Space Technology

Venus, the first environmental research satellite, was launched in August 2017 by which one of the following countries?

[amp_mcq option1=”India” option2=”Russia” option3=”China” option4=”Israel” correct=”option4″]

VENµS (Vegetation and Environmental monitoring on a New Micro-Satellite), often referred to as the first environmental research satellite dedicated to vegetation monitoring using super-spectral imaging, is a joint project between the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and the French Space Agency (CNES). It was launched by India’s PSLV rocket in August 2017. While launched from India, it was developed and is operated as a collaborative mission primarily by Israel and France. Among the given options, Israel was a principal country behind the satellite itself.

The VENµS environmental monitoring satellite is a joint project primarily involving Israel and France.

VENµS was launched aboard ISRO’s PSLV-C38 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, on August 2, 2017. The satellite is used for monitoring vegetation, environmental conditions, and testing new space technologies.

Which one of the following planets was explored by Cassini Mission launched by NASA, which ended in September 2017?

[amp_mcq option1=”Sun” option2=”Neptune” option3=”Saturn” option4=”Jupiter” correct=”option3″]

The Cassini mission, a joint endeavour by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), was launched to explore the planet Saturn and its numerous moons and rings.

Cassini operated in the Saturn system for over 13 years, providing unprecedented data and images before concluding its mission with a controlled plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere in September 2017.

The mission included the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe, which successfully landed on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in January 2005, providing the first direct exploration of a moon other than Earth’s.

Which one of the following statements about reusable space vehicle of ISRO is not correct?

[amp_mcq option1=”In June 2016, ISRO successfully launched India’s first reusable space vehicle.” option2=”The space vehicle was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.” option3=”The reusable launch vehicle climbed to a height of 65 km before automatically steering back for landing.” option4=”The vehicle was initially boosted by a rocket that contained liquid fuel.” correct=”option4″]

Statements A, B, and C are correct descriptions of ISRO’s first reusable launch vehicle test flight (RLV-TD) conducted in June 2016. It was India’s first reusable space vehicle demonstrator (Hypersonic Flight Experiment – HEX). It was launched from Sriharikota. It reached an altitude of about 65 km before descending and making a simulated landing in the Bay of Bengal. Statement D is incorrect. The RLV-TD was initially boosted by a solid rocket motor (HS9), not a rocket containing liquid fuel.

The ISRO RLV-TD test in 2016 was a significant step towards developing reusable launch vehicle technology, demonstrating hypersonic flight, aero-thermodynamic characterisation, and autonomous navigation for return flight.

The RLV-TD is a scaled-down technology demonstrator. Subsequent tests are planned to evaluate technologies like landing and re-entry. The eventual goal is a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) fully reusable vehicle. The initial boost from a solid motor was sufficient for this experimental flight to reach the desired altitude and velocity for the demonstration.

Consider the following statements regarding Bhoonidhi Vista :

• It is a data visualisation service of Bhoonidhi providing full resolution mosaicked data visualisation capability through Web Map Service.
• It is enabled for ResourceSat-2/2A, Sentinel 1 and 2 satellites.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[amp_mcq option1=”1 only” option2=”2 only” option3=”Both 1 and 2″ option4=”Neither 1 nor 2″ correct=”option1″]

The correct option is C) Both 1 and 2.

Statement 1 is correct: Bhoonidhi is ISRO’s Earth Observation Data Dissemination portal. Bhoonidhi Vista is a service under Bhoonidhi that provides visualization capabilities for geospatial data, including full-resolution mosaicked data, often accessible via Web Map Service (WMS). Statement 2 is correct: ISRO/NRSC processes and provides data from its own ResourceSat series of satellites (ResourceSat-2/2A) and also serves as a dissemination node for European Space Agency’s Copernicus data, including from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites. Bhoonidhi and its visualization tools like Vista are enabled to handle and display data from these diverse sources.

Bhoonidhi aims to be a comprehensive platform for accessing and utilizing Indian and select international satellite remote sensing data. Integration of data from multiple satellite missions, including both national and international ones like the Sentinel series, is a key feature of such modern geospatial data portals to provide a wider range of datasets to users for various applications.

Which one of the following is the first commercial space station?

[amp_mcq option1=”Axiom Station” option2=”International Space Station” option3=”Galileo” option4=”Voyager 1″ correct=”option1″]

A

Axiom Station is being developed by Axiom Space with the explicit goal of being the world’s first commercial space station. It is planned to initially attach modules to the International Space Station (ISS) before becoming a free-flying independent commercial platform. The International Space Station is a government-led international collaboration, not a commercial entity. Galileo is a navigation satellite system, and Voyager 1 is a space probe. Therefore, Axiom Station is the only option representing a commercial space station.

