Times Top News

Times Top News

US Spaceship Hours Away From Daring Moon Landing Attempt

US Spaceship Hours Away From Daring Moon Landing Attempt

by | Mar 2, 2025 | top-stories



After a long journey through space, a US company is just hours away from attempting a daring lunar touchdown — its spacecraft poised to become only the second private lander to achieve the feat if it succeeds.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 is targeting landing no sooner than 3:34 am US Eastern time (0834 GMT) on Sunday, aiming for a site near Mons Latreille, a volcanic feature in Mare Crisium on the Moon’s northeastern near side.

“Blue Ghost is ready to take the wheel!” the company posted on X on Saturday evening, adding flight controllers had just initiated a key maneuver that lowers a spacecraft’s orbit.

Nicknamed “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” the mission comes just over a year after the first-ever commercial lunar landing and is part of a NASA partnership with industry to cut costs and support Artemis, the program aiming to return astronauts to the Moon.

The golden lander, about the size of a hippopotamus, launched on January 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, capturing stunning footage of Earth and the Moon along the way. It shared a ride with a Japanese company’s lander set to attempt a landing in May.

Blue Ghost carries ten instruments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-tolerant computer and an experiment testing the feasibility of using the existing global satellite navigation system to navigate the Moon.

Designed to operate for a full lunar day (14 Earth days), Blue Ghost is expected to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on March 14, when Earth blocks the Sun from the Moon’s horizon.

On March 16, it will record a lunar sunset, offering insights into how dust levitates above the surface under solar influence — creating the mysterious lunar horizon glow first documented by Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan.

Hopping drone

Blue Ghost’s arrival will be followed on March 6 by Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission, featuring its lander Athena.

In February 2024, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to achieve a soft lunar landing — also the first US landing since the crewed Apollo 17 mission of 1972. 

However, the success was tempered by a mishap: the lander came down too fast, tipped over on impact, leaving it unable to generate enough solar power and cutting the mission short.

This time, the company says it has made key improvements to the hexagonal-shaped lander, which has a taller, slimmer profile than Blue Ghost, and is around the height of an adult giraffe. 

Athena launched on Wednesday aboard a SpaceX rocket, taking a more direct route toward Mons Mouton — the southernmost lunar landing site ever attempted.

Its payloads include three rovers, a drill to search for ice and the star of the show: a first-of-its-kind hopping drone designed to explore the Moon’s rugged terrain.

NASA’s private Moon fleet

Landing on the Moon presents unique challenges due to the absence of an atmosphere, making parachutes ineffective. 

Instead, spacecraft must rely on precisely controlled thruster burns to slow their descent.

Until Intuitive Machines’ first successful mission, only five national space agencies had accomplished this feat: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India and Japan, in that order. 

Now, the United States is working to make private lunar missions routine through NASA’s $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

The missions come at a delicate moment for NASA, amid speculation that it may scale back or even cancel its Artemis lunar program in favor of prioritizing Mars exploration — a key goal of both President Donald Trump and his close advisor, SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)






Source link

Massive Fire Erupts In Chemical Factory In Madhya Pradesh Capital

Massive Fire Erupts In Chemical Factory In Madhya Pradesh Capital

by | Mar 1, 2025 | top-stories




Bhopal:

A massive fire broke out in a paint-making chemical factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Govindpura on Saturday. The blaze erupted behind the Tata Mahindra showroom on JK Road, with firefighters engaged in rescue operations. 

The cause of the fire is suspected to be a short circuit. Flames soaring up to 20 feet have engulfed the factory, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky. The smoke was visible from several kilometres away.

A large cylinder burst within the factory premises, amplifying the fire’s intensity and causing panic. As a precaution, all showroom operators in the vicinity shut their businesses. The industrial area houses several major vehicle showrooms.

In response to the emergency, firefighters from Govindpura, Pul Bogda, and Fatehgarh fire stations arrived at the scene with 10 to 12 fire brigade vehicles. 

As the flames continued to rage, a large crowd gathered near the site. The police have also reached the spot and are managing the situation, ensuring that civilians maintain a safe distance. Nearby shop owners and showroom employees evacuated their premises as a precautionary measure.




Source link

Trump, Zelensky In Oval Office Shouting Match: “Make A Deal Or We Are Out”

Trump, Zelensky In Oval Office Shouting Match: “Make A Deal Or We Are Out”

by | Feb 28, 2025 | top-stories




Washington DC:

Minutes into the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, a verbal clash broke out between the two leaders at the Oval Office. In a loud and stern voice, President Trump told Mr Zelensky that you “either make a deal or we are out”.

“You are in big trouble…you are not winning this,” he said.

President Zelensky responded in equal measure, saying that “We are in our own country, and we have stayed strong all this time. We have even thanked you for it (your support)”.

But an extraordinary shouting match ensued between the two leaders as the international media watched in utter disbelief. “I’m afraid dealing this way is going to make things very difficult,” said President Trump as hopes for a peace deal in Ukraine hung in the balance.

