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TeamIndus to launch India’s first private moon mission in 2017

  • TeamIndus, a private aerospace starup company is planning to send a spacecraft to the moon aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket on December 28, 2017.
  • It will be India’s first private moon mission to be launched.
  • It will be launched onboard of ISRO’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
  •  TeamIndus moon mission’s aim is to land this spacecraft on the moon.
  • It will also travel at least 500 metres and beam high- definition images, video and data back to the earth. Except for the launch vehicle, all of the technology that will power the lander and rover will be developed in-house by TeamIndus.
  • For launching purpose TeamIndus has signed an agreement Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO. ISRO’s workhorse PSLV will launch the TeamIndus’s spacecraft in a three-day window centred on December 28, 2017.
  • After completing a rotation around the earth, the spacecraft will land in 21 days at Mare Imbrium, a region in the North-Western hemisphere of the Moon.
  • If the mission goes successful, it would likely pip ISRO’s proposed moon-lander mission — Chandrayaan 2.
  • It launch date is not yet formally announced.

    UNESCO includes Yoga in Intangible Cultural Heritage list

  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has formally inscribed Yoga in its representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
  • Decision in this regard was taken by the Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • The declaration describes Yoga, an ancient Indian practice as a Human Treasure.
  • It was unanimously supported by all the 24 members of inter-governmental Committee.
  • Other new inscriptions added in the list are Rumba dance (Cuba), Belgian beer (Belgium), Almezmar (Saudi Arabia), Kuresi  (Kazakhstan) and Khidr Elias feast (Iraq), Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals (Japan), Momoeria,
  • New Year’s celebration (Greece), practice of organizing shared interests in cooperatives (Germany),Making and sharing flatbread (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan), Culture of Jeju Haenyeo (South Korea), Gada system (Ethiopia),Tahteeb, stick game (Egypt), Music and dance of the merengue (Dominican Republic), Valencia Fallas festivity (Spain), Solar Term(China), Mangal Shobhajatra on Pahela Baishakh(Bangladesh).

    List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity from India


  • Koodiyattam:Sanskrit Theatre of Kerala
  • Mudiyett: theatre ritual of Kerala
  • Tradition of Vedic Chanting.
  • Kalbelia: folk songs and dances of Rajasthan.
  • Ramlila: Traditional Performance of the Ramayana.
  • Sankirtana: singing, drumming and dancing ritual of Manipur.
  • Ramman: religious festival and ritual theatre of Garhwal Himalayas.
  • Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil of Thatheras: Punjab.
  • Chhau dance: classical Indian dance originated in the eastern Indian states.
  • Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.