01: Daily Geography Current Affairs - 22nd April 2021

1.  What is MOXIE?

The full form of the MOXIE is Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. Recently on 20th April 2021, this experiment successfully able to produce 5 grams of oxygen from carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere, which is enough for an astronaut to breathe for 10 minutes. 

The chemical components of the Martian atmosphere is -

• Carbon dioxide:  ~ 96%
• Oxygen: ~ 0.13%

like the tree, MOXIE, inhale Co2 and Exhale O2, by separating oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules with the help of 800 degrees Celcius temperature. This process also produces CARBON MONOXIDE as a waste product and release into the Martian atmosphere.

The technicality of MOXIE:

• Can generate up to 10grams of Oxygen per hour, placed in the Perseverance rover.
• It is the size of a car Battery, weighing 37.7 pounds (17.1 kg) on the Earth but, it is just 14.14 pounds (6.41 kg) on Mars.

2. World Environment Day?

Each year, World Env.  day is celebrated on 22nd April, to mark the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

The present year theme is: 'Restore Our Earth'.

Few Important quotes of renowned person:- 

• Mahatma Gandhi: Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.
• Rachel Carson: The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.
• Albert Einstein: Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.
• Benjamin Franklin:  When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.
• William Shakespeare: The earth has music for those who listen.
• Leo Tolstoy: One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.  

3. Megaplumes - alternative green energy source?

A recent study published in Nature Communication identified  Megaplumes i.e., an underwater volcanic eruption in the deep ocean, caused upward rising water volume, could unleash a huge amount of energy, which could power the US. The Megaplumes are similar to the atmospheric plume on the land surface. On the surface, plumes caused the spreading of volcanic ashes, stones, lavas, and gases around its surroundings. 

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