prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Gary L. Bennett was a part of the space missions that have a primary destination of what celestial body?

The following are given passages.
Context 1: Passage 1:
Gary L  Bennett
Gary L  Bennett (born January 17, 1940) is an American scientist and engineer, specializing in aerospace and energy   He has worked for NASA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) on advanced space power systems and advanced space propulsion systems   His professional career has included work on the Voyager, Galileo, and Ulysses space missions, and is currently working as a consultant in aerospace power and propulsion systems  He is also a science fiction author (The Star Sailors) 

Biography
Bennett was born in Twin Falls, Idaho  He joined the NASA headquarters in June 1988 as the Manager of Advanced Space Power Systems in the transportation division of the Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology  There, he managed a number of transportation technology programs including hybrid propulsion, electric propulsion, low-thrust chemical propulsion, and other advanced propulsion concepts (e g , fusion, antimatter)  He was also the first program manager of the advanced technology insertion program for the Pluto Fast Flyby (now New Horizons) mission and the TIMED space physics mission 
Prior to coming to NASA, Bennett held key positions in DoE's space radioisotope power program, including serving as Director of Safety and Nuclear Operations for the radioisotope power sources that were used on the Galileo mission to Jupiter and that are being used on the Ulysses mission to explore the polar regions of the Sun   This same radioisotope power source design was then flown on the Cassini mission to Saturn and on the New Horizons mission to Jupiter 
Previous positions included Chief of the Research Support Branch in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) where Bennett was instrumental in creating and managing NRC's reactor operational safety research program 
Bennett was the flight safety manager for the radioisotope power sources currently in use on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft (which went to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and beyond) and on Lincoln Laboratory's LES 8 and LES 9 communications satellites 
Bennett also worked as a physicist in the NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications) program at what was then NASA's Lewis Research Center (now the John H  Glenn Research Center) in Cleveland, Ohio   He did fundamental reactor safety research at what is now the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) 
From 1980 to 1988, he was a member of or adviser to US delegations to the two subcommittees of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and he prepared the official US position papers on the use of nuclear power sources in outer space 
From 1988 to 1990, Bennett chaired the Steering Group of the Interagency Advanced Power Group (IAPG), the national coordinating group for federally sponsored space and terrestrial power research   During his tenure and under his initiative the IAPG saw its greatest increase in membership 
Bennett received his PhD in physics from Washington State University in 1970; a Master of Nuclear Science degree in 1966, and a BSc degree in physics from the University of Idaho in 1962; and an Associate of Arts degree from Boise Junior College (now Boise State University) in 1960 
Since 1995, he has been active in promoting the teaching of science (specifically evolution) and received the Friend of Darwin Award  Bennett has also been a champion of the First Amendment and was elected to the National Advisory Council of Americans United for Separation of Church and State 

Selected works
Bennett has authored or coauthored over 160 technical papers, reports and articles on power, propulsion, and space missions 
Science fiction

G L  Bennett (1980)  The Star Sailors  ISBN 978-0-312-75582-9 Chapters in:

M S  El-Genk (1997)  A Critical Review of Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion, 1984-1993  ISBN 978-1-56396-317-9 
D M  Rowe (1995)  CRC Handbook of Thermoelectrics  ISBN 978-0-8493-0146-9 
R A  Meyers (2001)  Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (3rd ed )  ISBN 978-0-12-227410-7 

Awards
In 2000, he received the Friend of Darwin Award by the National Center for Science Education
In 1996, he received the Schreiber-Spence Space Achievement Award for his leadership of the safety and nuclear operations for the Galileo and Ulysses radioisotope power source programs 
In 1995, he shared in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aerospace Power Systems Award and Medal for his leadership of the Ulysses radioisotope power source program 
In 1994, he received the Silver & Gold Award from the University of Idaho Alumni Association
In 1990, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Boise State University

Associations
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (fellow)
American Physical Society (fellow)
British Interplanetary Society (fellow)
Passage 2:
Planetary protection
Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth in the case of sample-return missions  Planetary protection reflects both the unknown nature of the space environment and the desire of the scientific community to preserve the pristine nature of celestial bodies until they can be studied in detail There are two types of interplanetary contamination  Forward contamination is the transfer of viable organisms from Earth to another celestial body   Back contamination is the transfer of extraterrestrial organisms, if they exist, back to the Earth's biosphere 

History
The potential problem of lunar and planetary contamination was first raised at the International Astronautical Federation VIIth Congress in Rome in 1956 In 1958 the U S  National Academy of Sciences (NAS) passed a resolution stating, “The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America urges that scientists plan lunar and planetary studies with great care and deep concern so that initial operations do not compromise and make impossible forever after critical scientific experiments ” This led to creation of the ad hoc Committee on Contamination by Extraterrestrial Exploration (CETEX), which met for a year and recommended that interplanetary spacecraft be sterilized, and stated, “The need for sterilization is only temporary  Mars and possibly Venus need to remain uncontaminated only until study by manned ships becomes possible” In 1959, planetary protection was transferred to the newly formed Committee on Space Research (COSPAR)  COSPAR in 1964 issued Resolution 26 affirming that:

the search for extraterrestrial life is an important objective of space research, that the planet of Mars may offer the only feasible opportunity to conduct this search during the foreseeable future, that contamination of this planet would make such a search far more difficult and possibly even prevent for all time an unequivocal result, that all practical steps should be taken to ensure that Mars be not biologically contaminated until such time as this search has been satisfactorily carried out, and that cooperation in proper scheduling of experiments and use of adequate spacecraft sterilization techniques is required on the part of all deep space probe launching authorities to avoid such contamination 
In 1967, the US, USSR, and UK ratified the United Nations Outer Space Treaty   The legal basis for planetary protection lies in Article IX of this treaty:
"Article IX:     States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose    
This treaty has since been signed and ratified by 104 nation-states  Another 24 have signed but not ratified   All the current space-faring nation-states, along with all current aspiring space-faring nation-states, have both signed and ratified the treaty The Outer Space Treaty has consistent and widespread international support, and as a result of this, together with the fact that it is based on the 1963 declaration which was adopted by consensus in the UN National Assembly, it has taken on the status of customary international law  The provisions of the Outer Space Treaty are therefore binding on all states, even those who have neither signed nor ratified it For forward contamination, the phrase to be interpreted is "harmful contamination"   Two legal reviews came to differing interpretations of this clause (both reviews were unofficial)  However the currently accepted interpretation is that “any contamination which would result in harm to a state’s experiments or programs is to be avoided”  NASA policy states explicitly that “the conduct of scientific investigations of possible extraterrestrial life forms, precursors, and remnants must not be jeopardized” 

COSPAR recommendations and categories
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) meets every two years, in a gathering of 2000 to 3000 scientists, and one of its tasks is to develop recommendations for avoiding interplanetary contamination  Its legal basis is Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty  (see history below for details) 
Its recommendations depend on the type of space mission and the celestial body explored   COSPAR categorizes the missions into 5 groups:

Category I: Any mission to locations not of direct interest for chemical evolution or the origin of life, such as the  Sun or Mercury  No planetary protection requirements 
Category II: Any mission to locations of significant interest for chemical evolution and the origin of life, but only a remote chance that spacecraft-borne contamination could compromise investigations  Examples include the Moon, Venus, and comets  Requires simple documentation only, primarily to outline intended or potential impact targets, and an end of mission report of any inadvertent impact site if such occurred 
Category III: Flyby and orbiter missions to locations of significant interest for chemical evolution or the origin of life, and with a significant chance that contamination could compromise investigations e g , Mars, Europa, Enceladus  Requires more involved documentation than Category II  Other requirements, depending on the mission, may include trajectory biasing, clean room assembly, bioburden reduction, and if impact is a possibility, inventory of organics 
Category IV: Lander or probe missions to the same locations as Category III  Measures to be applied depend on the target body and the planned operations  "Sterilization of the entire spacecraft may be required for landers and rovers with life-detection experiments, and for those landing in or moving to a region where terrestrial microorganisms may survive and grow, or where indigenous life may be present  For other landers and rovers, the requirements would be for decontamination and partial sterilization of the landed hardware "Missions to Mars in category IV are subclassified further:Category IVa  Landers that do not search for Martian life - uses the Viking lander pre-sterilization requirements, a maximum of 300,000 spores per spacecraft and 300 spores per square meter 
Category IVb  Landers that search for Martian life   Adds stringent extra requirements to prevent contamination of samples 
Category IVc  Any component that accesses a Martian special region (see below) must be sterilized to at least to the Viking post-sterilization biological burden levels of 30 spores total per spacecraft Category V: This is further divided into unrestricted and restricted sample return Unrestricted Category V: samples from locations judged by scientific opinion to have no indigenous lifeforms  No special requirements 
Restricted Category V: (where scientific opinion is unsure) the requirements include: absolute prohibition of destructive impact upon return, containment of all returned hardware which directly contacted the target body, and containment of any unsterilized sample returned to Earth For Category IV missions, a certain level of biological burden is allowed for the mission  In general this is expressed as a 'probability of contamination', required to be less than one chance in 10,000 of forward contamination per mission, but in the case of Mars Category IV missions (above) the requirement has been translated into a count of Bacillus spores per surface area, as an easy to use assay method More extensive documentation is also required for Category IV  Other procedures required, depending on the mission, may include trajectory biasing, the use of clean rooms during spacecraft assembly and testing, bioload reduction, partial sterilization of the hardware having direct contact with the target body, a bioshield for that hardware, and, in rare cases, complete sterilization of the entire spacecraft For restricted Category V missions, the current recommendation is that no uncontained samples should be returned unless sterilized  Since sterilization of the returned samples would destroy much of their science value, current proposals involve containment and quarantine procedures  For details, see Containment and quarantine below  Category V missions also have to fulfill the requirements of Category IV to protect the target body from forward contamination 

Mars special regions
A special region is a region classified by COSPAR where terrestrial organisms could readily propagate, or thought to have a high potential for existence of Martian life forms  This is understood to apply to any region on Mars where liquid water occurs, or can occasionally occur, based on the current understanding of requirements for life 
If a hard landing risks biological contamination of a special region, then the whole lander system must be sterilized to COSPAR category IVc 

Target categories
Some targets are easily categorized  Others are assigned provisional categories by COSPAR, pending future discoveries and research 
The 2009 COSPAR Workshop on Planetary Protection for Outer Planet Satellites and Small Solar System Bodies covered this in some detail  Most of these assessments are from that report, with some future refinements  This workshop also gave more precise definitions for some of the categories:

Category I
“not of direct interest for understanding the process of chemical evolution or the origin of life ” 
Io, Sun, Mercury, undifferentiated metamorphosed asteroids

Category II
… where there is only a remote chance that contamination carried by a spacecraft could jeopardize future exploration”  In this case we define “remote chance” as “the absence of niches (places where terrestrial microorganisms could proliferate) and/or a very low likelihood of transfer to those places ” 
Callisto, comets, asteroids of category P, D, and C, Venus, Kuiper belt objects (KBO) < 1/2 size of Pluto 

Provisional Category II
Ganymede, Titan, Triton, the Pluto–Charon system, and other large KBOs (> 1/2 size of Pluto), CeresProvisionally, they assigned these objects to Category II  However, they state that more research is needed, because there is a remote possibility that the tidal interactions of Pluto and Charon could maintain some water reservoir below the surface  Similar considerations apply to the other larger KBOs 
Triton is insufficiently well understood at present to say it is definitely devoid of liquid water  The only close up observations to date are those of Voyager 2 
In a detailed discussion of Titan, scientists concluded that there was no danger of contamination of its surface, except short term adding of negligible amounts of organics, but Titan could have a below surface water reservoir that communicates with the surface, and if so, this could be contaminated 
In the case of Ganymede, the question is, given that its surface shows pervasive signs of resurfacing, is there any communication with its subsurface ocean? They found no known mechanism by which this could happen, and the Galileo spacecraft found no evidence of cryovolcanism  Initially, they assigned it as Priority B minus, meaning that precursor missions are needed to assess its category before any surface missions  However, after further discussion they provisionally assigned it to Category II, so no precursor missions are required, depending on future research 
If there is cryovolcanism on Ganymede or Titan, the undersurface reservoir is thought to be 50 – 150 km below the surface  They were unable to find a process that could transfer the surface melted water back down through 50 km of ice to the under surface sea  This is why both Ganymede and Titan were assigned a reasonably firm provisional Category II, but pending results of future research 
Icy bodies that show signs of recent resurfacing need further discussion and might need to be assigned to a new category depending on future research  This approach has been applied, for instance, to missions to Ceres  The planetary protection Category is subject for review during the mission of the Ceres orbiter (Dawn) depending on the results found 

Category III / IV
“…where there is a significant chance that contamination carried by a spacecraft could jeopardize future exploration ” We define “significant chance” as “the presence of niches (places where terrestrial microorganisms could proliferate) and the likelihood of transfer to those places ” 
Mars because of possible subsurface habitats 
Europa because of its subsurface ocean 
Enceladus because of evidence of water plumes 

Category V
Unrestricted Category V: “Earth-return missions from bodies deemed by scientific opinion to have no indigenous life forms ”
Restricted Category V: "Earth-return missions from bodies deemed by scientific opinion to be of significant interest to the process of chemical evolution or the origin of life "
In the category V for sample return the conclusions so far are:
Unrestricted Category V: Venus, the Moon 
Restricted Category V: Mars, Europa, Enceladus 

The Coleman–Sagan equation
The aim of the current regulations is to keep the number of microorganisms low enough so that the probability of contamination of Mars (and other targets) is acceptable  It is not an objective to make the probability of contamination zero 
The aim is to keep the probability of contamination of 1 chance in 10,000 of contamination per mission flown  This figure is obtained typically by multiplying together the number of microorganisms on the spacecraft, the probability of growth on the target body, and a series of bioload reduction factors 
In detail the method used is the Coleman–Sagan equation 
  
    
      
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    P_{c}=N_{0}RP_{S}P_{t}P_{R}P_{g}
   
where 

  
    
      N
      
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    N_{0}
   = the number of microorganisms on the spacecraft initially

  
    R
    R
   = Reduction due to conditions on spacecraft before and after launch

  
    
      P
      
        S
      
    
    P_{S}
   = Probability that microorganisms on the spacecraft reach the surface of the planet

  
    
      P
      
        t
      
    
    P_{t}
   = Probability that spacecraft will hit the planet - this is 1 for a lander

  
    
      P
      
        R
      
    
    P_{R}
   = Probability of microorganism to be released in the environment when on the ground, usually set to 1 for crashlanding 

  
    
      P
      
        g
      
    
    P_{g}
   = Probability of growth  For targets with liquid water this is set to 1 for sake of the calculation Then the requirement is 
  
    
      
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    P_{c}<10^{-4}
  
The 
  
    
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    10^{-4}
   is a number chosen by Sagan et al , somewhat arbitrarily  Sagan and Coleman assumed that about 60 missions to the Mars surface would occur before the exobiology of Mars is thoroughly understood, 54 of those successful, and 30 flybys or orbiters, and the number was chosen to endure a probability to keep the planet free from contamination of at least 99 9% over the duration of the exploration period 

Critiques
The Coleman–Sagan equation has been criticised because the individual parameters are often not known to better than a magnitude or so  For example, the thickness of the surface ice of Europa is unknown, and may be thin in places, which can give rise to a high level of uncertainty in the equation  It has also been criticised because of the inherent assumption made of an end to the protection period and future human exploration  In the case of Europa, this would only protect it with reasonable probability for the duration of the period of exploration Greenberg has suggested an alternative, to use the natural contamination standard — that our missions to Europa should not have a higher chance of contaminating it than the chance of contamination by meteorites from Earth 
As long as the probability of people infecting other planets with terrestrial microbes is substantially smaller than the probability that such contamination happens naturally, exploration activities would, in our view, be doing no harm  We call this concept the natural contamination standard 
Another approach for Europa is the use of binary decision trees which is favoured by the Committee on Planetary Protection Standards for Icy Bodies in the Outer Solar System under the auspices of the Space Studies Board  This goes through a series of seven steps, leading to a final decision on whether to go ahead with the mission or not 
Recommendation: Approaches to achieving planetary protection should not rely on the multiplication of bioload estimates and probabilities to calculate the likelihood of contaminating Solar System bodies with terrestrial organisms unless scientific data unequivocally define the values, statistical variation, and mutual independence of every factor used in the equation Recommendation: Approaches to achieving planetary protection for missions to icy Solar System bodies should employ a series of binary decisions that consider one factor at a time to determine the appropriate level of planetary protection procedures to use 

Containment and quarantine for restricted Category V sample return
In the case of restricted Category V missions, Earth would be protected through quarantine of sample and astronauts in a yet to be built Biosafety level 4 facility  In the case of a Mars sample return, missions would be designed so that no part of the capsule that encounters the Mars surface is exposed to the Earth environment  One way to do that is to enclose the sample container within a larger outer container from Earth, in the vacuum of space  The integrity of any seals is essential and the system must also be monitored to check for the possibility of micro-meteorite damage during return to Earth The recommendation of the ESF report is that
“No uncontained Mars materials, including space craft surfaces that have been exposed to the Mars environment should be returned to Earth unless sterilised"   "For unsterilised samples returned to Earth, a programme of life detection and biohazard testing, or a proven sterilisation process, shall be undertaken as an absolute precondition for the controlled distribution of any portion of the sample ”
No restricted category V returns have been carried out  During the Apollo program, the sample-returns were regulated through the Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law  This was rescinded in 1991, so new regulations would need to be enacted  The Apollo era quarantine procedures are of interest as the only attempt to date of a return to Earth of a sample that, at the time, was thought to have a remote possibility of including extraterrestrial life 
Samples and astronauts were quarantined in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory  The methods used would be considered inadequate for containment by modern standards  Also the lunar receiving laboratory would be judged a failure by its own design criteria as the sample return didn't contain the lunar material, with two failure points during the Apollo 11 return mission, at the splashdown and at the facility itself 
However the Lunar Receiving Laboratory was built quickly with only two years from start to finish, a time period now considered inadequate  Lessons learned from it can help with design of any Mars sample return receiving facility Design criteria for a proposed Mars Sample Return Facility, and for the return mission, have been developed by the American National Research Council, and the European Space Foundation  They concluded that it could be based on biohazard 4 containment but with more stringent requirements to contain unknown microorganisms possibly as small as or smaller than the smallest Earth microorganisms known, the ultramicrobacteria  The ESF study also recommended that it should be designed to contain the smaller gene transfer agents if possible, as these could potentially transfer DNA from martian microorganisms to terrestrial microorganisms if they have a shared evolutionary ancestry  It also needs to double as a clean room facility to protect the samples from terrestrial contamination that could confuse the sensitive life detection tests that would be used on the samples 
Before a sample return, new quarantine laws would be required  Environmental assessment would also be required, and various other domestic and international laws not present during the Apollo era would need to be negotiated 

