Tiny Bytes: Astronauts could grow beans in space and more

Tiny Bytes: Astronauts could grow beans in space and more

Arunima Sinha becomes world's first woman amputee to climb the highest peak of Antarctica

Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee in the world to climb Mount Everest in 2013, now set another impressive record. The 30-year-old mountaineer became the first female amputee to climb the highest peak in Antartica- Mount Vinson.

Sinha is a former national level volleyball player. In 2011, she was pushed from a running train while attempting to resist a gang of dacoits. One of her legs had to be amputated following the incident.

Come 2021, astronauts could grow beans in space

After cultivating lettuce in space three years ago, crew members aboard the International Space Station could be growing beans in 2021, new research suggests.

The beans could be planted in high-tech planters developed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The planters can regulate all the water, nutrients, gas and air the plants need. NTNU said it was collaborating with Italian and French researchers in their quest to cultivate plant-based food for long space journeys.

The food grown in space could be crucial to sustain the crew in future deep space missions.

China 'lifts mysterious veil' with probe landing on dark side of the moon



The landing "lifted the mysterious veil" from the far side of the moon and "opened a new chapter in human lunar exploration", the broadcaster said. The probe, which includes a lander and a rover, touched down at a preselected landing area after it had entered the moon's orbit in mid-December.

Pune toddler's rocket captures ISRO chairman Dr Sivan's heart

A small rocket launched from Pune has captured the imagination of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan.

The ‘designer and manufacturer’ of this little rocket is Khrisha, a three-and-a-half-year-old playschooler. Khrisha has named her maiden spacecraft ‘The ISRO Rocket’.

The spacecraft caught the attention of no less than Dr Sivan, after Khrisha’s father Manish Gajjaria tweeted the image of Khrisha’s painting, tagging the ISRO Twitter handle on December 18, 2018, — the day GSLV-F11 launched GSAT-7A.

As part of her play school activities, Khrisha had recently learnt about the solar system, rockets, comets and astronauts. As luck would have it, Khrisha’s painting landed on the desk of Dr Sivan at a time when ‘Samwad with Students (SwS)’, the new outreach initiative of the space agency was about to be launched.
