7 November 2026
NASA has invited applications to join its astronaut corps, with the window closing at 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, 3 December, and the final selection expected in late 2027. An applicant must be a United States citizen and hold a master's degree in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics field, or two years of doctoral work in a technical field, or a medical degree, or test pilot school training. Three years of related professional experience after the qualifying degree is required; pilots may instead count flight hours, 750 hours as pilot in command of a high-performance jet being one route. Candidates must also pass NASA's long-duration astronaut flight physical. Scott Tingle, the Chief Astronaut, chairs the Astronaut Selection Board at the Johnson Space Center, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson both commented on the call.
Application deadline:
11:59 p.m. EST, Thursday, Dec. 3
Final selection expected:
Late 2027
Chief Astronaut:
Scott Tingle
Release number:
RELEASE26-093
Why it matters for exams: Gives the current Chief Astronaut, Scott Tingle, places the Astronaut Selection Board at the Johnson Space Center, and fixes the master's degree in a STEM field as NASA's basic academic requirement.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — The group of subjects NASA accepts for an astronaut candidate's master's degree.
7 November 2026
NASA has announced a set of awards for transportation, technology and science work under its Moon Base Program. The second round of cargo lander deliveries, called CLPS 2, goes to eight firms under a combined ceiling of 10 billion dollars across ten years. Those chosen are Firefly Aerospace and Blue Origin; Lockheed Martin Space and Intuitive Machines; Voyager Technologies and ispace-U.S.; and Northrop Grumman Space Systems along with SpaceX. The ceiling on the earlier CLPS 1.0 contracts rises from 2.6 billion dollars to 4.2 billion dollars. Blue Origin will deliver the PROMISE rover on a 94 million dollar base contract, with an option period worth 140 million dollars; the rover itself will be managed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech. SpaceX takes the Cislunar Communications Deployment Demonstration. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency is building the Moon Base mission by mission.
CLPS 2 combined ceiling:
$10 billion over 10 years
Companies selected for CLPS 2:
Eight
PROMISE rover base contract:
$94 million
Release number:
RELEASE26-095
Why it matters for exams: Names the NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman, expands CLPS as Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and fixes the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a Caltech division, as the centre building the PROMISE rover.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
CLPS Commercial Lunar Payload Services — NASA's arrangement for buying rides to the Moon for its instruments from private landers.
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory — NASA's robotic exploration centre at Pasadena, run as a division of Caltech.
Background
The main treaty against pollution of the sea by ships is MARPOL, and it covers both accidents and routine operations. The convention was adopted in 1973 and a Protocol of 1978 absorbed it after a run of tanker accidents. The combined instrument entered into force in 1983. A later Protocol of 1997 added a sixth annex on air pollution, which came into force in 2005. MARPOL now carries six technical annexes, and most of them mark out Special Areas where discharge rules are stricter. Annex I deals with oil and Annex II with noxious liquid substances carried in bulk. Annex V bans the disposal of all forms of plastics into the sea, and that is its most important feature. Annex VI caps sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide in ship exhausts, and designated emission control areas are stricter still.
Treaty:
adopted as MARPOL at IMO
Technical annexes:
six, with Special Areas in most of them
Entry into force of the combined instrument:
1983
Annex on air pollution:
sixth annex, in force from 2005
Ban in the fifth annex:
disposal of all forms of plastics into the sea
Why it matters for exams: MARPOL and the number of its annexes come up often in environment and international organisation papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships — The treaty of the shipping agency of the United Nations against pollution of the sea by ships.
Special Area Special Area under MARPOL — A stretch of sea where the rules on what a ship may discharge are stricter than elsewhere.
Background
The treaty on the safety of merchant ships is SOLAS, and its first version followed the Titanic disaster. The version in force today was adopted in 1974 and entered into force in 1980. Its aim is to fix the lowest standards a ship must meet in how it is built, fitted out and run. A flag State has to see that ships on its register meet those rules, and certificates are issued as proof. A government can also inspect a ship of another party where there are clear grounds to doubt it, and that is known as port State control. The treaty has Articles on general obligations and amendment, and then an Annex divided into chapters. The chapters were long counted as fourteen, and a fifteenth was added for ships that carry industrial personnel, in force from 2024. Chapter IV brings in the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System for radio equipment at sea. Chapter V makes voyage data recorders and automatic ship identification systems compulsory on board.
Convention:
adopted as SOLAS in 1974
Entry into force:
1980
First version:
1914 and it followed the Titanic disaster
Chapters in the Annex:
counted as fourteen, with a fifteenth chapter in force from 2024
Inspection by another government:
port State control
Why it matters for exams: SOLAS, its annex of chapters and port State control are standard questions on shipping and safety.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
SOLAS International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea — The treaty that sets the least standards a merchant ship must meet for safety.
port State control port State control — The inspection of a foreign ship in a port by the government of that port.
