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Space - General Knowledge Questions
A)
NASA
B)
ISRO
C)
JAXA
D)
ESA

Correct Answer : Option (D) - ESA

* The European Space Agency (ESA) has sent a spacecraft to explore Jupiter and three of its largest and most intriguing moons.

* The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or Juice, launched Friday (14th April 2023) at 8:14 a.m. ET aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

* The spacecraft separated from the Ariane 5 rocket 28 minutes after launch, and ESA received a signal from Juice about an hour after liftoff, confirming that Earth-based mission control is able to “talk” to the vehicle.

* Over the course of the next 17 days, Juice will deploy its solar arrays, antennas and other instruments, followed by three months of testing and preparing the instruments.

* Juice will take eight years to reach Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. During its lengthy cruise, the spacecraft will utilize some gravitational slingshots as it flies by Earth, our moon and Venus to help with the journey.

* Once Juice arrives at Jupiter in July 2031, the spacecraft will spend about three and a half years orbiting the gas giant and conducting flybys of three of its moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Toward the end of the mission, Juice will focus solely on orbiting Ganymede, making it the first spacecraft ever to orbit a moon in the outer solar system.

* Ganymede, Callisto and Europa are ice-covered worlds that may contain subsurface oceans that are potentially habitable for life.

* Meanwhile, NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, launching in 2024, is expected to reach Jupiter in April 2030 and conduct nearly 50 flybys of Europa, eventually reaching just 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the moon’s surface.

* Together, the two missions could unlock some of the biggest mysteries about Jupiter and its moons...

Source : CNN

A)
Ukraine
B)
Mongolia
C)
North Korea
D)
South Korea

Correct Answer : Option (D) - South Korea

South Korea plans to conduct its first launch of a commercial-grade satellite aboard a domestically built rocket next month (May 2023) as part of its space development program, officials said Tuesday (11th April 2023).

* South Korea’s officials say its homegrown Nuri space launch vehicle has no military purposes. But some experts say the development of such rockets would eventually help the country acquire technologies needed to build bigger missiles and launch reconnaissance satellites amid animosities with rival North Korea.

* In June 2022, South Korea conducted its first satellite launch using the Nuri rocket.

* That launch involved what South Korean officials called a “performance verification” satellite mainly designed to examine the capacity of the rocket while next month’s event is meant to put a commercial-grade satellite into orbit for the first time.

* The Science Ministry said the rocket will blast off from the country’s space launch center on a southern island on May 24, 2023. A ministry statement said it had set a backup launch date from May 25-31, in case of possible schedule changes due to weather.

* The rocket will carry one main satellite called “Next Generation Small Satellite 2” and seven other smaller cube-shaped satellites. The main satellite is tasked with verifying imaging radar technology and observing cosmic radiation in near-Earth orbit, the statement said.

* Authorities have completed the assembly of the rocket’s first and second stages and are conducting final environmental tests of the eight satellites that are to be placed on the rocket’s third stage.

* 2022 launch was the Nuri rocket’s second liftoff. In its first launch in 2021, the rocket’s dummy payload reached the desired altitude but failed to enter orbit. After next month’s launch, South Korea plans three more Nuri rocket launches..

Source : CNBC

A)
China
B)
USA
C)
France
D)
India

Correct Answer : Option (A) - China

The Chinese company "Space Pioneer" successfully launched its Tianlong-2 rocket into orbit early Sunday (2nd April 2023), making space exploration history in the process.

* The 4:48 a.m. Beijing Time launch from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in the Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia, represented the first time a liquid fueled rocket has been launched into orbit by a Chinese aerospace company, and also the first time a startup company successfully reached orbit on its first attempt.

* The Tianlong-2 rocket's name means "Sky Dragon-2," according to a translation.

* Beyond making its mark on history, the rocket's builder Space Pioneer — also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology Co. — aimsed to launch a small satellite to a polar orbit around Earth that is in a "fixed" position relative to the sun.

