DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

The New START Treaty, the last major nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, expired on 5th February 2026.

Its expiry ended binding limits on their strategic nuclear arsenals and raised global concerns about a renewed arms race.

However, Russia’s foreign minister recently said that Moscow will continue to observe the limits set under the New START Treaty even after its expiry, as long as the United States follows the same restrictions.

• Capped deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 per country.
• Limited launchers and delivery systems.
• Allowed data sharing, notifications, and on-site inspections to maintain transparency.
• Helped prevent misunderstandings and uncontrolled nuclear build-up.

• New START: The last functioning major bilateral arms-control treaty between the US and Russia.
• Arms Race Risk: Its expiry intensifies concerns over renewed nuclear competition.
• Signing Place: The treaty was signed in Prague in 2010.
• Warhead Cap: It capped deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 per country before expiry.

The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by the World Health Assembly on 20 May 2025.

It is a legally binding treaty aimed at improving global pandemic preparedness and response.

The WHO Pandemic Agreement is the second international agreement negotiated under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution.

The first was the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2005.

• World Health Assembly: The decision-making body of the WHO.
• Article 19: Allows WHO to adopt conventions or agreements on matters within its competence.
• Treaty Focus: Equity, preparedness, technology transfer, and access to medical countermeasures.
• FCTC: The first WHO Article 19 agreement, adopted in 2003 and enforced from 2005.

On 6th March 2025, Lithuania officially exited the Convention on Cluster Munitions, citing national security concerns.

It became the first country to leave the convention and the first EU/NATO member to exit a multilateral arms-control agreement.

• Cluster Munitions: Controversial due to indiscriminate area effect and unexploded bomblets.
• Oslo Process: Led to the creation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
• India’s Position: India is not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
• Lithuania Exit: First country to leave the convention.

On 4th August 2025, Russia formally declared that it would no longer observe the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

Russia cited the deployment of U.S. intermediate-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific as a direct security threat.

• INF Treaty: Covered only land-based missiles, not sea-based or air-launched systems.
• Cold War Arms Control: One of the landmark arms-control agreements of the Cold War era.
• Intermediate-Range Missiles: Missiles in the 500-5,500 km range.
• Treaty Exit: The US withdrew in 2019, while Russia stopped observing it in 2025.

On 19th June 2025, Finland’s Parliament approved its withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty, which bans anti-personnel landmines.

Finland became the fifth European country to move out of the treaty framework, citing rising security concerns linked to Russia.

• Ottawa Treaty: Deals specifically with anti-personnel landmines.
• India’s Position: India is not a party to the Ottawa Convention.
• Humanitarian Law: The treaty is important from the perspective of international humanitarian law.
• Finland Withdrawal: Linked to evolving European security concerns involving Russia.

On 15th July 2025, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other crew members of the Axiom-4 mission safely returned to Earth after a 20-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Group Captain Shukla became the first Indian to visit the ISS and the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984.

• The telescope will analyse water and biogenic molecules in the Milky Way, tracing their journey from interstellar space to planets.
• SPHEREx will study cosmic inflation, a rapid expansion that occurred around 14 billion years ago and shaped the structure of the universe.

• Shubhanshu Shukla: Became the first Indian to visit the International Space Station.
• Rakesh Sharma: First Indian in space in 1984 aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 mission.
• ISS: A multinational orbital laboratory involving NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA.
• Axiom Missions: Private astronaut missions conducted with support from NASA and SpaceX.

On 31st March 2025, SpaceX launched its sixth private astronaut mission, Fram2, from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It became the first human mission to orbit Earth in a polar trajectory, flying from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

• Mushroom growth in microgravity.
• Impact of spaceflight on the human body.
• Behavioural health during long-duration space missions.
• Polar-region observations from orbit.

• Polar Orbit: Passes over or near both poles, allowing global Earth coverage over time.
• Commercial Spaceflight: Private astronaut missions reflect the growing role of commercial space activity.
• Fram2 Significance: Extended private human spaceflight beyond conventional low-inclination orbital paths.
• Altitude: The mission orbited at about 425–450 km above Earth.

On 11th March 2025, NASA launched the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx).

