Naseem-Al-Bahr

Context: Recently, Indo-Oman bilateral naval exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr was held in Goa.

About Exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr

• It was Initiated in 1993
• Oman is the first Gulf country with which all the three wings of India’s defense forces hold joint exercises. 
  • Exercise Al-Najah → Army exercise 
  • Exercise Eastern Bridge → Air Force exercise 
• Participants: INS Trikand and Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft
• The exercise was conducted in two phases: with the harbor phase followed by the sea phase.

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Exercise Malabar

Context: Recently, “Exercise Malabar” was concluded on the coast of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

About Exercise Malabar

• Participation:  India, Australia, Japan, U.S.
• It was started in 1992, as a bilateral naval exercise between India and US navy 
• Expansion: 
• • In 2015 → Inclusion of Japan 
  • In 2020 → Australian Navy joined → Making it a quadrilateral naval exercise.
• It takes place annually, alternatively in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans.
• Aim: To strengthen cooperation and security in the Indo-Pacific region. 
• It supports India’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)

Copper plates from Vijayanagara Kingdom

Context: Copper plate inscriptions from the 16th Century CE, bearing the Vijayanagara Kingdom’s seal, were recently discovered at the Sri Singeeswarar temple in Mappedu village, Tiruvallur district.

Details of the Inscription

• Era: The inscriptions date back to the 16th Century CE, specifically to the year 1513 during the reign of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire.
• Script and Language: The inscriptions are written in Sanskrit using the Nandinagari script.
  • Nandinagar is a Brahmic script derived from the Nāgarī script that was used between the 11th and 19th centuries AD 
  • For producing manuscripts and inscriptions in Sanskrit in south Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. 
• Village Donation: The inscription records the donation of the village Vasalabattaka, renamed Krishnarayapura, by King Krishnadevaraya.
• Beneficiaries: The village was gifted to several Brahmins.
• Boundaries: It details the boundaries of the donated village, which was under the control of the Raja of Chandragiri (modern-day Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh).

About Sri Singeeswarar temple at Mappedu

• Deity: Singeeswarar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• Construction: The temple was built in 976 A.D. by Aditya Karikalan Chola II, the elder brother of Rajaraja Chola.

About Krishnadevaraya

• Reign: Krishnadevaraya belonged to the Tuluva Dynasty and ruled the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509-1529 AD.
• Contributions: He is credited with constructing fine temples and adding gopurams (gateway towers) to several significant South Indian temples.
  • He founded Nagalapuram, near Vijayanagar, in honour of his mother.
  • He composed a Telugu work on statecraft known as Amuktamalyada.

About Vijayanagara Empire

• Foundation: The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 AD by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama Dynasty.
• Capital: Hampi. 
  • It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
• Geographical Extent: The empire stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme south of the Indian peninsula.
• Dynasties of Vijayanagara: The Vijayanagara Empire was ruled by four major dynasties: Sangama Dynasty, Saluva Dynasty, Tuluva Dynasty and Aravidu Dynasty.

Moonlight Program

Context: The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched the Moonlight programme, aiming to create a dedicated satellite constellation for telecommunication and navigation services on the Moon. 

Key Features of the Moonlight Program

• Satellite Constellation: The program will consist of five satellites: one for high-data-rate communications and four for navigation.
• Lunar-Earth Connectivity: The satellites will cover a 400,000 km network, connecting the Moon to Earth via three ground stations.
• Coverage: The Moonlight program will offer coverage at the Moon’s south pole, an area of interest due to the presence of polar ice, which could be used for water, oxygen and rocket fuel.
• Significance: The Moonlight initiative aims to make services like satellite navigation, video conferencing, and data sharing as seamless on the lunar surface as they are on Earth.
  • Enable precise lunar landings, surface mobility, and establish a high-speed, low-latency communication network between Earth and the Moon.
  • The Mission will reduce future lunar mission costs by offering shared communication and navigation infrastructure, eliminating the need for individual setups and is crucial for long-term human presence on the Moon.
  • It will create opportunities for private companies by providing commercial data relay services, fostering a growing lunar-related market.
• Partnerships: Moonlight is a collaboration between ESA, Telespazio, and the UK and Italian space agencies. 
  • ESA is also working with NASA and JAXA on LunaNet, ensuring compatibility with future lunar infrastructure.
• Global Lunar Navigation System: Moonlight will undergo the first lunar navigation interoperability tests in 2029 to support a global communication and navigation system for international space agencies and private entities.

Timeline and Development

• Lunar Pathfinder: The first stage of the Moonlight programme involves launching the Lunar Pathfinder, a communications relay satellite developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), set to begin operations in 2026.
  • The Lunar Pathfinder will provide commercial data relay services and test existing Earth-orbiting navigation satellites for lunar use.
• Full Deployment: The complete deployment of Moonlight’s services is expected by 2030.

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