Background
How deeply a ship can be loaded is set by its freeboard, and the limits are drawn on the hull as load lines. The first convention of this kind was adopted in 1930 and rested on the principle of reserve buoyancy. The convention of 1966 that was drawn up at IMO works out freeboard from subdivision and damage stability calculations. Its rules take account of the hazards of different zones and different seasons. All assigned load lines are painted amidships on both sides of a ship, beside the deck line. A ship carrying timber on deck is given a smaller freeboard, because the deck cargo itself shields it from waves. The convention carries three annexes, and the first of them is divided into four chapters. Zones, areas and seasonal periods sit in the second annex, while the third holds the certificates.
What it fixes:
freeboard, drawn on the hull as load lines
First convention:
adopted in 1930 on the principle of reserve buoyancy
Convention in use:
drawn up in 1966 at IMO
Annexes:
three, the first divided into four chapters
Certificate:
issued as the International Load Line Certificate
Why it matters for exams: Freeboard, load lines and the three annexes of this convention come up in shipping and transport questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
freeboard freeboard — The height of a ship's side that stays above the water when it is loaded.
Background
A steady task of the world trade body is to watch what members actually do with their trade policies. The Trade Policy Review Mechanism sits at the centre of that work. All members are reviewed, and how often depends on each one's share of world trade. The reviews themselves are carried out by the Trade Policy Review Body of the organisation. The mandate for it is written into Annex 3 of the WTO Agreement itself. Each review rests on two reports, one from the government under review and one from the secretariat of the organisation. Minutes of the review meetings are put out about six weeks afterwards. The head of the organisation also reports regularly to that body on recent trade developments.
Mechanism:
called the Trade Policy Review Mechanism
Body that reviews:
named the Trade Policy Review Body
Mandate:
written into Annex 3 of the WTO Agreement
Who is reviewed:
all members, more often if their share of world trade is larger
Reports for each review:
two, one by the government and one by the secretariat
Minutes published:
about six weeks after a meeting
Why it matters for exams: The review mechanism, the body that runs it and the Annex it comes from are asked in trade and economy papers.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Trade Policy Review Mechanism Trade Policy Review Mechanism — The arrangement under which the trade policies of every member are examined in turn.
Background
A member of the world trade body cannot normally treat one trading partner better than another. A lower duty given to one member has to be given to all, and that rule is called most-favoured-nation treatment. It is so central that it is the first article of GATT, which governs trade in goods. The same rule is a priority in the services agreement and in the agreement on intellectual property. Some exceptions are allowed, such as a free trade area or special access for developing countries, but only under strict conditions. The second rule is national treatment, which asks that imported and locally made goods be treated alike. It is written into all three main agreements, and it bites only once a product has entered the market. Charging customs duty on an import is therefore not a breach of national treatment at all.
First rule:
most-favoured-nation treatment
Where it sits in the goods agreement:
first article of GATT
Second rule:
national treatment
When national treatment applies:
once a product has entered the market
Exceptions:
allowed only under strict conditions
Why it matters for exams: Most-favoured-nation treatment and national treatment, and the agreements that carry them, are standard economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
most-favoured-nation treatment most-favoured-nation treatment — The rule that a favour given to one trading partner must be given to all the others.
national treatment national treatment — The rule that foreign goods, services and rights get the same treatment as local ones.
Background
A state can say in writing which forum it wants for disputes about the law of the sea convention. The declaration can be made when signing, ratifying or acceding, or at any time after that. Article 287 offers four means, and a state is free to pick one or more of them. One route is a standing tribunal, named International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which Annex VI sets up. The second route leads to the International Court of Justice instead. The third and fourth are an arbitral tribunal under Annex VII and a special arbitral tribunal under Annex VIII for certain categories of dispute. If a dispute is not covered by any declaration in force, the state shall be deemed to have accepted the Annex VII route. The declaration leaves one duty untouched, in the way Part XI, section 5 sets out: a party is still bound by the jurisdiction of the Seabed Disputes Chamber. If both sides have accepted the same procedure, the dispute can go only to that procedure, unless they otherwise agree.
Provision:
287 of the law of the sea convention
Means a state can choose:
four, and it can name more than one
Route if no choice is in force:
arbitration in accordance with Annex VII
Duty that stays untouched:
jurisdiction of the Seabed Disputes Chamber, as Part XI, section 5 provides
When the choice can be made:
when signing, ratifying or acceding, or at any time after
Why it matters for exams: The four forums of Article 287 and the arbitration that applies by default are standard law of the sea questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Annex VII arbitration arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII — The arbitration route that applies when the parties to a sea law dispute have not agreed on any other forum.