* From this sun-synchronous orbit the satellite, named Ai Taikong Kexue or "Love Space Science" and developed by Hunan Hangsheng Satellite Technology Co., Ltd, will test its remote sensing capabilities.

About Tianlong-2 :

* Tianlong-2 is a three-stage rocket that is capable of carrying 2,000 kilograms (2 tons) to low Earth orbit or 1,500 kg (1,5 tons) to a 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbit.

* The Beijing Tianbing Technology Co said(opens in new tab) that the 3.35-meter-wide, 32.8-meter-tall rocket is fueled by coal-based kerosene.

* This allowed the three YF-102 gas generator engines of the rocket, which had a take-off mass of 153 tons, to deliver a thrust of 193 tons at take-off.

* "The Tianlong-2 rocket adopts the 'three flat and one vertical' test and launch mode, vehicle-mounted mobile launch, tank car automatic filling, and a self-contained diversion launch device, and can implement liquid rocket launch from a simple cement field, providing a solid foundation for large-scale launches. An innovative model," Beijing Tianbing Technology Co.

Source : Space

A)
Kenya
B)
Namibia
C)
Zimbabwe
D)
Morocco

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Kenya

On April 11 2023, Kenya’s 3U Earth observation satellite, the Taifa-1, designed and developed by SayariLabs and EnduroSat, will launch aboard SpaceX‘s Falcon-9 Rocket at the Vandenberg Base, California.

* In addition, a delegation team, led by the Defence Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru from Kenya, will travel to the USA to witness the launch of the Taifa-1.

* The satellite mission was established to leverage its hyperspectral camera to enable the availability of accurate and timely Earth observation data for relevant stakeholders in a wide range of sectors to make strategic developmental decisions in the country.

* In addition, satellite data from Taifa-1 will enable authorities to support the agricultural industry, alleviate food insecurity, ensure efficiently managed natural resources, and enable proper environmental observations, among other benefits..

Source : Africa News

A)
2
B)
3
C)
4
D)
5

Correct Answer : Option (C) - 4

The American Space Agency, NASA has selected the first woman astronaut, "Christina Koch" for its Artemis II mission.

Other crew members : Victor Glover (First Black Astronaut) and Reid Wiseman of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

* It will involve a fly-by of the moon and a 10-day journey back to Earth.

* It is part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024..

Source : NASA

A)
Russia
B)
Japan
C)
India
D)
Israel

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Israel

Israel successfully launched the “Ofek-13” spy satellite into space early Wednesday (29th March 2023) morning, the Defense Ministry said.

The satellite, the latest in a line of Israeli observation assets in space, will provide the military with better-quality images than its predecessors.

The ‘Ofek-13’ satellite is a [synthetic-aperture radar] observation satellite with advanced capabilities, the Defense Ministry said in a statement after the launch.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed the launch of the Ofek-13 as "yet another important example of the Israeli defense establishment’s groundbreaking innovation."..

Source : Times of Israel

A)
Natalie Batalha
B)
Amit Kshatriya
C)
Sirisha Bandla
D)
Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Amit Kshatriya

Amit Kshatriya, a decorated Indian-American software and robotics engineer was appointed as the first head of NASA's newly-established Moon to Mars Programme that will help the agency ensure a long-term lunar presence needed to prepare for humanity’s next giant leap to the Red Planet.

* Kshatriya will serve as NASA's first head of the office, with immediate effect, the agency announced on Thursday (30th March 2023).

* The new office aims to carry out the agency’s human exploration activities on the Moon and Mars for the benefit of humanity.

* “The golden age of exploration is happening right now, and this new office will help ensure that NASA successfully establishes a long-term lunar presence needed to prepare for humanity’s next giant leap to the Red Planet," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

* “The Moon to Mars Programme Office will help prepare NASA to carry out our bold missions to the Moon and land the first humans on Mars,” Nelson explained.

* As directed by the 2022 NASA Authorisation Act, the Moon to Mars Programme Office focuses on hardware development, mission integration and risk management functions for programmes critical to the agency’s exploration approach that uses Artemis missions at the Moon to open a new era of scientific discovery and prepare for human missions to Mars, according to the press release.

