Pashmina March

Why in news?

• Recently, the Ladakh administration imposed ‘Section 144 in Leh’, banning public rallies ahead of proposed ‘Pashmina March’ by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.

About the Pashmina March

• Sonam Wangchuk, an education reformist and climate activist, planned the Pashmina March to draw attention to the threats posed by large Indian industrialists and China to the grazing lands of Ladakh.
• Wangchuk likened his march to Mahatma Gandhi’s historic Dandi March.
• It was organised to protest the alleged Chinese incursions into the grazing areas of Ladakh and to flag the ‘ground realities’ in the ecologically fragile region of the Changthang Plateau of Ladakh.

Coordinated Lunar Time

Why in news?

• The White House directed NASA to establish a unified standard of time for the moon and other celestial bodies

About Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)

• It would provide a time-keeping benchmark for lunar spacecraft and satellites that require extreme precision for their missions.
• It is aimed at making space missions more efficient by providing enhanced assistance.
• The new time zone needs to be developed by the end of 2026.

Need

• A unified time standard would be essential for coordinating operations, ensuring the reliability of transactions and managing the logistics of lunar commerce.
• Under its Artemis program, NASA is aiming to send astronaut missions to the moon in the coming years and establish a scientific lunar base that could help set the stage for future missions to Mars.
• Without a unified lunar time standard it would be challenging to ensure that data transfers between spacecraft are secure and that communications between Earth, lunar satellites, bases and astronauts are synchronised.