Origin Space, a space start-up in China, has announced that it is to send out the world`s first mining robot into space. The robot has been designed in a way to identify and extract resources. 

 

♦ The robot is termed an Asteroid Mining robot.

♦ The robot will be launched into space by a Chinese Long March series rocket.

♦ The mission aims to assess the capabilities of the asteroid mining robot and to find out how well it can identify and extract valuable resources through asteroid mining.

♦ The mission will demonstrate and verify multiple functions like simulated small celestial body capture, spacecraft orbital manoeuvre, intelligent spacecraft identification and control.

 

 

 

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test-fired `Shaurya missile`, a new version of nuclear-capable off the coast of Odisha on 3 October 2020.

 

♦ Shaurya missile of the nuclear-capable missile will be inducted in the strategic forces and is being claimed to complement the existing missiles in the same class. 

♦ This missile is lighter and easier to operate as compared to the existing ones.

♦ In its last phase, when the missile moves close to its target, it moves at hypersonic speeds.