Decontamination procedures
For all spacecraft missions requiring decontamination, the starting point is clean room assembly in US federal standard class 100 cleanrooms  These are rooms with fewer than 100 particles of size 0 5 µm or larger per cubic foot  Engineers wear cleanroom suits with only their eyes exposed  Components are sterilized individually before assembly, as far as possible, and they clean surfaces frequently with alcohol wipes during assembly  Spores of Bacillus subtilis was chosen for not only its ability to readily generate spores, but its well-established use as a model species  It is a useful tracker of UV irradiation effects because of its high resilience to a variety of extreme conditions  As such it is an important indicator species for forward contamination in the context of planetary protection 
For Category IVa missions (Mars landers that do not search for Martian life), the aim is to reduce the bioburden to 300,000 bacterial spores on any surface from which the spores could get into the Martian environment  Any heat tolerant components are heat sterilized to 114 °C  Sensitive electronics such as the core box of the rover including the computer, are sealed and vented through high-efficiency filters to keep any microbes inside For more sensitive missions such as Category IVc (to Mars special regions), a far higher level of sterilization is required  These need to be similar to levels implemented on the Viking landers, which were sterilized for a surface which, at the time, was thought to be potentially hospitable to life similar to special regions on Mars today 
In microbiology, it is usually impossible to prove that there are no microorganisms left viable, since many microorganisms are either not yet studied, or not cultivable  Instead, sterilization is done using a series of tenfold reductions of the numbers of microorganisms present  After a sufficient number of tenfold reductions, the chance that there any microorganisms left will be extremely low The two Viking Mars landers were sterilized using dry heat sterilization   After preliminary cleaning to reduce the bioburden to levels similar to present day Category IVa spacecraft, the Viking spacecraft were heat-treated for 30 hours at 112 °C, nominal 125 °C (five hours at 112 °C was considered enough to reduce the population tenfold even for enclosed parts of the spacecraft, so this was enough for a million-fold reduction of the originally low population) Modern materials however are often not designed to handle such temperatures, especially since modern spacecraft often use "commercial off the shelf" components  Problems encountered include nanoscale features only a few atoms thick, plastic packaging, and conductive epoxy attachment methods  Also many instrument sensors cannot be exposed to high temperature, and high temperature can interfere with critical alignments of instruments As a result, new methods are needed to sterilize a modern spacecraft to the higher categories such as Category IVc for Mars, similar to Viking  Methods under evaluation, or already approved, include:

Vapour phase hydrogen peroxide - effective, but can affect finishes, lubricants and materials that use aromatic rings and sulfur bonds  This has been established, reviewed, and a NASA/ESA specification for use of VHP has been approved by the Planetary Protection Officer, but it has not yet been formally published 
Ethylene oxide - this is widely used in the medical industry, and can be used for materials not compatible with hydrogen peroxide  It is under consideration for missions such as ExoMars 
Gamma radiation and electron beams have been suggested as a method of sterilization, as they are used extensively in the medical industry  They need to be tested for compatibility with spacecraft materials and hardware geometries, and are not yet ready for review Some other methods are of interest as they can sterilize the spacecraft after arrival on the planet 
Supercritical carbon dioxide snow (Mars) - is most effective against traces of organic compounds rather than whole microorganisms  Has the advantage though that it eliminates the organic traces - while other methods kill the microorganisms, they leave organic traces that can confuse life detection instruments  Is under study by JPL and ESA 
Passive sterilization through UV radiation (Mars)  Highly effective against many microorganisms, but not all, as a Bacillus strain found in spacecraft assembly facilities is particularly resistant to UV radiation  Is also complicated by possible shadowing by dust and spacecraft hardware 
Passive sterilization through particle fluxes (Europa)  Plans for missions to Europa take credit for reductions due to this 

Bioburden detection and assessment
The spore count is used as an indirect measure of the number of microorganisms present  Typically 99% of microorganisms by species will be non-spore forming and able to survive in dormant states, and so the actual number of viable dormant microorganisms remaining on the sterilized spacecraft is expected to be many times the number of spore-forming microorganisms 
One new spore method approved is the "Rapid Spore Assay"  This is based on commercial rapid assay systems, detects spores directly and not just viable microorganisms and gives results in 5 hours instead of 72 hours 

Challenges
It is also long been recognized that spacecraft cleaning rooms harbour polyextremophiles as the only microbes able to survive in them  For example, in a recent study, microbes from swabs of the Curiosity rover were subjected to desiccation, UV exposure, cold and pH extremes  Nearly 11% of the 377 strains survived more than one of these severe conditions  The genomes of resistant spore producing Bacillus sp  have been studied and genome level traits potentially linked to the resistance have been reported This does not mean that these microbes have contaminated Mars  This is just the first stage of the process of bioburden reduction  To contaminate Mars they also have to survive the low temperature, vacuum, UV and ionizing radiation during the months long journey to Mars, and then have to encounter a habitat on Mars and start reproducing there  Whether this has happened or not is a matter of probability  The aim of planetary protection is to make this probability as low as possible  The currently accepted target probability of contamination per mission is to reduce it to less than 0 01%, though in the special case of Mars, scientists also rely on the hostile conditions on Mars to take the place of the final stage of heat treatment decimal reduction used for Viking  But with current technology scientists cannot reduce probabilities to zero 

New methods
Two recent molecular methods have been approved for assessment of microbial contamination on 
spacecraft surfaces 
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) detection - this is a key element in cellular metabolism  This method is able to detect non cultivable organisms  It can also be triggered by non viable biological material so can give a "false positive" 
Limulus Amebocyte Lysate assay - detects lipopolysaccharides (LPS)  This compound is only present in Gram-negative bacteria  The standard assay analyses spores from microbes that are primarily Gram-positive, making it difficult to relate the two methods 

Impact prevention
This particularly applies to orbital missions, Category III, as they are sterilized to a lower standard than missions to the surface  It is also relevant to landers, as an impact gives more opportunity for forward contamination, and impact could be on an unplanned target, such as a special region on Mars 
The requirement for an orbital mission is that it needs to remain in orbit for at least 20 years after arrival at Mars with probability of at least 99% and for 50 years with probability at least 95%  This requirement can be dropped if the mission is sterilized to Viking sterilization standard In the Viking era (1970s), the requirement was given as a single figure, that any orbital mission should have a probability of less than 0 003% probability of impact during the current exploratory phase of exploration of Mars For both landers and orbiters, the technique of trajectory biasing is used during approach to the target  The spacecraft trajectory is designed so that if communications are lost, it will miss the target 

Issues with impact prevention
Despite these measures there has been one notable failure of impact prevention  The Mars Climate Orbiter which was sterilized only to Category III, crashed on Mars in 1999 due to a mix-up of imperial and metric units  The office of planetary protection stated that it is likely that it burnt up in the atmosphere, but if it survived to the ground, then it could cause forward contamination Mars Observer is another Category III mission with potential planetary contamination  Communications were lost three days before its orbital insertion maneuver in 1993  It seems most likely it did not succeed in entering into orbit around Mars and simply continued past on a heliocentric orbit  If it did succeed in following its automatic programming, and attempted the manoeuvre, however, there is a chance it crashed on Mars Three landers have had hard landings on Mars   These are Schiaparelli EDM lander, the Mars Polar Lander, and Deep Space 2  These were all sterilized for surface missions but not for special regions (Viking pre-sterilization only)  Mars Polar Lander, and Deep Space 2 crashed into the polar regions which are now treated as special regions because of the possibility of forming liquid brines 

Controversies
Meteorite argument
Alberto G  Fairén and Dirk Schulze-Makuch published an article in Nature recommending that planetary protection measures need to be scaled down  They gave as their main reason for this, that exchange of meteorites between Earth and Mars means that any life on Earth that could survive on Mars has already got there and vice versa Robert Zubrin used similar arguments in favour of his view that the back contamination risk has no scientific validity 

Rebuttal by NRC
The meteorite argument was examined by the NRC in the context of back contamination  It is thought that all the Martian meteorites originate in relatively few impacts every few million years on Mars  The impactors would be kilometers in diameter and the craters they form on Mars tens of kilometers in diameter  Models of impacts on Mars are consistent with these findings Earth receives a steady stream of meteorites from Mars, but they come from relatively few original impactors, and transfer was more likely in the early Solar System  Also some life forms viable on both Mars and on Earth might be unable to survive transfer on a meteorite, and there is so far no direct evidence of any transfer of life from Mars to Earth in this way 
The NRC concluded that though transfer is possible, the evidence from meteorite exchange does not eliminate the need for back contamination protection methods Impacts on Earth able to send microorganisms to Mars are also infrequent  Impactors of 10 km across or larger can send debris to Mars through the Earth's atmosphere but these occur rarely, and were more common in the early Solar System 

Proposal to end planetary protection for Mars
In their 2013 paper "The Over Protection of Mars", Alberto Fairén and Dirk Schulze-Makuch suggested that we no longer need to protect Mars, essentially using Zubrin's meteorite transfer argument  This was rebutted in a follow up article "Appropriate Protection of Mars", in Nature by the current and previous planetary protection officers Catharine Conley and John Rummel 

Critique of Category V containment measures
The scientific consensus is that the potential for large-scale effects, either through pathogenesis or ecological disruption, is extremely small  Nevertheless, returned samples from Mars will be treated as potentially biohazardous until scientists can determine that the returned samples are safe  The goal is to reduce the probability of release of a Mars particle to less than one in a million 

Policy proposals
Non-biological contamination
A COSPAR workshop in 2010, looked at issues to do with protecting areas from non biological contamination  They recommended that COSPAR expand its remit to include such issues  Recommendations of the workshop include:

Recommendation 3 COSPAR should add a separate and parallel policy to provide guidance on requirements/best practices for protection of non-living/nonlife-related aspects of Outer Space and celestial bodies
Some ideas proposed include protected special regions, or "Planetary Parks" to keep regions of the Solar System pristine for future scientific investigation, and also for ethical reasons 

Proposed extensions
Astrobiologist Christopher McKay has argued that until we have better understanding of Mars, our explorations should be biologically reversible  For instance if all the microorganisms introduced to Mars so far remain dormant within the spacecraft, they could in principle be removed in the future, leaving Mars completely free of contamination from modern Earth lifeforms 
In the 2010 workshop one of the recommendations for future consideration was to extend the period for contamination prevention to the maximum viable lifetime of dormant microorganisms introduced to the planet 

"'Recommendation 4 ' COSPAR should consider that the appropriate protection of potential indigenous extraterrestrial life shall include avoiding the harmful contamination of any habitable environment —whether extant or foreseeable— within the maximum potential time of viability of any terrestrial organisms (including microbial spores) that may be introduced into that environment by human or robotic activity "
In the case of Europa, a similar idea has been suggested, that it is not enough to keep it free from contamination during our current exploration period  It might be that Europa is of sufficient scientific interest that the human race has a duty to keep it pristine for future generations to study as well  This was the majority view of the 2000 task force examining Europa, though there was a minority view of the same task force that such strong protection measures are not required 

"One consequence of this view is that Europa must be protected from contamination for an open-ended period, until it can be demonstrated that no ocean exists or that no organisms are present  Thus, we need to be concerned that over a time scale on the order of 10 million to 100 million years (an approximate age for the surface of Europa), any contaminating material is likely to be carried into the deep ice crust or into the underlying ocean "
In July 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued a Review and Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes  In part, the report urges NASA to create a broad strategic plan that covers both forward and back contamination  The report also expresses concern about private industry missions, for which there is no governmental regulatory authority 

Protecting objects beyond the Solar System
The proposal by the German physicist Claudius Gros, that the technology of the Breakthrough Starshot project may be utilized to establish a biosphere of unicellular organisms on otherwise only transiently habitable exoplanets, has sparked a discussion, to what extent planetary protection should be extended to exoplanets  Gros argues that the extended timescales of
interstellar missions imply that planetary and exoplanetary protection have different ethical groundings 

See also
Astrobiology – Science concerned with life in the universe
ExoMars – Astrobiology programme
List of microorganisms tested in outer space
Mars 2020 – Astrobiology Mars rover mission by NASA
Panspermia – Hypothesis on the interstellar spreading of primordial life
Passage 3:
Transit (astronomy)
In astronomy, a transit (or astronomical transit) is a phenomenon when a celestial body passes directly between a larger body and the observer  As viewed from a particular vantage point, the transiting body appears to move across the face of the larger body, covering a small portion of it The word "transit" refers to cases where the nearer object appears smaller than the more distant object  Cases where the nearer object appears larger and completely hides the more distant object are known as occultations 
However, the probability of seeing a transiting planet is low because it is dependent on the alignment of the three objects in a nearly perfectly straight line  Many parameters of  a planet and its parent star can be determined based on the transit 

In the Solar System
One example of a transit involves the motion of a planet between a terrestrial observer and the Sun  This can happen only with inferior planets, namely Mercury and Venus (see transit of Mercury and transit of Venus)  However, because a transit is dependent on the point of observation, the Earth itself transits the Sun if observed from Mars  In the solar transit by the Moon captured during calibration of the STEREO B spacecraft's ultraviolet imaging, the Moon appears much smaller than it does when seen from Earth, because the spacecraft–Moon separation was several times greater than the Earth–Moon distance 
The term can also be used to describe the motion of a satellite across its parent planet, for instance one of the Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto) across Jupiter, as seen from Earth 
Although rare, cases where four bodies are lined up do happen  One of these events occurred on 27 June 1586, when Mercury transited the Sun as seen from Venus at the same time as a transit of Mercury from Saturn and a transit of Venus from Saturn 

Notable observations
No missions were planned to coincide with the transit of Earth visible from Mars on 11 May 1984 and the Viking missions had been terminated a year previously  Consequently, the next opportunity to observe such an alignment will be in 2084 
On 21 December 2012, the Cassini–Huygens probe, in orbit around Saturn, observed the planet Venus transiting the Sun On 3 June 2014, the Mars rover Curiosity observed the planet Mercury transiting the Sun, marking the first time a planetary transit has been observed from a celestial body besides Earth 

Mutual planetary transits
In rare cases, one planet can pass in front of another  If the nearer planet appears smaller than the more distant one, the event is called a mutual planetary transit 

Outside the Solar System
Exoplanet Detection

The transit method can be used to discover exoplanets  As a planet eclipses/transits its host star it will block a portion of the light from the star  If the planet transits in-between the star and the observer the change in light can be measured to construct a light curve  Light curves are measured with a charge-coupled device  The light curve of a star can disclose several physical characteristics of the planet and star, such as density  Multiple transit events must be measured to determine the characteristics which tend to occur at regular intervals  Multiple planets orbiting the same host star can cause transit-timing variations (TTV)  TTV is caused by the gravitational forces of all orbiting bodies acting upon each other  The probability of seeing a transit from Earth is low, however  The probability is given by the following equation 

  
    
      
        
          P
          
            transit
          
        
        =
        (
        
          R
          
            star
          
        
        +
        
          R
          
            planet
          
        
        )
        
          /
        
        a
        ,
      
    
    {\displaystyle P_{\text{transit}}=(R_{\text{star}}+R_{\text{planet}})/a,}
  where Rstar and Rplanet are the radius of the star and planet, respectively, and a is the semi-major axis  Because of the low probability of a transit in any specific system, large selections of the sky must be regularly observed in order to see a transit  Hot Jupiters are more likely to be seen because of their larger radius and short semi-major axis  In order to find Earth-sized planets, red dwarf stars are observed because of their small radius  Even though transiting has a low probability it has proven itself to be a good technique for discovering exoplanets 
In recent years, the discovery of extrasolar planets has prompted interest in the possibility of detecting their transits across their own stellar primaries  HD 209458b was the first such transiting planet to be detected 
The transit of celestial objects is one of the few key phenomena used today for the study of exoplanetary systems  Today, transit photometry is the leading form of exoplanet discovery  As an exoplanet moves in front of its host star there is a dimming in the luminosity of the host star that can be measured  Larger planets make the dip in luminosity more noticeable and easier to detect  Followup observations using other methods are often carried out to ensure it is a planet 
There are currently (December 2018) 2345 planets confirmed with Kepler light curves for stellar host 

Contacts
During a transit there are four "contacts", when the circumference of the small circle (small body disk) touches the circumference of the large circle (large body disk) at a single point   Historically, measuring the precise time of each point of contact was one of the most accurate ways to determine the positions of astronomical bodies   The contacts happen in the following order:

First contact: the smaller body is entirely outside the larger body, moving inward ("exterior ingress")
Second contact: the smaller body is entirely inside the larger body, moving further inward ("interior ingress")
Third contact: the smaller body is entirely inside the larger body, moving outward ("interior egress")
Fourth contact: the smaller body is entirely outside the larger body, moving outward ("exterior egress")A fifth named point is that of greatest transit, when the apparent centers of the two bodies are nearest to each other, halfway through the transit 

Missions
Since transit photometry allows for scanning large celestial areas with a simple procedure, it has been the most popular and successful form of finding exoplanets in the past decade and includes many projects, some of which have already been retired, others in use today, and some in progress of being planned and created  The most successful projects include HATNet, KELT, Kepler, and WASP, and some new and developmental stage missions such as TESS, HATPI, and others which can be found among the List of Exoplanet Search Projects 

