Latest Space General Knowledge(GK) Questions and answers

1 .

India's lunar mission, ________ has successfully underwent Electro-Magnetic Interference/ Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMI-EMC).

A)

Mangalyaan

B)

Gaganyaan 3

C)

Chandrayaan-2

D)

Chandrayaan-3

Correct Answer : Chandrayaan-3

In a boost to India’s lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 has successfully underwent EMI-EMC (Electro-Magnetic Interference/ Electro-Magnetic Compatibility).

* The EMI-EMC test is conducted for satellite missions to ensure functionality of the satellite subsystems in the space environment and their compatibility with the expected electromagnetic levels.

* In a statement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said it is a major milestone in the realization of the satellites.

* ISRO announced (19th Feb 2023) that the test was conducted between January 31 and February 2 at U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru.

* The statement said, during the Chandrayaan-3 lander EMI/EC test, Launcher compatibility, Antenna Polarization of all Radio-Frequency (RF) systems, Standalone auto compatibility tests for orbital and powered descent mission phases, and Lander & Rover compatibility tests for post-landing mission phase were ensured. The performance of the systems was satisfactory.

* Chandrayaan-3 interplanetary mission has three major modules : the Propulsion module, Lander module, and Rover. The mission's complexity calls for establishing radio-frequency (RF) communication links between the modules..

Source : AIR

2 .

Which launched the APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite launch vehicle mission 2023 in Chengalpattu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu?

A)

Anand Foundation

B)

Martin Foundation

C)

Vruksham Foundation

D)

Maatram Foundation

Correct Answer : Martin Foundation

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation and Space Zone India in association with Martin Foundation launched the APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite launch vehicle mission 2023 in Pattipolam Village, Chengalpattu near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

* The launch of the sounding rocket was scheduled for 7.45 AM (19th Feb 2023). The Chief Guest of the event was Telengana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Former ISRO Director Mayilsamy Annadurai and Dr. Anand Mehalingam, Founder and CEO of Space India private limited were present at the event.

* More than 5000 students from grade 6 to 12 from different parts of the Country including 200 students from the fishermen's community designed and constructed the rocket and 150 PICO satellite research experiment cubes that contained different payloads in today's (19th Feb 2023) launch.

* The reusable rocket was made by the selected top 100 students of which 60 are from Tamilnadu. The rocket can be used for research in weather, and to assess atmospheric conditions and radiation.

* Martin Foundation did a total of 85 per cent of the funding for this project. The selected students have been taught about satellite technology through virtual classes, which have been followed by hands-on sessions to help them explore the project domain...

Source : AIR

3 .

Who become first-ever woman astronaut of Saudi Arabia will go on Space Mission in 2023?

A)

Sally Ride

B)

Kathleen Rubins

C)

Rayyana Barnawi

D)

Karen Nyberg

Correct Answer : Rayyana Barnawi

The first-ever woman astronaut of Saudi Arabia will be going to space this year (2023), the latest move by the kingdom to revamp its ultra-conservative image.

* Saudi woman astronaut "Rayyana Barnawi" will join fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) this year (2023).

* Barnawi and Al-Qarni will fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission by the private space company Axiom Space.

* The Ax-2 will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

* Axiom Space carried out its first private astronaut mission to the ISS in April 2022 under which four private astronauts spent 17 days in orbit.

* In 2019, Saudi's neighbour the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space.

* Astronaut Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent eight days on the ISS. Another fellow Emirati, Sultan al-Neyadi, will also make a voyage to the space station in February 2023.

* Neyadi, fondly called "Sultan of Space", will become the first Arab astronaut to spend six months in space when he blasts off for the ISS aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

* Saudi de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been trying to shake off the kingdom’s austere image through a push for reforms.

* During his regime since 2017, Saudi women have been allowed to drive and travel abroad without a male guardian. Women’s proportion in the workforce has more than doubled since 2016, from 17% to 37%.

* In the oil-rich country in 1985, sent country’s royal Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, an air force pilot on a US-organised mission. It became the first Arab Muslim country to travel to space.

* Years later in 2018, the country set up a space program and last year launched another to send astronauts into space as part of Prince Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda for economic diversification..

Source : Mint

4 .

ISRO successfully launched the second developmental flight of the ________ with three satellites on February 10, 2023.

A)

PSLV-D2

B)

SSLV-D2

C)

GSLV-D2

D)

ASLV-D2

Correct Answer : SSLV-D2

The second developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), SSLV-D2 was successfully launched on February 10, 2023, at 9:18 am from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

* It injected EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into a 450 km circular orbit, in its 15-minute flight.

* The first developmental flight of the SSLV from SDSC on August 7, 2022, failed due to vibration disturbance for a short duration on the equipment bay deck during the second stage separation.

* The main objectives of Friday’s mission were the demonstration of the designed payload capability of SSLV in low earth orbit and the injection of the EOS-07 satellite, and two passenger satellites Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 into a 450 km circular orbit.

* SSLV-D2/EOS-07 Mission is accomplished successfully.

* SSLV-D2 placed EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 into their intended orbits.

* SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to low earth orbits on a ‘launch-on-demand’ basis. It provides low-cost access to space, offers low turn-around time and flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, and demands minimal launch infrastructure.

* It is configured with three solid propulsion stages and a velocity terminal module. It is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter vehicle having a lift-off mass of 120 tonne.