The mission was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

Indian spacetech startup GalaxEye is developing Mission Drishti, a satellite mission planned for launch in 2026.

The mission uses OptoSAR technology, combining Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical imaging to provide near-real-time, all-weather intelligence for defence and agriculture.

• Infrared Spectroscopy: SPHEREx will survey the entire sky using infrared spectroscopy.
• Molecule Detection: The mission will help detect water and organic molecules in star and planet-forming regions.
• Infrared Astronomy: Useful for studying cold objects, dust-obscured regions, and distant galaxies.
• Cosmic Inflation: SPHEREx is important for understanding cosmic inflation and the large-scale structure of the universe.

On 26th February 2025, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Lunar Trailblazer satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

The mission focuses on studying the presence and movement of water on the Moon, especially near the lunar poles.

• Scientists believe lunar water may originate from solar wind interactions, cometary impacts, and volcanism.
• The mission will help understand the movement and distribution of water on the Moon.

• Origins: Microscopic particles originate from micrometeorites striking at speeds often exceeding 4 km/second.
• Solar Activity: Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can melt, disintegrate, or suddenly propel space dust.
• Space Environment: Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs) affect space weather and the safety of orbital infrastructure.

• Mission Safety: Important for protecting the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and Indian spacecraft.
• Deep Space Exploration: Helps in designing stronger missions for the Moon, Mars, and Venus.
• Infrastructure Longevity: Improves resilience of satellites, navigation systems, and scientific assets.

• ISRU: Lunar water is important for future in-situ resource utilisation.
• Permanently Shadowed Regions: Near the lunar poles are considered potential reservoirs of water ice.
• Moon Water Utility: Can support future human missions with drinking water, oxygen, and rocket fuel.
• Infrared Mapping: HVM3 identifies water and minerals through spectral signatures.

On 14th May 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) jointly commenced the preliminary design phase for Chandrayaan-5.

The mission is aimed at detecting water on the lunar surface and subsurface through deeper India-Japan cooperation in lunar science.

The European Space Agency’s Biomass mission, scheduled for launch on 29th April 2025, is an Earth Explorer satellite designed to provide detailed insights into the world’s forests and their role in the Earth’s carbon cycle.

• LUPEX: Stands for Lunar Polar Exploration mission.
• India-Japan Cooperation: Chandrayaan-5 reflects deeper bilateral collaboration in lunar science.
• Lunar Water: Water and ice detection is central to long-term human presence on the Moon.
• India’s Lunar Programme: Continues lunar exploration after Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3.

NASA has launched the TRACERS mission, which stands for Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites.

The mission is designed to study magnetic reconnection events caused by interactions between the Sun’s magnetic field and Earth’s magnetic field.

The mission aims to study the magnetic reconnection-energy burst that occurs when solar magnetic fields interact with Earth’s magnetic environment.

• Magnetic Reconnection: A process where magnetic field lines break and reconnect, releasing energy.
• Polar Cusp: A key region where solar wind particles enter Earth’s magnetic environment.
• Space Weather: The mission is important for predicting space weather effects.
• Satellite Safety: Findings can improve protection of satellites and orbital infrastructure.

ISRO’s Dust Experiment (DEX), a 3-kg instrument developed by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), has confirmed that an interplanetary dust particle strikes Earth’s atmosphere roughly every 1,000 seconds.

This means an interplanetary dust particle enters Earth’s atmosphere approximately once every 16 minutes.

• DEX: Stands for Dust Experiment.
• XPoSat: India’s X-ray Polarimeter Satellite launched to study cosmic X-ray sources.
• Interplanetary Dust: Helps scientists understand comets, asteroids, and the early solar system.
• Hypervelocity Detection: Used to study high-speed microscopic particles entering Earth’s environment.

On 12th January 2026, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the PSLV-C62 mission from Sriharikota, carrying the EOS-N1 satellite and 15 co-passenger satellites.

The mission later encountered an anomaly during the third stage of flight, leading to a detailed technical investigation.

The ISRO SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) mission marked India’s first successful autonomous docking, undocking, and power transfer between two satellites — SDX01 and SDX02 — in 2025.

