SCIENCE PROMOTION ORIENT

TEST INFORMATION BOOKLET

For use by Students and Teachers, during the
Examination and Real-time Investigative Project
Work

9
Preliminary Assessment 2018
SENIORS
Dear Learner,
SPOT Assessment is purely on the basis of the science
aptitude of the learner. The textual portion the learner is
studying in the respective class need to be reaffirmed. You
can do careful reading of any materials in science which
can improve your knowledge horizons. This booklet will
help you to identify the other topics that are broadly
covered for this year’s test.

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 INDEX
Sl.No Contents Page.No

1. INDEX 3

2. BRANCHES OF SCIENCE 4

3. GREAT INDIAN SCIENTISTS 11

4. INDIA IN SPACE 28

5. ARTIFICIAL SATELITES 33

6. SOME FACTS ABOUT ROCKETS 38

7. WORLD SPACE WEEK 45

9. OZONE LAYER 48

10. QUIZ 51

11. SAMPLE QUESTION PAPERS(9,10,11,12) 57

 BRANCHES OF SCIENCE
SCIENCE is the concerted Human effort to understand, or to
understand better, the history of the natural world works, with
observable physical evidence as the basis of that understanding. It
is done through observation of natural phenomena, and or through
experimentation that tries to stimulate natural processes under
controlled conditions.
The Major Branches of Science

Science is a systematic study of the nature and manners of an

object and the natural universe that is established around
measurement, experiment, observation and formulation of laws.
There are four major branches of science; each branch is
categorized in different type of subjects that covers different areas
of studies such us chemistry, physics, math, astronomy etc.
The four major branches of science are Mathematics and logic,
biological science , physical science and social science.

Physical Science or Natural

Science Classified into three:

Physics - A natural science that involves the study of matter,

motion, energy, force, objects, etc. related to universe and its
function
Chemistry – The study and analysis of various elements,
composition, structure, chemical process, etc.
Astronomy – The study of objects in and beyond the
atmosphere of the earth
Earth Science is a branch of Physical science
Classified into five:
Ecology - The study of environment, relation of living
organisms in the environment and ecosystem
Oceanology – Called Marine Science, it broadly covers all
topics related to the Ocean
Meteorology – The study about climate, rainfall, wind, speed,
density, etc. related to the Atmosphere

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 Geology – The study about various aspects of earth, an
interesting branch that deals with digging the past
Paleontology – Similar to Geology, which deals with studying
various objects that existed in the prehistoric period
Life Science or Biological science
Biology – Natural science and in-depth study of living organisms,
from evolution to destruction.
Botany – A known branch of science, studying about plant
kingdom
Zoology – The twin branch of botany, study of animal kingdom
Human Biology– The study about human beings, nutrition,
diseases, medicine, etc.
Genetic Science – The study about genes, genetic facts,
diseases of genes, etc.
Medicine – The study, diagnosis, research, etc. of various
diseases and treatments
Social Science

A branch of science that studies the society and human behavior in

it, including anthropology, communication studies, criminology,
economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, social
studies, and sociology.
Applications of some important branches of science and the scope
of learning
PHYSICS

Physics is used heavily in engineering. For example, statics, a

subfield of mechanics, is used in the building of bridges and other
static structures. The understanding and use of acoustics results in
sound control and better concert halls; similarly, the use of optics
creates better optical devices. An understanding of physics makes
for more realistic flight simulators, video games, and movies, and is
often critical in forensic investigations. With the standard consensus
that the laws of physics are universal and do not change with time,
physics can be used to study things that would ordinarily be mired
in uncertainty. For example, in the study of the origin of the earth,
one can reasonably model earth’s mass, temperature, and rate of
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rotation, as a function of time allowing one to extrapolate forward or
backward in time and so predict future or prior events. It also allows
for simulations in engineering which drastically speed up the
development of a new technology.
BOTANY

The study of plants is vital because they underpin almost all animal
life on Earth by generating a large proportion of the oxygen and
food that provide humans and other organisms with aerobic
respiration with the chemical energy they need to exist. Plants,
algae and cyano bacteria are the major groups of organisms that
carry out photosynthesis, a process that uses the energy of sunlight
to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars that can be used
both as a source of chemical energy and of organic molecules that
are used in the structural components of cells. As a by-product of
photosynthesis, plants release oxygen into the atmosphere, a gas
that is required by nearly all living things to carry out cellular
respiration. In addition, they are influential in the global carbon and
water cycles and plant roots bind and stabilize soils, preventing soil
erosion. Plants are crucial to the future of human society as they
provide food, oxygen, medicine, and products for people, as well as
creating and preserving soil.

ZOOLOGY

Study of Zoology is great importance to man. It has helped man to

recognize the living things and to adapt himself according to the
environment. The students of Zoology can learn about animals and
Zoological principles which may help them for proper maintenance
of life.Zoologist acquires the power to evaluate the nature which is
not possible by the other means.The scope applied Zoology is
innumerable. It provides the knowledge of medicine, dentistry,
Veterinary medicine, medical technology, nursing, Museum Work,
Zoological teaching, zoological research, agriculture, environmental
science and conservation.Genetics is the branch of zoology. Its
knowledge has brought revolution in plant and animal breeding.
There is every possibility that our nonrenewable natural resources
willl be exhausted in near future. The conservation of these natural
resources may be possible through Zoological knowledge.

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ASTRONOMY

Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still play
an active role, especially in the discovery and observation of
transient phenomena. Amateur astronomers have made and
contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, such as
finding new comets.
ECOLOGY

The scope of ecology contains a wide array of interacting levels of

organization spanning micro-level (e.g., cells) to a planetary scale
(e.g., biosphere) phenomena. Ecosystems, for example, contain
abiotic resources and interacting life forms (i.e., individual
organisms that aggregate into populations which aggregate into
distinct ecological communities). Ecosystems are dynamic, they do
not always follow a linear successional path, but they are always
changing, sometimes rapidly and sometimes so slowly that it can
take thousands of years for ecological processes to bring about
certain successional stages of a forest. An ecosystem’s area can
vary greatly, from tiny to vast. A single tree is of little consequence
to the classification of a forest ecosystem, but critically relevant to
organisms living in and on it.
GEOLOGY
Geology (in Greek, Geo means Earth, Logos means Science) is a
branch of science dealing with the study of the Earth. It is also known
as earth science. Geology provides a systematic knowledge of
construction materials, their structure and properties. The knowledge of
Erosion, Transportation and Deposition (ETD) by surface water helps in
soil conservation, river control, coastal and harbor works.
CHEMISTRY
Chemistry is more specialized, being concerned by the composition,
behavior (or reaction), structure, and properties of matter, as well as
the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions. It is a physical
science which studies various substances, atoms, molecules, and
matter ; biochemistry, the study of substances found in biological
organisms; physical chemistry, the study of chemical processes using
physical concepts such as thermodynamics and quantum mechanics;
and analytical chemistry, the analysis of material samples to gain an
understanding of their chemical composition and structure. Many

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more specialized disciplines have emerged in recent years, e.g.
neurochemistry the chemical study of the nervous system
Life science

Life science comprises the branches of science that involve the

scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human
beings. However, the study of behavior of organisms, such as
practiced in ethology and psychology, is only included in as much
as it involves a clearly biological aspect. While biology remains the
centerpiece of life science, technological advances in molecular
biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of
specializations and new, often interdisciplinary, fields.
Human biology
Human biology is an interdisciplinary academic field of biology,
biological anthropology, nutrition and medicine which focuses on
humans; it is closely related to primate biology, and a number of
other fields. Some branches of biology include: microbiology,
anatomy, neurology and neuroscience, immunology, genetics,
physiology, pathology, biophysics, and ophthalmology.
BRANCHES OF SCIENCE AND ITS DEFINITION
Aerodynamics : the study of the motion of gas on objects
and the forces created
Anatomy : the study of the structure and
organization of living things
Anthropology : the study of human cultures both past
and present
Archaeology : the study of the material remains of
cultures
Astronomy : the study of celestial objects in the
universe
Astrophysics : the study of the physics of the universe
Bacteriology : the study of bacteria in relation to
disease
Biochemistry : the study of the organic chemistry of
compounds and processes occurring
in organisms

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Biophysics : the application of theories and methods
of the physical sciences to questions of
biology
Biology : the science that studies living organisms
Botany : the scientific study of plant life
Chemical Engineering : the application of science, mathematics,
and economics to the process of
converting raw materials or chemicals
into more useful or valuable forms
Chemistry : the science of matter and its
interactions with energy and itself
Climatology : the study of climates and investigations
of its phenomena and causes
Ecology : the study of how organisms interact with
each other and their environment
Electronics : science and technology of electronic
phenomena
Entomology : the study of insects
Environmental Science : the science of the interactions between
the physical, chemical, and biological
components of the environment
Genetics : the science of genes, heredity, and the
variation of organisms
Geology : the science of the Earth, its structure,
and history
Marine Biology : the study of animal and plant life within
saltwater ecosystems
Medicine : the science concerned with maintaining
health and restoring it by treating
disease
Meteorology : study of the atmosphere that focuses on
weather processes and forecasting
Microbiology : the study of microorganisms, including
viruses, prokaryotes and simple
eukaryotes

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Mineralogy : the study of the chemistry, crystal
structure, and physical (including
optical) properties of minerals
Molecular Biology : the study of biology at a molecular level
Nuclear Physics : the branch of physics concerned with the
nucleus of the atom
Neurology : the branch of medicine dealing with the
nervous system and its disorders
Oceanography : study of the earth’s oceans and their
interlinked ecosystems and chemical and
physical processes
Ornithology : the study of birds
Paleontology : the study of life-forms existing in former
geological time periods
Physics : the study of the behavior and properties
of matter
Physiology : the study of the mechanical, physical,
and biochemical functions of living
organisms
Radiology : the branch of medicine dealing with the
applications of radiant energy, including
x-rays and radioisotopes
Seismology : the study of earthquakes and the
movement of waves through the Earth
Taxonomy : the science of classification of animals
and plants
Thermodynamics : the physics of energy, heat, work,
entropy and the spontaneity of
processes
Zoology : the study of animals

