Lucy Mission: It is a first-of-its-kind mission of NASA that will explore Jupiter’s elusive Trojan asteroids. It was successfully launched on October 16, 2021, from the Kennedy Space Centrein Florida, US. Over its 12-year mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids: it will fly by two in the belt of asteroids that circle the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and then 10 Trojans, which includes five asteroid targets and the satellites of three of those. Lucy will also fly by Earth three times to get a push from its gravity, making it the first spacecraft to return to the vicinity of Earth from the outer solar system. The spacecraft carries two infrared spectrometers and four cameras.
UNESCO Creative City: The city of Kozhikode in Kerala was added in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN).Gwalior from Madhya Pradesh was also among the 55 new cities to join the network. These cities have been handpicked to represent seven creative fields — crafts and folk arts, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music. Kozhikode was included in the category of literature and Gwalior in the category of music. Kozhikode’s literary tradition: The first Malayalam novel Kundalatha was born in Kozhikode in 1887. It was authored by Appu Nedungadi. Several illustrious writers like S K Pottekkatt, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Uroob, Thikkodiyan, NN Kakkad, P Valsala, Akbar Kakkattil, Punathil Kunjabdulla and MT Vasudevan Nair have brought laurels for Kozhikode. The city has also produced many film and theatre professionals in the last half a century.
Elephanta Caves: It is a specimen of rock-cut art and architecture from the times of mediaeval India. The Elephanta Caves are located in Western India on Elephanta Island (otherwise known as the Island of Gharapuri), about 7 km from Mumbai’s mainland shore. The rock-cut Elephanta Caves were constructed in the mid-5th to 6th centuries AD, and most of them are dedicated to Lord Shiva. There are two groups of caves on the site of the Elephanta Caves, the first is a large group of five Hindu caves, and the second is a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. Except for a few exceptions, much of the artwork is defaced and damaged. The caves are an expression of art, and a number of important images are sculpted here, which include ‘Trimurti’ or three-headed Shiva, ‘Gangadhar’, which is a manifestation of the river Ganga as she descends to the earth, and ‘Ardhnareshwar’, which is a representation of Shiva and Parvati in the same body. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
World Biosphere Reserve Day: World Biosphere Reserve Day is celebrated on November 3 each year to raise awareness of the importance of biosphere reserves and to promote their conservation and sustainable use. On the second anniversary of World Biosphere Reserve Day, it is important to reflect on the progress made in conserving and sustainably using these vital ecosystems. The Asian Meet in Chennai on Biosphere Reserves: On the second anniversary of World Biosphere Reserve Day, UNESCO successfully wrapped up the 10th South and Central Asian Biosphere Reserve Network Meeting (SACAM) in Chennai, India. The SACAM was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Govt of India, and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Under the theme ‘Ridge to Reef’, SACAM served as a forum for sharing expertise and nurturing partnerships in the domain of sustainable environmental practices within the South and Central Asia region.