Background
The width of the belt of sea a coastal state fully controls was the hardest question the law of the sea conference faced. At the start of that conference the claims ranged from three miles to two hundred nautical miles. A territorial sea of 12 miles gained wider and then universal acceptance. Within that limit a state can in principle enforce any law and exploit any resource. The convention still keeps the right of innocent passage through a territorial sea for naval and merchant ships. Beyond the territorial sea a coastal state has police powers in a contiguous zone that runs to 24 nautical miles from its shores. In that zone a coast guard can pursue and detain suspected smugglers and customs or tax evaders. For a state made of closely spaced islands the territorial sea runs from a line joining the outermost points, and the waters inside are archipelagic waters. In those waters every ship, whatever its flag, keeps the right of innocent passage.
Territorial sea:
12 miles, where a state can enforce any law
Right kept for foreign ships:
innocent passage through a territorial sea
Contiguous zone:
24 nautical miles from the shore
Use of the contiguous zone:
police powers against smuggling and tax evasion
Waters inside an island group:
archipelagic waters, with innocent passage for all ships
Why it matters for exams: The 12 mile territorial sea, the 24 nautical mile contiguous zone and archipelagic waters are asked in geography and law papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
innocent passage right of innocent passage — The right of a foreign ship to pass through a territorial sea without harming the peace or security of the coastal state.
Background
The law of the sea convention was adopted as a package deal, which means it had to be taken as a whole. No state could pick parts of it, because no reservation on any aspect was allowed. A government that signs it takes on the undertaking not to act in a way that might defeat its objects and purposes. Ratification or accession goes further, because that is how a state consents to be bound by what the convention provides. The convention came into force in 1994 and that was one year after the sixtieth state adhered to it. Guyana was the state that completed the count of sixty. A later agreement on the deep seabed part of the convention was reached so that all states could become parties. The convention covers navigation, the limits of the territorial sea, resources of the seabed and a binding procedure for settling disputes between states.
How it was adopted:
as a package deal, to be accepted as a whole
Reservations:
none allowed on any aspect
What a signature carries:
an undertaking not to defeat its objects and purposes
Entry into force:
from 1994 and one year after the sixtieth adherence
Sixtieth state:
reached when Guyana adhered
Why it matters for exams: A package deal with no reservations, and entry into force on the sixtieth adherence, are the machinery facts of this treaty.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
package deal package deal — A treaty that has to be accepted as a whole, with no part left out.
reservation reservation to a treaty — A statement by which a state tries to change or exclude the effect of some part of a treaty for itself.
Background
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is the subject of a UNESCO convention of 2003. A convention does not bind every country from the same day, and this one shows why. It entered into force on a single date for those thirty States which had ratified it by an earlier cut-off. With respect to any other State, it enters into force three months after that state deposits its instrument. The instrument can be one of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. A country that joins later therefore has a different starting date from the founding group. A state bound by it is counted among its States Parties, and an official list of them is kept. An aspirant should keep the two dates apart: one for the founding group and one for every later party.
Convention:
adopted at UNESCO in 2003
First entry into force:
thirty States that had ratified early
For a later state:
three months after it deposits its instrument
Kinds of instrument:
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession
Parties are called:
its States Parties
Why it matters for exams: The three month rule after a deposit, and the thirty States of the first entry into force, are the machinery facts here.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
instrument of ratification instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession — The formal paper a state deposits to show it agrees to be bound by a treaty.
Background
Ships take in water as ballast, and that water can carry living things from one sea to another. The convention adopted in 2004 was written to stop the spread of harmful aquatic organisms in this way. It entered into force in 2017 and that was well over a decade after it was adopted. All ships in international traffic have to manage their ballast water to a standard, following a plan written for each ship. Each ship also keeps a record book for its ballast water, and a certificate for how that water is managed. As an interim step ships were told to exchange ballast water in mid-ocean, and most will finally need a treatment system on board. A party can take stricter measures of its own, so long as they are consistent with international law. Port State control officers can inspect a ship, read the record book and sample the water, and undue delay to a ship is to be avoided.
Adopted:
2004 at IMO
Entry into force:
2017
Documents each ship carries:
a ballast water record book and an international ballast water management certificate
Plan required:
ship-specific ballast water management plan
Inspection:
carried out by port State control officers
Why it matters for exams: The ballast water convention and the harmful organisms it targets appear in environment and treaty questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ballast water ballast water — Water taken into a ship's tanks to keep it steady when it is not fully loaded.