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 GREAT INDIAN SCIENTISTS
Sir. Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937)
Jagadish Chandra Bose was born on 30 November 1858, in
Myemsingh, Faridpur, a part of the Dhaka District now in
Bangladesh. He attended the village school till he was 11. He then
moved to Kolkata where he enrolled in St. Xavier’s. He was very
much interested in Biology. However, Father Lafont, a famous
Professor of Physics, inspired in Bose a great interest in Physics.
Having obtained his B.A. in physical sciences, twenty two year old.
Bose left for London, to obtain a medical degree. However, he kept
falling ill and had to discontinue his plans to be a doctor. He then
obtained his B.A. degree from Christ College, Cambridge. He
returned to India in 1885 and joined Presidency College, Kolkata as
an Assistant Professor of Physics, where he remained till 1915.
During this period, Bose also started doing original scientific work in
the area of microwaves, carrying out experiments involving
refraction, diffraction and polarization. He developed the use of
galena crystals for making receivers, both for short wavelength
radio waves and for white and ultraviolet light. In 1895, two years
before Marconi’s demonstration, Bose demonstrated wireless
communication using radio waves, using them to ring a bell
remotely and to explode some gunpowder.
Many of the microwave components familiar today - waveguides,
horn antennas, polarizers, dielectric lenses and prisms, and even
semiconductor detectors of electromagnetic radiation - were
invented and used by Bose in the last decade of the nineteenth
century. He also suggested the existence of electromagnetic
radiation from the Sun, which was confirmed in 1944.
Bose then turned his attention to response phenomena in plants.
He showed that not only animal but vegetable tissues, produce
similar electric response under different kinds of stimuli –
mechanical, thermal, electrical and chemical. Bose was knighted in
1917 and soon thereafter elected Fellow of the Royal Society,
London, (both as physicist and biologist!).
Bose had worked all along without the right kind of scientific
instruments and laboratory. For a long time he had been thinking of
building a laboratory. The result was the establishment of the Bose

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Research Institute in Kolkata. It continues to be a famous centre of
research in basic sciences.
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920)
Ramanujan was born in Erode, a small village in Tamil Nadu on 22
December 1887. When he was a year old his family moved to the
town of Kumbakonam, where his father worked as a clerk in a cloth
merchant’s shop. When he was nearly five years old, Ramanujan
enrolled in the primary school. In 1898 he joined the Town High
School in Kumbakonam. At the Town High School, Ramanujan did
well in all subjects and proved himself an able all round scholar. It
was here that he came across the book Synopsis of Elementary
Results in Pure Mathematics by G. S. Carr. Influenced by the book,
he began working on mathematics on his own, summing geometric
and arithmetic series.

He was given a scholarship to the Government College in

Kumbakonam. However his scholarship was not renewed because
Ramanujan neglected all subjects other than mathematics. In 1905
he appeared for the First Arts examination which would have
allowed him to be admitted to the University of Madras. Again he
failed in all subjects other than mathematics, a performance he
repeated in 1906 and 1907 too. In the following years he worked on
mathematics, with only Carr’s book as a guide, noting his results in
what would become the famous Notebooks. He continued to pursue
mathematics and in 1913 he wrote to G. H. Hardy in Cambridge,
enclosing a long list of his own theorems. Hardy immediately
recognized Ramanujan’s mathematical ability.

On the basis of Hardy’s letters, Ramanujan was given a scholarship

by the University of Madras in 1913. In 1914, Hardy arranged for
him to go to Trinity College, Cambridge. Ramanujan’s work with
Hardy produced important results right from the beginning. In 1916
Ramanujan graduated from Cambridge with a Bachelor of Science
by Research. In 1918, he was elected a Fellow of the Cambridge
Philosophical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and
a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, all in the same year!
However, from 1917 onwards he was seriously ill and mostly
bedridden. In 1919 he returned to India, in very poor health.
Ramanujan made outstanding contributions to analytical number
theory, elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series. His
published and unpublished works have kept some of the best
mathematical brains in the world busy to this day.

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Sir C. V. Raman (1888-1970)
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil
Nadu on 7 November 1888. His father was a lecturer in mathematics
and physics so from the very beginning he was immersed in an
academic atmosphere. Raman’s academic brilliance was established at
a very young age. He finished his secondary school education at the
tender age of thirteen and entered the Mrs. A.V.N. College at
Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Two years later he moved to the
prestigious Presidency College in Chennai.
When he was fifteen, he topped his class to receive his B.A. degree
with honours in Physics and English. Raman continued his studies at
the Presidency College and when he was barely eighteen, graduated at
the top of his class and received his M.A. degree with honours.
In 1917, C V Raman gave up his government job to become the Sir
Taraknath Palit Professor of Physics at the Science College of
University of Calcutta (1917-33). He made enormous contributions
to research in the areas of vibration, sound, musical instruments,
ultrasonics, diffraction, photoelectricity, colloidal particles, X-ray
diffraction, magnetron, dielectrics, etc. In particular, his work on the
scattering of light during this period brought him world-wide
recognition.
In 1924 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London
and a year later was honoured with the prestigious Hughes medal
from the Royal Society. Four years later, at the joint meeting of the
South Indian Science Association and the Science Club of Central
College, Bangalore, he announced his discovery of what is now
known as the Raman Effect. He was knighted in 1929, and in 1930,
became the first Asian scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize for
Physics for his discoveries relating to the scattering of light (the
Raman Effect). In 1934, he became the Director of the newly
established Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore, where he
remained till his retirement. After retirement, he established the
Raman Research Institute at Bangalore, where he served as the
Director. The Government of India conferred upon him its highest
award,the Bharat Ratna in 1954.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909-1966)
Homi Bhabha was born on 30 October 1909 in Mumbai. Son of a
barrister, he grew up in a privileged environment. In Mumbai he
attended the Cathedral & John Connon School and then Elphinstone
College, followed by the Royal Institute of Science. After passing

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the Senior Cambridge Examination at the age of sixteen, he joined
the Gonvile and Caius College in Cambridge with an intention to
pursue mechanical engineering. His mathematics tutor was Paul
Dirac, and Bhabha became fascinated with mathematics and
theoretical physics. He earned his engineering degree in 1930 and
Ph.D. in 1934.
In 1937, together with W. Heitler, a German physicist, Bhabha solved
the riddle about cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are fast moving, extremely
small particles coming from outer space. When these particles enter
the earth’s atmosphere, they collide with the atoms of air and create a
shower of electrons. Bhabha’s discovery of the presence of nuclear
particles (which he called mesons) in these showers was used to
validate Einstein’s theory of relativity making him world famous. In
1940, C.V. Raman, then head of the Physics Department, Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore, persuaded Bhabha to join the institute
as a Reader in Physics and Bhabha decided to stay back in India. In
1941, Homi Bhabha was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, London,
in recognition of his contributions to the field of cosmic rays, elementary
particles and quantum mechanics. Bhabha soon realized the need for
an institute fully devoted to fundamental research, and wrote to J.R.D.
Tata for funding.
This resulted in the establishment of the Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research (TIFR) in Mumbai in 1945, with Bhabha as the Director, a
position he held until his death. In 1948, Homi Bhabha was appointed
the Chairman of the International Atomic Energy Commission. Under
his guidance, nuclear reactors like the Apsara, Cirus and Zerlina were
built. He gained international recognition for his excellent work and
served as the President of the first United Nations Conference on the
Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, which was held in Geneva in 1955.
He was the President of the International Union of Pure and Applied
Physics from 1960 to 1963. He is the recipient of the Adam’s Award,
Padma Bhushan, an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences and Foreign Associate of the National Academy of
Sciences in the United States.
Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971)
Vikram Sarabhai was born on 12 August 1919 at Ahmedabad. He had
his early education in a private school, ‘Retreat’ run by his parents on
Montessori lines. This atmosphere injected into the young boy the
seeds of scientific curiosity, ingenuity and creativity. With a natural
inclination towards physics and mathematics, Vikram Sarabhai did not
get into his family business. After school and college

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in Gujarat, he went to England and obtained his tripos at St. John’s
College in 1939. He returned to India for a while and worked
alongside Sir C.V. Raman in the field of cosmic rays, at the Indian
Institute of Science in Bangalore, after which he returned to
Cambridge, England for further research in the area and completed
his Ph.D. in 1947.
He established the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad in
1948, in a few rooms at the M.G. Science Institute with Professor
K.K. Ramanathan as Director. In April 1954, PRL moved into a new
building and Dr. Sarabhai made it the cradle of the Indian Space
Programme. At the young age of 28, he was asked to organise and
create the ATIRA, the Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research
Association and was its Honorary Director during 1949-56. He also
helped build and direct the Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad from 1962-1965.
Sarabhai pioneered India’s space age by expanding the Indian Space
Research Organization. India’s first satellite Aryabhata launched in
1975, was one of the many projects planned by him. Like Bhabha,
Sarabhai wanted the practical application of science to reach the
common man. Thus he saw a golden opportunity to harness space
science to the development of the country in the fields of
communication, meteorology, remote sensing and education. The
Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) launched in 1975-
76, brought education to five million people in 2,400 Indian villages.
In 1965, he established the Community Science Centre in Ahmedabad
with a view to popularise science among children. His deep cultural
interests led him, along with his wife Mrinalini Sarabhai, to establish
Darpana Academy, an institution devoted to performing arts and
propagation of ancient culture of India. He was the recipient of the
Bhatnagar Memorial Award for Physics in 1962, the Padma Bhushan in
1966, and was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan. He was
the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1966, Vice-
President and Chairman of the UN Conference on peaceful uses of
outer space in 1968, and President of the 14th General Conference of
the International Atomic Energy Agency. The International Astronomical
Union named a crater in the moon (in the Sea of Serenity) after him, in
honour of his contributions to science.
DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM (1931 - 2015)
Dr. A.P.J .Abdul Kalam, the eleventh President of India was born on
15 October, 1931, in the island town of Rameshwaram, in Tamil
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Nadu. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian
honour in 1997 for his contributions in the field of science and
engineering. Dr. APJ Kalam served in Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) from 1963 to 1982. At Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre, he developed the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV 3), which
put the satellite Rohini into orbit. In 1982, as Director, Defence
Research Development Organisation (DRDO), he was given the
responsibility of Integrated Guided Missile Development
Programme (IGMDP). He developed five projects for defence
services - Prithvi, Trishul, Akash,Nag and Agni. He led India into an
era of self-dependence. Agni, which is a surface to surface missile,
is a unique achievement. Its successful launch made India a
member of the club of highly developed countries.
GALILEO
Glileo Galilei was a groundbreaking Italian
astronomer ,physicist, mathematician
,philosopher and inventor. He opened the
eyes of the world to new way of thinking
about how the solar system work.
For many years ,scientists had belived that
the solar system revolved around the Earth,
and that the earth was the centre of the
Universe. Galileo was the first scientist to
prove that this wasn’t correct. He stated that
in fact, the solar system revolved around the Sun. He also invented
and improved telescope and so that he could gaze far into space.
He was the first to see jupiter’s moons, and the first to realise that
our Moon was covered with craters. Besides Scopes, he also
invented the compass and the thermometer .Galileo has played a
major role in the scientific revolution of the 17th century.
KEPLER
Johannes Kepler was a leading astronomer
of the scientific Revolution .The Scientific
Revolution is the term used to describe the
emergence of modern science that took place
th th
throughout the 16 and 17 centuries.
Before the scientific Revolution, astronomy was
closely tied to astrology, which is the belief that
the movement of the stars and planets can be
interpreted to predict the future.

