NASA’s GRAIL Mission created the most detailed map of the Moon’s gravity.

• GRAIL Mission was launched in 2011 as a part of NASA Discovery Program.
• Map will contribute to establishing a precise lunar reference frame and time system, enabling safer navigation for future lunar missions. 

Key findings of the mission

• Uneven Moon Interior: The Moon’s nearside (facing Earth) is warmer and more geologically active than the farside (never visible from Earth).
• Tidal Deformation: Earth’s gravity causes the nearside to flex more than the farside during the Moon’s orbit. This flexing shows structural differences between the two sides of the Moon.
  • Nearside is covered by vast plains (called mare), but farside has much more rugged terrain.

Supreme Court directs Centre to set up Special POCSO Courts on priority, to exclusively deal with cases of sexual offenses against children.

About POCSO Court

• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 provides for the establishment of Special Courts for the purpose of ensuring speedy trial.
• These courts shall be Court of Session, notified in Official Gazette by State Governments in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Courts.
• Features 
  • Child's evidence to be recorded within 30 days of court taking cognizance.
  • Special Court to complete the trial, as far as possible, within 1 year.

A protest erupted in Goa after a report by CSIR–National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, claimed that Karnataka’s diversion of Mahadei river water would have “less impact” on Goa.

• Goa and Karnataka are in a dispute over the Kalasa-Banduri Project, aimed at diverting water from Mahadei’s tributaries (Kalasa and Banduri) to the Malaprabha river to supply drinking water to drought-hit northern Karnataka.

 About Mahadei  River

• Also called the Mandovi River.
• Origin: Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, Belagavi, Karnataka.
• Flows westward into Goa and drains into the Arabian Sea at Panaji.
• River basin:
  • 2/3rd in Goa, rest in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
• Dudhsagar Falls is on the Mahadei River.

Officials of the UNESCO World Heritage Site documented various species across 36 genera during a rapid survey conducted in the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve.

About Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve

• Location: Located in the Brahmaputra floodplain, at the foothills of Karbi-Anglong, spanning Golaghat, Nagaon, and Sonitpur districts.
• Forest type and Biomes: It includes alluvial grasslands, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests, wetlands, and sandy chaurs.
• Key Flora: Bombax ceiba, Albizzia procera, Careya arborea, Lagerstroemia etc. 
• Key Fauna: Rhino, Tiger, Eastern swamp deer, Elephant, Buffalo, Hoolock gibbon, Capped langur and Gangetic river dolphin etc. 
• River: River Diffalu, River Moradifalu.
• Park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

Concerns have been raised over the lack of research and promotion of the ancient monoliths in Willong Khullen, Senapati district (Manipur).

About the Monoliths 

• Believed to date back to the Megalithic period.
• Known as the "Stonehenge of Manipur" due to its resemblance to the famous British monument (believed to be constructed about 4,500 years ago).
  • Unlike Britain's Stonehenge, these stones lack symmetry and appear randomly arranged, possibly for ritual or symbolic purposes
• It features a mysterious set of large stone structures of unknown origins.
  • However, they are believed to be part of ancient traditions of the Maram tribe.

Once-in-a-twelve-year festivals Pushkar Kumbh and Saraswati Pushkaralu are being celebrated in Uttarakhand and Telangana, respectively.

About Pushkar Kumbh

• Occurs every 12 years when Jupiter enters the Gemini zodiac sign.
• Held at Keshav Prayag (confluence of Alaknanda and Saraswati rivers) in Mana village, Uttarakhand.
• Religious Significance: 
  • Sacred site where Ved Vyas composed Mahabharata.
  • Vaishnav pilgrimage: As saints Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya attained divine knowledge from Goddess Saraswati here.

About Saraswati Pushkaralu

• Dedicated to worshipping the subterranean Saraswati River, which converges with Godavari and Pranahita at confluence point called Triveni Sangamam in Kaleshwaram.
• Held at the temple town Kaleshwaram, the abode of Sri Kaleshwara Sri Mukteshwara Swamy temple, Telangana.

India, Japan to enter design phase of Chandrayaan-5/ LUPEX (Lunar Polar EXploration) mission. 

• The mission follows the legacy of 
  • Chandrayaan-1 and 2 (orbiter-based lunar exploration), 
  • Chandrayaan-3 (lander-rover based in-situ exploration) 
  • Forthcoming Chandrayaan-4 (India’s first lunar sample return mission)
• India aims to send astronauts to the Moon by 2040.

About Chandrayaan-5

• Aim: To study lunar volatile materials, of the south pole.
• International collaboration:
  • ISRO will primarily build the lander, while JAXA (Japan) will provide the rover.
  • Observation Instruments will also come from NASA and ESA.

Sikkim celebrates 50^th anniversary of its Statehood.

About Sikkim Statehood

• Sikkim was made a full-fledged State of the Union of India under the Constitution (36th Amendment) Act, 1975.
  • Earlier, Constitution (35^th Amendment) Act, 1974 granted Sikkim the status of an "Associate State" of the Union of India under Article 2A.
    • Article 2A was repealed by the Constitution (36th Amendment) Act, 1975.
• It became 22^nd State of India.
•  Article 371F inserted into the Constitution, granting special provisions to the state.