HATNet
HATNet Project is a set of northern telescopes in Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Arizona and Mauna Kea Observatories, HI, and southern telescopes around the globe, in Africa, Australia, and South America, under the HATSouth branch of the project  These are small aperture telescopes, just like KELT, and look at a wide field which allows them to scan a large area of the sky for possible transiting planets  In addition, their multitude and spread around the world allows for 24/7 observation of the sky so that more short-period transits can be caught A third sub-project, HATPI, is currently under construction and will survey most of the night sky seen from its location in Chile 

KELT
KELT is a terrestrial telescope mission designed to search for transiting systems of planets of magnitude 8<M<10  It began operation in October 2004 in Winer Observatory and has a southern companion telescope added in 2009  KELT North observes "26-degree wide strip of sky that is overhead from North America during the year", while KELT South observes single target areas of the size 26 by 26 degrees  Both telescopes can detect and identify transit events as small as a 1% flux dip, which allows for detection of planetary systems similar to those in our planetary system 

Kepler / K2
The Kepler satellite served the Kepler mission between 7 March 2009 and 11 May 2013, where it observed one part of the sky in search of transiting planets within a 115 square degrees of the sky around the Cygnus, Lyra, and Draco constellations  After that, the satellite continued operating until 15 November 2018, this time changing its field along the ecliptic to a new area roughly every 75 days due to reaction wheel failure 

TESS
TESS was launched on 18 April 2018, and is planned to survey most of the sky by observing it strips defined along the right ascension lines for 27 days each  Each area surveyed is 27 by 90 degrees  Because of the positioning of sections, the area near TESS's rotational axis will be surveyed for up to 1 year, allowing for the identification of planetary systems with longer orbital periods 

See also
Eclipse
Kepler Mission
Occultation
Syzygy (astronomy)
Conjunction (astronomy)
Opposition (planets)
Transit of asteroids
Transit of Deimos from Mars
Transit of Phobos from Mars
Transit of Vulcan
Transit of Mercury from Mars
Transit of Earth from Mars
Passage 4:
Roche limit
In celestial mechanics, the Roche limit, also called Roche radius, is the distance from a celestial body within which a second celestial body, held together only by its own force of gravity, will disintegrate because the first body's tidal forces exceed the second body's self-gravitation  Inside the Roche limit, orbiting material disperses and forms rings, whereas outside the limit, material tends to coalesce  The Roche radius depends on the radius of the first body and on the ratio of the bodies' densities 
The term is named after Édouard Roche (French: [ʁɔʃ], English:  ROSH), the French astronomer who first calculated this theoretical limit in 1848 

Explanation
The Roche limit typically applies to a satellite's disintegrating due to tidal forces induced by its primary, the body around which it orbits  Parts of the satellite that are closer to the primary are attracted more strongly by gravity from the primary than parts that are farther away; this disparity effectively pulls the near and far parts of the satellite apart from each other, and if the disparity (combined with any centrifugal effects due to the object's spin) is larger than the force of gravity holding the satellite together, it can pull the satellite apart  Some real satellites, both natural and artificial, can orbit within their Roche limits because they are held together by forces other than gravitation  Objects resting on the surface of such a satellite would be lifted away by tidal forces  A weaker satellite, such as a comet, could be broken up when it passes within its Roche limit 
Since, within the Roche limit, tidal forces overwhelm the gravitational forces that might otherwise hold the satellite together, no satellite can gravitationally coalesce out of smaller particles within that limit  Indeed, almost all known planetary rings are located within their Roche limit  (Notable exceptions are Saturn's E-Ring and Phoebe ring  These two rings could possibly be remnants from the planet's proto-planetary accretion disc that failed to coalesce into moonlets, or conversely have formed when a moon passed within its Roche limit and broke apart )
The Roche limit is not the only factor that causes comets to break apart  Splitting by thermal stress, internal gas pressure and rotational splitting are other ways for a comet to split under stress 

Determination
The limiting distance to which a satellite can approach without breaking up depends on the rigidity of the satellite  At one extreme, a completely rigid satellite will maintain its shape until tidal forces break it apart  At the other extreme, a highly fluid satellite gradually deforms leading to increased tidal forces, causing the satellite to elongate, further compounding the tidal forces and causing it to break apart more readily 
Most real satellites would lie somewhere between these two extremes, with tensile strength rendering the satellite neither perfectly rigid nor perfectly fluid  For example, a rubble-pile asteroid will behave more like a fluid than a solid rocky one; an icy body will behave quite rigidly at first but become more fluid as tidal heating accumulates and its ices begin to melt 
But note that, as defined above, the Roche limit refers to a body held together solely by the gravitational forces which cause otherwise unconnected particles to coalesce, thus forming the body in question  The Roche limit is also usually calculated for the case of a circular orbit, although it is straightforward to modify the calculation to apply to the case (for example) of a body passing the primary on a parabolic or hyperbolic trajectory 

Rigid satellites
The rigid-body Roche limit is a simplified calculation for a spherical satellite  Irregular shapes such as those of tidal deformation on the body or the primary it orbits are neglected  It is assumed to be in hydrostatic equilibrium  These assumptions, although unrealistic, greatly simplify calculations 
The Roche limit for a rigid spherical satellite is the distance, 
  
    
      
        d
      
    
    {\displaystyle d}
  , from the primary at which the gravitational force on a test mass at the surface of the object is exactly equal to the tidal force pulling the mass away from the object:

  
    
      
        d
        =
        
          R
          
            M
          
        
        
          
            (
            
              2
              
                
                  
                    ρ
                    
                      M
                    
                  
                  
                    ρ
                    
                      m
                    
                  
                
              
            
            )
          
          
            
              1
              3
            
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle d=R_{M}\left(2{\frac {\rho _{M}}{\rho _{m}}}\right)^{\frac {1}{3}}}
  where 
  
    
      
        
          R
          
            M
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle R_{M}}
   is the radius of the primary, 
  
    
      
        
          ρ
          
            M
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle \rho _{M}}
   is the density of the primary, and 
  
    
      
        
          ρ
          
            m
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle \rho _{m}}
   is the density of the satellite  This can be equivalently written as

  
    
      
        d
        =
        
          R
          
            m
          
        
        
          
            (
            
              2
              
                
                  
                    M
                    
                      M
                    
                  
                  
                    M
                    
                      m
                    
                  
                
              
            
            )
          
          
            
              1
              3
            
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle d=R_{m}\left(2{\frac {M_{M}}{M_{m}}}\right)^{\frac {1}{3}}}
  where 
  
    
      
        
          R
          
            m
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle R_{m}}
   is the radius of the secondary, 
  
    
      
        
          M
          
            M
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle M_{M}}
   is the mass of the primary, and 
  
    
      
        
          M
          
            m
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle M_{m}}
   is the mass of the secondary 
This does not depend on the size of the objects, but on the ratio of densities  This is the orbital distance inside of which loose material (e g  regolith) on the surface of the satellite closest to the primary would be pulled away, and likewise material on the side opposite the primary will also go away from, rather than toward, the satellite 

Fluid satellites
A more accurate approach for calculating the Roche limit takes the deformation of the satellite into account  An extreme example would be a tidally locked liquid satellite orbiting a planet, where any force acting upon the satellite would deform it into a prolate spheroid 
The calculation is complex and its result cannot be represented in an exact algebraic formula  Roche himself derived the following approximate solution for the Roche limit:

  
    
      
        d
        ≈
        2 44
        R
        
          
            (
            
              
                
                  ρ
                  
                    M
                  
                
                
                  ρ
                  
                    m
                  
                
              
            
            )
          
          
            1
            
              /
            
            3
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle d\approx 2 44R\left({\frac {\rho _{M}}{\rho _{m}}}\right)^{1/3}}
  However, a better approximation that takes into account the primary's oblateness and the satellite's mass is:

  
    
      
        d
        ≈
        2 423
        R
        
          
            (
            
              
                
                  ρ
                  
                    M
                  
                
                
                  ρ
                  
                    m
                  
                
              
            
            )
          
          
            1
            
              /
            
            3
          
        
        
          
            (
            
              
                
                  (
                  1
                  +
                  
                    
                      m
                      
                        3
                        M
                      
                    
                  
                  )
                  +
                  
                    
                      c
                      
                        3
                        R
                      
                    
                  
                  (
                  1
                  +
                  
                    
                      m
                      M
                    
                  
                  )
                
                
                  1
                  −
                  c
                  
                    /
                  
                  R
                
              
            
            )
          
          
            1
            
              /
            
            3
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle d\approx 2 423R\left({\frac {\rho _{M}}{\rho _{m}}}\right)^{1/3}\left({\frac {(1+{\frac {m}{3M}})+{\frac {c}{3R}}(1+{\frac {m}{M}})}{1-c/R}}\right)^{1/3}}
  where 
  
    
      
        c
        
          /
        
        R
      
    
    {\displaystyle c/R}
   is the oblateness of the primary  The numerical factor is calculated with the aid of a computer 
The fluid solution is appropriate for bodies that are only loosely held together, such as a comet  For instance, comet Shoemaker–Levy 9's decaying orbit around Jupiter passed within its Roche limit in July 1992, causing it to fragment into a number of smaller pieces  On its next approach in 1994 the fragments crashed into the planet  Shoemaker–Levy 9 was first observed in 1993, but its orbit indicated that it had been captured by Jupiter a few decades prior 

See also
Roche lobe
Chandrasekhar limit
Hill sphere
Spaghettification (the extreme case of tidal distortion)
Black hole
Triton (moon) (Neptune's satellite)
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
Passage 5:
Ulysses (spacecraft)
Ulysses ( yoo-LISS-eez, UK also  YOO-liss-eez) was a robotic space probe whose primary mission was to orbit the Sun and study it at all latitudes  It was launched in 1990 and made three "fast latitude scans" of the Sun in 1994/1995, 2000/2001, and 2007/2008  In addition, the probe studied several comets  Ulysses was a joint venture of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), under leadership of ESA with participation from Canada's National Research Council  The last day for mission operations on Ulysses was 30 June 2009 To study the Sun at all latitudes, the probe needed to change its orbital inclination and leave the plane of the Solar System  To change the orbital inclination of a spacecraft to about 80° requires a large change in heliocentric velocity, the energy to achieve which far exceeded the capabilities of any launch vehicle  To reach the desired orbit around the Sun, the mission's planners chose a gravity assist maneuver around Jupiter, but this Jupiter encounter meant that Ulysses could not be powered by solar cells  The probe was powered instead by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) 
The spacecraft was originally named Odysseus, because of its lengthy and indirect trajectory to study the solar poles  It was renamed Ulysses, the Latin translation of "Odysseus", at ESA's request in honor not only of Homer's mythological hero but also of Dante's character in the Inferno  Ulysses was originally scheduled for launch in May 1986 aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-61-F  Due to the 28 January 1986 loss of Challenger, the launch of Ulysses was delayed until 6 October 1990 aboard Discovery (mission STS-41) 

Spacecraft
The spacecraft was designed by ESA and built by Dornier Systems, a German aircraft manufacturer  The body was roughly a box, approximately 3 2 m × 3 3 m × 2 1 m (10 5 ft × 10 8 ft × 6 9 ft) in size  The box mounted the 1 65 m (5 ft 5 in) dish antenna and the GPHS-RTG radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) power source  The box was divided into noisy and quiet sections  The noisy section abutted the RTG; the quiet section housed the instrument electronics  Particularly "loud" components, such as the preamps for the radio dipole, were mounted outside the structure entirely, and the box acted as a Faraday cage 
Ulysses was spin-stabilised about its z-axis which roughly coincides with the axis of the dish antenna  The RTG, whip antennas, and instrument boom were placed to stabilize this axis, with the spin rate nominally at 5 rpm  Inside the body was a hydrazine fuel tank  Hydrazine monopropellant was used for course corrections inbound to Jupiter, and later used exclusively to repoint the spin axis (and thus, the antenna) at Earth  The spacecraft was controlled by eight thrusters in two blocks  Thrusters were pulsed in the time domain to perform rotation or translation  Four sun sensors detected orientation  For fine attitude control, the S-band antenna feed was mounted slightly off-axis  This offset feed combined with the spacecraft spin introduced an apparent oscillation to a radio signal transmitted from Earth when received on board the spacecraft  The amplitude and phase of this oscillation were proportional to the orientation of the spin axis relative to the Earth direction  This method of determining the relative orientation is called conical scanning and was used by early radars for automated tracking of targets and was also very common in early infrared guided missiles 
The spacecraft used S-band for uplinked commands and downlinked telemetry, through dual redundant 5-watt transceivers  The spacecraft used X-band for science return (downlink only), using dual 20 watts TWTAs until the failure of the last remaining TWTA in January 2008  Both bands used the dish antenna with prime-focus feeds, unlike the Cassegrain feeds of most other spacecraft dishes 
Dual tape recorders, each of approximately 45-megabit capacity, stored science data between the nominal eight-hour communications sessions during the prime and extended mission phases 
The spacecraft was designed to withstand both the heat of the inner Solar System and the cold at Jupiter's distance  Extensive blanketing and electric heaters protected the probe against the cold temperatures of the outer Solar System 
Multiple computer systems (CPUs/microprocessors/Data Processing Units) are used in several of the scientific instruments, including several radiation-hardened RCA CDP1802 microprocessors  Documented 1802 usage includes dual-redundant 1802s in the COSPIN, and at least one 1802 each in the GRB, HI-SCALE, SWICS, SWOOPS and URAP instruments, with other possible microprocessors incorporated elsewhere Total mass at launch was 371 kg (818 lb), of which 33 5 kg was hydrazine propellant used for attitude control and orbit correction 

Instruments
The twelve different Instruments came from ESA and NASA  The first design was based on two probes, one by NASA and one by ESA, but the probe of NASA was defunded and in the end the instruments of the cancelled probe were mounted on Ulyssses 
Radio/Plasma antennas: Two beryllium copper antennas were unreeled outwards from the body, perpendicular to the RTG and spin axis  Together this dipole spanned 72 meters (236 2 ft)  A third antenna, of hollow beryllium copper, was deployed from the body, along the spin axis opposite the dish  It was a monopole antenna, 7 5 meters (24 6 ft) long  These measured radio waves generated by plasma releases, or the plasma itself as it passed over the spacecraft  This receiver ensemble was sensitive from DC to 1 MHz 
Experiment Boom: A third type of boom, shorter and much more rigid, extended from the last side of the spacecraft, opposite the RTG  This was a hollow carbon-fiber tube, of 50 mm (2 in ) diameter  It can be seen in the photo as the silver rod stowed alongside the body  It carried four types of instruments: a solid-state X-ray instrument, composed of two silicon detectors, to study X-rays from solar flares and Jupiter's aurorae; the Gamma-Ray Burst experiment, consisting of two CsI scintillator crystals with photomultipliers; two different magnetometers, a helium vector magnetometer and a fluxgate magnetometer; and a two-axis magnetic search coil antenna measured AC magnetic fields 
Body-Mounted Instruments: Detectors for electrons, ions, neutral gas, dust, and cosmic rays were mounted on the spacecraft body around the quiet section 
Lastly, the radio communications link could be used to search for gravitational waves (through Doppler shifts) and to probe the Sun's atmosphere through radio occultation  No gravitational waves were detected 
Total instrument mass was 55 kg 
Magnetometer (MAG): MAG measured the magnetic field in the heliosphere  Measurements of Jupiter's magnetic field were also performed 
Solar Wind Plasma Experiment (SWOOPS): detected the solar wind at all solar distances and latitudes and in three dimensions  It measured positive ions and electrons 
Solar Wind Ion Composition Instrument (SWICS): determined composition, temperature and speed of the atoms and ions that comprise the solar wind 
Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument (URAP): picked up radio waves from the Sun and electromagnetic waves generated in the solar wind close to the spacecraft 
Energetic Particle Instrument (EPAC) and GAS: EPAC investigated the energy, fluxes and distribution of energetic particles in the heliosphere  GAS studied the uncharged gases (helium) of interstellar origin 
Low-Energy Ion and Electron Experiment (HI-SCALE): investigated the energy, fluxes and distribution of energetic particles in the heliosphere 
Cosmic Ray and Solar Particle Instrument (COSPIN): investigated the energy, fluxes and distribution of energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays in the heliosphere 
Solar X-ray and Cosmic Gamma-Ray Burst Instrument (GRB): studied cosmic gamma ray bursts and X-rays from solar flares 
Dust Experiment (DUST): Direct measurements of interplanetary and interstellar dust grains to investigate their properties as functions of the distance from the Sun and solar latitude 

Mission
Planning
Until Ulysses, the Sun had only been observed from low solar latitudes  The Earth's orbit defines the ecliptic plane, which differs from the Sun's equatorial plane by only 7 25°  Even spacecraft directly orbiting the Sun do so in planes close to the ecliptic because a direct launch into a high-inclination solar orbit would require a prohibitively large launch vehicle 
Several spacecraft (Mariner 10, Pioneer 11, and Voyagers 1 and 2) had performed gravity assist maneuvers in the 1970s  Those maneuvers were to reach other planets also orbiting close to the ecliptic, so they were mostly in-plane changes  However, gravity assists are not limited to in-plane maneuvers; a suitable flyby of Jupiter could produce a significant plane change  An Out-Of-The-Ecliptic mission (OOE) was thereby proposed  See article Pioneer H 
Originally, two spacecraft were to be built by NASA and ESA, as the International Solar Polar Mission  One would be sent over Jupiter, then under the Sun  The other would fly under Jupiter, then over the Sun  This would provide simultaneous coverage  Due to cutbacks, the U S  spacecraft was cancelled in 1981  One spacecraft was designed, and the project recast as Ulysses, due to the indirect and untried flight path  NASA would provide the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) and launch services, ESA would build the spacecraft assigned to Astrium GmbH, Friedrichshafen, Germany (formerly Dornier Systems)  The instruments would be split into teams from universities and research institutes in Europe and the United States  This process provided the 12 instruments on board 
The changes delayed launch from February 1983 to May 1986 when it was to be deployed by the Space Shuttle Challenger (boosted by the proposed Centaur G Prime upper stage  However, the Challenger disaster forced a two-and-a-half year stand down of the shuttle fleet, mandated the cancellation of the Centaur-G upper stage, and pushed the launch date to October 1990 

