it the first NASA telescope named after a woman.