* This includes the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, human landing systems, spacesuits, Gateway, and more related to deep space exploration...

Source : India Today

A)
39
B)
36
C)
31
D)
27

Correct Answer : Option (B) - 36

India's Launch Vehicle Mark (LVM) 3 -M3 satellite with 36 satellites of the One Web India - 2 mission took off from the second launch pad of the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota successfully at 9 this morning (26th March 2023).

* The 43-metre-tall launch vehicle successfully completed the three stages in the prescribed time limit including the involvement of the ignition of the cryogenic engine.

* The datas are being tracked by the ground stations at Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow and Bangalore stations and also at the ship station at Antarctica.

* Speaking after the launch, the Chairman of ISRO, Somnath said that the first 16 satellites of the one web India - 2 series were placed at the right orbit as planned, the remaining 20 satellites will also be positioned soon.

* Asserting that it was a  successful mission with no glitches,he looked forward to more such missions in future, he told that cryogenic engines which were used in these missions will be used in Gaganyaan mission also. He said that ISRO will be having another commercial launch in April 2023.

* The Chairman told that ISRO will be having another commercial launch in April. He thanked the Prime Minister for supporting the efforts of ISRO and said that it increased the confidence of those working at the organisation.

* The Chairman and Managing Director of the NSIL, Radhakrishnan said that the use of the cryogenic Mark 3 engine has proved successful and the extremely challenging manoeuvres of the satellites were done in a remarkable manner.

* Mission Director Mohanakumar said that it was one of the heaviest payloads and the nine sequential events were successful to the dot. He said that the one web India - 2 mission was a 72 days campaign..

Source : AIR

A)
Manoj Sinha
B)
Rajnath Singh
C)
Jitendra Singh
D)
Dharmendra Pradhan

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh 21st March 2023 inaugurated Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal in Uttarakhand in the presence of the Governor of Uttarakhand Lt. Gen (Retd.) Gurmeet Singh.

Speaking after the launch, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is primarily the patronage, promotion and prioritization from Prime Narendra Narendra Modi that has enabled and emboldened the scientific fraternity to successfully try new initiatives, one after the other, in the field of science, technology and innovation, which are being rated as world class.

Not only PM Modi has given us the motivation to move ahead but also given the freedom to explore hitherto lesser explored areas like Space which has been opened up for private players or India's oceans whose vast resources are waiting to be unfolded.

Today's landmark event, said the Minister, places India at a different and a much higher level of capabilities to study the mysteries of the skies and astronomy, and to share the same with the rest of the world.

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) announced that the world-class 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is now ready to explore the deep celestial sky.

It achieved its first light in the 2nd week of May 2022. The telescope is located at an altitude of 2450 metre at the Devasthal Observatory campus of ARIES, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India in Nainital district, Uttarakhand.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the ILMT collaboration includes researchers from ARIES in India, the University of Liège and the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Belgium, Poznan Observatory in Poland, the Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences and National University of Uzbekistan in Uzbekistan, the University of British Columbia, Laval University, the University of Montreal, the University of Toronto, York University and the University of Victoria in Canada. The telescope was designed and built by the Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems (AMOS) Corporation and the Centre Spatial de Liège in Belgium...

Source : PIB

A)
Bengaluru
B)
Chennai
C)
New Delhi
D)
Hyderabad

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Bengaluru

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is organising a young scientist programme, Yuva VIgyani Karyakram (YUVIKA), to impart basic knowledge on space technology, space science and space applications to students of Class IX.

* The registration for the programme starts 20th March 2023.

* ISRO said that it has chalked out this programme to ‘catch them young’ and that it is also expected to encourage more students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based research and careers.

* The YUVIKA program will be conducted between May 15 and May 26, 2023 at seven centers.

* Interested students studying in Class 9 as on 1 January 2023 within India are eligible to apply..

Source : The Hindu