Launch
Ulysses was deployed into low Earth orbit from the Space Shuttle Discovery  From there, it was propelled on a trajectory to Jupiter by a combination of solid rocket motors  This upper stage consisted of a two-stage Boeing IUS (Inertial Upper Stage), plus a McDonnell Douglas PAM-S (Payload Assist Module-Special)  The IUS was inertially stabilised and actively guided during its burn  The PAM-S was unguided and it and Ulysses were spun up to 80 rpm for stability at the start of its burn  On burnout of the PAM-S, the motor and spacecraft stack was yo-yo de-spun (weights deployed at the end of cables) to below 8 rpm prior to separation of the spacecraft  On leaving Earth, the spacecraft became the fastest ever artificially-accelerated spacecraft, and held that title until the New Horizons probe was launched 
On its way to Jupiter, the spacecraft was in an elliptical non-Hohmann transfer orbit  At this time, Ulysses had a low orbital inclination to the ecliptic 

Jupiter swing-by
It arrived at Jupiter on 8 February 1992 for a swing-by maneuver that increased its inclination to the ecliptic by 80 2°  The giant planet's gravity bent the spacecraft's flight path southward and away from the ecliptic plane  This put it into a final orbit around the Sun that would take it past the Sun's north and south poles  The size and shape of the orbit were adjusted to a much smaller degree so that aphelion remained at approximately 5 AU, Jupiter's distance from the Sun, and perihelion was somewhat greater than 1 AU, the Earth's distance from the Sun  The orbital period is approximately six years 

Polar regions of the Sun
Between 1994 and 1995 it explored both the southern and northern polar regions of the Sun, respectively 

Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)
On 1 May 1996, the spacecraft unexpectedly crossed the ion tail of Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2), revealing the tail to be at least 3 8 AU in length 

Comet C/1999 T1 (McNaught–Hartley)
An encounter with a comet tail happened again in 2004  when Ulysses flew through the ion tailings of C/1999 T1 (McNaught-Hartley)  A coronal mass ejection carried the cometary material to Ulysses 

Second Jupiter encounter
Ulysses approached aphelion in 2003/2004 and made further distant observations of Jupiter 

Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught)
In 2007, Ulysses passed through the tail of comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught)  The results were surprisingly different from its pass through Hyakutake's tail, with the measured solar wind velocity dropping from approximately 700 kilometers per second (1,566,000 mph) to less than 400 kilometers per second (895,000 mph) 

Extended mission
ESA's Science Program Committee approved the fourth extension of the Ulysses mission to March 2004  thereby allowing it to operate over the Sun's poles for the third time in 2007 and 2008  After it became clear that the power output from the spacecraft's RTG would be insufficient to operate science instruments and keep the attitude control fuel, hydrazine, from freezing, instrument power sharing was initiated  Up until then, the most important instruments had been kept online constantly, whilst others were deactivated  When the probe neared the Sun, its power-hungry heaters were turned off and all instruments were turned on On 22 February 2008, 17 years and 4 months after the launch of the spacecraft, ESA and NASA announced that the mission operations for Ulysses would likely cease within a few months  On 12 April 2008, NASA announced that the end date will be 1 July 2008 The spacecraft operated successfully for over four times its design life  A component within the last remaining working chain of X-band downlink subsystem failed on 15 January 2008  The other chain in the X-band subsystem had previously failed in 2003 Downlink to Earth resumed on S-band, but the beamwidth of the high gain antenna in the S-band was not as narrow as in the X–band, so that the received downlink signal was much weaker, hence reducing the achievable data rate  As the spacecraft traveled on its outbound trajectory to the orbit of Jupiter, the downlink signal would have eventually fallen below the receiving capability of even the largest antennas (70 meters - 229 7 feet - in diameter) of the Deep Space Network 
Even before the downlink signal was lost due to distance, the hydrazine attitude control fuel on board the spacecraft was considered likely to freeze, as the radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) failed to generate enough power for the heaters to overcome radiative heat loss into space  Once the hydrazine froze, the spacecraft would no longer be able to maneuver to keep its high gain antenna pointing towards Earth, and the downlink signal would then be lost in a matter of days  The failure of the X-band communications subsystem hastened this, because the coldest part of the fuel pipework was routed over the X-band traveling-wave tube amplifiers, because they generated enough heat during operation to keep the propellant plumbing warm 
The previously announced mission end date of 1 July 2008, came and went but mission operations continued albeit in a reduced capacity  The availability of science data gathering was limited to only when Ulysses was in contact with a ground station due to the deteriorating S-band downlink margin no longer being able to support simultaneous real-time data and tape recorder playback  When the spacecraft was out of contact with a ground station, the S-band transmitter was switched off and the power was diverted to the internal heaters to add to the warming of the hydrazine  On 30 June 2009, ground controllers sent commands to switch to the low gain antennas  This stopped communications with the spacecraft, in combination with previous commands to shut down its transmitter entirely 

Results
During cruise phases, Ulysses provided unique data  As the only spacecraft out of the ecliptic with a gamma-ray instrument, Ulysses was an important part of the InterPlanetary Network (IPN)  The IPN detects gamma ray bursts (GRBs); since gamma rays cannot be focused with mirrors, it was very difficult to locate GRBs with enough accuracy to study them further  Instead, several spacecraft can locate the burst through multilateration  Each spacecraft has a gamma-ray detector, with readouts noted in tiny fractions of a second  By comparing the arrival times of gamma showers with the separations of the spacecraft, a location can be determined, for follow-up with other telescopes  Because gamma rays travel at the speed of light, wide separations are needed  Typically, a determination came from comparing: one of several spacecraft orbiting the Earth, an inner-Solar-system probe (to Mars, Venus, or an asteroid), and Ulysses  When Ulysses crossed the ecliptic twice per orbit, many GRB determinations lost accuracy 
Additional discoveries:
Data provided by Ulysses led to the discovery that the Sun's magnetic field interacts with the Solar System in a more complex fashion than previously assumed 
Data provided by Ulysses led to the discovery that dust coming into the Solar System from deep space was 30 times more abundant than previously expected 
In 2007–2008 data provided by Ulysses led to the determination that the magnetic field emanating from the Sun's poles is much weaker than previously observed 
That the solar wind has "grown progressively weaker during the mission and is currently at its weakest since the start of the Space Age" 

Fate
Ulysses will most likely continue in heliocentric orbit around the Sun indefinitely  However, there is a chance that in one of its re-encounters with Jupiter a close fly-by with one of the Jovian moons would be enough to alter its course and so the probe would enter a hyperbolic trajectory around the Sun and leave the Solar System 

See also
Advanced Composition Explorer – NASA satellite of the Explorer program
List of heliophysics missions
List of missions to the outer planets
Parker Solar Probe – NASA robotic space probe of the outer corona of the Sun
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory – European space observatory
STEREO – Solar observation mission (2006–present)
TRACE – NASA satellite of the Explorer program
WIND – NASA probe to study solar wind, at L1 since 1995
Solar Orbiter – European space-based solar observatory
Context 2: Passage 1:
Baraki Barak airstrike
The Baraki Barak airstrike was a coalition airstrike that occurred on August 26, 2011, in Eastern Afghanistan  Six Afghan civilians from the same family were killed in the air strike in the Baraki Barak district of Logar province, Afghanistan  Four insurgents and three Afghan army members were also killed Logar provincial police chief Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewani said the operation had targeted a Taliban commander, Qari Hijran, who had a bounty on his head  The top official in the district, Mohammad Rahim Amin, claimed that the incident occurred when a local teacher provided shelter for the commander in his home 
Passage 2:
Baraki Barak District
Baraki Barak District (Persian: ولسوالی برکی برک ; Pashto: برکي برک ولسوالۍ) is situated in the western part of Logar Province, Afghanistan  It borders Wardak Province to the west and northwest, Puli Alam District to the north and east and Kharwar and Charkh districts to the south  The district's population is around 101,000(2006) with a majority of over 90% Tajiks  The district center is the town of Baraki Barak - the former provincial capital, located in the northern part of the district in the valley of the Logar River  Baraki Rajan is another important town of this district which lies 4 km away from district center  The district is named after the historical Ormur tribe, also locally known as Baraki 

Politics and security
During the Soviet-Afghan War, the Soviet forces perpetrated the Baraki Barak massacre in September 1984 The Baraki Barak District Sub-Governor is Mohammad Rahim "Amin"   Mr  Rahim replaced Yasin Lodin in January 2010 Mr  Rahim called the first Shura for his newly elected District Community Council (DCC) in February 2010   The 45 member council consists of elected representatives from the five sub-districts of Baraki Barak, religious leaders and five female representatives   The DCC is sub-divided into three sectors: Security, Rule of Law and Development    The female representatives will serve in the Development Sector   According to the Afghanistan Social Outreach Program (ASOP), the community councils will also "strengthen security by fostering community solidarity, provide a forum for conflict resolution and provide quality assurance for sustainable development projects "
The 8 March marked the first time International Women's Day (IWD) was celebrated in Baraki Barak District   76 burqa clad women began arriving at the District Center as early as 08:30   General Khatol Mohammadzai was the keynote speaker at the ceremony and the only female General in the Afghan National Army (ANA)   General Mohammadzai is also the only woman to be airborne qualified with more than 500 free and competition parachute jumps   General Mohammadzai spoke about the equality of men and women and expressed her hope that other women might follow in her footsteps and also fight for Afghanistan's future by joining the ANA    The General is also an accomplished poet and has written poetry that proclaims the importance of women   General Mohammadzai's poems condemn discrimination and harsh treatment of women   Other speakers included Sub-Governor Rahim Amin and a female member of the Afghan Parliament – Dr  Shakila Hashimi   Upon completion of the ceremony General Khatol Mohammadzai assisted in distributing humanitarian assistance to every woman attending the ceremony 
On 27 October 2009 the Baraki Barak District Center officially opened  The district center houses offices for the district sub-governor, the local mayor and three judges who handle everything from land disputes to criminal issues On 22 November 2009 it was reported that several militants were detained in both the village of Kashimiri Bala and Ebrahim Kheyl in an attempt to locate a Taliban weapons facilitator actively operating in the area On 23 November 2009 it was reported that a government employee was abducted in the district According to some reports, as of 1 December 2009, insurgent activity has gone down as much as 80% since the summer of 2009 in the district capital although this could be attributed to the arrival of the winter months  The 2009 Afghan "surge" was stated to have created a security bubble for the district capital, covering about half of the district's population  However the increase in aid and US troops to the region has caused additional problems, as more civilians are targeted by the Taliban for co-operating with the government and foreign forces 
In 2008 the area experienced an influx of anti-government forces into the district  Around the beginning of 2009, no American troops were located in this district, a fact which has changed significantly as of the end of the same year as the new "Ink Spot" strategy was implemented in the area  As of 1 December 2009, at least 150 American troops from the 10th Mountain Division were located in the district, among others  Furthermore, attacks are down approximately 50% and thousands of refugees have begun to return to the area 

See also
Districts of Afghanistan
Passage 3:
Baraki Barak
Barakī Barak (Dari/Pashto/Ormuri: برکی برک) is a town and the center of Baraki Barak District, Logar Province, Afghanistan  It was also the former capital of Logar Province  The town is in a mountainous area in the valley of the Logar River  The main road Ghazni-Kabul passes about 20 km to the West of the town  The town is named after the historical Ormur tribe, also locally known as Baraki 

Ethnography
Baraki Barak has historically been home to the Ormur tribe, also known as "Burki" or "Baraki", and to other Pashtuns and Tajiks  The town is named after the Baraki people, some of whom still speak the Ormuri (Baraki) language; they live to the northwest and west of the town, and also inside the town 

See also
Kaniguram
Baraki Rajan
Passage 4:
Lunda Norte Province
Lunda Norte (English: North Lunda) is a province of Angola  It has an area of 103,760 km² and a population of 862,566  Angola's first President, Agostino Neto, made Lucapa the provincial capital after independence, but the capital was later moved to Dundo  The province borders the Democratic Republic of Congo in the northeast and Lunda Sul in the south  The province is rich in gold and diamonds, but remains vastly underdeveloped and impoverished  UNITA used the money generated from the sale of diamonds to fund war efforts  Cuango River valley, the richest diamond area of Angola is located in the province  Mining is done by notable companies like DeBeers and Endiama  The Lunda province whose capital was Saurimo was created by the Portuguese colonial empire on July 13, 1895  It was divided into Lunda-Sul and Lunda-Norte subdivisions through a constitution act in 1978 by the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government  Iron and manganese mining are also important economic activities  It is well known for its sculptures  The most notable one is The Thinker (O Pensador), a sculpture of a man holding his head  It is rich in terms of flora and fauna Lunda Norte is populated by Chokwe, Lunda, and other ethnical groups  Ernesto Muangala is the current governor of the province  Lino dos Santos, Deolinda Odia Paulo Satula Vilarinho and Ângêlica Nené Curita Ihungo are the deputy governors for Technical and Infrastructure Services, Economic Sector Area and Political and Social Sector Area respectively  An ethnographic museum located in the province is visited by many tourists  During the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002) many civilians were killed in the clashes between National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and Angolan Armed Forces (FAA)  Diamond mining operations were also affected  Many landmines laid during the civil war are still present in the province  Leprosy and Elephantiasis are major disease which affect the province 

Municipalities
The province of Lunda Norte contains ten municipalities (Portuguese: municípios):

Capenda-Camulemba (Capemba-Camulemba)
Cambulo (Caumbo)
Caungula
Chitato (Tchitato)
Cuango
Cuilo
Lóvua
Lubalo
Lucapa
Shah-Muteba

Communes
The province of Lunda Norte contains the following communes (Portuguese: comunas); sorted by their respective municipalities:

Capemba-Camulemba Municipality: – Capenda-Camulemba, Xinge
Cambulo Municipality: – Cachimo, Cambulo, Canzar, Luia
Caungula Municipality: – Camaxilo, Caungula
Chitato Municipality: – Dundo-Chitato, Luachimo
Cuango Municipality: – Cuango, Luremo
Cuilo Municipality: – Caluango, Cuilo
Lóvua Municipality: – Lóvua
Lubalo Municipality: – Luangue, Lubalo, Muvulege (Muvuluege)
Lucapa Municipality: – Camissombo, Capaia, Lucapa, Xa–Cassau (Shah-Cassau)
Xá-Muteba Municipality: –  Cassanje-Calucala, Iongo, Xá-Muteba (Shah-Muteba)

List of governors of Lunda Norte
Up to 1991, the official name was Provincial Commissioner 
Passage 5:
Mahsud
The Mahsud or Mehsood (Pashto: محسود), also spelled Maseed (Pashto: ماسيد), is a Karlani Pashtun tribe inhabiting mostly the South Waziristan Agency in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, now merged within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan A minor number of Maseed  are settled in the Logar Province of Afghanistan, especially in Charkh District, Baraki barak and Muhammad Agha, but also in Wardak, Ghazni and Kunduz Provinces 
The Maseeds inhabit the center and north of South Waziristan valley, surrounded on three sides by the Darweshkhel Wazirs, and being shut off by the Bettanis Pashtun tribe on the east from the Derajat and Bannu districts 
Two Pashtun tribes, the Ahmadzai Wazirs and the Maseeds (Mahsuds), inhabit and dominate South Waziristan  Within the heart of Maseed territory in South Waziristan lies the influential Ormur (Burki) tribe's stronghold of Kaniguram The Ormurs are considered by other tribes of South Waziristan to be close brethren of the Maseeds due to marital and other ties and the fact that the Ormurs have lived in and controlled Kaniguram for over a thousand years  There are also some Maseeds living in the UAE, Germany and the United Kingdom 
The Maseeds  usually pronounce their name Māsīd  They are divided into three great clans or subtribes, namely Alizai, Bahlolzai, and Shamankhel   Maseeds usually call these Drei Māsīd, meaning the "Three Maseeds"  Each tribe has his own Khan In the words of Sir Olaf Caroe, who acted as the former governor of the British Indian Frontier, "The Maseed tribe are a people who can never even think of submitting to a foreign power "  From 1860 to 1937, the English forces repeatedly attacked Maseed positions, but never got a foothold in the area 

History
The Maseeds  originally lived in the centre of Waziristan  area of FATA  In the later 14th century, they migrated eastwards, and fell into dispute with the Bannuchi and Khattak tribes settled in the Shawal area  The Maseeds and the Wazirs succeeded in defeating the Khattaks and pushed them northeastwards towards Bannu and Kohat  Eventually, the Mahsuds settled at the center of Waziristan, in the Makeen, Kaniguram and Lada area During the British colonial period, the Maseeds were invaded several times by the British Empire, in 1860, 1881, 1894–95, 1900–01, 1919–20 and in 1925's Pink's War 

Primary locations
The Maseed tribe inhabits a large portion of the center of Waziristan, which is drained by the Tank Zam and Shahur Rivers  The Maseed territory is a rough triangle between Jandola, the hills north of Razmak, and from Shuidar to Janimela, north of Wana  No portion of their territory touches the "settled" districts, and the tribe is surrounded on the north and west by the Wazirs, on the east by the Bhittanis, and on the south by the Wazirs and Shranis 
With the exception of a few Shabi Khel in the Bannu District, some land near Gumal in the Tank Tehsil, and the colonies at Chark and elsewhere in the Logar Valley in Afghanistan, none of the Maseed own land outside of South Waziristan Agency  To escape the severe cold in the higher hills during the winter, a large number move down to the lower valleys but always keep within the Maseed territorial limits  Many of these people live in caves or tents 
"South Waziristan is mountainous with several high peaks; Pirghal, for example, being 11,600 feet  The Gomal is the main river, in addition to which there are many hill torrents, which…remain dry for most of the year "
The mountains and valleys geographically isolate the Maseed from large scale movements of invaders and provide excellent opportunities to conduct effective ambushes on enemies 
The cave villages along the Shahur River near Barwand and along the Split Toi provide excellent hiding places and defensive positions 