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As the scientific Revolution progressed ,astrology increasingly
came to be replaced by astronomy as a modern, legitimate science.
Johannes Kepler is best known for his discovery that the orbits in
which the Earth and the other planets of the solar system travel
around the Sun are elliptical or oval, in shape.
He was also the first to explain correctly how human beings see
and demonstrated what happens to light when it enters a telescope.
In addition ,he designed an instrument that serves as the basis of
the modern refractive telescope.
Since he was such a prominent figure in the filed of astronomy, a lot
of spots on distant planets have been named after him such
as”Kepler’s Crater on Mars” and ‘The Kepler Crater’ on the Moon.

BLAISE PASCAL
Blaise pascal was a 17 th century French
philosopher and scientist who made
important contributions to maths , science,
and philosophy. While he was still a teenager,
Pascal became one of only two people who
had developed and constructed a working
mechanical calculator.
As a mathematician ,Pascal developed two
separate fields of maths-projective geometry ,and
probability theory. This Probability theory
was born out of Pascal’s study of gambiling problems, and had an
important impact on the development of the modern day economics.

In projective geometry, he developed that became known as

Pascal’s triangles,in which the sums of successive numbers built on
themselves to form the numbers built on themselves to form the
numerical row beneath.
Pascal ‘s scientific theories were important to understanding the
properties and volume of solids using cycloids. pascal was also an
expert in various languages,and a well – versed religious philosopher.

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ROBERT BOYLE
Robert Boyle was the famous Anglo Irish
scientist who transformed chemistry in the
th
17 cenn ,chemistry was confined to alchemy
and mysticism.
Alchemy was the study of how to change the
basic substances such as metals into other
more valuble substance .Boyle made
chemistry a science based on measurement.
He defined elements , compounds and mixtures and he coined the
new term ‘Chemical analysis’a filed in which he made several
contribution .Robert Boyle is most famous for Boyle’s Law. It was
the first of the gas law linking the pressure of a gas to its volume.
He established that electrical forces are transmitted through a
vacuum ,but sound is not.
Boyle also stated that the movement of particles is responsible for
heat . He was the first person to write specific experimental
guidance for other scientists, telling them the importance of
achieving reliable results. He was indeed a ‘mighty chemist’.
Robert Boyle is regarded as the first modern chemist, and is
referred to as one of the founders of modern chemistry.
SIR ISSAC NEWTON
Sir Issac Newton ,an Englishman who lived in
the 17 th century ,is a scientific legend. He
came up with numerous theories and
contributed ideas to many different fields
including physics, mathematics, and
philosophy.
In 1687, Newton published his book
philosophiae naturalis principia mathematics.
In it ,he describe s universal gravitation ,and
the three laws of motion .It is widely regarded to be one of the most
important books in the history of science .It is well known that his
work on formulating a theory of gravitation was inspired by watching
an apple fall from a tree.
During his lifelime, newton developed a new type of mathematics
called calsulus, and made breakthroughs in the area of optics such

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as the reflecting telescope .He also discovered that white light is
made up of wide range of different colors.
Newton was a deep thinker with an insatiable curiosity to know
everything about everything he saw. His contributions are so
numerous, that he changed forever the way in which we look at the
world.

EDMOND HALLEY
Edmond Halley was an English Scientist who
became very interested in a comet that he saw
in 1682. After being told that smile comet had
appeared in 1531 and 1607 he suspected that it
was the same comet that he had seen. By using
the laws of gravity discovered by his friend Sir
Issac Newton ,Halley realized that he could
predict when it would return. Halley worked out
that the comet would appear in our skies every
75 to 76 years.
He was correct in his prediction, but sadly
when the comet did reappear, he was nop more and he could not
witness the confirmation he had waited for so eagerly. In his honors
, the comet was named after him.
Through he is remembered foremost as an astronomer, Halley also
made significant discoveries in the fields of geography, mathematics,
meteorology, and Physics. Halley was very close to Newton.
HENRY CAVENDISH
The English scientist henry Cavendish was
an experimental chemist and physicist par
excellence. Cavendish showed that hydrogen
is much less dense than air. In 1785, he
published a paper showing the Earth’s
atmosphere consists of four parts nitrogen to
one p[art oxygen.
In addition, to his achievements in chemistry,
Cavendish experiment .He was the first to
measure the force gravity between masses
in a laboratory, and to produce accurate value for Earth’s density.
Henry Cavendish also experimented with electricity, but much of his
work on the subject was only published after his death. He was
renewed for the great accuracy and precision of his scientific
research.
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WILLAM HERSCHEL
Willam Herschel was German – born British
scientist who became one of the most
th
importantly astronomers of the 18 century.
He built his own telescopes.
From the garden of his house ,Willam Herschel
noted, every star in the havens’ through a
telescope that he had constructed himself.

He also manufacture over 400 telescope s that were in great

demand worldwide . His study of the heavens led him to the
discovery of a planet that would
eventually be called Uranus. Willam Herschel would also discover
Titania and Oberon ,Which were the moons of Uranus as well as
Enceladus and Mimas ,the moons Saturn.
Herschel maintained that the solar system is moving through space
,and found out the direction of that movements. He also suggested
that the milkyway was in the shape of disc. Herchel is considered
to be the founder of modern stellar astronomy.
Willaim Herschel,a great scientist was gifted musician too. He
played the oboe, violin harpsichord and organ.

JEAN LAMARCK
Jean Lamarck was one of the pioneers in the
filed of biology. In fact ,the very name
‘Biology’ was coined by this French naturalist.
He is best remembered for his theory of
evolution. According to this theory, he
characteristics an organism develops during
its lifetime in response to its environment are
inherited by, or passed on to its offspring.
Lamarck was the first to use the term invertebrate to describe
animals without backbones. He began collecting fossils and
studying all sorts of simple species.
AS a result of these studies ,he was able to revise the classification
of lower animals that had been unfinished by the Swedish biologist
Linnaeus.
Lamarck’s study of invertebrates also led to the publication of his
major work’The Natural History of Invertebrate Animals’ in 1815-22.

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JOHN DALTON
John Dalton, a British Scientist ,is probably
best known for his groundbreaking research
and contribution to two completely different
fields-automatic theory in chemistry. The
Research had a great impact on automatic
theory. He created a listing of atomic weights
for six different elements – hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, and phosphorous.
Dalton’s interpretation of atomic theory maintained that atoms are
companied in chemical reactions, but also that they can be
separated and rearranged. Without doubt, it was John Dalton’s
atomic theory that laid the foundations of modern chemistry.
ANDREW MARIE AMPERE
Andrew Marie Ampere was a French
Physicist and mathematician ,who made the
revolutionary discovery that wire carrying
electric current can attract or repel another
wire next to it ,that’s also carrying electric
current. The attraction is a magnets are
necessary for the effect to be seen.
Ampere went on to formulate Amperw’s Law of electromagnetism
and produced the best definition of electric current of his time. He
also proposed the
existence of a particle we now reorganize as the electron
,discovered the chemical element fluorine, and grouped elements
by their properties.
In recognition of Ampere’s contribution to modern electrical science,
the ‘ampere’ was established as a standard unit of electrical
measurement .In 1881,forty-five years after his death.

MICHAEL FARADAY

Michael faraday was a 19th century British

chemist and Physicist. He is often called the
father of electricity with good reason.
His work on electrochemistry and electro
magnetism laid the foundation for many area of
science. It was 1831 that Faraday discovered

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electro magnetic indication ,the principle behind the electric
transformer and generator. This discovery was crucial in allowing
electricity to be transformed from a curiosity, into a powerful new
technology. He was partly responsible for coining many familiar
words including ‘electrode’, ‘cathode’ and ‘ion’. Faraday laid the
basis of the electromagnetic Field concept in physics ,discovered
the laws of electrolysis, and invented electromagnetic rotary device
that were vital in the creation of electric motors. Faraday has thus
played a key role in the development of electricity for use in modern
technology.
CHARLES DARWIN
Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who is
best known for his ideas on evolution. In 1831,
Darwin sail on the HMS Beagle ,a naval survey
ship. Darwin’s job was to collect plant and
animal specimens from the countries the ship
visited .The voyage took five years.

For Charles Darwin ,the most important part

of the journey was the time to spent in the
Galapagos island s whichg are the home to
plants and animals that can’t be found anywhere else e in the world.

On his return to England ,Darwin started to piece together his theory of

natural selection which explained how populations evolve. In
1859,Charles Darwin published his book ‘On The Orgin Of Spices’.

According to this theory All species of life have evolved over time
from common ancestors. Charles Darwin changed the way humans
viewed themselves.

JAMES PRESCOTT JOULE FRS

James Prescott Joule FRS (24 December 1818
– 11 October 1889) was an English physicist
and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule
studied the nature of heat, and discovered its
relationship to mechanical work (see energy).
This led to the law of conservation of energy,
which led to the development of the first law of
thermodynamics. The SI derived unit of energy,
the joule, is named after James Joule.

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He worked with Lord Kelvin to develop the absolute scale of
temperature the Kelvin. Joule also made observations of
magnetostriction, and he found the relationship between the current
through a resistor and the heat dissipated, which is now called
Joule’s first law.
In hs early years ,joule proved that heat produced in a small
electromagnet built by him was from electrical energy ,which was in
turn, generated by mechanical energy which powered the dynamo.
The principle of conservation of energy became the first law of
thermodynamics, a field of physics that joule is referred to as the
chief founder of.
Joule was the first person to calculate the speed of a molecule of
gas, about 457 meters a second for oxygen at average
temperatures. This would lay the foundations for the kinetic theory
of gases in the future. Joule Recognized the need for standard units
of electricity.In fact ,the units of energy is named the ‘Joule in
recognition of his contribution.’
GREGOR JOHANN MENDEL
Gregor Johann Mendel was a German-speaking
Moravian-Silesian scientist and Augustinian friar
and abbot of St. Thomas’ Abbey in Brno who
gained posthumous fame as the founder of the
modern science of genetics. Though farmers
had known for centuries that crossbreeding of
animals and plants could favor certain desirable
traits, Mendel’s pea plant experiments
conducted between 1856 and 1863 established
many of the rules of
heredity, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance.
Mendel worked with seven characteristics of pea plants: plant
height, pod shape and color, seed shape and color, and flower
position and color. With seed color, he showed that when a yellow
pea and a green pea were bred together their offspring plant was
always yellow. However, in the next generation of plants, the green
peas reappeared at a ratio of 1:3. To explain this phenomenon,
Mendel coined the terms “recessive” and “dominant” in reference to
certain traits. (In the preceding example, green peas are recessive
and yellow peas are dominant.) He published his work in 1866,
demonstrating the actions of invisible “factors”—now called genes—
in providing for visible traits in predictable ways.

