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The Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) will reportedly provide ISRO with the Venusian Neutrals Analyser instrument (VNA) -- a lightweight, low-power but highly capable energetic neutral atom (ENA) analyser.

The VNA will study the interaction between charged particles from the Sun and Venus’ atmosphere and exosphere. 

The VOM mission, expected to launch in March 2028, will help unravel “Venusian atmosphere, geology and generate large amounts of science data probing into its thick atmosphere,” according to a Cabinet communique. 

The Cabinet has also “approved a fund of Rs 1,236 Crore for the VOM, of which Rs 824 Crore will be spent on the spacecraft”.

The VNA will be integrated into the plasma package, Venus Ionospheric and Solar Wind Particle AnalySer (VISWAS), provided by the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 

The IRF was also the Principal Investigator of the plasma package on the European Space Agency’s Venus Express mission from 2004-2014. The VOM mission will be Sweden’s second Venus exploration. 

Sweden has been India’s space partner since 1986. It also partnered with ISRO on Chandrayaan missions 1, 2 and 3. The country also aims to partner with Chandrayaan 4 and Ganganyaan - - India’s human spaceflight mission.

Venus is the closest planet to Earth and is believed to have formed in conditions similar to Earth. 

The VOM probe offers a unique opportunity to understand how planetary environments can evolve very differently, and to find the causes for the transformation of Venus -- believed to be once habitable and quite similar to Earth.

The VOM mission will be accomplished by the Department of Space and is envisaged to orbit a scientific spacecraft in the orbit of planet Venus. 

The mission would also enable India for future planetary missions with larger payloads, and optimal orbit insertion approaches.  

(IANS)

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Taking to X Saturday morning, the Prime Minister expressed: “Remembering Lata Didi on her birth anniversary. She will always live on in the hearts and minds of people due to her soulful songs.”

“Lata Didi and I had a special bond. I have been fortunate to receive her affection and blessings,” he added.

Accompanying his post, PM Modi shared a picture of himself with the singer. The photo, however, leads the viewer to a story by her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar, also a prominent music composer who, for The Indian Express, shed light on the bond between ‘Narendra bhai’ and the legendary singer on the occasion.

“Lata Didi would always express her pride in Narendra Modi's achievements as Prime Minister and the positive changes he was making in the country. Didi always said, ‘My brother Modi will lead the country forward,’ and he has done so over the past decade,” Hridaynath Mangeshkar wrote.

Born as Hema Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar was also an occasional music composer. Celebrated as one of the most influential singers in the Subcontinent, her voice is as popular in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal as it is in India.

Mangeshkar recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages as well as a few foreign languages.

She has a number of accolades from India and abroad to her credit including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and Bharat Ratna. She was the second singer to receive India's highest civilian honour. France conferred its highest civilian honour and made her an Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.

Her career in the Indian music industry spanned over eight decades, earning her honorific titles like the ‘Queen of Melody’, ‘Nightingale of India’, and ‘Voice of the Millennium’.

She passed away on February 6, 2022, in Mumbai at the age of 92.

(IANS)

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Officials said that after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of terrorists in Adigam village of the district, security forces, including the Army, police and the CRPF, started a CASO (Cordon and Search Operation) in the area.

“After carefully approaching the hiding terrorists to ensure that no damage is caused to civilian life and property, the security forces came under heavy firing from the terrorists. Three Army soldiers and an officer of J&K Police were injured. Security forces have plugged all escape routes to ensure that the hiding terrorists are unable to escape. Reinforcements have already reached the encounter site. The injured security personnel have been shifted to a hospital for treatment," officials said.

Terrorists believed to be hardcore foreign mercenaries, have carried out hit-and-run attacks against the Army, local police and civilians in the hilly districts of Doda, Kathua, Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi of Jammu division during the last three to four months.

After carrying out ambushes against the Army and others in the hilly areas, the terrorists would escape into the densely foliaged and forested regions of these hilly districts.

To thwart the tactics of the terrorists, over 4,000 soldiers drawn from the elite Para Commandos and those trained in mountain warfare were deployed in the high ranges and densely forested areas of the Jammu division. After this revised strategy by the security forces, terrorist attacks in these districts have drastically come down.

With their ubiquitous presence in these areas, the security forces have been able to establish contact (engage terrorists in gunfights) in these areas. Five terrorists have been killed so far after the security forces revisited their strategy to meet the challenge posed by the foreign mercenaries.

(IANS)

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