Culture
It is a tribal society having its own subculture  Nearly all Mehsud  follow Islamic traditions, celebrate the same holidays, dress the same, consume the same food, listen to the same music and are multi-lingual to a certain extent  In the southern and eastern region,  Mehsuds live in accordance with the Pashtun culture and are usually bilingual in maseedwola  also known as maseedo 

Migratory patterns
Many Maseed inhabit in the lower valleys during the winter  They return to family compounds at higher elevations during the summer 

Key terrain features
Valleys: Makeen, Wacha Khwara, Ladha, Baddar, Darra Algad, Khaisara, Mastang, Shaktu, Sheranna, Split Toi, Tak Zam
Plains: Razmak Malik Allah Neer:velleys Kotkai
Mountains: Kundeygaar, Pre Ghal, Spin Ghar, Spinkamar
Rivers: Tak Zam, Gomal, Shahur, Shinkai Toi, Baddar Toi, Split Toi, Lower Khaisara Toi, Tauda China, Kundygar, Osspass, Karrama, Torwam, Thangi Parkhai

Climate
The climate in the region is hot in summer, with high temperatures around 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and cool in winter, with low temperatures around 35 degrees Fahrenheit  There is modest rainfall in July and August and in January and February 

Recent history
On many occasions the Afghan throne was saved with the help of the Maseed (like general Ramzan Khan Maseed Shamankhel, Shabaram Khan Machikhel, Bakhan Maseed, Mosa Khan Maseed, Miajee Maseed, Jagar Maseed etc ), Burki/Baraki, and Wazirs from Waziristan, Pakistan  Of those who fought during this time, most came back to their homeland, but those who stayed were given high ranks of office, such as Faiz Muhammad Maseed, who was appointed as an interior minister during the Reign of Daud Khan in the 1970s 
Today the majority of Maseeds are still in Logar Province, with the title of Waziri, but by caste, they are Maseeds  The majority of these are with a sub-caste of Malik Denai, Dramankel, Faridi, Shamirai شمیرائی, Shabi khel, etc  When the Soviet–Afghan War started, some of these families came back to Waziristan but could not stay there, so they moved to cities like Peshawar and Karachi  Some of them stayed in Waziristan and D I  Khan  The Maseed helped in  defeating the British invading troops and saved Afghanistan, they contributed a lot because Afghanistan was nearly in the hands of British 

John Ayde described the Maseeds:
They are poor but brave… and although turbulent and difficult to deal with, still have a great love of their country and cherish their independence, possessing qualities that we admire ourselves, and which deserve consideration and respect 
Maseed are very good marksmen and have the reputation of trustworthiness  Maseed is the most independent of all the tribes  Even their own maliks have a very limited control over them  However, Maseed have been increasingly integrated within Pakistani society since independence 

Sir Olaf Caroe in his book published just after partition of the British India about Mahsuds

They hold aloof, and are continually engaged in aggressive warfare against their Wazir cousins, at whose expense they have encroached to acquire new lands  And to those who know both tribes, they present a different appearance  Pass along a road which is being used by babirs, or caravans, of these tribes- men, and it is not so hard to distinguish one from the other, not by his dress, for that is much the same, but by something indefinable in his air and carriage  The nearest I can get to it is to liken the Mahsud to a wolf, the Wazir to a panther  Both are splendid creatures; the panther is slier, sleeker and has more grace, the wolf-pack is more purposeful, more united and more dangerous 

The Saintly Poet of the East (Dr  Allama Iqbal) has  also prayed for the dominant tribes of Waziristan

Sher Shah Suri has so well said:
The distinction of tribes is the cause of all ruin 
Waziris and Mahsuds are names dearest to heart;
Alas! They feel no pride in being Afghans 
The Muslims of the mountains are divided into thousand tribes,
And every tribe has its own idol 
The same sanctuary is filled with Lat and Manat;
May God grant you power to break them all 
                                                         Zarb-e-Kaleem (Iqbal)

In 1850, Lewat's tribesmen the Great Baromi's (Shabi Khel) defeated 3,000 British troops with only 300 fighters, using guerrilla tactics by attacking the British in the Valley of Bobar (Waziristan) from all sides with outdated rifles and swords  This attack demoralized the British and made them fearful of the Maseeds  Survivors of this attack reported that the sight of the Maseed tribesmen charging at them (with loud roars and wearing long hair and beards like Lions) affected them mentally In 1860, three thousand Maseed tribesmen attacked the British regiment base in Tank (present South Waziristan)  The British struggled to defeat them In 1897, Mujahed tribesmen again stood up against the British all the way from Quetta kakar, and the British experienced difficulty when engaging them  It was during this time that the name of Mulla Powinda [Jagar Draman Khil][Miajee] [Laly Malik Denai] [Mulla ShaSaleem kaka] emerged  Powindah comes from the Pashto language, meaning "nomad" 
Day after day, Mulla Powinda grew more popular and famous  His right hand mulla Shasaleem Kaka Machikhel was popular among Wazirs and Maseed tribe  He emerged as a legendary figure among the people of the region and beyond  There was even a time the British considered him to be the sole leader of the Waziristan country  His followers would sporadically kill individual British officers   However, the British were not able to capture the attackers, who would return to their mountain hideouts  All attempts to stop these attacks were unsuccessful In 1907, the Wazir and Maseed tribesmen were blocked from entry into any government-controlled territory  Economic sanctions were imposed, blocking even basic amenities, such as food and medicine  The British commander of that time blockaded the areas of Makeen and Kaniguram  Various areas were searched to arrest Mulla Powinda without success  The British thought that the tribesmen were receiving weapons by sea, from the coast of Balochistan and responded by creating check posts, but no weapons were confiscated 
Mulla Powindah died in 1913  It could be said that he was the crownless emperor of one of the most fearsome of the Pashtun Tribes, the Maseeds  Upon his death, his son Shah Fazal Din was given leadership and his son-in-law, Mulla Abdul Hakeem Kakar, was appointed his adviser  They have good relations with Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan When World War I started in 1915, the British were concerned that they would be engaged in battle on more than one front  This was a threat to their safety and economy, so they decided to close those fronts of lesser significance  They abandoned their ‘Forward Policy’ for the time being and sent a message of friendship and peace to the tribes  The tribes did not trust the British and rejected these peace proposals  Instead, the Maseed assembled a militia to attack the British 
By this time, the British had established an air force in the subcontinent, which was used to harass the tribesmen, and as a result the tribe's hatred of the British increased  As a result of their suffering, they were bent upon taking revenge, and hence their morale increased  A series of attacks were made by the Maseeds, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy  The attack on the Marhatta Regiment resulted in the deaths of hundreds of sepoys and five British Officers  In the attack on the Punjab Regiment, the Maseed warriors slaughtered everyone  The aerial bombardments had inflicted significant losses on the tribesmen, but they were content that they were also doing well and had killed around 250 of the enemy forces 
After the end of World War I, the British returned to Waziristan  This time, they built roads and forts throughout the land  The sophistication and constant patrols of the British Air Force helped create a secure atmosphere for their ground troops  With this sense of security, the British Army constructed a road from Jandola to Ladha  At Razmak, they constructed a cantonment for their army officers and soldiers 
By 1922–23, all the British forces had moved from Wana to Razmak  They had constructed an airport there and instead of flying all the way from India, their aircraft would fly from Razmak Airport and bomb the countryside  Because of this, the countryside of Makeen was totally devastated  The Maseed deemed it appropriate at this time to agree to a ceasefire because this new British tactic was inflicting widespread losses on their side  The ceasefire, they imagined, would also enable them to devise a strategy for countering the latest British advances 
In 1925, the Royal Air Force successfully put down a Maseed rebellion by strafing the tribes' mountain strongholds   The action, which came to be known as Pink's War led to the tribal leaders seeking peace terms In 1927 Ghazi Ramadan Khan Mahsud attacked Wana camp with a huge lashkar (tribal militia)   The result was a big loss for the British army  In 1928 Ghazi Ramadan Khan Mahsud  re-assembled his lashkar again for his next attack, on Sararogha Fort  This time he attacked with a powerful force, killed all of the defending soldiers (numbering 300) and took hold of the Fort 

Lashkar invasion of Kashmir
Immediately after Pakistan came into existence, Maseeds raised a tribal militia under Gaideen Khan Abdullai which entered Kashmir to help the newly created state Pakistan to capture Kashmir  They quickly reached Baramulla town, instead of pressing on to the capital, Srinagar, to seize Kashmir completely A large number of tribals from Pakistan attacked Kashmir under the code name "Operation Gulmarg" to seize Kashmir  The invading tribals started moving along Rawalpindi-Murree-Muzaffarabad-Baramulla Road on 22 October 1947 with Muzaffarabad fell on 24 October 1947  They reached and captured Baramulla on 25 October 1947
Context 3: Passage 1:
Elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals  Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant  They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea; extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons  Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin  The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects  Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging  The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication  African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs 
Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and are found in different habitats, including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes  They are herbivorous, and they stay near water when it is accessible  They are considered to be keystone species, due to their impact on their environments   Elephants have a fission–fusion society, in which multiple family groups come together to socialise  Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring  The leader of a female group, usually the oldest cow, is known as the matriarch 
Males (bulls) leave their family groups when they reach puberty and may live alone or with other males  Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate  They enter a state of increased testosterone and aggression known as musth, which helps them gain dominance over other males as well as reproductive success  Calves are the centre of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years  Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild  They communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound; elephants use infrasound and seismic communication over long distances  Elephant intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans  They appear to have self-awareness, and possibly show concern for dying and dead individuals of their kind 
African bush elephants and Asian elephants are listed as endangered and African forest elephants as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)  One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks  Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people  Elephants are used as working animals in Asia  In the past, they were used in war; today, they are often controversially put on display in zoos, or exploited for entertainment in circuses  Elephants have an iconic status in human culture and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature, and popular culture 

Etymology
The word "elephant" is based on the Latin elephas (genitive elephantis) ("elephant"), which is the Latinised form of the Greek ἐλέφας (elephas) (genitive ἐλέφαντος (elephantos), probably from a non-Indo-European language, likely Phoenician  It is attested in Mycenaean Greek as e-re-pa (genitive e-re-pa-to) in Linear B syllabic script  As in Mycenaean Greek, Homer used the Greek word to mean ivory, but after the time of Herodotus, it also referred to the animal  The word "elephant" appears in Middle English as olyfaunt (c  1300) and was borrowed from Old French oliphant (12th century) 

Taxonomy
Elephants belong to the family Elephantidae, the sole remaining family within the order Proboscidea  Their closest extant relatives are the sirenians (dugongs and manatees) and the hyraxes, with which they share the clade Paenungulata within the superorder Afrotheria  Elephants and sirenians are further grouped in the clade Tethytheria Three species of living elephants are recognised; the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)  African elephants were traditionally considered a single species, Loxodonta africana, but molecular studies have affirmed their status as separate species  Mammoths (Mammuthus) are nested within living elephants as they are more closely related to Asian elephants than to African elephants  Another extinct genus of elephant, Palaeoloxodon, is also recognised, which appears to have close affinities with and to have hybridised with African elephants 

Evolution
Over 180 extinct members of order Proboscidea have been described  The earliest proboscideans, the African Eritherium and Phosphatherium are known from the late Paleocene  The Eocene included Numidotherium, Moeritherium and Barytherium from Africa  These animals were relatively small and some, like Moeritherium and Barytherium were probably amphibious  Later on, genera such as Phiomia and Palaeomastodon arose; the latter likely inhabited more forested areas  Proboscidean diversification changed little during the Oligocene  One notable species of this epoch was Eritreum melakeghebrekristosi of the Horn of Africa, which may have been an ancestor to several later species 
A major event in proboscidean evolution was the collision of Afro-Arabia with Eurasia, during the Early Miocene, around 18-19 million years ago allowing proboscideans to disperse from their African homeland across Eurasia, and later, around 16-15 million years ago into North America across the Bering Land Bridge  Proboscidean groups prominent during the Miocene include the deinotheres, along with the more advanced elephantimorphs, including mammutids (mastodons), gomphotheres, amebelodontids (which includes the "shovel tuskers" like Platybelodon), choerolophodontids and stegodontids  Around 10 million years ago, the earliest members of the family Elephantidae emerged in Africa, having originated from gomphotheres Elephantids are distinguished from earlier proboscideans by a major shift in the molar morphology to parallel lophs rather than the cusps of earlier proboscideans, allowing them to become higher crowned (hypsodont) and more efficient in consuming grass  The Late Miocene saw major climactic changes, which resulted in the decline and extinction of many proboscidean groups  The earliest members of modern genera of Elephantidae appeared during the latest Miocene-early Pliocene around 5 million years ago  The elephantid genera Elephas (which includes the living Asian elephant) and Mammuthus (mammoths) migrated out of Africa during the late Pliocene, around 3 6 to 3 2 million years ago Over the course of the Early Pleistocene, all non-elephantid probobscidean genera outside of the Americas became extinct with the exception of Stegodon, with gomphotheres dispersing into South America as part of the Great American interchange, and mammoths migrating into North America around 1 5 million years ago  At the end of the Early Pleistocene, around 800,000 years ago the elephantid genus Palaeoloxodon dispersed outside of Africa, becoming widely distributed in Eurasia  Proboscideans underwent a dramatic decline during the Late Pleistocene, with all remaining non-elephantid proboscideans (including Stegodon, mastodons, and the gomphotheres Cuvieronius and Notiomastodon) and Palaeoloxodon becoming extinct, with mammoths only surviving in relict populations on islands around the Bering Strait into the Holocene, with their latest survival being on Wrangel Island around 4,000 years ago Over the course of their evolution, probobscideans grew larger in size  With that came longer limbs and wider feet with a more digitigrade stance along with a larger head and shorter neck  The trunk evolved and grew longer to provide reach  The number of premolars, incisors and canines decreased and the cheek teeth (molars and premolars) became longer and more specialised  The incisors developed into tusks of different shapes and sizes  Several species of proboscideans became isolated on islands and experienced insular dwarfism, some dramatically reducing in body size, such as the 1 metre (3 3 ft) tall dwarf elephant species Palaeoloxodon falconeri 

Living species
Anatomy
Elephants are the largest living terrestrial animals  The skeleton is made up of 326–351 bones  The vertebrae are connected by tight joints, which limit the backbone's flexibility  African elephants have 21 pairs of ribs, while Asian elephants have 19 or 20 pairs  The skull contains air cavities (sinuses) that reduce the weight of the skull while maintaining overall strength  These cavities give the inside of the skull a honeycomb-like appearance  By contrast, the lower jaw is dense  The cranium is particularly large and provides enough room for the attachment of muscles to support the entire head  The skull is built to withstand great stress, particularly when fighting or when using the tusks  The brain is surrounded by arches in the skull which serve as protection  Because of the size of the head, the neck is relatively short to provide better support 
Elephants are homeotherms, and maintain their average body temperature at ~ 36 °C (97 °F), with minimum 35 2 °C (95 4 °F) during cool season, and maximum 38 0 °C (100 4 °F) during hot dry season 

Ears and eyes
Elephant ear flaps, or pinnae are 1–2 mm (0 039–0 079 in) thick in the middle with a thinner tip and supported by a thicker base  They contain numerous blood vessels called capillaries  Warm blood flows into the capillaries, freeing excess heat into the environment  This effect is increased by flapping the ears back and forth  Larger ear surfaces contain more capillaries, and more heat can be released  Of all the elephants, African bush elephants live in the hottest climates, and have the largest ear flaps  The ossicles are adapted for hearing low frequencies, being most sensitive at 1 kHz Lacking a lacrimal apparatus (tear duct), the eye relies on the harderian gland in the orbit to keep it moist  A durable nictitating membrane shields the globe  The animal's field of vision is compromised by the location and limited mobility of the eyes  Elephants are considered to be dichromats and they can see well in dim light but not in bright light 

Trunk
The elongated and prehensile trunk, or proboscis, consists of both the nose and upper lip, which fuse in early fetal development  This versatile appendage contains up to 150,000 separate muscle fascicles, with no bone and little fat  These paired muscles consist of two major types: superficial (surface) and internal  The former are divided into dorsals, ventrals, and laterals while the latter are divided into transverse and radiating muscles  The muscles of the trunk connect to a bony opening in the skull  The nasal septum consists of small elastic muscles between the nostrils which are divided by cartilage at the base  A unique proboscis nerve – a combination of the maxillary and facial nerves – lines each side of the appendage As a muscular hydrostat, the trunk moves by finely controlled muscle contractions, working both with and against each other  Using three basic movements: bending, twisting, and longitudinal stretching/retracting, the trunk has near unlimited flexibility  Objects grasped by the end of the trunk can be moved to the mouth by curving the appendage inwards  The trunk can also bend at different points by creating stiffened "pseudo-joints"  The tip can be moved in a way similar to the human hand  The skin is more elastic on the dorsal side of the elephant trunk than underneath; allowing the animal to stretch and coil while maintaining a strong grasp  The African elephants have two finger-like extensions at the tip of the trunk that allow them to pluck small food  The Asian elephant has only one and relies more on wrapping around a food item  Asian elephant trunks have better motor coordination 

