The Prayas ePathshala

Exams आसान है !

Q1. What is DART Mission? Also, explain its purpose and significance.

Paper & Topic: GS III – Science and Technology related issues

Model Answer:

What is DART Mission:

NASA launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) planetary defense mission in November 2021.
It was launched from the Californian Vandenberg Space Launch Complex on a Falcon rocket.
The binary asteroid system, which consists of two asteroids orbiting the sun simultaneously, is the object of this study. Dimorphos, a 160 m diameter asteroid that orbits the bigger Didymos, is the precise objective of the expedition. They are 11.2 million kilometers away from the planet.

Purpose:

The “kinetic impactor technique,” also known as the “kick method,” aims to veer asteroids away from Earth and change their course before they actually hit the planet.
The predicted closest distance between the two expedition objectives and Earth is 6.4 million kilometers. However, the DART mission was created to evaluate how well the method worked when applied to analyze asteroids with similar compositions.
When compared to Dimorphos’ mass of 5 billion kg, the DART’s mass of 600 kg is incredibly negligible. It was anticipated that DART’s 23,760 kph speed would be enough to lessen Dimorphos’ angular momentum in the event that the two objects met.
The smaller asteroid would then pick up speed and diverge from its path in order to approach the larger one. With these adjustments, Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos would be accelerated. The course of the asteroid system would change.

Significance:

The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico is the location of the Chicxulub impact crater.
It was formed 66 million years ago when a 10-kilometer-diameter asteroid collided with the planet.
It also caused volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and sun-blocking clouds.
It astonished scientists by eradicating 75% of all plant and animal life on Earth. Dinosaurs are similar to other animals in this way.
Even though it’s rare, a big asteroid might yet hit Earth. A region the size of Chennai might be destroyed entirely by an asteroid, even if it were only 100 meters wide. The entire human civilization might be destroyed by a comparable impact.

Q2. What do you understand by the concept of a ‘Centralized Electricity Market’? Discuss.

Paper & Topic: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions related issues

Model Answer:

About:

The Union Power Ministry’s proposed Market-based Economic Dispatch (MBED) system calls for the centralized dispatching of the 1,400 trillion units of power used annually.
Both intrastate and interstate dispatches must adhere to this schedule.
According to the Constitution, the question of power remains ongoing. State Load Dispatch Centers distribute electrical networks into various control zones based on each state. The regional and national load dispatch centers are in charge of these SLDCs.
Each control area must manage its demands with generation resources in real-time under the current architecture.

Why is it used in this manner?

In order to help the “One Nation, One Grid, One Frequency, One Price” program and expand India’s power markets, the Union Power Ministry is in favor of this notion.
The plan might make it possible to distribute the cheapest, easiest-to-find electricity across the country in order to satisfy all demands.
There would be a “universal clearing price” in this scenario. The cost at which supply and demand are equal is known as the clearing price, market clearing price, or equilibrium price.
The idea behind it is that sellers and buyers would submit their market offers the previous day, and that this would result in the establishment of the market clearing price. As a result, energy users will save a lot of money.

What is worrying the states, exactly?

The energy sector has grown in importance as a source of friction between center-states throughout time. The distribution industry, which is the weakest link in the electricity network, is to blame for the majority of the current tensions.
The central government has been developing a number of programs to enhance the state discoms’ operational and financial circumstances. Despite numerous attempts, the discoms’ financial situation is perilous, and growing losses threaten the provincial and federal governments’ economy.
The RBI reported that keeping the discoms in 18 states could end up costing those states 2.3% of their GDP.

How do we approach it?

The suggested MBED technique affects the entire system and drastically changes participant infrastructure and activities, thus caution is required.
Studies on this paradigm are being done all over the world. For instance, the current European gas crisis has exposed market weaknesses in which marginal electricity costs are correlated with the pricing of the lowest-cost producers (usually a gas plant). One disadvantage is the need to make up for a nuclear power plant’s 5X increase in input costs when gas prices climb. So it is not a good idea to use the MBED model right away.

Conclusion: