NWA 16788 was discovered in Niger & is assumed to have travelled 140 million miles to reach Earth. Weighing 24.67 kg, the meteorite dwarfs the previous largest Martian specimen by 70%.
When 3 meteorite pieces struck Khalwat Nimgaon, it upended village life and set off a frantic hunt for a missing fragment. Scientists, officials, and even students elsewhere are invested.
According to researchers, fragments mainly contained a mineral known as enstatite, characteristics of which were similar to what is thought to be seen on the surface of Mercury.
The rare meteorite, estimated to be 4.6 billion years old, was found by a team led by Jean-Alix Barrat of Université de Bretagne Occidentale. Results of the study have been published in PNAS.
IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
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