The trunk's extreme flexibility allows it to forage and wrestle other elephants with it  It is powerful enough to lift up to 350 kg (770 lb), but also has the precision to crack a peanut shell without breaking the seed  With its trunk, an elephant can reach items up to 7 m (23 ft) high and dig for water in the mud or sand below  It also uses it to clean itself  Individuals may show lateral preference when grasping with their trunks: some prefer to twist them to the left, others to the right  Elephant trunks are capable of powerful siphoning  They can expand their nostrils 30% around, leading to a 64% greater nasal volume, and can breathe in almost 30 times faster than a human sneeze, at over 150 m/s (490 ft/s)  They suck up water which is squirted into the mouth or over the body  The trunk of an adult Asian elephant is capable of retaining 8 5 L (2 2 US gal) of water   They will also sprinkle dust or grass on themselves  When underwater, the elephant uses its trunk as a snorkel The trunk also acts as a sense organ  Its sense of smell may be four times greater than a bloodhound's nose  The infraorbital nerve, which makes the trunk sensitive to touch, is thicker than both the optic and auditory nerves  Whiskers grow all along the trunk, and are particularly packed at the tip, where they contribute to its tactile sensitivity  Unlike those of many mammals, such as cats and rats, elephant whiskers do not move independently ("whisk") to sense the environment; the trunk itself must move to bring the whiskers into contact with nearby objects  Whiskers grow in rows along each side on ventral surface of the trunk, which is thought to be essential in helping elephants balance objects there, whereas they are more evenly arranged on the dorsal surface  Number and patterns of whiskers are distinctly different between species Damaging the trunk would be detrimental to an elephant's survival, although in rare cases, individuals have survived with shortened ones  One trunkless elephant has been observed to graze using its lips with its hind legs in the air and balancing on its front knees  Floppy trunk syndrome is a condition of trunk paralysis recorded in African bush elephants and involves the degeneration of the peripheral nerves and muscles  The disorder has been linked to lead poisoning 

Teeth
Elephants usually have 26 teeth: the incisors, known as the tusks, 12 deciduous premolars, and 12 molars  Unlike most mammals, teeth are not replaced by new ones emerging from the jaws vertically  Instead, new teeth start at the back of the mouth and push out the old ones  The first chewing tooth on each side of the jaw falls out when the elephant is two to three years old  This is followed by four more tooth replacements at the ages of four to six, 9–15, 18–28 and finally in their early 40s  The final (usually sixth) set must last the elephant the rest of its life  Elephant teeth have loop-shaped dental ridges, which are more diamond-shaped in African elephants 

Tusks
The tusks of an elephant are modified second incisors in the upper jaw  They replace deciduous milk teeth at 6–12 months of age and keep growing at about 17 cm (7 in) a year  As the tusk develops, it is topped with smooth cone-shaped enamel that eventually wanes  The dentine is known as ivory and has a cross-section of intersecting lines, known as "engine turning", which create diamond-shaped patterns  Being living tissue, tusks are fairly soft; about as dense as the mineral calcite  The tusk protrudes from a socket in the skull and most of it is external  At least one-third of the tusk contains the pulp and some have nerves which stretch even further  Thus it would be difficult to remove it without harming the animal  When removed, ivory will dry up and crack if not kept cool and wet  Tusks function in digging, debarking, marking, moving objects and fighting Elephants are usually right- or left-tusked, similar to humans, who are typically right- or left-handed  The dominant or "master" tusk, is typically more worn down, as it is shorter and blunter  For the African elephants, tusks are present in both males and females, and are around the same length in both sexes, reaching up to 300 cm (9 ft 10 in), but those of males tend to be more massive  In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks  Female Asians have very small tusks, or none at all  Tuskless males exist and are particularly common among Sri Lankan elephants  Asian males can have tusks as long as Africans', but they are usually slimmer and lighter; the largest recorded was 302 cm (9 ft 11 in) long and weighed 39 kg (86 lb)  Hunting for elephant ivory in Africa and Asia has led to natural selection for shorter tusks and tusklessness 

Skin
An elephant's skin is generally very tough, at 2 5 cm (1 in) thick on the back and parts of the head  The skin around the mouth, anus, and inside of the ear is considerably thinner  Elephants are typically grey, but African elephants look brown or reddish after rolling in coloured mud  Asian elephants have some patches of depigmentation, particularly on the head  Calves have brownish or reddish hair, with the head and back being particularly hairy  As elephants mature, their hair darkens and becomes sparser, but dense concentrations of hair and bristles remain on the tip of the tail and parts of the head and genitals  Normally the skin of an Asian elephant is covered with more hair than its African counterpart  Their hair is thought to help them lose heat in their hot environments Although tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive and requires mud baths to maintain moisture and protect it from burning and insect bites  After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow dust onto its body and this dries into a protective crust  Elephants have difficulty releasing heat through the skin because of their low surface-area-to-volume ratio, which is many times smaller than that of a human  They have even been observed lifting up their legs, to expose their soles to the air  Elephants only have sweat glands between the toes, but the skin allows water to disperse and evaporate, cooling the animal



ground_truth: Sun

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Baraki Barak District is situated in the western part of a province whose capital is what?

The following are given passages.
Context 2: 

Culture
Pir Roshan is the first person who founded the Pashto alphabet  He was born in Kanygram of Waziristan  The Roshani Ghorzang was one of the great revolutions in the land of Pshtonkhwa  Mula Shasleem kaka, Mula Pawenda Maseed and Haji Mirza Ali Khan Fight several years for the unity of both side Pashtons 

Jarga
Maseed have a Maseed Jarga for large problems  The Jarga is a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus, particularly among the Pashtun people 

Music and Attan
Attan, is the famous dance of Maseed tribe  Dhol is also widely used in Waziristan 

Mehsud Sub-tribes
Like other Pashtun tribes, the Mehsud tribe also has its own individual subtribes and clans:

Shaman Khel
Alizai
BahlolzaiThese subtribes are then divided into more clans amongst themselves 

Notable Mahsuds
Abdullah Mehsud
Alamzaib Mahsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Hakimullah Mehsud
Jamal Malyar Maseed
Kamal Mahsud
Manzoor Pashteen
Mulla Powinda
Naqeebullah Mehsud
Noor Wali Mehsud
Said Alam Mahsud
Salahuddin Khan Mehsud
Zaman Mehsud

See also
Pashtun culture#Mahsud Attan (dance)
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
Passage 6:
Kathiawar Agency
The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British India The agency's headquarters were at Rajkot, the town where the Political Agent used to reside  He reported to the Political Department office at Bombay, Bombay Presidency 

History
The agency was formed in 1822, after the princely states in the area became British protectorates 
The region was severely affected by the famine of 1899–1900  Between 1891 and 1901, the population of the states covered by the Agency decreased by 15 per cent, largely due to the results of the famine On 10 October 1924, the agency was abolished and merged into the Western India States Agency, which had three subdivisions:
Eastern Kathiawar Agency (from 1926 onwards)
Western Kathiawar Agency (from 1926 onwards)
Sabar Kantha Agency (merged with Eastern Kathiawar Agency on 1 September 1943) including Banas Kantha Agency (former Palanpur Agency)

Princely states
There were altogether 193 states of varying size and importance, of which fourteen exercised independent jurisdiction, while the rest were to varying degrees under British administration  The eight states of the first class were Bhavnagar State, Dhrangadhra State, Gondal State, Jafarabad State, Junagadh State, Morvi State, Nawanagar State, and Porbandar State  The agency covered an area of 20,882 square miles (54,080 km2), and in 1901 the population was 2,329,196  The headquarters of the political agent (who oversaw the affairs of the princely states on behalf of the Governor-General) was at Rajkot, in the centre of the peninsula; this was also the site of the Rajkumar College, Rajkot, where many of the sons of the rulers were educated  There was a similar school for girasias, or chiefs of lower rank, at Gondal 
The estimated gross revenue of the several states was 1,278,000 rupees in 1911; total tribute (payable to the British, the Gaekwar of Baroda and the nawab of Junagadh), was 70,000 rupees   An excellent system of metre-gauge railways was built at the cost of the leading states  Maritime trade was also very active, the chief ports being Porbandar, Mangrol and Veraval  In 1903–1904 the total seaborne exports were valued at 1,300,000 rupees, and the imports at 1,120,000 

See also
Western India States Agency
Passage 7:
Baraki Rajan
Baraki Rajan (Dari/Pashtun: برکی راجان) is a town within the Baraki Barak District of Logar Province, Afghanistan  Baraki Rajan lies approximately 3 km south of the town of Baraki Barak, the capital of the Baraki Barak District  Baraki Rajan is the location of the largest bazaar in the Baraki Barak District, with over 1,200 shops and businesses, with a 50+ bed hospital near the town center, making Baraki Rajan an important center for commerce within the District 
The population of mainly Tajiks  and Pashtuns is estimated at 15,000 people  The town is named after the historical Ormur tribe, also locally known as Baraki 

History
Baraki Rajan experienced some of the heaviest clashes between the Soviet forces and Afghan Mujaheddin fighters throughout the Soviet–Afghan War  Baraki Rajan based Mujaheddin would launch attacks on Soviet convoys traveling on the nearby Kabul-Gardez and Kabul-Kandahar highways, which would result in harsh reprisals from the Soviet military  Throughout the Soviet–Afghan War, the area remained an active battle ground between the Mujaheddin and the Soviet military and the Soviet-backed military of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan 
According to a report by a Swedish committee in July 1982, in a massive operation by Soviet forces in Baraki Rajan, numerous war crimes were committed  In a three-day-long operation, villages were bombed, shops burnt and hundreds of people, including 208 resistance fighters and 25 children, were killed  Following this operation, Soviet-backed government control was never restored, not only in Baraki Rajan but the entire Baraki Barak District Various Mujahideen groups were active in the area with Jamiat-e Islami being the most prominent and influential in the District 

Economy
The economy of Baraki Rajan, much like the rest of Baraki Barak district is heavily dependent on agriculture  Farmers grow wheat, grains, fruits and vegetables, utilizing deep-well and canal-flood irrigation techniques  Animal husbandry is another prominent source of income for individuals in the district, who raise sheep, cattle and goats  The town center has many businesses which support the local populace, including a large textile bazaar, bakeries, groceries, mechanic shops, electronic stores, hardware stores and medical and dental facilities 

Current security situation
Baraki Rajan sits on a faultline between ethnic Tajiks and Pashtuns  There are also political factions active in the area, notably Jamiat-e-Islami and Hizb-e-Islami, with histories of mutual antagonism dating back to the Afghan civil war of the early 1990s 
Local criminal gangs have also used the instability to align themselves with the Taliban  As government power in Baraki Rejan failed late 2008, Taliban-allied men from the Pashtun village of Shahmazar to the South of Baraki Rajan began preying on the area  "They walked around with weapons robbing the people," said one, who blamed Shahmazar gunmen for the attack
As a major center of commerce and culture within the Baraki Barak district, ISAF and Afghan forces stationed in nearby Baraki Barak since late 2008 have made Baraki Rajan a major focus of their counter-insurgency efforts, and Baraki Rajan has seen an increased security element stationed in Afghan National Army and Afghan National P
Passage 8:
Logar Province
Logar (Dari: لوگر, lit  'greater mountain'; Pashto: لوې غر) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan located in the eastern section of the country  It is divided into 7 districts and contains hundreds of villages  Ahmadzai Pashtuns are influential in this region  Puli Alam is the capital of the province  As of 2021, Logar has a population of approximately 442,037  It is a multi-ethnic tribal society consisting of Pashtuns and Tajiks, with a 60% Pashtun majority The Logar River enters the province through the west and leaves to the north 

History
Pre Islamic era
A 2,600-year-old Zoroastrian fire temple was found at Mes Aynak (about 25 miles or 40  kilometers southeast of Kabul)  Several Buddhist stupas and more than 1,000 statues were also found  Smelting workshops, miners’ quarters (even then the site's copper was well known), a mint, two small forts, a citadel, and a stockpile of Kushan, Sassanian and Indo-Parthian coins were also found at the site 

Recent history
During the Soviet–Afghan War, Logar was known among some Afghans as the Bab al-Jihad (Gates of Jihad) because it became a fierce theatre of war between US-backed/trained mujahideen groups and the Soviet-backed Afghan government troops  Ahmadzai Pashtuns is dominant in this region  Haji Shuja, Haji Zareen and Haji Bahadur were the prominent traders and chieftains in the region before the soviet invasion of Afghanistan  It was one of the main supply routes of mujahideen rebels coming from Pakistan  Like other parts of the country, Logar has also seen heavy fighting since the Soviets started a crackdown against the elders of the Ahmadzai tribe during the 1980s   Swedish journalist Borge Almqvist, who visited the province in 1982, wrote that: "Everywhere in the Logar province the most common sight except for ruins are graves"  Soviet operations included using bombing, the use of flammable liquids to burn alive people in hiding, poisoning of drinking water, and destruction of crops and farmland  One writer who witnessed the events argues that the Soviet actions in Logar amounted to genocide By 1995, the province had fallen to the Taliban government  After the removal of the Taliban and the formation of the Karzai administration in late 2001, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) gradually took over security of the area  The Provincial Reconstruction Team Logar (PRT Logar) was established in March 2008  It provided several benefits to the locals, including security, development, and jobs 
In the meantime, Taliban insurgents are often causing major disturbances in the area  This includes major attacks on key projects, suicide bombings in civilian areas, and assassinations of Afghan government employees  On 19 August 2014, a major Taliban offensive took place with 700 militants aiming to take control of the province, while the NATO-led foreign force mistakenly killed three civilians in an airstrike in December 2014 On 20 January 2019, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on the province's governor and his convoy, which killed eight security forces and wounded at least 10 on the highway to Kabul  The governor and the provincial head of the National Directorate of Security were uninjured On 14 August 2021, the Taliban offensive reached Puli Alam (the province capital), and the province of Logar fell to the Taliban, setting their sights to Kabul the following day 

Geography
Logar can be generally described as a relatively flat river valley in the north and central regions, surrounded by rugged mountains to the east, south, and southwest  The district of Azra, in the east, consists almost entirely of mountains, while travel to the Paktia Province to the south is limited to the Tera Pass, a 2896 m high road that was recently completed as part of the international reconstruction effort in Afghanistan  The Kabul-Khost Highway runs north–south through Logar Province, from the Mohammed Agha District 
The government of Afghanistan officially recognizes all the districts of the Logar province as part of the province 

Capital city
Puli Alam is the capital city of Logar province, located in the district of Puli Alam  It's on the main road running south and southeast from Kabul to Khost 
Rebuilding of the city is going on  There is a lot of room for infrastructure and investment 
Puli Alam has seen reconstruction since the fall of the Taliban  The main road to Kabul was completed in 2006, significantly reducing travel time to the national capital  Additional projects include numerous schools, radio stations, government facilities, and a major Afghan National Police base situated south of the city 
The city is open for investment 
Like many Afghan cities, there is municipal planning and services 
During the tenure of President Ashraf Ghani the city gained electricity, clean drinking and water facilities 

Economics
Logar is an agricultural province with a wealth of minerals such as copper and chromite  In terms of industry, the province has one textile and one copper factory  Agriculture, commerce and services, and livestock products account for the majority of commercial operations  Agriculture is a significant source of income for 31% of households  However, commerce and services provide income to 30% of rural households, while non-farm-related labor provides income to 46% of rural households  Tobacco and sugar extract are the two most important industrial crops  The main industry is honey production, which is a small industry  Jewelry, ceramics, and carpets are made in a small number of settlements  Eighty-four percent of the province's households have access to irrigated land  Wheat, maize, potatoes, alfalfa, clover, and other feed are among the most significant field crops  Sheep, cattle, camels, and poultry are the most frequent livestock 

Healthcare
The percentage of households without clean drinking water fell from 45% in 2005 to 14% in 2011   
The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 9% in 2005 to 73% in 2011 In 2008, the province of Logar has 32 health clinics and a 137-bed hospital  According to data from 2008, the Ministry of Health employs 48 doctors and 218 other health professionals in the province  There are 156 pharmacies in the province  The majority of villages do not have a permanent health worker  To access their nearest health center, the majority of the populace must travel 5 to 10 kilometers 

Education
The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 21% in 2005 to 30% in 2011   
The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 22% in 2005 to 45% in 2011 The overall literacy rate in Logar province was 21% in 2005 however, while nearly one-third (31%) of men are literate this is true for just under one-tenth (9%) of women  There are around 168 primary and secondary schools in the province catering for 81,538 students  There are nearly 2,082 teachers working in schools in the Logar province  There are several girls schools in the province, mostly located in Koshi and Pul-e-alam  Due to the large Taliban presence in Chark and Baraki Barak, the freedom of women in Logar does not always allow for an education  As of 2007, the province had a literacy rate of 17% There are 19 religious centers including a Dar-ul-Ulum, three Darul Hifaz and the rest are Madrasas Three technical and vocational high schools and two private high schools function in Logar Province 

Demographics
As of 2021, the total population of Logar province is about 442,037  Logar is dominantly Sunni, multi-ethnic and a tribal society  Pashtuns and Tajiks  make up the majority population of Logar province, while minority 7 2 percent of the population lived below the national poverty line, the lowest of all of Afghanistan's provinces In 2008, the population of Logar was estimated to be at 349,000 people  The province has 44,209 households, with an average of eight individuals per home  Rural districts are home to 72 percent of the population  Farsi/Dari is spoken by two-thirds of villages and 60% of the population, whereas Pashto is spoken by one-third of villages and 40% of the people  Kochi people(nomads) live in the province of Logar, and their numbers fluctuate with the seasons  In the winter, 96,280 people, or 4% of the Kochi people population, stay in Logar and live in 29 settlements  During the summer, the Kochi people population swells to 208,339, making Logar the province with the second-highest number of Kochi people after Kabul province 

Districts
Until 2005 the district was administratively subdivided into five districts  In that year the province gained Azra District from neighboring Paktia Province; also part of Charkh District was split off into the new district of Kharwar 