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The profound significance of Mendel’s work was not recognized
until the turn of the 20th century (more than three decades later)
with the independent rediscovery of these laws. [5] Erich von
Tschermak, Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns, and William Jasper
Spillman independently verified several of Mendel’s experimental
findings, ushering in the modern age of genetics

DMITRI MENDELEEV
Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist and
inventor who is best known for his discovery
of the periodic law, which he introduced in
1869 and for his formulation of the periodic
table of elements.
As a professor, Mendeleev taught first at the
St. Petersburg Technological institute and then
at the University of St. Petersburg. Realizing he
was in need of a quality text book
to cover the subject of inorganic chemistry, he put together one of
his own. The principles of chemistry. It was during this time that
Mendeleev made the discovery that led to his most famous
achievement. He noticed certain recurring patterns between
different groups of elements and using existing knowledge of the
elements chemical and physical properties, he was able to make
further connections.
He systematically arranged the known elements by atomic
weight in a grid-like diagram. His diagram known as the periodic
table of elements is still used today. He wrote a book on the
spectroscope.

THOMAS EDISON
Thomas Edison’s story is truly an inspiring
one. He struggled at school, but loved
reading and conducting experiments.
The American inventor began sending and
receiving messages via Morse code-
electronically conveyed alphabet using
different clicks for each letter at the age of
15. Later, he invented a version of the
telegraph that could send four messages at

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once. In 1877, Edison invented the photograph. The photograph
was a machine that recorded and played back sounds. He
perfected the photograph by recording ‘May has a Little lamb’ on a
peace of foil In 1878 Edison invented the light bulb, as well as the
power grid system, which could generate electricity, and deliver it to
homes through a network of wires.
Edison registered 1093 patents in the US as he continues to invent
products. He made significant contributions to storage batteries and
motion pictures. His inventions changed the world forever, and
Edison remains a colossus in the field of science to day.

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

Alexander Graham Bell was an influential
scientist, engineer, and inventor who is
considered to be the inventor of the first
practical telephone. Bell’s mother and wife
were both deaf, and this motivated his
research on hearing and speech.
Bell experimented with sound, working with
devices such as ‘harmonic telegraph’, that is
used to send multiple messages over a single
wire. While trying to discover the secret to transmitting multiple
messages on a single wire. Bell heard the sound of plucked string
along some of the electrical wire. This was caused because one of
Bell’s assistants. Thomas A Watson, was trying to reactivate a
transmitter. It made Bell believe he could send the sound of a
human voice over the wire.

After receiving a patent on March 7th , 1876, for transmitting sound

along a single wire, he successfully transmitted human speech on
March 10.
Bells’ first words with the working telephone were spoken to his
assistant Watson. They were “Mr. Watson come here I want to see
you”.
Bell also had a strong interest in other scientific fields, conducting
medical research, searching for alternative fuel sources, developing
hydrofoil watercraft and much more.

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HENRI BECQUEREL
Henri Becquerel was a French physicist who
discovered radio activity through his
investigations of uranium and other
substances.
Becquerel l had become a highly respected
physicist by 1896. After the discovery of the
X-ray in 1895, Becquerel began to investigate
whether there was a fundamental connection
between this form of invisible radiation and
visible light.
His expertise with phosphorescent materials, his familiarity with
uranium components, and his general skill in laboratory techniques,
including photography, all played a key role in his discovery of
radioactivity. Becquerel experimented by placing phosphorescent
crystals on a sealed photographic plate that had been wrapped in
opaque paper, and never exposed to direct light.
After the plate was developed, images were visible on it. He passed
the results on to Madame Curie, who named this phenomenon
radioactivity. In 1903, Becquerel shared the Nobel Prize for Physics
with the chemists Pierre and Marie Curie.
MAX PLANCK
Max Planck was a German theoretical
physicist, who made significant contributions.
He changed our understanding of physics
when he discovered that hot object do not
radiate a smooth, continuous range of
energies as was earlier believed.
Instead, he found that the energies radiated
by hot objects have distinct values. His
discovery was the beginning of the Quantum
theory – an entirely new type of physics that revolutionized our
understanding of atomic and subatomic processcs. In fact, we can
say from the ideas of Max Plan ck.
A quantum is the smallest possible amount of energy. Planck’s
constant a fixed number is used to calculate the energy of quanta.
The theory has been developed to explain the behavior of particles
and the energy they emit. Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in
1918.
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J J THOMSON
J J Thomson, an English physicist, took science
to new heights with his 1897 discovery of the
electron the subatomic particle.

When Thomson began his research career, it

was thought that atoms were the smallest
particles. Nobody had a clear picture of how
atoms might look. It was already known that
atoms were associated in some way with
electric charges.
In 1897 aged 40, Thomson carried out a now famous experiment
with a cathode ray tube. His experiment proved the existence of a
new fundamental particle that was much smaller than the atom. It
was named the electron.
In discovering the electron, Thomson also moved towards the
invention of an immensely important tool for chemical analysis the
mass spectrometer.
Then in 1912 Thomson discovered that stable elements could
exists as isotopes are different forms of the same element that exist
with different atomic masses.
J J Thomson was awarded the Nobel prize for Physics in 1906.

MARIE CURIE
Marie Curie, a Polish born French chemist
and physicist, is a legend for many reasons.
She was the first woman to win it twice.
Marie’s research was the field of radioactivity.
With the help of her husband Pierre Curie,
she made numerous scientific discoveries;
including one showing that radiation did
indeed come from the atom itself.
In 1903 the Nobel Prize in Physics was
awarded to marie and Pierre as well as Henri Becquerel for their
work in radiation. In 1911, Marie Curie was awarded another Nobel
Prize, this time in Chemistry, for her discovery of radium and
polonium, and subsequent research.

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Marie curie became internationally famous and scientists came
from around the world to study radioactivity with her. The Curie
institute in Paris founded by Marie in 1921 is still a major cancer
research facility to this day.

INDIAN ASTRONAUTS
For detailed study :
Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC, Hero of the Soviet Union,
(born 13 January 1949) is a former Indian Air Force test pilot who
flew aboard Soyuz T-11 as part of the Intercosmos program.
Sharma was the first Indian to travel in space.
Kalpana Chawla : Chawla was the first Indian-born woman and the
second Indian person to fly in space, She first flew on Space Shuttle
Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm
operator. She had traveled 10.67 million km, as many as 252 times
around the Earth logging more than 372 hours in space.

Sunita Williams: Sunita Williams Pandya (born September 19,

1965). She holds the records for longest single space flight by a
woman (195 days), total spacewalks by a woman (seven), and most
spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes). She was
assigned as a backup crew member for Expedition 30 to the
International Space Station, was a crew member of Expedition 32,
which launched in July 2012, and then became the Commander of
Expedition 33, which began in September 2012.

INDIA IN SPACE
The dream and realisation of spaceflight - For thousands of years,
humans have curiously gazed at the night sky and dreamt of
travelling to space and explore the distant heavenly bodies there.
But, that long cherished dream became a reality only after they
developed large rockets capable of carrying satellites and humans
to space. After reaching space, those rockets were powerful
enough to make satellites, robotic spacecraft or spacecraft carrying
humans to either to circle the earth or proceed towards other worlds
of our solar system.
The uniqueness of the Indian space programme - India is one of the
few countries that have taken up the challenge of exploring space
and utilising space for the benefits of common man. For this,

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the country has developed various technologies which few other
countries have done.
India’s achievements in space today are the result of the
foresightedness of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, one of the greatest sons of
India. Sarabhai was a great dreamer and showed the path to realise
those dreams. He had firm belief in the power of space technology
to bring about rapid and overall development of India.
Prof Satish Dhawan, who succeeded Dr Sarabhai as the head of
the Indian space programme, made immense contributions to
Indian space programme by assigning great importance to
developing and mastering space technologies through indigenous
efforts. He also laid emphasis on the involvement of the Indian
industry to meet the needs of the country’s space programme. Prof
U R Rao, Dr K Kasturirangan, Mr G Madhavan Nair and Dr K
Radhakrishnan, who succeeded Prof Dhawan, have made their
own unique contributions to the Indian space programme.
The beginning - Though India today is considered as one of the
prominent countries conducting many space activities, the Indian
space programme began in a modest way with the formation of the
Indian National Committee on Space Research by the Government
of India in 1962. The programme formally began on November 21,
1963 with the launch of a 28 feet long American ‘Nike-Apache’
Sounding Rocket from Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram. It
carried a small French payload (scientific instrument) to study the
winds in the upper atmosphere. Sounding rockets are small
research rockets that carry instruments to study upper atmosphere
and space. They cannot launch satellites.
India’s space capabilities - Indian space research organisation,
which is widely known as ‘ISRO’, is the agency which implements
the country’s space programme on behalf of the India’s Department
of Space. ISRO came into existence in 1969, the same year
humans set foot on the moon for the first time.
Various centres of ISRO are now spread all over India. They
include Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), situated in
Thiruvananthapuram, which designs huge rockets capable of
launching large satellites. In the same city is the Liquid Propulsion
Systems Centre (LPSC) that develops liquid rocket engines and the
more efficient and highly complex cryogenic rocket engines.
Bangalore can be called as the space city of India. It has got many
space related facilities including the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC),
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which builds Indian satellites Satellites are launched into space with
a firm purpose like relaying the telephone calls, telecasting TV
programmes, taking weather pictures of the Earth or observing
distant heavenly bodies. Instruments in a satellite which perform
these useful tasks are called payloads. ISRO’s Space Applications
Centre at Ahmedabad develops such payloads for satellites.
National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) is another important centre of
ISRO. It is situated in Hyderabad and performs the important task of
receiving the pictures sent by India’s remote sensing satellites in the
form of radio waves. NRSC also processes those pictures to make
them accurate and show details clearly. The centre also systematically
stores those pictures and distributes them in India.

The island of Sriharikota in the Bay of Bengal has ISRO’s Satish

Dhawan Space Centre and it is the spaceport of India. Sriharikota
lies about 80 km to the North of Chennai and lies in the Nellore
district of Andhra Pradesh state.
This is the place from where 38 Indian built rockets have lifted off
(as on April 2013) and have travelled towards space. Some of them
have launched not one but many satellites during a single launch.
Sriharikota has vast facilities to manufacture large solid propellant
(fuel-oxidisercombination) rockets as well as to test them. It also
has facilities to assemble huge satellite launch vehicles as well as
to launch and track them.
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) – USA
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is a space
agency of the United States of America . It was established in 1958.
NASA has a very important role in the exploration. NASA was the
first agency which sent first manned mission on the moon (Neil A.
Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. were the first
to reach on the moon). Other successful missions of NASA are:
Project Mercury (1959–63):The objective of Project Mercury was to
send man to space and During this Project first American named
Alan Shepard reached their and after that John Glenn became the
first american to orbit the Earth.
Project Gemini (1961–66): During this mission many manned flights
were flown to space .The first manned Gemini flight was flown by
Gus Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965.