This achievement made India the fourth country after the United States, Russia, and China to develop autonomous space docking technology.

• PSLV: Stands for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
• NSIL: ISRO’s commercial arm for space-related services.
• PSLV Orbits: PSLV is widely used for launching satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits.
• SpaDeX Importance: Critical for future space stations, satellite servicing, and orbital refuelling missions.

On 22nd August 2025, during the National Space Day celebrations in New Delhi, the first module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) was unveiled.

The development marks a major milestone in India’s long-term orbital research and human spaceflight ambitions.

The Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) is India’s planned orbital space station intended to support astronaut stays, scientific research, technology demonstration, and long-duration human space missions.

• Places India alongside the USA and China as operators of orbital laboratories.
• Strengthens India’s long-term human spaceflight capabilities after the Gaganyaan programme.
• Provides infrastructure for advanced scientific and technological research in microgravity conditions.

• BAS: Bharatiya Antariksh Station is India’s proposed indigenous space station.
• Human Spaceflight Roadmap: BAS is linked with India’s long-term plans after Gaganyaan.
• Microgravity Research: Useful for biology, medicine, materials science, and advanced space technologies.
• Orbital Presence: BAS will enhance India’s independent long-duration space capability.

On 20th January 2026, a consortium led by Bengaluru-based Pixxel Space signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IN-SPACe to develop India’s first privately built national Earth Observation (EO) satellite constellation.

The project marks a major step in India’s expanding commercial space ecosystem and private participation in satellite infrastructure.

• Strengthens India’s commercial space and private satellite ecosystem.
• Enhances domestic Earth Observation capabilities with advanced imaging technologies.
• Supports near real-time monitoring for civilian, industrial, and environmental applications.
• Improves India’s competitiveness in the global EO data and geospatial market.

• IN-SPACe: India’s single-window agency for promoting and regulating private participation in the space sector.
• Earth Observation Satellites: Used for agriculture, disaster management, urban planning, maritime monitoring, and environmental assessment.
• SAR Imaging: Works through clouds and during night-time unlike conventional optical imaging.
• Hyperspectral Imaging: Captures detailed spectral information useful for precision monitoring and resource assessment.

The Himalayan Outpost for Planetary Exploration (HOPE) is a specialised space analog facility established by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Ladakh’s Tso Kar Valley.

Inaugurated in August 2025, the facility is designed to simulate lunar and Martian environments for future interplanetary mission preparation.

• Space Analog Sites: Simulate Moon or Mars-like conditions for mission preparation.
• Ladakh Advantage: Cold desert terrain, high altitude, low humidity, and Mars-like landscape.
• Human Spaceflight: Such facilities support future crewed missions and planetary exploration.
• HOPE: Established by ISRO as a specialised space analog facility in Ladakh.

On 9th December 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Aditya-L1, India’s first solar observatory, had captured an unusual solar superstorm linked to events that struck Earth in May 2024.

The solar storm behaved in an unexpected manner, providing scientists with important new insights into solar activity and magnetic interactions in space.

• Improves scientific understanding of solar storms and magnetic interactions in space.
• Enhances prediction capabilities for severe space weather events.
• Helps strengthen satellite protection and communication infrastructure resilience.
• Provides valuable data for future solar and heliophysics missions.

• Aditya-L1: India’s first dedicated solar mission.
• CMEs: Large expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun’s corona.
• Solar Storm Impacts: Can affect satellites, GPS, power grids, and communication systems.
• Magnetic Reconnection: A process where magnetic field lines break and reconnect, releasing enormous energy.

On 29th January 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed its 100th rocket launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

The mission deployed the NVS-02 navigation satellite into orbit aboard the GSLV-F15 launch vehicle.

NavIC is India’s regional navigation system that provides accurate positioning services across India and up to 1,500 km beyond its borders.

• NVS-02 is a next-generation navigation satellite and a key component of India’s independent navigation system.
• The satellite strengthens the NavIC constellation for regional navigation services.
• It carries indigenously developed rubidium atomic clocks for precise timing.
• The inclusion of the L1 frequency improves compatibility of NavIC signals with a larger number of devices.