Sport
Cricket is the most popular sport in the province  Logar has been a major supplier of players for the Afghanistan national cricket team  Former players include Dawlat Ahmadzai, Ahmad Shah Pakteen and former national team captain Raees Ahmadzai  Among the active national players hailing from Logar are: Mohammad Nabi (captain of the national team), Shahpoor Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Nasir Jamal Ahmadzai and Gulbadin Naib Ahmadzai 
Football is the second most popular sport in the province  De Abasin Sape (meaning "Waves of Abasin") plays in the Afghanistan Premier League  Abasin means "father of the rivers" in Pashto and refers to the Indus River  The team represents the provinces of Khost, Paktia, Logar, and Paktika 
Other popular sports are volleyball, boxing, taekwondo, Washoe, kick boxing and wrestling 

See also
Provinces of Afghanistan
Mes Aynak – the world's second largest copper deposit
Passage 9:
Forward Operating Base Shank
Forward Operating Base Shank (IATA: OAA, ICAO: OASH, also known as Rocket City) is a former Forward operating base of the U S  military, located in Logar Province of eastern Afghanistan, about 12 km south-east of the city of Baraki Barak   During Operation Enduring freedom, FOB Shank was one of the most heavily rocketed forward operating bases in Afghanistan   In 2014, the base was turned over to Afghan National Army, who established Camp Maiwand at the northern end of the FOB   American forces later returned and reoccupied the southern portion of the FOB, under the name Camp Dahlke 

History
In 2008 FOB Shank was built by Alpha Company of the 508th Special Troops Batalion of the 82nd Airborne Division with assistance from the 555th Engineer Battalion  The FOB was dedicated after SSG Michael A  Shank, an who was killed in the Logar Province in 2006  International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) used the base to train the Afghan National Police (ANP)   The Police Academy, led by a U S  Police Mentoring Training team, cooperated daily with the Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team Logar, composed of 200 Czech Soldiers and about 10 civilians 
These efforts were focused on training the Afghanistan National Auxiliary Police to become members of the ANP 
As of 8 July 2008, Czech and Afghan instructors were teaching the fourth group of cadets at the Academy  Each group attended a three-week cycle which included first-aid treatment, tactics, patrolling, weapons training, vehicle-check-point procedures and many other police-related subjects  The practical part of the training also included scenarios where cadets were ambushed by simulated oppositional forces During 2014 the base was downsized partly by 252 Engineer Company, 133rd Engineer Battalion and was turned over to the ANA   The ANA utilized the northern portion of the base only, which they renamed Camp Maiwand The last few convoys containing equipment from FOB Shank back to Bagram Airbase were completed during October 2014 by the 730th Transportation Company, 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade Following the shutdown of FOB Shank, a new American base was established at the southern end of the perimeter, called FOB Dahlke or Camp Dahlke   Camp Dahlke was expanded in 2018 to support the deployment of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade  Camp Dahlke had facilities to house 800 soldiers 

Deployed units
Aviation

October 2008-October 2009
101st Airborne
October 2009–October 2010
3rd Infantry Division 4-3 AVN Battalion "BRAWLER" under Lt  Col Ault
December 2008-December 2009
710BSB 3RD IBCT 10th MTN2010–2010 10th Mountain

April 2011
10th Combat Aviation Brigade
Company F, 2nd Battalion (Aviation Support)
August 2011–August 2012
82nd Combat Aviation Brigade (TF Corsair)
Unknown Company, 3rd Battalion
All Companies, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment (UH-60M)
Company B, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment (CH-47F)
Company B, 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (CH-47)
Company F, 1st Attack Battalion, 1st Air Combat Brigade, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Gray Eagle) (3/2012 - 03/2013) – first unit to operate Gray Eagle at Shank  This company was deployed as a standalone company and attached to the 82nd Airborne Division upon arrival to Shank  After TF Corsair left, F 227 was attached to the incoming unit until its tour of duty was completed 
Elements of 122nd Aviation Support Battalion
June – December 2013
10th Combat Aviation Brigade (TF Knighthawk)
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Assault Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment
Company C, 2nd Assault Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment (UH-60M)
Company E, 2nd Assault Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment (Aviation Support)
Company A, 2nd Assault Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment (AH-64)
Company B, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment (CH-47F)
Company C, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment (HH-60M)
December 2013–August 2014Taskforce Wings
4-101 Aviation Regiment

Taskforce Lift
Company C (DUSTOFF), 7-101 General Support Aviation Battalion, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101 Airborne Division
6-101 Aviation Battalion, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101 Airborne Division
2014
82nd Combat Aviation Brigade (TF Pegasus)Company E, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment (UH-60)
Company F, 2nd Attack Helicopter Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment
Company B, 3rd General Support Helicopter Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment using the Boeing CH-47F Chinook
Company B, 122nd Aviation Support Battalion
October 2014
Company B, 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment (CH-47)
May 2016 – Unknown
40th Combat Aviation BrigadeCompany C, 1st Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment (DUSTOFF)
Company F, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment (UH-60)
Company B, 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment
1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment (AH-64)
2018
101st Combat Aviation Brigade (TF Eagle Assault)
5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment (CH-47, UH-60, AH-64E)
Company B, 3rd General Support Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment (CH47F)
2019
1st Armored Division, Combat Aviation Brigade (TF Apocalypse)
3rd Battalion (UH-60)
16th Combat Aviation Brigade, B Company (CH-47) "Sugarbears"
1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1-1 Attack Battalion, Bravo Company (AH-64E) "Wolf Pack" "LUOFY"
2-10 Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain DivisionGround forces

A, B and C Companies, 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division between December 2008 and 2009 and December 2009 
Alpha Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team during July 2012 
M777 howitzer
M119 howitzer
A Co, 1st Battalion – 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division during 2011–2012 
3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division from Fort Bliss, Tx, from 2011–2012 
628th Forward Surgical Team, from San Antonio, Tx, 2011–2012
Elements of 427th BSB (NY ARNG) attached to 401st AFSB during 2011–2012
1st Squadron (Airborne) 91st Cavalry, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, June 2012–March 2013 
102nd Sapper Company, 307th Engineer Battalion, June 2012- March 2013
6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, March 2013–November 2013 
Bravo Company “Mongoose Bravo” 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, August 2013–March 2014
710th Brigade Support Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division between October 2013 and July 2014
388th Clearance Company, January 2014–October 2014 
B CO, 1st Battalion – 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division during January 2014–October 2014 
2nd Squadron 3rd Cavalry Regiment between June 2014 to October 2014 
1982nd Forward Surgical Team during 2015 
Alpha Battery 1st Battalion 265th ADA Regiment; 164th ADA Brigade Florida Army National Guard, June 2015–February 2016 ADA
207th Engineer Construction Company, Over The Horizon, 2017
136th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion during October 2017 
2-174 ADA C-RAM (Ohio National Guard) 2017–2018
659th Engineer Construction Company, Over The Horizon, 2017–2018
2nd Squadron 1st Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson 2018–2019
Elements of 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion 2018–2019 
3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1-38 Infantry Battalion, 1st SBCT, 4th ID  2018–2019
Elements of the 329th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, TF Viking 2019–2020
801st Engineering Company, Over The Horizon, 2019
829 Engineering Company, TF Over The Horizon, 2020
Bravo and Delta Co and Headquarters Elements of the 1st Battalion 178 Infantry Regiment (Illinois National Guard) TF Southeast, September 2019–January 2020 
Elements of Bravo Company and HHC 1st Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3BCT, 82ND ABN DIV (TF FURY), October 2019–January 2020
10th Mountain 1-32 Infantry

See also
List of ISAF installations in Afghanistan
Passage 10:
Camptown (country subdivision)
A camptown, in the country of Lesotho, refers to a district capital for one of the ten districts of Lesotho  The largest camptown is the city of Maseru in Maseru District  Camptowns are usually commerce hubs for the district and are the location for the central government offices for the district  Camptowns usually take the same name as the district in which they are located  For example, as mentioned the camptown for Maseru is Maseru but also the camptown for Thaba-Tseka District is Thaba-Tseka  The exceptions to this rule are Berea District whose capital is called Teyateyaneng, Quthing District whose capital is called Moyeni and Leribe District whose capital is most often called Hlotse 
It presumably derives from the 19th century police camps, then (now archaic) in Sesotho likampo  Official colonial government terminology was government reserve, which prosaically became urban area post-independence 
Context 3:  In addition, cracks in the skin may reduce dehydration and allow for increased thermal regulation in the long term 

Legs, locomotion, and posture
To support the animal's weight, an elephant's limbs are positioned more vertically under the body than in most other mammals  The long bones of the limbs have cancellous bone in place of medullary cavities  This strengthens the bones while still allowing haematopoiesis (blood cell creation)  Both the front and hind limbs can support an elephant's weight, although 60% is borne by the front  The position of the limbs and leg bones allow an elephant to stand still for extended periods of time without tiring  Elephants are incapable of turning their manus, as the ulna and radius of the front legs are secured in pronation  Elephants may also lack the pronator quadratus and pronator teres muscles or have very small ones  The circular feet of an elephant have soft tissues or "cushion pads" beneath the manus or pes, which allow them to bear the animal's great mass  They appear to have a sesamoid, an extra "toe" similar in placement to a giant panda's extra "thumb", that also helps in weight distribution  As many as five toenails can be found on both the front and hind feet Elephants can move both forwards and backwards, but are incapable of trotting, jumping, or galloping  They can move on land only by walking or ambling: a faster gait similar to running   In walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders moving up and down while the foot is planted on the ground  The fast gait does not meet all the criteria of running, since there is no point where all the feet are off the ground, although the elephant uses its legs much like other running animals, and can move faster by quickening its stride  Fast-moving elephants appear to 'run' with their front legs, but 'walk' with their hind legs and can reach a top speed of 25 km/h (16 mph)  At this speed, most other quadrupeds are well into a gallop, even accounting for leg length  Spring-like kinetics could explain the difference between the motion of elephants and other animals  The cushion pads expand and contract, and reduce both the pain and noise that would come from a very heavy animal moving  Elephants are capable swimmers: they can swim for up to six hours while staying at the surface, moving at 2 1 km/h (1 mph) and traversing up to 48 km (30 mi) continuously 

Internal systems
The brain of an elephant weighs 4 5–5 5 kg (10–12 lb) compared to 1 6 kg (4 lb) for a human brain  It is the largest of all terrestrial mammals  While the elephant brain is larger overall, it is proportionally smaller than the human brain  At birth, an elephant's brain already weighs 30–40% of its adult weight  The cerebrum and cerebellum are well developed, and the temporal lobes are so large that they bulge out laterally  Their temporal lobes are proportionally larger than in other animals, including humans  The throat of an elephant appears to contain a pouch where it can store water for later use  The larynx of the elephant is the largest known among mammals  The vocal folds are anchored close to the epiglottis base  When comparing an elephant's vocal folds to those of a human, an elephant's are proportionally longer, thicker, with a greater cross-sectional area  In addition, they are located further up the vocal tract with an acute slope 

The heart of an elephant weighs 12–21 kg (26–46 lb)  Its apex has two pointed ends, an unusual trait among mammals  In addition, the ventricles of the heart split towards the top, a trait also found in sirenians  When upright, the elephant's heart beats around 28 beats per minutes and actually speeds up to 35 beats when it lays down  The blood vessels are thick and wide and can hold up during blood pressures  The lungs are attached to the diaphragm, and breathing relies less on the expanding of the ribcage  Connective tissue exists in place of the pleural cavity  This may allow the animal to deal with the pressure differences when its body is underwater and its trunk is breaking the surface for air  Elephants inhale mostly with the trunk, but also with the mouth  They have a hindgut fermentation system, and their large and small intestines together reach 35 m (115 ft) in length  Less than half of an elephant's food intake gets digested, despite the process lasting a day 

Sex organs
A male elephant's testes are located internally near the kidneys  The penis can be as long as 100 cm (39 in) with a 16 cm (6 in) wide base  It curves to an 'S' when fully erect and has an orifice shaped like a Y  The female's clitoris may be 40 cm (16 in)  The vulva is found lower than in other herbivores, between the hind legs instead of under the tail  Determining pregnancy status can be difficult due to the animal's large belly  The female's mammary glands occupy the space between the front legs, which puts the suckling calf within reach of the female's trunk  Elephants have a unique organ, the temporal gland, located in both sides of the head  This organ is associated with sexual behaviour, and males secrete a fluid from it when in musth  Females have also been observed with these secretions 

Natural history
Elephants are herbivorous and will eat leaves, twigs, fruit, bark, grass and roots  African elephants mostly browse while Asian elephants mainly graze  They can eat as much as 300 kg (660 lb) of food and drink 40 L (11 US gal) of water in a day  Elephants tend to stay near water sources  They have morning, afternoon and nighttime feeding sessions  At midday, elephants rest under trees and may doze off while standing  Sleeping occurs at night while the animal is lying down  Elephants average 3–4 hours of sleep per day  Both males and family groups typically move no more than 20 km (12 mi) a day, but distances as far as 180 km (112 mi) have been recorded in the Etosha region of Namibia  Elephants go on seasonal migrations in response to changes in environmental conditions  In northern Botswana, they travel 325 km (202 mi) to the Chobe River after the local waterholes dry up in late August 

Because of their large size, elephants have a huge impact on their environments and are considered keystone species  Their habit of uprooting trees and undergrowth can transform savannah into grasslands; smaller herbivores can access trees mowed down by elephants  When they dig for water during drought, they create waterholes that can be used by other animals  When they use waterholes, they end up making them bigger  At Mount Elgon, elephants dig through caves and pave the way for ungulates, hyraxes, bats, birds and insects  Elephants are important seed dispersers; African forest elephants consume and deposit many seeds over great distances, with either no effect or a positive effect on germination  In Asian forests, large seeds require giant herbivores like elephants and rhinoceros for transport and dispersal  This ecological niche cannot be filled by the smaller Malayan tapir  Because most of the food elephants eat goes undigested, their dung can provide food for other animals, such as dung beetles and monkeys  Elephants can have a negative impact on ecosystems  At Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda, elephants numbers have threatened several species of small birds that depend on woodlands  Their weight causes the soil to compress, leading to run off and erosion Elephants typically coexist peacefully with other herbivores, which will usually stay out of their way  Some aggressive interactions between elephants and rhinoceros have been recorded  The size of adult elephants makes them nearly invulnerable to predators  Calves may be preyed on by lions, spotted hyenas, and wild dogs in Africa and tigers in Asia  The lions of Savuti, Botswana, have adapted to hunting elephants, mostly calves, juveniles or even sub-adults  There are rare reports of adult Asian elephants falling prey to tigers  Elephants tend to have high numbers of parasites, particularly nematodes, compared to many other mammals  This is due to them being largely immune to predators, which would otherwise kill off many of the individuals with significant parasite loads 

Social structure
Elephants are generally gregarious animals  African bush elephants in particular have a complex, stratified social structure  Female elephants spend their entire lives in tight-knit matrilineal family groups  They are led by the matriarch which is often the eldest female  She remains leader of the group until death or if she no longer has the energy for the role; a study on zoo elephants found that the death of the matriarch led to greater stress in the surviving elephants  When her tenure is over, the matriarch's eldest daughter takes her place instead of her sister (if present)  One study found that younger matriarchs take potential threats less seriously  Large family groups may split if they cannot be supported by the local resources At Amboseli National Park, Kenya, female groups may consist of around ten members, including four adults and their dependent offspring  Here, a cow's life involves interaction with those outside her group  Two separate families may associate and bond with each other, forming what are known as bond groups  During the dry season, elephant families may aggregate together into clans  These may number around nine groups, which clans do not form strong bonds, but defend their dry-season ranges against other clans  The Amboseli elephant population is further divided into the "central" and "peripheral" subpopulations Female Asian elephants tend to have more fluid social associations  In Sri Lanka, there appear to be stable family units or "herds" and larger, looser "groups"  They have been observed to have "nursing units" and "juvenile-care units"  In southern India, elephant populations may contain family groups, bond groups and possibly clans  Family groups tend to be small, with only one or two adult females and their offspring  A group containing more than two cows and their offspring is known as a "joint family"  Malay elephant populations have even smaller family units and do not reach levels above a bond group  Groups of African forest elephants typically consist of one cow with one to three offspring  These groups appear to interact with each other, especially at forest clearings 

Adult males live separate lives  As he matures, a bull associates more with outside males or even other families  At Amboseli, young males may be away from their families 80% by 14–15 years of age  When males permanently leave, they either live alone or with other males  The former is typical of bulls in dense forests  A dominance hierarchy exists among males, whether they are social or solitary  Dominance depends on the age, size and sexual condition  Male elephants can be quite sociable when not competing for mates and form vast and fluid social networks  Older bulls act as the leaders of these groups  The presence of older males appears to subdue the aggression and "deviant" behaviour of younger ones  The largest all-male groups can reach close to 150 individuals  Adult males and females come together to breed  Bulls will accompany family groups if a cow is in oestrous 

Sexual behaviour
Musth
Adult males enter a state of increased testosterone known as musth  In a population in southern India, males first enter musth at 15 years old, but it is not very intense until they are older than 25  At Amboseli, no bulls under 24 were found to be in musth, while half of those aged 25–35 and all those over 35 did  In some areas, there may be seasonal influences on the timing of musths  The main characteristic of a bull's musth is a fluid discharged from the temporal gland that runs down the side of his face  Behaviours associated with musth include walking with a high and swinging head, nonsynchronous ear flapping, picking at the ground with the tusks, marking, rumbling, and urinating in the sheath  The length of this varies between males of different ages and conditions, lasting days to months Males become extremely aggressive during musth  Size is the determining factor in agonistic encounters when the individuals have the same condition  In contests between musth and non-musth individuals, musth bulls win the majority of the time, even when the non-musth bull is larger  A male may stop showing signs of musth when he encounters a musth male of higher rank  Those of equal rank tend to avoid each other  Agonistic encounters typically consist of threat displays, chases, and minor sparring  Rarely do they full-on fight 

Mating
Elephants are polygynous breeders, and most copulations occur during rainfall  An oestrus cow uses pheromones in her urine and vaginal secretions to signal her readiness to mate  A bull will follow a potential mate and assess her condition with the flehmen response, which requires him to collect a chemical sample with his trunk and taste it with the vomeronasal organ at the roof of the mouth  The oestrous cycle of a cow lasts 14–16 weeks with the follicular phase lasting 4–6-weeks and luteal phase 8- to 10-weeks  While most mammals have one surge of luteinizing hormone during the follicular phase, elephants have two  The first (or anovulatory) surge, appears to change the female's scent, signaling to males that she is in heat, but ovulation does not occur until the second (or ovulatory) surge  Cows over 45–50 years of age are less fertile Bulls engage in a behaviour known as mate-guarding, where they follow oestrous females and defend them from other males  Most mate-guarding is done by musth males, and females seek them out, particularly older ones  Musth appears to signal to females the condition of the male, as weak or injured males do not have normal musths  For young females, the approach of an older bull can be intimidating, so her relatives stay nearby for comfort  During copulation, the male rests his trunk on the female  The penis is mobile enough to move without the pelvis  Before mounting, it curves forward and upward  Copulation lasts about 45 seconds and does not involve pelvic thrusting or ejaculatory pause Homosexual behaviour is frequent in both sexes  As in heterosexual interactions, this involves mounting  Male elephants sometimes stimulate each other by playfighting and "championships" may form between old bulls and younger male  Female same-sex behaviours have been documented only in captivity where they engage in mutual masturbation with their trunks 

Birth and development
Gestation in elephants typically lasts between one and a half and two years and the female will not give birth again for at least four years  The relatively long pregnancy is supported by several corpus luteums and gives the foetus more time to develop, particularly the brain and trunk  Births tend to take place during the wet season  Typically, only a single young is born, but twins sometimes occur  Calves are born roughly 85 cm (33 in) tall and with a weight of around 120 kg (260 lb)  They are precocial and quickly stand and walk to follow their mother and family herd  A newborn calf will attract the attention of all the herd members  Adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks  For the first few days, the mother limits access to her young  Alloparenting – where a calf is cared for by someone other than its mother – takes place in some family groups  Allomothers are typically aged two to twelve years For the first few days, the newborn is unsteady on its feet and needs its mother's help  It relies on touch, smell, and hearing, as its eyesight is less developed  With little coordination in its trunk, it can only flop it around which may cause it to trip  When it reaches its second week, the calf can walk with more balance and has more control over its trunk  After its first month, the trunk can grab and hold objects, but still lacks sucking abilities, and the calf must bend down to drink  It continues to stay near its mother as it is still reliant on her  For its first three months, a calf relies entirely on its mother's milk, after which it begins to forage for vegetation and can use its trunk to collect water  At the same time, there is progress in lip and leg movements



ground_truth: Puli Alam

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: How are elephants connected to Gajabrishta?