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Project Apollo (1961–72): Project Apollo was among the most
noticeable missions in the history of space exploration. The main
objective of Project Apollo was to send first man to moon. In 1969
Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr.
became the first to reach on the moon.
Skylab (1965–79):“The dinosaurs became extinct because they
didn’t have a space program. And if we become extinct because we
don’t have a space program, it’ll serve us right!”[Larry Niven]
The objective of this mission was to make a space station. Skylab
was the first independent space station built by the USA. The
Skylab program was considered as greatest observatory of its time.
The program included a micro-gravity lab, a medical lab, an Earth-
observing facility. New technologies where also used in this
program such as Special showers, toilets, sleeping bags, exercise
equipment and kitchen facilities were designed to function in micro-
gravity. If we talk about the main objective of this program, it was to
study the feasibility of long duration space missions.For today’s
students, Skylab is a part of history that took place long before they
were born.
Space Shuttle program (1972–2011): The objective of Space
Shuttle Program was to make reusable space vehicles. The first
Shuttle sent to space was Columbia on 12th April, 1981.
International Space Station (1993–present) :The objective of this
program was to build and maintain Space Station in collaboration
with other countries.
Others and MAVEN: The sky is the limit only for those who aren’t
afraid to fly! [Bob Bello] MAVEN stands for Mars Atmosphere and
Volatile Evolution, it will be studying the atmosphere of Mars planet
while orbiting Mars. MAVEN was launched on 18th of November,
2013. MAVEN will study Mars’ upper atmosphere and its
interactions with the solar wind. Beside these program other
mission were also organized by NASA like Beyond Low Earth Orbit
program , Commercial Crew Program etc.
Russian Federal Space Agency – Russia
The historic background of the Russian space programme was
connected with the necessity for the developments of the missiles to
ensure the countries defense capability in 1946 . The world history

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was marked by the two most significant events concerned with
Russian cosmonautics. On October 4th, 1957 the world’s first
artificial satellite was launched.
ROSCOSMOS also known as Russian Federal Space Agency is
among the top space agencies of the world however it was established
in 1992 after dissolution of the Soviet Union. ROSCOSMOS haven’t
worked that much as Soviet Program did in its period. Some Projects
that were successfully completed by Soviet Space Program:

Sputnik 1: Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite that was sent to
space on 4tth Oct, 1957. This sphere shaped satellite had a
diameter of 58 cm with four external radio antennae for radio
broadcasting.
Sputnik 2: After the launch of Sputnik 1 . Sputnik 2 became the first
artificial satellite to send any living thing in space which was a dog
named Laika.
Luna Project: Luna 1,2 and 3 were among the first satellites to
reach near the moon , impact on moon and get pictures of moon
surface.
Sputnik 5: Sputnik 5 was the first probe that bring back animals
(dogs named Belka and Strelka) sent to space alive back to earth.
Vostok Programme: Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel
space in Vostok 1 and after that many other successful projects of
vostok sent first women on space, first dual crew on space etc.
Salyut 1: Salyut 1 was the first space station built by Russia .
Mars Programme: The objective of making mars series of probes
was to explore mars . During this project many Mars 2 became the
first probe to impact on mars and Mars 3 became the first to land on
moon successfully.
European Space Agency (ESA)
European Space Agency is group of nations working together for
space exploration. The members of ESA are Austria, Belgium,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Canada. It
was established in 1975 and its head quarter is in Paris, France.
ESA has various launch vehicles to launch their satellites in space.
The highlight programmes are :

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Ariane 5: Arianne 5 is the main launch vehicle of ESA and till now
has launched 22 successful flights . It s in service since 1997 before
Ariane 5 , Ariane 4,3,2,1 were used.
Vega: Vega is a small payload launcher of ESA which is used to
send small satellites to space by ESA.Beside these launch vehicles
, ESA also uses Soyuz in collaboration with ROSCOSMOS

ARTIFICIAL SATELLITES
Any man – made object orbiting the earth is called the artificial
satellite of the earth. Moon is the natural satellite of the earth and
therefore an artificial satellite is sometimes called a man- made
moon. Every satellite is meant for a specific purpose or a mission; a
satellite can also have a multipurpose mission. Thus, every satellite
mission is a complex system comprising of three main elements 1)
the rocket system for lunching the satellite 2) the satellite in orbit
around the earth and 3) the communication system on the earth for
keeping radio contact with the satellite.
SATELLITE ORBITS
The orbit of the earth, moon and an artificial satellite follow
keepler’s law of planetary motion. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), a
German astronomer had analyzed long series of data on planetary
positions and found that the orbits of planets around the sun follow
the following three laws, which are called Kepler’s law.
1) Each planet travels in an elliptical orbit, with the sun at one
focus of the ellipse.
2) The radius vector (that is, the imaginary line from sun to planet) of
a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal periods of time.

3) Average distance of a planet from the sun uniquely determines

the length of time required for the planet to complete one
orbital revolution around the sun.
From the above laws, the following important deduction can be
made. (1) the speed of the planet in its orbit is maximum when it is
nearest to the sun and minimum when it is farthest from the sun.
(2) the planet nearest to the sun has the shortest period and the
planet farthest from the sun has the longest period. This is indeed

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so. Mercury, which is the nearest planet to the sun, has a period of
88 days, while pluto, the farthest planet has a period of 248 years.
Kepler’s laws gave a good empirical description of planetary
motions, but its physical explanation had to wait until newton (1642-
1727) formulated the laws of motion and the laws of universal
gravitation. Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every
object exerts a force of attraction on every other object and the
force between any two objects decreases as their separation
increases, varying inversely as the square of the distance between
the two objects. Further, the force is proportional to the product of
the masses of the objects. Orbital motion is achieved through a
balance of the tendency for an object to keep moving in a straight
line and the force of gravity.
Based on the above idea, newton had suggested that if a body
were thrown from the top of a high mountain in a direction parallel
to earth’s surface with sufficient speed, it would follow the curvature
of the earth. In other words, it would become a satellite of the earth.

Consider a satellite ortiting around the earth. At each point on the

orbit, the satellite is subjected to two equal and opposite forces. The
centripetal force directed towards the center of the earth keeps the
satellite moving in the orbit while the centerfugal force exactly equal
to the centripetal force is directed in the opposite direction. Since
the two forces are exactly equal and opposite, the satellite is in a
weightless condition. This is also known as a condition of “free fall”.
Due to this unusual situation, astronauts in a manned satellite
experience a condition of weightlessness.

For planetary exploration, spacecraft’sare first launched in earth

orbit and then imparted higher velocity spacecraft’s are first
launched in earth orbit and then imparted higher velocity required
for escape from the gravitational force of the earth. The gravitational
forces of the sun, moon, and other planets affects a spacecraft’s in
an escape trajectory and therefore the resultant path of the
spacecraft can be calculated only through complex mathematics of
orbital mechanics’, which requires a high speed powerful computer.

For any satellite, its orbit can be expressed by the three main orbital
elements.1) the maximum distance from the earth (apogee). (2) the
minimum distance from the earth .(perigee) and (3) the inclination of
the orbit that is the angle between the orbital plane and the
equatorial plane of the earth, orbits of satellites are
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generally elliptical or at the most approximately circular , with very
small difference between the apogee and perigee.
Design of a satellite.
Every satellite has a mission or a purpose to be fulfilled when it is
launched in its orbit. Based on the mission of the satellite the main
payload and the necessary sub-systems to fulfill the mission are
kept in the satellite. Any satellite system generally consists of the
following sub systems
Structure or housing
Thermal control sub-system
Power supply sub-system
Communication sub-system
Orientation sub-system
Orbit control and orbit transfer sub-system
Payload
Structure or Housing: -The main purpose of the structure is to
providesupport to everythingthat is kept on the satellite. The
structure should be strong enough to withstand the shocks and
vibrations that occur during the launching of the rocket and it should
protect the satellite from the harsh conditions of space like hard
vacuum, extreme temperatures and harmful radiations. The shape
and size of the structure should be such that the satellite can be
easily kept in the nose cone of the rocket. Finally, the weight of the
structure should be as low as possible.
Thermal control sub-system: With the help of this sub-system the
temperature at various parts of the satellite can be controlled within
specified limits. When a satellite is in its orbit in space, its outer surface
facing the sun becomes very hot (about 100 deg C) while the opposite
side in the shadow becomes as cold as -130 deg C. In spite of such
large and rapid temperature variations, the temperatures at various
parts within the structure are controlled within a narrow limit with the
help of thermal control sub-system. Secondly various electronic
instruments of the satellite also becomes hot due to electrical currents
flowing within them. The thermal control system also helps to control
these changes in temperature.

A body gains or loses heat by three process-conduction, convection

and radiation.in the first and second process, amediumsuch as air
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is required around the body whereas in the third process ofradiation,
presence of medium is not necessary and it can take place in vacuum.

Power supply sub-system: This sub-system provides electrical

power to different units of the various sub-systems and the
payloads. The electrical power is normally obtained through silicone
solar cells, which convert sunlight in to electricity. In order to obtain
sufficient power, a large number of solar cells connected together
have to be placed on the outer surface of the satellite.
Communication sub-system:-This sub-system provides the most
vital link between the satellite and the ground station. Its main
functions are
1) To transmit all information in the form of digitally coded radio
signals to the ground station about the functioning of the
satellite and its payloads. In technical terms it is called
telemetry.
2) To receive digitally coded radio signals or commands from the
ground for executing specific functions on the satellite, such as
switching on/off certain equipment, opening of solar panels etc.
This process is called Telecommand.
3) To support the tracking operations from the ground for the
determination of the orbit of the satellite. The communication
sub-system consists of a radio receiver, a radio transmitter and
antennas to receive and transmit radio signals.
Orientation sub-system: For some purposes, a satellite requires to
be oriented or stabilized in certain direction. For astronomical
observations, a telescope should be pointed towards certain
direction in the sky. A satellite which is stabilized by spinning, is
called spin-stabilized satellite. An important advantage of a spin
stabilized satellite is that its outer surface becomes evenly hot due
to the solar heat radiation.another method is three-axis stabilization
technique in which three rotating wheels are kept along the three
mutually perpendicular axes of the satellite. This method gives a
better precision in the pointing capability of the satellite and
therefore it is used in communication and earth observation
satellites. For such satellites, the solar cells are kept on the panels
which continuously track the sun.
Orbit control and orbit transfer sub-system:-The orbits of the
satellites for certain specific purposes are required to be controlled
as precisely as possible. For making minute changes in the orbit
small rockets fixed on the satellite are used. These rockets can be
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activated through commands sent from the ground to make small
changes in the orbit. When the propellant of the rocket is
exhausted, the orbit of the satellite cannot be carried out and the
satellite cannot be used for communication. Therefore, the amount
of propellant decides the useful life of the satellite.
Payload:-The type of payload depends on the mission of the satellite.
For scientific satellite, the payload may consists of scientific
instruments of different types. The functioning of these instruments
depends essentially on the support provided by the different sub
systems of the satellite. If everything goes well, a scientific satellite can
work in space for a number of years and can give a large amount of
valuable data. For an application satellite, the payload would consist of
a variety of communication equipment and antennas.