• IRNSS: NavIC was earlier known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.
• Regional Coverage: NavIC provides navigation coverage over India and surrounding regions.
• Rubidium Atomic Clocks: Essential for accurate satellite navigation timing and positioning.
• GSLV-F15: The launch vehicle used for ISRO’s historic 100th rocket mission.

Bengaluru-based space technology startup Digantara launched its Space Camera for Object Tracking (SCOT) mission aboard the SpaceX Transporter-12 mission in early 2025.

The mission represents a major advancement in commercial space monitoring and orbital safety technologies.

• Supports safer satellite operations in increasingly crowded orbital regions.
• Strengthens India’s role in the emerging commercial space surveillance sector.
• Improves monitoring of orbital debris and collision risks.
• Enhances protection of critical space infrastructure and communication systems.

• Space Situational Awareness: Refers to tracking and predicting the movement of objects in space.
• SSA Importance: Essential for preventing satellite collisions and protecting space assets.
• Low Earth Orbit: Increasingly congested due to satellites, debris, and commercial missions.
• RSOs: Resident Space Objects include satellites, debris, and other orbiting bodies.

In January 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a major milestone in space agriculture by successfully growing cowpea seeds in space.

The experiment can support future long-duration human missions by improving understanding of plant growth in microgravity.

The Relocatable Robotic Manipulator-Technology Demonstrator, commonly known as the Walking Robotic Arm, was successfully tested onboard POEM-4.

It marked India’s first step toward advanced robotic operations in space.

• Haven-1 is a planned space station in Low Earth Orbit being developed by American aerospace company Vast Space.
• It is scheduled to launch in 2027 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
• The first mission, Vast-1, is expected to carry four astronauts aboard a Dragon spacecraft for a 30-day stay.

• Space Agriculture: Essential for long-duration human missions to the Moon, Mars, and space stations.
• CROPS: Helps study plant growth in microgravity conditions.
• POEM: PSLV Orbital Experimental Module uses the spent PSLV stage as an orbital platform.
• Robotic Operations: Space robotic arms support servicing, assembly, and future station operations.

On 24th December 2025, India’s heavy-lift launcher LVM3-M6, popularly known as the “Baahubali” rocket, successfully placed BlueBird Block-2 belonging to AST SpaceMobile Inc. (USA) into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, further strengthening India’s position in the global heavy-launch market.

The Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere–Langmuir Probe (RAMBHA-LP), onboard the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3, measured the electron density and temperature of near-surface lunar plasma.

• LVM3: India’s heaviest operational launch vehicle.
• Chandrayaan-3: Successfully launched using the LVM3 rocket.
• GTO & LEO: GTO is used mainly for communication satellites, while LEO supports Earth observation and experimental missions.
• Cryogenic Engines: Use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as propellants.

Analysis of data from the RAMBHA-LP instrument onboard the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3 revealed that the lunar South Pole’s electrical and plasma environment is far more active than previously understood.

On 10th February 2025, the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope unveiled a rare Einstein ring around galaxy NGC 6505, located about 590 million light-years from Earth.

The ring was formed by light from a distant unnamed galaxy first noticed in September 2023.

• Gravitational Lensing: Occurs when a massive object bends light from a distant source.
• Einstein Rings: Strong observational evidence supporting General Relativity.
• Euclid Mission: Studies dark energy, dark matter, and the geometry of the universe.
• RAMBHA-LP: Measures electron density and temperature of lunar plasma near the Moon’s surface.

The Union Health Minister launched the indigenously manufactured Tetanus and Adult Diphtheria (Td) vaccine at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli, one of India’s premier public sector vaccine manufacturing institutions.

The vaccine will replace the Tetanus Toxoid (TT) vaccine in line with global recommendations and guidelines of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).

With the formal launch, the Td vaccine will now be supplied under India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

• Td Vaccine: Protects against tetanus and adult diphtheria.
• CRI Kasauli: One of India’s oldest public sector vaccine manufacturing institutions.
• NTAGI: Provides technical recommendations on immunisation policy in India.
• UIP: One of the world’s largest public health immunisation programmes.