“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country,” Donald Trump added.

The argument extended to the US Vice President as well, when Zelensky asked him not to “talk loudly”. US Vice President JD Vance told President Zelensky that “diplomacy was needed” to end the war, but Mr Zelensky hit back saying “what kind of diplomacy?” Mr Vance then accused him of being “disrespectful” in the president’s office.

Here’s a video of the rest of the verbal duel between Trump and Zelensky:

Defending the Vice President, Donald Trump lashed out at President Zelensky saying “We have given you $350 billion, we gave you military equipment, and a lot of backing. If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks.”

To this, President Zelensky immediately shot back, indirectly accusing Trump of speaking the same words as Putin. saying “yes-yes, wouldn’t have lasted two days – I heard that from Putin too,”

Donald Trump, surprised by Zelensky’s resilience to his verbal dressing-down, ended up saying “It is going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” as the minerals deal seemed close to slipping away, which would in-turn mean no ceasefire or peace deal.

To bring things in control, the US Vice President stepped in again, saying “There are disagreements. Let’s go litigate those disagreements, instead of fighting it out in fromt of the American media when you are wrong. We know you (Zelensky) are wrong”.

Donald Trump immediately said “I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on. That’s why I kept this story for so long. You have got to be thankful for all that we have done. You just don;t have the cards (to go solo).”

Almost scolding Zelensky, Trump said “People are dying, you’re running low on soldiers, and then you tell us ‘I don’t want a ceasefire’, and ‘I want to go on fighting’ – look…you need to call a ceasefire now so that the bullets stop flying, and no more lives are lost. I am here, and I want a ceasefire, but clearly you don’t want a ceasefire,” Trump said.

Zelensky hit back again asking Trump to “ask your predecessors what they have to say about the ceasefire”, to which Trump immediately said “That was a guy named Biden, who was not a smart person”.

“But that was your President”, exclaimed Zelensky. Trump continued speaking over the Ukrainian President, saying “I gave you javelins (a man-portable anti-tank system). Obama gave you sheets (to cover dead bodies). You have got to be more thankful to the person who actually helped.”

“Let me be very straight with you – you do not have the cards. With us, you have the cards, and without us, you do not have any cards,” President Trump said towards the end of the argument before the press started asking questions.

After the high-decibel meeting, Donald Trump shared a message on his social media platform Truth Social, in which he wrote “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved.”

“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” President Trump added.

In the wake of this ugly meeting, the hope for peace in Ukraine now seems indefinitely delayed.
 






Source link

Man, Accused Of Raping Woman Inside Bus In Pune, Arrested After 75 Hours

Man, Accused Of Raping Woman Inside Bus In Pune, Arrested After 75 Hours

by | Feb 28, 2025 | top-stories




Pune:

Dattatraya Ramdas Gade, the man accused of allegedly raping a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at Pune’s Swargate bus station, has been arrested on Friday.

Gade was arrested from the Shrirur Tehsil after nearly 75 hours of a manhunt.

The woman was raped on Tuesday morning, 100 metres from a police station and in a bus at the city’s Swargate Bus Stand – one of the largest bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). The incident took place between 5.45 am and 6 am when the victim was waiting to board a bus to her hometown in the Satara district.

According to the survivor, the accused initially engaged her in a conversation, calling her ‘didi’ (sister). He told her that the bus for Satara had arrived at another platform and then took her to an empty bus (Shiv Shahi AC bus) parked on the premises. As the lights inside the bus were not switched on, she hesitated to get in, but the man convinced her that it was the right vehicle, the victim who works in the medical field said.

Also Read | “Remember Nirbhaya?” DY Chandrachud On Pune Bus Rape Case

As she boarded the bus, Gade followed her and raped her.

Gade had been on the run since then.

Sources told NDTV that the accused had posed as a policeman for several months. The 37-year-old accused, a resident of Gunat village in Pune, is also named in half a dozen cases of theft, robbery, and chain snatching in the Pune and Ahilyanagar districts. He has been out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences.

How the accused was arrested 

A total of 13 police teams were deployed at various locations around Maharashtra to arrest the accused. Sniffer dogs and drones were also deployed as a part of the search operation. Pune City and Pune Rural Police had launched a search operation in Gunat village, including in sugarcane fields.

The Pune police had earlier issued a monetary reward of Rs 1 lakh for those who provide information on the accused’s whereabouts. Another police official said the information could be shared at 020-24442769 or 9881670659, assuring that the informer’s identity would be kept secret.





Source link

After India Request, US Grants Visa Interview For Injured Student's Family: Sources

After India Request, US Grants Visa Interview For Injured Student's Family: Sources

by | Feb 27, 2025 | top-stories



New Delhi:

The United States has granted an interview – at 9 am Friday – for an emergency visa to the father of Nilam Shinde, the 35-year-old woman in a coma in a California hospital after a road accident on February 14, sources told NDTV Thursday afternoon.