Launching of a satellite:-A satellite is launche in the orbit by a multi-

stage rocket. In the beginning, the rocket is fired in the vertical
direction. After the rocket passes through the dense layer of the
lower atmosphere (~120km), the heat shield of the rocket is
separated by sending a command from the ground.the direction of
the rocket is then turned towards east in such a manner that at the
desired height of the orbit, the direction of the rocket is parallel to
the earth and its velocity is appropriate for the desired orbit at that
height. At that time, the rocket motor/engine of the last stage of the
rocket is switched off and the satellite is separated from the
rocket.the satellite then enters its orbit with the appropriate velocity.
The last stage of the rocket remains at the same height and follows
the satellite in the same orbit. If a satellite is launched in the eastern
direction, it gets the advantage of the earth’s daily rotational speed
from west to east.
Ground station:-The main function of the ground station is to keep
the radio contact with the satellite in orbit. Every ground station
consists of large antennas, radio recievers,radio transmitters, tape
recoders,computersand other related equipments.the radio signals
received from the satellite provide the telemetry data, which
consists of two parts.one part gives the observational data from the
payload and the second part gives information on the performance
of the sub-systems such as temperature values at some specific
points of the satellite, electrical power available to different units of
the sub-systems, directions of the satellite etc. This type of
information, known as the house-keeping data, is useful to judge
the life of the satellite.

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The ground station is also used for sending different types of radio
commands to the satellite. These commands are used to perform
various tasks on the satellite like switching on/off certain equipment,
firing certain rockets or the rocket motor for controlling or changing
the orbit of the satellite.
The third important function of the ground station is to track the
satellite to determine its orbit regularly. The orbit of a satellite can
be determined by obtaining the Doppler shift in the frequency ofthe
radio waves transmitted by the transmitter onboard the satellite.
Some General Aspects: After a satellite is put in its orbit, it is
generally not possible to make any repairs on it.it is therefore
necessary to ensure very high quality and reliability for all the
equipments,which are kept on the satellite. To achieve this goal all
equipments are first tested in different simulated environmental
conditions which occur during the launch phase and encountered in
space. The different environmental tests are as follows;
1) Shock and vibrational test(For launch phase conditions)
2) Vacuum test( For space condition) and
3) Temperature cycling test from high to low temperature(For in-
orbit conditions)
After all equipment’s pass through the above tests successfully,
they are certified worthy and are in corporated on the satellite.

SOME FACTS ABOUT ROCKETS

Rocket are tall, thin, round vehicle with engines which is used to
transport, satellites and things to space. They think of a rocket that
launches into space. “Rocket” can mean a type of engine

It is important to design rockets with high specific impulse

propellants and light weight structural materials. Specific impulse is
determined by the nature and the quality of propellants.

By making the rocket body lighter, one can increase the weight
payload (satellite) it can carry. To design a launch vehicle we need
scientists and engineers specialising in many different subjects
such as aeronautics, avionic,chemicals,composites, fabrication,
propellants, propulsion, softwares, structures etc.

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Some rockets are huge and carry big and heavy payloads. The
three –stage Saturn V rocket was 110m tall (that is, taller than a 36
– story building).It could take 129 tonne to low earth orbit and 48
tonne to the moon. It had three million parts. Saturn rocket was
used in Apollo programmes which took humans to the moon.
Indian Rockets
India has designed and flown Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle(GSLV).GSLV has put our communication satellite INSAT -4CR
into orbit. GSLV is a big vehicle. It can take a 2000 – 2500 kg class
communication satellite to Orbit (GTO).communication satellites are
positioned far away at 36000 km from earth. GSLV is a three stage
vehicle; 49 metre tall, with 414 tonne lift-off weight. It has a maximum
diameter of 3.4 meter at the payload fairing (heat shield). GSLV uses a
cryogenic engine for the third stage. The Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle, PSLV for short, is the star performer in ISRO rocket family.
PSLV is capable of launching 1600 kg satellites in 620 km sun-
synchronous polar orbit and 1050 kg satellite in geosynchronous
transfer orbit. In the standard configuration, it measures 44meter tall,
with a lift-off weight of 295 tonne. PSLV has four stages using solid and
liquid propulsion systems alternately. The success rate of PSLV has
been very good. PSLV has rightfully earned the status of workhorse
launch vehicle of ISRO.
The Launch Pads
Sriharikota is a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast located
about 80 km (50 mi) north of Chennai in the southern state of
Andhra Pradesh, India. It houses the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
First Launch Pad, one of the two satellite launch centers in India
with the other being the Thumba Equatorial rocket launching station
in Thiruvananthapuram. Indian Space Research Organisation
launch satellites using multistage rockets such as the Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
from Sriharikota Originally called Sriharikota High Altitude Range
SHAR, (an acronym ISRO have retained to the present day) and
then Sriharikota Launching Range,Satish Dhawan Space Centre
the centre was renamed in 2002 after the death of ISRO’s former
chairman Satish Dhawan.

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Rumbling from Thumba
The rumbling from thumba continues! At the dusk on November
21,in 1963 the first rocket took off from Thumba , marking the
beginning of ‘modern rocket era’ in the country. That was a
sounding rocket. Sounding rockets are research rockets: instrument
carrying rockets designed to make measurements and perform
scientific experiments in the upper atmosphere.

Launched into Space: Pride of Nation-SLV-3: SLV-3 is the

pride of the nation; We call it a launch vehicle. Rockets which
launch satellites are called launch vehicles.SLV-3 is India’s first
experimental satellite launch vehicle and was successfully launched
on July 18,1980 from SHAR Centre.

Space Shuttle: Rockets are normally used only once; expended,

thrown away and lost after use. But, space shuttle is a craft that has
been designed to be used again and again like an aeroplane. It has
huge payload bay to ferry satellites and space station- parts to orbit.
Special tiles protect the shuttle as it re-enters the earth’s
atmosphere.Space Shuttles were used to carry people and cargo to
the space station which is orbiting at about 300 kilometre up in the
sky.

Satellites: In astronomy, satellite is a body that orbits a planet.

There are natural satellites such as the moons and artificial (man-
made) satellites such as communication satellites and space
stations. The first artificial satellite was very simple but modern
ones are much more complicated and versatile. There are
approximately3000 satellites currently in earth’s orbits. Some of
them are very small; some are dead, some are discarded. The
largest one now is the International Space Station.

Space Race Begins: History was made on October 4, 1957, when

the soviet union successfully launched Sputnik – 1, humanity’s first
artificial satellite on-board an R-7 Semyorka rocket. The small ball
like satellite was about 58 cm in diameter and weighed only 83.6kg,
and took about 98 min to complete one earth orbit in its elliptical
path. It was an outstanding technological feat of the human race
and it triggered new scientific, technological, political and military
developments, around the world. This single event marked the
dawn of the space age and the USA – USSR space race.
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Falling, falling and not reaching: What holds satellites in the sky?
Why they are not falling? Actually , a satellite in orbit is falling
towards the earth but continuously missing it!! The launch vehicle
imparts such an appropriately high velocity to the satellite that the
Earth’s gravitational pull is only just enough to bend the satellites
path with a curvature parallel of the earth! So the satellite can never
hit the earth. This is an oversimplified explanation for a circular
orbit. By varying the injection velocity, orientation and location, we
can get a range of orbits viz. Circular, elliptical or hyperbolic.

Commanding a Satellite: A satellite cannot be left free to do

everything on its own. We have to talk to and also hear from the
satellite. Telemetry, tracking and command (TTC) and communication
systems take care of this two way of communication and control.
Commanding the satellite is the function of TTC which can switch it
ON/OFF and also receive housekeeping data through the telemetry. In
space a satellite experiences a range of temperatures varying from
1300 C to 1500C. Thermal control systems protect the satellite from the
extreme temperature changes.

Where you Are? Satellites Find Our Way: Wherever we are,

navigational satellites allow us to use small electronic receivers to
determine our location ( longitude, latitude, and altitude) to an
accuracy within a few meters. The United States Global Positioning
System (GPS) consists of up to 32 satellites in six different orbital
planes. Russian, GLONASS was a fully functional navigation
constellation which is being restored. The Chinese system is called
Bei Dou. Europe is introducing its own version of GPS, called the
Galileo Positioning System. Today, cars, trucks and aircrafts are
fitted with satellite avigation equipments that act as electronic maps
and route finders. Navigational satellites have many other
applications as well.

Orbiting Wealth: INSAT: The Indian national satellite (INSAT)

system which is the Geo stationary orbit is one of the largest
domestic communication satellite systems in the Asia- Pacific
region. Established in 1983 with the commissioning of ISAT-IB, it
initiated a major revolution in India’s telecommunications sector.
INSAT space segment consists of 24 satellites out of which ten are
in service now.
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Blessing from the Heavens : INSAT Applications: INSAT has
many applications which we enjoy every day .Long distance
telephone connectivity, television ans radio services , direct to
home (DTH) services etc. make our life more comfortable .20000
very small aperture Terminals (VSAT) have revolutionised the way
we live and interact, say foe ecommerce and e- governance stock
exchange, banking and many other instant transactions.

India has an exclusive meteorological satellite Kalpana -1 EDUSAT

heralded new era in the field of distance education.Satellite based
telemedicine network has connected hospitals in its network.

Combining the services offered by INSAT and IRS satellites, Village

Resource Centres (VRC) have been established in the country.

Eye in the Sky : Remote Sensing: Remote sensing satellites are

the eyes in the sky. They see everything under their field of view.
Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite system was commissioned
with the launch of IRS -1A, in 1988. With ten satellites in operation ,
IRS is the largest civilian remote sensing satellite constellation in
the world providing imageries in a variety of spatial resolutions ,
spectral bands and swaths.
Welfare From The Heavens : Remote Sensing Applications:
Remote sensing data is used for several applications covering
agriculture, water resources, urban development, mineral
prospecting , environment , forestry, drought and flood forecasting,
ocean resources and disaster management.

