Latest news with #SibuTripathi
India Today
10-08-2025
- Science
- India Today
Two crop seeds from Ladakh were sent to space. Now, they will be planted
Nasa astronauts have brought back seeds from the cold desert of Ladakh that spent just over a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS).The seeds of seabuckthorn and Himalayan buckwheat, two nutrient-rich crops native to Ladakh, returned to Earth aboard the Crew-10 mission, which splashed down on August seeds were part of the 'Emerging Space Nations' Space for Agriculture & Agriculture for Space' experiment, a collaborative initiative that explores how plants endure the unique stresses of space, including microgravity, radiation, and extreme temperature The payload was carried to the ISS with Nasa's Crew-11 mission earlier this for their exceptional nutritional and medicinal properties, seabuckthorn and Himalayan buckwheat are key components of Ladakh's agricultural heritage. Both species thrive in one of the harshest climates on Earth, making them ideal candidates for testing resilience in space environments. Ladakh is going through major environmental change. (Photo: Sibu Tripathi) 'This is the first-ever batch of seeds flown from Ladakh to space, symbolising resilient foods for cold, adverse environments,' said Siddharth Pandey, Director of Protoplanet, which collaborated on the experiment. 'Part of them will be sent for scientific analysis by our researchers, while the rest will be gifted to the people of Ladakh to inspire coming generations. It also paves the way for quick access to space and the return of samples from India via our partnership with Jaguar. As a symbolic gesture for public awareness and inspiration, we will gift some seeds to the UT Ladakh government.'Scientists hope that studying their genetic and metabolic responses to space exposure will reveal traits that could be harnessed for sustainable food production during long-duration space missions, and potentially enhance crop performance on Earth.'The cold desert varieties from Ladakh already survive extreme conditions on our planet. By sending them to space, we push their resilience limits even further,' said a scientist associated with the experiment. 'What we learn could help us grow food in places where it's currently impossible, whether that's on Mars or in arid regions here on Earth.'Following their return, the seeds will undergo rigorous laboratory analysis to detect any genetic mutations, structural changes, or metabolic shifts triggered by the orbital findings could open doors to developing hardier crops that can withstand climate change-related stresses such as drought, poor soil quality, and temperature experiment also represents a significant step for India in the global space-agriculture arena, showcasing Ladakh's role in pioneering research with international now, the tiny seeds carry within them the potential to unlock big answers, not just for feeding astronauts in deep space, but for securing food supplies in some of the most challenging environments on Earth.- Ends
India Today
11-06-2025
- Science
- India Today
Why India is spending ₹500 cr on Axiom-4
India's ₹500 crore investment in the Axiom-4 mission covers not just one, but two astronauts. The experience gained by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is expected to play a key role in shaping India's upcoming Gaganyaan mission. India Today's Sibu Tripathi breaks it down—tune in. #Axiom4 #IndiaNews #ShubhanshuShukla #Ganganyaan #Space #Science
India Today
22-04-2025
- Science
- India Today
Could sugarcane juice power your car? An Indian team is working to make it possible
As the world continues to look at new alternatives to fossil fuel, your car of the future could have a fuel source extracted from sugarcane fuels are the main source of energy used by humans today. But using too much of them is causing these fuels to run out and creating serious environmental problems. At the same time, the energy demand is growing quickly as the world's economy grows and the population estimate that by 2040, global energy use will increase by 48% compared to what it was in 2012. To reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and meet this growing energy need, we must find a new fuel that is plentiful, renewable, and better for the environment. Sugarcane juice is being used to extract clean hydrogen. (Photo: Sibu Tripathi) This green alternative is hydrogen, which could be extracted from sugarcane juice, and India is one of the biggest producers of sugarcane in the at the Pune-based MIT-World Peace University have devised a unique method to extract hydrogen from sugarcane juice that could be then used as a fuel to power hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), which use hydrogen gas to generate patented technology has been successfully used to extract over 140 litres of hydrogen from four litres of sugarcane team is using an undisclosed microorganism, which also converts carbon dioxide into acetic acid, making it more university has developed an innovative bioprocess that uses sugarcane juice, along with seawater and wastewater, to extract green hydrogen — all at room approach stands out from conventional water-splitting methods by not only lowering energy requirements but also producing valuable byproducts, resulting in zero waste discharge. Researchers at the Pune-based MIT-World Peace University have devised the unique method. (Photo: Sibu Tripathi) "The process supports the global push to bring down the cost of hydrogen to $1 per kilogram, making it a promising solution for India's clean energy transition. The team is now looking for industry partners to help scale the technology from the lab to real-world applications through collaboration and technology transfer,". Dr Bharat Kale, Emeritus Professor & Director of the Material Science Department at MIT-WPU university aims to support industries in scaling up the technology, which could be commercially viable within a the process is unique, it still takes over three to four days to extract the hydrogen from the given sample of sugarcane university is now looking to scale up the production in collaboration with private players.(The author visited MIT-WPU on an familiarisation invitation from the university)Must Watch