The development of commercial space stations like Axiom Station is part of a broader trend towards the commercialization of space activities, including private spaceflight and infrastructure.

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope consists of

[amp_mcq option1=”a single parabolic antenna” option2=”multiple parabolic antennas” option3=”multiple circular antennas” option4=”a combination of circular and parabolic antennas” correct=”option2″]

B

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is a major astronomical facility located near Pune, India. It operates at meter wavelengths. The GMRT consists of an array of thirty large parabolic antennas, each 45 meters in diameter, spread over a region of about 25 kilometres. It functions as a single telescope using the technique of aperture synthesis. Therefore, it consists of multiple parabolic antennas.

Radio telescopes typically use parabolic dishes to focus radio waves. The GMRT’s design with multiple antennas allows it to achieve high resolution comparable to a much larger single dish.

Which one of the following statements is true for James Webb Space Telescope launched in December 2021?

[amp_mcq option1=”It orbits the Sun, about 15 lakh km away from the Earth.” option2=”It orbits the Earth, about 15 lakh km away.” option3=”It is stationary in space nearly 10 lakh km away from the Earth.” option4=”It revolves around the Moon nearly 3.5 lakh km away from the Earth.” correct=”option1″]

The true statement for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is that it orbits the Sun, about 15 lakh km away from the Earth.

JWST is positioned at the second Lagrange point (L2) of the Earth-Sun system. This point is approximately 1.5 million kilometers (or 15 lakh km) away from Earth, in the direction opposite to the Sun. JWST orbits the Sun at L2, maintaining a relative position with respect to Earth and the Sun.

Being at L2 offers significant advantages, such as a stable gravitational environment requiring minimal fuel for station keeping, and allowing the telescope’s sunshield to block light and heat from the Sun, Earth, and Moon simultaneously, keeping the telescope’s mirrors and instruments extremely cold for optimal infrared observations. It does not orbit the Earth or the Moon, nor is it stationary in the absolute sense (it orbits the Sun).

To study which one of the following was a spacecraft launched that would be farthest from the Sun and would run exclusively on solar power ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids” option2=”Saturn’s rings and moons” option3=”Mars’ atmosphere” option4=”Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud” correct=”option1″]

The spacecraft launched to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, named Lucy, is designed to be the farthest from the Sun while running exclusively on solar power.

NASA’s Lucy mission, launched in October 2021, is the first space mission to study the Trojan asteroids associated with Jupiter. It uses large solar arrays to generate power, which is a significant technological achievement for a mission operating in the outer solar system where sunlight is much weaker.

Previous missions to the outer solar system relied primarily on Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) for power. The Lucy mission’s solar panels are exceptionally large (about the width of a tennis court) to capture enough sunlight at the distance of Jupiter’s orbit. The Trojan asteroids are remnants from the formation of the solar system, orbiting in two swarms, one leading and one trailing Jupiter.

India’s maiden human space mission will be launched in 2023. What is its name ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Vayumitra” option2=”Vikram” option3=”Chandrayaan-3″ option4=”Gaganyaan” correct=”option4″]

India’s maiden human space mission is named ‘Gaganyaan’.

Gaganyaan is an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission aimed at sending Indian astronauts (Gagannauts) into orbit for a short duration.

The mission involves developing an orbital module with life support systems and training Indian astronauts. The project includes test flights, including uncrewed missions, before the final crewed mission, which is now targeted for after 2023. Vayumitra is the name of ISRO’s female-looking humanoid robot designed for uncrewed Gaganyaan missions. Chandrayaan-3 is ISRO’s lunar landing mission. Vikram was the name of the lander for Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3.

Which one of the following statements is correct regarding LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) ?

[amp_mcq option1=”It is the world’s most powerful radio antenna.” option2=”It is a space technology launched by NASA to discover exoplanets.” option3=”It is an arrangement of satellites in space for the purpose of creating Satellite Navigation System.” option4=”It is a wireless communication technology for 5G services.” correct=”option1″]

LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) is a large network of radio telescopes spread across several countries in Europe, making it one of the most powerful radio antennas for observing very low radio frequencies.

It is not a single antenna but an array of antennas that work together using advanced data processing to synthesize a large effective aperture, giving it high sensitivity and resolution.

LOFAR is used for various astronomical studies, including observing the early universe, pulsars, cosmic rays, and solar activity. It operates in the frequency range of 10-240 MHz.