Space Stations: Space Stations are large floating laboratories in

orbit. A space station contains accommodation for the crew,
laboratory space for doing work and a place for visiting spacecraft
to dock when they receive astronauts or supplies. World’s first
space station is Salyut – 1, which was launched by the USSR in
1971. The largest of space stations is the international Space
Station, ISS, where men and women astronauts carry out research
in various disciplnes.

Polluting Space : When a Satellite Falls Down: All good things

must come to an end. Satellites in high orbits become useless once
their power supplies get exhausted. But they keep orbiting,
becoming what we call the space derbis.

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Waste already has begun to pile up in low Earth orbit. This junk is
composed of dead satellites, spent rocket stages, and
miscellaneous items left behind by astronauts and cosmonauts.
Garbage in orbit poses no direct threat to people on earth but it can
endanger any orbiting satellite. Each time a space capsule goes on
a mission, it runs one in a million chance of being hit by a tractable
piece of space derbis. This is true of any satellite in a low earth
orbit. So far no a serious attempts have been made to solve the
problem of space derbis. Satellites intended for geostationary orbits
are designed to boost themselves through the trash belt into a
higher orbit once they become junk.
INDIAN NOBEL LAURATES
The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in a
number of categories by Swedish and Norwegian committees in
recognition of cultural and/or scientific advances. The will of the
Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel established the prizes in 1895. The
prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine Literature, and
Peace were first awarded in 1901. The related Nobel Memorial Prize in
Economic Sciences was created in 1968 . The Peace Prize is awarded
in Oslo, Norway, while the other prizes are awarded in Stockholm,
Sweden. The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious
award available in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry,
peace, and economics. The various prizes are awarded yearly. Each
recipient, or laureate, receives a gold medal, a diploma and a sum of
money, which is decided by the Nobel Foundation. A prize may not be
shared among more than three people

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Year Laureates Subject Origin
1902 Ronald Ross Medicine for his work Foreign citizen
in Malaria born in India
1907 Rudyard Kipling Literature Foreign citizen
born in India
1913 Rabindranath Tagore Literature for his song Citizen of India
Offerings called Gitanjali
1930 C.V. Raman Physics for Raman Effect Citizen of India
1968 Har Gobind Khorana For Physiology - Medicine
“interpretation of the
geneticcode and its function Foreign citizen
in protein synthesis” of Indian origin
1979 Mother Teresa Peace for her work in Foreign born
helping the suffering – citizen of India
The missionaries of
Charity
1979 Abdus Salam Physics Indian-born
Pakistani citizen
1983 Subrahmanyan Physics, for his theoretical Indian-born
Chandrasekhar studies of the physical American citizen
processes of importance to
the structure and evolution
of the stars.”
1998 Amartya Sen Economic Sciences , “for Citizen of India
his contributions to
welfare economics.
2001 V. S. Naipaul Literature Indian
descendant
UK citizen
2006 Muhammad Yunus Peace Indian-born
Bangladeshi
citizen
2009 Venkatraman Chemistry, for studies of Indian born
Ramakrishnan the structure and function American Citizen
of the ribosome”
2014 Kailash Sathyarthy For Peace – For his Citizen of India
contribution towards child
welfare and education

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 WORLD SPACE WEEK (WSW)
The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World
Space Week (WSW) will be held each year from October 4-10.
World Space Week is an international celebration of science and
technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human
condition. The dates were in recognition of the October 4, 1957
launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, thus
opening the way for space exploration and the October 10, 1967
signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States
in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the
Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.
World Space Week is an international celebration of science and
technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human
condition. World Space Week aims to:
 Provide unique leverage in space outreach and education.

 Educate people around the world about the benefits that
they receive from space.

 Encourage greater use of space for sustainable economic
development.

 Demonstrate public support for space programs.

 Excite young people about science, technology,
engineering, and math.

 Foster international cooperation in space outreach and
education.
WHERE AND HOW IS WORLD SPACE WEEK CELEBRATED?
During World Space Week space education and outreach events
are organised by space agencies, aerospace companies, schools,
planetaria, museums, and astronomy clubs around the world.
WORLD SPACE WEEK 2016
This year, the World Space Week Association have selected
“Remote Sensing: Enabling our Future” as a theme for WSW.
These dates commemorate two events:
 October 4, 1957: Launch of the first human- made Earth
satellite, Sputnik 1, thus opening the way for space exploration

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 October 10, 1967 : The signing of the Treaty on Principles
Governing the Activites of States in the Exploration and
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other
Celestial Bodies.
Sputnik 1- :The first artificial satellite
The Sputnik 1 spacecraft was the first artificial satellite successfully
placed in orbit around the Earth and was launched from Baikonur
Cosmodrome at Tyuratam(370 km southwest of the small town of
Baikonur) in Kazakhstan, then part of the former Soviet Union. The
Russian word ”Sputnik” means ”companion” (“satellite” in the
astronomical sense).
In 1885 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky first described in his book, Dreams
of Earth and Sky, h ow such a satellite could be launched into a low
altitude orbit. It was the first a series of four satellites as part of the
Sputnik program of the former Soviet Union and was planned as a
contribution to the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958).
Three of these satellites (Sputnik 1, 2, and 3) reached Earth orbit.
The Sputnik 1 satellite was a 58.0 cm-diameter aluminum sphere
that carried four whip-like antennas that were 2.4-2.9 m long. The
antennas looked like long “whiskers” pointing to one side. The
spacecraft obtained data pertaining to the density of the upper
layers of the atmosphere and the propagation of radio signals in the
ionosphere. The instruments and electric power sources were
housed in a sealed capsule and included transmitters operated at
20.005 and 40.002 MHz (about 15 and 7.5 m in wavelength), the
emissions taking place in alternating groups of 0.3 s in duration.
The down link telemetry included data on temperatures inside and
on the surface of the sphere. Since the sphere was filled with
nitrogen under pressure, Sputnik 1 provided thefirst opportunity for
meteoroid detection (no such events were reported), since losses in
internal pressure due to meteoroid penetration of the outer surface
would have been evident in the temperature data. The satellite
transmitters operated for three weeks, until the on-board chemical
batteries failed.
What is satellite remote sensing?
In satellite remote sensing of the earth, the sensors are looking
through a layer of atmosphere separating the sensors from the
Earth’s surface being observed.

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 Hence, it is essential to understand the effects of atmosphere on
the electro magnetic radiation travelling from the Earth to the sensor
through the atmosphere.
We perceive the surrounding world through our five senses. Some
senses (touch and taste) require contact of our sensing organs with
the objects. However, we acquire much inform ation about our
surrounding through the senses of sight and hearing which do not
require close contact between the sensing organs and the external
objects. In another word, we are performing Remote Sensing all the
time.
Uses of Remote Sensing
 Determining soil moisture content using active and passive
sensors from space.

 Mapping with laser precision using Light Detection and
Ranging technology.

 Spinning the globe with mapping services like Google Earth,
Bing Maps and OpenStreetMaps.

 Snapping aerial photos for military surveillance using
messenger pigeons in World War II.

 Doing the detective work for fraudulent crop insurance claims.

 Searching for aircrafts and saving lives after fatal crashes.

 Detecting oil spills for marine life and environmental preserva-
tion.

 Identifying forest stands and tallying their area to estimate
forest supplies.

 Navigating ships safely with the most optimal route.

 Measuring wind speed and direction for wind farms, weather
forecasting and surfers.

 Spying on enemies with reconnaissance satellites.

 Delineating and assessing the health of riparian zones to
conserve lakes and rivers.

 Estimating surface elevation with the Shuttle Radar
Topography Mission.

 Extracting mineral deposits with hyperspectral remote sensing.

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 Watching algae grow as an indicator of environmental health.

 Forecasting weather to warn about natural disasters.

 Detecting land cover/use types for decision making.

 Mapping soil types for agriculture planning.

 Preventing the spread of forest disease types.

OZONE LAYER
The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth’s stratosphere
that absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It contains
high concentrations of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the
atmosphere, although still small in relation to other gases in the
stratosphere.
All about Ozone
Like other environmental problems, Ozone Depletion is one that is
very troubling, and rightly so, considered as a major environmental
issue by all nations on the earth.
What is Ozone?
Ozone is a natural gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. Its
chemical symbol is O3. It is blue in color and has a strong odor.
Normal oxygen (O2), which we breathe, has two oxygen atoms and
is colorless and odorless. Environmental scientists have classified
O3 into two: Good Ozone and Bad Ozone.
Good Ozone
Good ozone (also called Stratospheric Ozone) occurs naturally in the
upper Stratosphere. The stratosphere is the layer of space 6 to 30
miles above the earth’s surface.
The good Ozone come from
The air is full of gases reacting with each other, even though our
eyes do not see. When UV light strikes (Oxygen) O2 molecules,
they are split into two individual O atoms — O and O. When one of
the O atoms combine with O2 molecule, ozone (O3) is created.
Bad Ozone
Bad Ozone is also known as Tropospheric Ozone, or ground level
ozone. This gas is found in the troposphere, the layer that forms the
immediate atmosphere. Bad Ozone does not exist naturally.
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Human actions cause chemical reactions between oxides of
nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
The bad ozone come from?
Each time there is a reaction of chemicals such as those found in
cars, power plants and factory emissions, in the presence of
sunlight (UV light), Bad Ozone is created. Bad ozone contaminates
(dirties) the air and contributes to what we typically experience as
“smog” or haze.