The following are given passages.
Context 3:  By nine months, mouth, trunk and foot coordination are mastered  Suckling bouts tend to last 2–4 min/hr for a calf younger than a year  After a year, a calf is fully capable of grooming, drinking, and feeding itself  It still needs its mother's milk and protection until it is at least two years old  Suckling after two years may improve growth, health and fertility Play behaviour in calves differs between the sexes; females run or chase each other while males play-fight  The former are sexually mature by the age of nine years while the latter become mature around 14–15 years  Adulthood starts at about 18 years of age in both sexes  Elephants have long lifespans, reaching 60–70 years of age  Lin Wang, a captive male Asian elephant, lived for 86 years 

Communication
Elephants communicate in various ways  Individuals greet one another by touching each other on the mouth, temporal glands and genitals  This allows them to pick up chemical cues  Older elephants use trunk-slaps, kicks, and shoves to control younger ones  Touching is especially important for mother–calf communication  When moving, elephant mothers will touch their calves with their trunks or feet when side-by-side or with their tails if the calf is behind them  A calf will press against its mother's front legs to signal it wants to rest and will touch her breast or leg when it wants to suckle Visual displays mostly occur in agonistic situations  Elephants will try to appear more threatening by raising their heads and spreading their ears  They may add to the display by shaking their heads and snapping their ears, as well as tossing around dust and vegetation  They are usually bluffing when performing these actions  Excited elephants also raise their heads and spread their ears but additionally may raise their trunks  Submissive elephants will lower their heads and trunks, as well as flatten their ears against their necks, while those that are ready to fight will bend their ears in a V shape Elephants produce several vocalisations—some of which pass though the trunk—for both short and long range communication  This includes trumpeting, bellowing, roaring, growling, barking, snorting, and rumbling  Elephants can produce infrasonic rumbles  For Asian elephants, these calls have a frequency of 14–24 Hz, with sound pressure levels of 85–90 dB and last 10–15 seconds  For African elephants, calls range from 15 to 35 Hz with sound pressure levels as high as 117 dB, allowing communication for many kilometres, possibly over 10 km (6 mi) Elephants are known to communicate with seismics, vibrations produced by impacts on the earth's surface or acoustical waves that travel through it  An individual foot stomping or mock charging can create seismic signals that can be heard at travel distances of up to 32 km (20 mi)  Seismic waveforms produced by rumbles travel 16 km (10 mi) 

Intelligence and cognition
Elephants are among the most intelligent animals  They exhibit mirror self-recognition, an indication of self-awareness and cognition that has also been demonstrated in some apes and dolphins  One study of a captive female Asian elephant suggested the animal was capable of learning and distinguishing between several visual and some acoustic discrimination pairs  This individual was even able to score a high accuracy rating when re-tested with the same visual pairs a year later  Elephants are among the species known to use tools  An Asian elephant has been observed fine-tuning branches for use as flyswatters  Tool modification by these animals is not as advanced as that of chimpanzees  Elephants are popularly thought of as having an excellent memory  This could have a factual basis; they possibly have cognitive maps which give them long lasting memories of their environment on a wide scale  Individuals may be able to remember where their family members are located Scientists debate the extent to which elephants feel emotion  They are attracted to the bones of their own kind, regardless of whether they are related  As with chimpanzees and dolphins, a dying or dead elephant may elicit attention and aid from others, including those from other groups  This has been interpreted as expressing "concern"; however, the Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour (1987) said that "one is well advised to study the behaviour rather than attempting to get at any underlying emotion" 

Conservation
Status
African bush elephants were listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2021, and African forest elephants were listed as Critically Endangered in the same year  In 1979, Africa had an estimated population of at least 1 3 million elephants, possibly as high as 3 0 million  A decade later, the population was estimated to be 609,000; with 277,000 in Central Africa, 110,000 in Eastern Africa, 204,000 in Southern Africa, and 19,000 in Western Africa  The population of rainforest elephants was lower than anticipated, at around 214,000 individuals  Between 1977 and 1989, elephant populations declined by 74% in East Africa  After 1987, losses in elephant numbers hastened, and savannah populations from Cameroon to Somalia experienced a decline of 80%  African forest elephants had a total loss of 43%  Population trends in southern Africa were various, with unconfirmed losses in Zambia, Mozambique and Angola while populations grew in Botswana and Zimbabwe and were stable in South Africa  The IUCN estimated that total population in Africa is estimated at around to 415,000 individuals for both species combined as of 2016 African elephants receive at least some legal protection in every country where they are found  Successful conservation efforts in certain areas have led to high population densities while failures have lead to declines as high as 70% or more of the course of ten years  As of 2008, local numbers were controlled by contraception or translocation  Large-scale cullings stopped in the late 1980s and early 1990s  In 1989, the African elephant was listed under Appendix I by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), making trade illegal  Appendix II status (which allows restricted trade) was given to elephants in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in 1997 and South Africa in 2000  In some countries, sport hunting of the animals is legal; Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have CITES export quotas for elephant trophies In 2020, the IUCN listed the Asian elephant as endangered due to the population declining by half over "the last three generations"  Asian elephants once ranged from Western to East Asia and south to Sumatra  and Java  It is now extinct in these areas, and the current range of Asian elephants is highly fragmented  The total population of Asian elephants is estimated to be around 40,000–50,000, although this may be a loose estimate  Around 60% of the population is in India  Although Asian elephants are declining in numbers overall, particularly in Southeast Asia, the population in Sri Lanka appears to have risen and elephant numbers in the Western Ghats may have stablised 

Threats
The poaching of elephants for their ivory, meat and hides has been one of the major threats to their existence  Historically, numerous cultures made ornaments and other works of art from elephant ivory, and its use was comparable to that of gold  The ivory trade contributed to the fall of the African elephant population in the late 20th century  This prompted international bans on ivory imports, starting with the United States in June 1989, and followed by bans in other North American countries, western European countries, and Japan  Around the same time, Kenya destroyed all its ivory stocks  Ivory was banned internationally by CITES in 1990  Following the bans, unemployment rose in India and China, where the ivory industry was important economically  By contrast, Japan and Hong Kong, which were also part of the industry, were able to adapt and were not as badly affected  Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Malawi wanted to continue the ivory trade and were allowed to, since their local populations were healthy, but only if their supplies were from culled individuals or those that died of natural causes The ban allowed the elephant to recover in parts of Africa  In February 2012, 650 elephants in Bouba Njida National Park, Cameroon, were slaughtered by Chadian raiders  This has been called "one of the worst concentrated killings" since the ivory ban  Asian elephants are potentially less vulnerable to the ivory trade, as females usually lack tusks  Still, members of the species have been killed for their ivory in some areas, such as Periyar National Park in India  China was the biggest market for poached ivory but announced they would phase out the legal domestic manufacture and sale of ivory products in May 2015, and in September 2015, China and the United States said "they would enact a nearly complete ban on the import and export of ivory" due to causes of extinction Other threats to elephants include habitat destruction and fragmentation  The Asian elephant lives in areas with some of the highest human populations and may be confined to small islands of forest among human-dominated landscapes  Elephants commonly trample and consume crops, which contributes to conflicts with humans, and both elephants and humans have died by the hundreds as a result  Mitigating these conflicts is important for conservation  One proposed solution is the protection of wildlife corridors which give populations greater interconnectivity and space  Chili pepper products as well as guarding with defense tools have been found to be effective in preventing crop-raiding by elephants  Less effective tactics include beehive and electric fences 

Human relations
Working animal
Elephants have been working animals since at least the Indus Valley civilization over 4,000 years ago and continue to be used in modern times  There were 13,000–16,500 working elephants employed in Asia in 2000  These animals are typically captured from the wild when they are 10–20 years old when they are both more trainable and can work for more years  They were traditionally captured with traps and lassos, but since 1950, tranquillisers have been used  Individuals of the Asian species have been often trained as working animals  Asian elephants are used to carry and pull both objects and people in and out of areas as well as lead people in religious celebrations  They are valued over mechanised tools as they can perform the same tasks but in more difficult terrain, with strength, memory, and delicacy  Elephants can learn over 30 commands  Musth bulls are difficult and dangerous to work with and so are chained up until their condition passes In India, many working elephants are alleged to have been subject to abuse  They and other captive elephants are thus protected under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960  In both Myanmar and Thailand, deforestation and other economic factors have resulted in sizable populations of unemployed elephants resulting in health problems for the elephants themselves as well as economic and safety problems for the people amongst whom they live The practice of working elephants has also been attempted in Africa  The taming of African elephants in the Belgian Congo began by decree of Leopold II of Belgium during the 19th century and continues to the present with the Api Elephant Domestication Centre 

Warfare
Historically, elephants were considered formidable instruments of war  They were described in Sanskrit texts as far back as 1500 BC  From South Asia, the use of elephants in warfare spread west to Persia and east to Southeast Asia  The Persians used them during the Achaemenid Empire (between the 6th and 4th centuries BC) while Southeast Asian states first used war elephants possibly as early as the 5th century BC and continued to the 20th century  War elephants were also employed in the Mediterranean and North Africa throughout the classical period since the reign of Ptolemy II in Egypt  The Carthaginian general Hannibal famously took African elephants across the Alps during his war with the Romans and reached the Po Valley in 218 BC with all of them alive, but died of disease and combat a year later Their heads and sides were equipped with armour, the trunk may have had a sword tied to it and tusks were sometimes covered sharpened iron or brass  Trained elephants would attack both humans and horses with their tusks  They might have grasped an enemy soldier with the trunk and tossed him to their mahout, or pinned the soldier to the ground and speared him  Some shortcomings of war elephants included their great visibility, which made them easy to target, and limited maneuverability compared to horses  Alexander the Great achieved victory over armies with war elephants by having his soldiers injure the trunks and legs of the animals which caused them to panic and become uncontrollable 

Zoos and circuses
Elephants have traditionally been a major part of zoos and circuses around the world  In circuses, they are trained to perform tricks  The most famous circus elephant was probably Jumbo (1861 – 15 September 1885), who was a major attraction in the Barnum & Bailey Circus  These animals do not reproduce well in captivity, due to the difficulty of handling musth bulls and limited understanding of female oestrous cycles  Asian elephants were always more common than their African counterparts in modern zoos and circuses  After CITES listed the Asian elephant under Appendix I in 1975, imports of the species almost stopped by the end of the 1980s  Subsequently, the US received many captive African elephants from Zimbabwe, which had an overabundance of the animals Keeping elephants in zoos has met with some controversy  Proponents of zoos argue that they allow easy access to the animals and provide fund and knowledge for preserving their natural habitats, as well as safekeeping for the species  Opponents claim that animals in zoos are under physical and mental stress  Elephants have been recorded displaying stereotypical behaviours in the form of wobbling the body or head and pacing the same route both forwards and backwards  This has been observed in 54% of individuals in UK zoos  Elephants in European zoos appear to have shorter lifespans than their wild counterparts at only 17 years, although other studies suggest that zoo elephants live just as long The use of elephants in circuses has also been controversial; the Humane Society of the United States has accused circuses of mistreating and distressing their animals  In testimony to a US federal court in 2009, Barnum & Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged that circus elephants are struck behind their ears, under their chins and on their legs with metal-tipped prods, called bull hooks or ankus  Feld stated that these practices are necessary to protect circus workers and acknowledged that an elephant trainer was rebuked for using an electric prod on an elephant  Despite this, he denied that any of these practices hurt the animals  Some trainers have tried to train elephants without the use of physical punishment  Ralph Helfer is known to have relied on positive reinforcement when training his animals  Barnum and Bailey circus retired its touring elephants in May 2016 

Attacks
Elephants can exhibit bouts of aggressive behaviour and engage in destructive actions against humans  In Africa, groups of adolescent elephants damaged homes in villages after cullings in the 1970s and 1980s  Because of the timing, these attacks have been interpreted as vindictive  In parts of India, male elephants have entered villages at night, destroying homes and killing people  From 2000 to 2004, 300 people died in Jharkhand, and in Assam, 239 people were reportedly killed between 2001 and 2006 
Throughout the country, 1,500 people were killed by elephants between 2019 and 2022, which led to 300 elephants being killed in kind  Local people have reported their belief that some elephants were drunk during their attacks, though officials have disputed this  Purportedly drunk elephants attacked an Indian village in December 2002, killing six people, which led to the retaliatory slaughter of about 200 elephants by locals 

Cultural depictions
Elephants have a universal presence in global culture  They have been represented in art since Paleolithic times  Africa, in particular, contains many examples of elephant rock art, especially in the Sahara and southern Africa  In Asia, the animals are depicted as motifs in Hindu and Buddhist shrines and temples  Elephants were often difficult to portray by people with no first-hand experience of them  The ancient Romans, who kept the animals in captivity, depicted elephants more accurately than medieval Europeans who portrayed them more like fantasy creatures, with horse, bovine and boar-like traits, and trumpet-like trunks  As Europeans gained more access to captive elephants during the 15th century, depictions of them became more accurate, including one made by Leonardo da Vinci Elephants have been the subject of religious beliefs  The Mbuti people of central Africa believe that the souls of their dead ancestors resided in elephants  Similar ideas existed among other African societies, who believed that their chiefs would be reincarnated as elephants  During the 10th century AD, the people of Igbo-Ukwu, in modern day Nigeria, placed elephant tusks underneath their death leader's feet in the grave  The animals' importance is only totemic in Africa but is much more significant in Asia  In Sumatra, elephants have been associated with lightning  Likewise in Hinduism, they are linked with thunderstorms as Airavata, the father of all elephants, represents both lightning and rainbows  One of the most important Hindu deities, the elephant-headed Ganesha, is ranked equal with the supreme gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma in some traditions  Ganesha is associated with writers and merchants and it is believed that he can give people success as well as grant them their desires, but could also take these things away  In Buddhism, Buddha is said to have been a white elephant reincarnated as a human 

In Western popular culture, elephants symbolise the exotic, especially since – as with the giraffe, hippopotamus and rhinoceros – there are no similar animals familiar to Western audiences  As characters, elephants are most common in children's stories, where they are portrayed positively  They are typically surrogates for humans with ideal human values  Many stories tell of isolated young elephants returning to or finding a family, such as "The Elephant's Child" from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories, Disney's Dumbo, and Kathryn and Byron Jackson's The Saggy Baggy Elephant  Other elephant heroes given human qualities include Jean de Brunhoff's Babar, David McKee's Elmer, and Dr  Seuss's Horton Several cultural references emphasise the elephant's size and strangeness  For instance, a "white elephant" is a byword for something that is weird, unwanted, and has no value  The expression "elephant in the room" refers to something that is being ignored but ultimately must be addressed  The story of the blind men and an elephant involves blind men touching different parts of an elephant and trying to figure out what it is 

See also
Animal track
Desert elephant
Elephants' graveyard
List of individual elephants
Motty, captive hybrid of an Asian and African elephant
National Elephant Day (Thailand)
World Elephant Day
Passage 2:
Gajabrishta
Gaja in Sanskrit means elephant  'Brishta' is the back or hip portion of a sitting elephant  The later Cholas of the Chola empire in the Indian subcontinent, especially the ones in Thondai Mandalam around the North Tamil Nadu area constructed temples which had vimanas in this style 
The sanctum sanctorum of these temples, especially Shiva temples, had this style of vimana 

See also
Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu



ground_truth: Sanskrit