Here are the top 10 points in this big story:

  1. Earlier today sources told NDTV the External Affairs Ministry’s Americas Division had reached out to the US government. Sources said travel permits for medical emergencies are normally given quickly and it is unclear what led to the delay in this instance.
  2. Ms Shinde – a student at California State University – suffered serious injuries, including fractures, after she was mowed down from behind by a four-wheeler on February 14.

  3. Her family applied for a visa 48 hours later, but the application has been pending since. Ms Shinde’s uncle, Kadam Shinde, told NDTV the earliest available date is for next year.
  4. Ms Shinde’s family said the crash left her with fractures in both arms and both legs, and required emergency brain surgery, for which consent had been sought from the hospital administration. The young woman has been in a coma since the surgery, reports indicate.
  5. A statement from the university – issued February 16 – said Ms Shinde “is in critical condition with an uncertain prognosis and is receiving care in the Intensive Care Unit”. The university added its appeal for travel permits to be issued for the family.
  6. “The patient’s father must assist the UC Davis Medical Centre care team with making Ms Shinde’s medical care planning decisions. Ms Shinde is not able to communicate due to the nature of her injuries and because she is currently intubated, on life support…”
  7. Sources told NDTV the US does grant ’emergency’ visas in case a family member is seriously ill or dead. This requires a written record from a doctor, who can request the American government to expedite visa interview appointments in the applicant’s nation. There are, however, limited slots for expedited, or emergency, visa applications.
  8. The tragic situation made headlines only this week, after NCP MP Supriya Sule flagged Ms Shinde’s condition and the despair of her father, brother, and uncle; her mother died of brain cancer last year. “This is an alarming issue. We need to get together and resolve it,” she told NDTV, calling on the External Affairs Ministry for help. Ms Shinde’s family has since been contacted by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ office.

  9. Local police are investigating the accident and the driver of the vehicle that hit Ms Shinde is in custody. However, given her medical condition, it is understood there are legal challenges to the filing of a case without a blood relative present.
  10. Nilam Shinde, a Master of Science student, has been in the US for four years.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.



Source link

Bangladesh Army Chief Warns “Country At Risk, Anarchy Of Our Own Making”

Bangladesh Army Chief Warns “Country At Risk, Anarchy Of Our Own Making”

by | Feb 26, 2025 | top-stories




Dhaka:

Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has acknowledged that there is a serious problem in his country with a rapidly worsening law and order situation. Blaming it on the political turmoil, leading to a sociopolitical crisis, the army chief said the situation is so dire now, that citizens are constantly “preoccupied with vilifying each other”.

Speaking at an armed forces function, Gen Zaman said “The anarchy we have witnessed is of our own making”. He also shared his concern over the extremely inefficient police force, saying that officers across the board – from senior to junior ranks – were afraid, because their peers were either facing judicial cases or were jailed.

This, he said, brings even more responsibility on the armed forces as law and order has faced a collapse.

“There is an urgent need for national unity and institutional discipline,” the army chief said, adding that continuous and rapidly growing infighting in society puts Bangladesh’s sovereignty at immense risk.

“If you can’t move beyond your differences and continue meddling and fighting among yourselves, and if you continue to injure and kill one another, the independence and integrity of the country will be at risk – I warn you,” the army chief said in an appeal to Bangladeshi citizens. He also said that “I have no other aspirations. For the past seven to eight months, I have had enough”.

“Since stakeholders are busy accusing each other, miscreants find the situation favourable. They believe they can get away with anything,” he added, without naming any political groups or factions.

Gen Zaman further noted that the gains of the student-led revolution that toppled the Sheikh Hasina government last August were at a risk too. General Waker-Uz-Zaman had taken over as Bangladesh’s army chief after Ms Hasina fled to India amid widespread protests in the country.

Bangladesh has seen a surge in violence, vandalism, rioting, and other forms of criminal activity over the last few months. It had reached to such extremes by February, that security forces had to launch an offensive called ‘Operation Devil Hunt’. In less than three weeks, 8,600 people were arrested. Bangladesh’s interim government has accused these individuals of attempting to “destabilise the country”.

Bangladesh has a long history of military coups. After Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, the armed forces were granted judicial powers like the police, including arresting citizens. Amid a raft of allegations of enforced disappearances, murder, and torture of citizens, the army chief warned that such matters “must be investigated”.

“Punishment must be ensured,” he said. “Otherwise, we will be trapped in the same cycle.”

Urging people to support the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus and assuring them of election as soon as possible, the army chief, who had sworn in the interim government. said “At the beginning, I had said it would take 18 months to hold an election. We are on that path. Professor Yunus is doing his best to keep us united. Let’s help him.”

Mr Yunus has said that Bangladesh will hold general elections in late 2025 or in early 2026.

Meanwhile, key student protest leader Nahid Islam has resigned from the interim government cabinet – where he headed the telecom ministry – ahead of the expected launch of a new political party on Friday, February 28.

(Inputs from AFP)
 




Source link

YouTube
Instagram
WhatsApp