Ozone Depletion
Ozone layer depletion, is simply the wearing out (reduction) of the
amount of ozone in the stratosphere. Unlike pollution, which has
many types and causes, Ozone depletion has been pinned down to
one major human activity.
Industries that manufacture things like insulating foams, solvents,
soaps, cooling things like Air Conditioners, Refrigerators and ‘Take-
Away’ containers use something called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
These substances are heavier than air, but over time, (2-5years)
they are carried high into the stratosphere by wind action.
How Ozone Depletion Affects UV Levels?
Depletion of the ozone layer has consequences on humans,
animals and plants. This typically results from higher UV levels
reaching us on earth.
Humans
Research confirms that high levels of UV Rays cause non-
melanoma skin cancer. Additionally, it plays a major role in
malignant melanoma development. UV is also linked to cataracts (a
disease of the eye which clouds the eye’s lens).
Plants
The damage that extreme UV levels has on plants is one that our eyes
do not see much, but humans can feel the impact. Plant growth, as well
as its physiological and developmental processes are all
- 50 -
affected negatively. These include the way plants form, timing of
development and growth, distribution of plant nutrients and
metabolism, etc. These changes can have important implications
for plant competitive balance, animals that feed on these plants,
plant diseases, and biogeochemical cycles.
Marine (or water) Ecosystems
Phytoplankton form the foundation of aquatic food webs. These
usually grow closer to the surface of water, where there is enough
sunlight. Changes in UV levels is known to affect the development
and growth of phytoplankton, and naturally, the fish that feed on
them. UV radiation is also known to have affect the development
stages of fish, shrimp, crab, amphibians and other animals. When
this happens, animals in the upper food chain that feed on these
tiny fishes are all affected.
Effects on Biogeochemical Cycles
The power of higher UL levels affect the natural balance of gasses
(and greenhouse gases) in the biosphere e.g., carbon dioxide
(CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbonyl sulfide (COS) and ozone.
Changes in UV levels can cause biosphere-atmosphere feedback
resulting from the atmospheric buildup of these gases.
How to conserve Ozone Layer?
Ozone is a natural gas and is naturally replenished over time. This
means if we can do something to balance the natural production
with its depletion, there should not be a problem. Unfortunately, it
does not quiet work like that.
People ask if we cannot produce our own ozone gas to replenish
what is lost in the stratosphere. That’s a good question. The sun
naturally produces ozone with immense energy and over time. To
do the same, we will be looking at using immense energy too, about
twice the energy used in the USA. That is just not practical.
The only way to do that is to remove the excess chlorine and
bromine from the stratosphere. And the only way to do that is to
stop making CFCs and several other chemicals. This is why in the
1990s a meeting of the worlds big nations met and agreed to
reduce the usage of CFCs and also encouraged other nations to do
the same. That was decided in the Montreal Protocol.
This is not enough, but at least it was a good starting point. It is
always best to talk and discuss problems than to do nothing at all.
This is why learning about Ozone depletion, like you are doing, is
the most important step towards a safe environment in future.

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 QUIZ
Question Paper
1. Who was the first provide evidence for the expansion of the
Universe?
(a) Harlow Shapley (b) Henrietta S Leavitt (c) Henry Russel
(d) Edvin Hubble
2. Who was the first in the World to claim that the earth
rotates about its axis and gave the correct rate of its
rotation?
(a) Hipparchus (b) Meton (c) Ahmose
(d) Aryabhata 1
3. Who was the first to explain the presence of dark lines in
Sun’s spectrum?
(a) Meghnad Saha (b) Joseph von Fraunhofer (c) Robert
Bunsen (d) Gustav Kirchhoff
4. Who was the first to observe the way back in 1631, the
transit of a planet across the face of the Sun?
(a) Johann Kepler(b) Pierre Gassendi (c) Michael
Mastlin (d) Johann Bayer
5. Who was the first to build a radio telescope?
(a) Karl Jansky (b) Bernard Lovell (c) Grote Reber
(d) Henrik van de Hulst
6. Who was the first to identify a double radio source?
(a) R.C. Jennison (b) M.K. Das Gupta (c) J.S.Hey
(d) Grote Reber
7. Who was the first to coin the name ‘Black hole’ for an
exotic bizarre heavenly body?
(a) Roger Penrose(b) John Wheeler (c) Kips Thorne
(d) Karl Schwarzshild
8. Which was the first white dwarf to be discovered?
(a) Kuiper’s star (b) Sirius B (c) 40 Eridani B
(d) Procyon B
9. Which was the first heavenly body where active volcanoes
were found?
(a) Moon (b) Jo (c) Europa (d) Saturn
10. Which was the first compound reflecting telescope?
(a) Newtonian telescope (b) Cassegrain telescope
(c) Gregorian telescope (d) Schmidt telescope
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11. Which was the first ‘Modern planet’?
(a) Uranus (b) Neptune (c) Pluto (d) Mars
12. Which was the first double star to be discovered?
(a) Mizar (b) Arcturus (c) Menkar (d) Algedi
13. Where was the World’s first modern planetarium installed?
(a) London (b) Moscow (c) New York (d) Bonn
14. Which was the first eclipsing binary star to be discovered ?
(a) Beta Lyrae (b) Algol (c) Epsilon Aurigae
(d) Alpha Capricorni
15. Which was the first heavenly body with an extra solar
planet discovered?
(a) Quasar (b) Supernova (c) Pulsar
(d) Brown Dwarf
16. Who estimated the minimum distance at which a natural
satellite can move around its planet without being torn
apart?
(a) E.A. Roche (b) J.E. Bode (c) S.B. Nicholson
(d) G.P. Kuiper
17. Who predicted the presence of ‘Brown Dwarf’ - the
intermediate between a star and a planet – before it was
eventually discovered?
(a) Chushiro Hayashi (b) Victor Safronov (c) Shiv
Kumar (d) Fred Hoyle
18. Who found the relationship between the absolute
brightness of a star and its spectral class or temperature?
(a) James Jeans (b) Ejnar Hertzsprung
(c) Arthur Eddington (d) Henry Norris Russell
19. Who was the founder of Lunar topography?
(a) Johanness Hevelius (b) Giovanni Riccioli
(c) Johann Kepler (d) Galileo Galilei
20. Who dethroned the Sun from the previously assumed position of
the centre of our galaxy and gave true picture of it?
(a) J.C. Kapteyn (b) J.H. Oort (c) Harlow Shapley
(d) Ernst Opik
21. Whose mathematical prediction of Neptune eventually led
to its discovery?
(a) J.C Adams (b) John Herschel
(c) Friedrich W. Bessel (d) Urbain Leverrier

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22. Who devised a scale of seeing the state of atmosphere for
astronomical observations?
(a) John Dalton (b) Anders Celsius (c) E.M. Antoniadi
(d) Nicolas Lacaille
23. Who showed that ‘solar wind’ a stream of highly energetic
and charged particles, emitted by the sun exists?
(a) Herbert Friedman (b) H.D. Babcock (c) Edward
Maunder (d) E.N. Parker
24. Who forwarded the law that gives the mean distance of
planets from the sun?
(a) J.E. Bode (b) Johann Kepler (c) Tycho Brahe
(d) Christiaan Huygens
25. Who established the exact mechanism of the generation of
energy inside the sun and other stars?
(a) Meghnad Saha(b) Geoffery Burbidge (c) Hans Bethe
(d) Carl von Weizsackar
26. Who developed the technique for measuring the distance of
distant stars?
(a) Edward Pickering (b) Christian Doppler (c)
friedrich W. Bessel (d) Henrietta S Leavitt
27. Who determined the velocity of light by an astronomical
method- timing the eclipses of Jupiter’s moons by the
planet?
(a) Galileo Galilei (b) James Bradley
(c) E.W. Morley (d) Olaus Roemer
28. Who discovered Neptune?
(a) J.G. Galle (b) J.C. Adams (c) Urbain Leverrer
(d) Clyde Tombaugh
29. Who discovered solar flares?
(a) William Herschel (b) Richard C. Carrington
(c) Donald Menzel (d) Edward Sabine
30. Who discovered the milli- second pulsar?
(a) Srinivas Kulkarni (b) Jocelyn Bell (c) J.S Hey
(d) Martin Ryle
31. Who discovered the element Helium in the sun, long before
it was found on earth?
(a) Norman Lockyer (b) Pierre Jenssen
(c) Gustav Kirchhoff (d) William Ramsey

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32 Who discovered the asteroid Ceres?
(a) J.E. Bode (b) Caroline Hershel
(c) Giuseppe Piazzi (d) Anonymous
33. Who discovered Cosmic Rays?
(a) Bruno B Rossi (b) Victor F Hess (c) Robert A Millikan
(d) Frederick Reines
34. Who discovered the moons of Mars?
(a) Tycho Brahe (b) Asaph Hall (c) E.M. Antoniadi
(d) Mikhai Lomonosov
35. Who invented the reflecting telescope?
(a) William Herschel (b) William Parsons
(c) Issac Newton (d) Galileo Galilei
36. Who invented the Gregorian Telescope?
(a) David Gregory(b) James Gregory
(c) Pope Gregory XIII (d) None
37. Who invented the Spectroheliograph designed to
photograph the sun in the light of one particular
wavelength?
(a) John Evershed (b) George Ellery Hale
(c) Pietro Secchi (d) Warren de la Rue
38. Who founded the first real observatory in Europe with the
patronage of a king?
(a) Galileo Galilei (b) Issac Newton
(c) Tycho Brahe (d) Nicolaus Copernicus
39. Which observatory has the largest refractor in the world
today?
(a) Lick Observatory (b) Siding Spring Observatory
(c) Yerkes Observatory (d) European Southern Observatory
40. Who Built a huge astronomical observatory in Samarkand,
now in Uzbekisthan?
(a) Al- kashi (b) Ulugh Beg
(c) Alhazen (d) Omar Khayyam
41. What is the ideal place for an astronomical observatory?
(a) Space (b) Mountain Top (c) Lakeside
(d) Seashore
42. Who founded the famous Royal Greenwich Observatory?
(a) John Flamsteed (b) Edmund Halley
(c) William Herschel (d) King Charles II

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43. A satellite observatory launched sometime ago was named
in honour of an Indian born astrophysicist. Who is he?
(a) S. Chandrasekhar (b) Shiv K Kumar
(c) Srinivas kulkarni (d) M K V Bappu
44. Which space observatory is likely to throw more light on
extra- solar planets?
(a) Chandra X-ray Observatory
(b) Space Infrared Telescope Facility
(c) Hubble Space Telescope (d) Mars Express Orbiter.
45. Where is the multiple Mirror Telescope located?
(a) Mount Hevelius (b) Mount palmer (c) Mount Wilson
(d) Mount Hamilton
46. Which instrument is used to determine the presence of
molecules in celestial objects?
(a) Spectrometer (b) Radiometer (c) Spectrograph
(d) Spectroscope
47. Which device demonstrates the motion of the planets and
in the Moon in the solar system?
(a) Planetarium (b) Siderostat (c) Orrery
(d) No such device exists
48. Which instrument is used to study the corona of the sun
through a telescope?
(a) Magnetograph (b) Collimator
(c) Coronograph (d) Sextant
49. Which instrument is used to detect differences in two
photographs taken of the same region of the sky?
(a) Spectrometer (b) Sextant
(c) Blink Microscope (d) Speckle Interferometer
50. Which Instrument is used for conducting astronomical
photography?
(a) Spectrograph (b) Astrograph (c) Photometer
(d) Quadrant

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SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER

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Published By :
VIKRAM SARABHAI SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Sarabhai Science Park, Plot no 10/870, Thengode P.O, Kakkanad,
Kochi. For the purpose of SPOT Assessment
Website : www.vikramsarabhaiscienceinitiative.com

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