Recent Current Affairs related to ISRO

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), a unit of the ISRO, has signed an MoU with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) to jointly develop indigenous technology for next-generation, environmentally sustainable blowing agents.

International Moon Day

Day – July 20

Observed by – UN

Observed since – 2022

Commemorating – First human landing on the Moon (Apollo 11 mission) by Neil Armstrong in 1969

The Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of the ISRO has signed an Implementing Agreement (IA) with the Thiruvananthapuram-based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) for collaboration in space medicine and Bioastronautics research and training.

Under this partnership, both institutions have launched India's first indigenous 2-year Postdoctoral Fellowship programme in Bioastronautics.

Skyroot Aerospace has successfully launched 'Vikram-1', India's first privately developed orbital-class rocket, into a 450 km Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). The mission, titled 'Mission Aagaman' (meaning arrival), marks India as the third nation with private orbital launch capabilities, following the US and China.

The 4-stage, 7-storey-tall rocket, named after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme, has a payload capacity of up to 350 kg. It was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The mission successfully deployed technology demonstrators from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed, and the SCOPE satellite. It also carried symbolic payloads, including an 18-karat gold rocket, an artistic lab-grown diamond, and a handwritten postcard from PM Narendra Modi bearing the message 'Vande Mataram'.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has launched a White Rabbit technology-based demonstration network at the Regional Reference Standard Laboratory (RRSL) in Bengaluru to securely distribute Indian Standard Time (IST) across the country.

The project is a collaborative effort between the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), and the ISRO.

The network uses an advanced Precision Time Protocol (PTP)-based Ethernet network extension to deliver sub-nanosecond accuracy and microsecond-level synchronization over long distances. It is to be noted that the time signal is traceable to the Coordinated Universal Time (NPLI) (UTC (NPLI)).

ISRO has successfully conducted 3 critical tests of the Gaganyaan Crew Module (CM) systems as part of the human spaceflight programme of India.

These tests included the float inflation test for the Crew Module Up-Righting system (CMUS), the Umbilical Separation Testing of the Connect-Disconnect System (CS-CDS), and the crew module structure qualification test for Apex Cover separation loads.

Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has launched his debut book titled "The Second Orbit: Belief of a Man… Dreams of 1.4 Billion Hearts" in Bengaluru. The book is published by Penguin Random House India.

The ISRO has successfully conducted the Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test-05 (IMAT-05) for the Gaganyaan G1 mission at the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) drop zone in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh.

The test aimed to validate the Main Parachute System under maximum expected load conditions for the first uncrewed Gaganyaan G1 mission. It is to be noted that the Gaganyaan Crew Module uses a system of 10 parachutes of 4 distinct types.

The Tamil Nadu government has appointed Mylswamy Annadurai, a former ISRO scientist, as the Chairman of the Curriculum Design Committee (CDC) for School Education for a 3-year tenure.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has successfully completed India's first satellite-based landing system (SLS) approach on a commercial jet aircraft. The demonstration was conducted using an IndiGo Airbus A320 at Maharana Pratap Airport in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The operation utilized the indigenous GAGAN (Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) Augmented Navigation) system to execute a Localiser Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) approach.

Dr UP Rajeev has been appointed as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. He succeeds Dr A Rajarajan.

Gautam Buddha University (GBU) has partnered with Space Kidz India and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to support "Mission ShakthiSAT".

The mission is the world's first all-girls international lunar mission. The initiative aims to empower 12,000 young girls from 108 countries. Mahima Rajput, a student from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, has been selected to participate in this international space mission.

Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Amar Preet Singh, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), has released the memoir of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla titled "The Second Orbit: Belief of a Man... Dreams of 1.4 Billion Hearts" in New Delhi.

Published by Vintage Books under Penguin Random House India, the book chronicles the journey of Shukla. The release commemorates the first anniversary of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The BRICS Heads of Space Agencies (HOSA) meeting was held in Bengaluru. It was hosted by the ISRO and the Department of Space (DoS) with support from the Ministry of External Affairs, featuring participation from all BRICS member nations.

The 11th BRICS Energy Ministers’ Meeting was held in Gurugram, Haryana, under the BRICS Chairship of India for 2026. The meeting was conducted under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” with the Energy Track focusing on the theme “Energy for All.”

ISRO has successfully conducted a hot test of its semi-cryogenic engine power head at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Tamil Nadu. The test demonstrated stable operation at a thrust level of 175 tons, achieving 88% of the target thrust.

This semi-cryogenic propulsion stage is being developed to replace the L110 core stage on the LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) launch vehicle. The system is powered by the 2,000-kilonewton (kN) SE2000 engine.

The ISRO, in collaboration with the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), is developing an advanced artificial heating system for future lunar landers. This technology is designed to enable landers to survive lunar nights, where temperatures drop below –129°C.

It is to be noted that this system aims to extend the operational life of lunar landers from the current duration of one lunar day (14 Earth days) to up to 200 days.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has selected 3 Indian space startups as the first set of Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) to receive funding under its Technology Adoption Fund (TAF) scheme.

The selected startups are Astrobase Space Technologies Pvt Ltd (Bengaluru), SatSure Analytics India Pvt Ltd (Bengaluru), and TM2SPACE Technologies Pvt Ltd (Hyderabad). Under this initiative, SatSure Analytics India Pvt Ltd will develop a Large Earth Observation Model (LOM) named "Dhaarini".

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to develop a Common Technical Facility (CTF) for the space-tech sector at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in Khoraj, Gujarat.

IN-SPACe will provide technical expertise and financial assistance of up to ₹100 crore for the procurement of equipment required for the development of the CTF.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) have jointly launched the ‘Missions for Advancement in High-Impact Areas (MAHA) Water Mission’. The mission has a financial outlay of ₹200 crore to be implemented over 5 years. It will provide funding support of up to ₹20 crore per consortium.

The mission was unveiled during a national workshop on Research and Development (R&D) in Water held in New Delhi, aiming to bolster the water security of India through research and technology-driven solutions.

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, orbiting the Moon since 2019, has provided evidence of subsurface water ice deposits within the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of lunar south polar craters. This study, conducted by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, was published in the Nature Portfolio Journal (NPJ) Space Exploration.

Researchers utilized the Dual-Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) to analyze ‘doubly shadowed craters’ within the PSRs. The findings from a 1.1 km crater in the Faustini Basin indicate an impact into an ice-rich subsurface that briefly flowed before refreezing.