* The EOS-07 is a 156.3 kg satellite designed, developed, and realised by ISRO. New experiments include mm-Wave Humidity Sounder and Spectrum Monitoring Payload.

* Janus-1, a 10.2 kg satellite, belongs to ANTARIS, US. Janus-1 is a technology demonstrator, smart satellite mission, based on the Antaris software platform.

* The 8.7 kg satellite AzaadiSAT-2 is a combined effort of about 750 girl students across India guided by Space Kidz India, Chennai.

* It aims to demonstrate LoRa and amateur radio communication satellites, measure radiation levels in space, and demonstrate expanding satellite structure...

Source : Hindu businessline

5 .

Which space agencies will launch the joint satellite 'NISAR' in 2024?

A)

NASA-ISRO

B)

ESA-ISRO

C)

JAXA-ISRO

D)

ROSCOSMOS-ISRO

Correct Answer : NASA-ISRO

NISAR which was jointly built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), got send-off ceremony in California before it ships out to its last stop in India.

Outside the facility, in front of a scale model of the NISAR satellite, NASA's NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela and ISRO's NISAR Project Director CV Shrikant ceremonially broke fresh coconuts.

The tradition, common in India, often marks auspicious occasions and signifies hope for a smooth road ahead. Leshin also presented the ISRO delegation with a jar of JPL lucky peanuts.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Director Laurie Leshin, and dignitaries from NASA headquarters including Bhavya Lal, NASA's associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy were present at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the send-off.

"Today we come one step closer to fulfilling the immense scientific potential NASA and ISRO envisioned for NISAR when we joined forces more than eight years ago," Somanath said...

Source : Mint

6 .

Who has developed UnFurlable Reflector Antenna (UFRA) for space radar?

A)

HAL

B)

BARC

C)

DRDO

D)

Indian Army

Correct Answer : DRDO

Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) has developed a major subsystem for a space radar, which holds significant potential for ISRO and the military.

* LRDE is a Bengaluru lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

* LRDE has been involved in the development of space-borne imaging radar for installation on satellites and has completed the development of an UnFurlable Reflector Antenna (UFRA).

* UFRA is one of the major subsystems of a radar.

* That radars for space applications require an antenna to be stowed in compact volume during launch and then deployed in the required shape once the satellite is in the required orbit ..

* The antenna, sources said, is likely to be part of a space-based military radar, which LRDE is working on. “The specific details about the radar cannot be divulged at this moment, but the development of UFRA is a key milestone in the development of the radar”.

* LRDE is a key DRDO lab with a mission to design and develop state-of-the-art radar systems meeting current and futuristic requirements of the tri-services, paramilitary forces, intelligence and strategic missions.

* It is also tasked with establishing indigenous production capability through industry partnership to achieve total self-reliance in the field radars besides promoting in-house research, engaging academia and industry to build competence towards creating a centre of excellence in the field of radar technologies.

Source : Tmes of India

7 .

For the Aditya L1 project of ISRO, who has made the Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VLEC) payload?

A)

HAL

B)

DRDO

C)

IIT Mumbai

D)

Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bengaluru

Correct Answer : Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bengaluru

Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru handed over Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VELC) payload for Aditya-L1 mission to ISRO in a ceremony held on January 26, 2023 at the Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) Campus, Hosakote, near Bengaluru.

VELC payload was designed and realised at CREST campus. The payload was handed over to Director, U R Rao Satellite Centre (USRC) by Director, IIA in the presence of Chairman, ISRO/ Secretary, DOS Shri S Somanth.

Project Director of Aditya-L1 Smt. NigarShaji, and Principal Investigator of VELC Dr. B Raghavendra Prasad were present on the occasion. The payload would be integrated to the satellite at URSC.

VELC has a mechanism to occult the solar disc to separate and discards the light from the disk.The light from the Corona is captured by the coronagraph for further processing. VELC aims to collect the data for solving how the temperature of the corona can reach about a million degrees while the Sun’s surface itself stays just over 6000 degrees Centigrade.

For this, the payload targets at the continuous observations of the Corona, right from its lowermost boundary upwards after having discarded the bright light from the solar disc.

VELC weighs 90 kg and is 1.7 m x 1.1 m x 0.7 m in dimension...

Source : ISRO

8 .

SpaceX Launches how many Starlink satellites from California on 19th January 2023?

A)

41

B)

44

C)

48

D)

51

Correct Answer : 51

SpaceX brought another big batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit on Thursday (19th Jan 2023), and landed a fresh first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket as well.

The booster topped with 51 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday (19th January 2023) at 10:43 a.m. EST (1543 GMT; 7:43 a.m. local California time).

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, hauled the Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit and was expected to deploy all 51 of them 29 minutes after liftoff, according to a SpaceX mission description(opens in new tab).

Starlink is SpaceX's broadband internet constellation, which currently consists of more than 3,300 operational satellites(opens in new tab).

That number is ever-increasing, as Thursday's liftoff shows, and may eventually become truly staggering. SpaceX has approval to launch 12,000 Starlink spacecraft and has applied for permission to loft nearly 30,000 more on top of that...

Source : Space

9 .

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Discovers New Exoplanet Named ________.

A)

LVS 465b

B)

LHS 475b

C)

LAS 485b

D)

LDS 495b

Correct Answer : LHS 475b

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its first new exoplanet.

Researchers have labelled the planet as LHS 475 b, and it’s roughly the same size as Earth. Located just 41 light-years away, the planet orbits very close to a red dwarf star and completes a full orbit in just two days.

Researchers hope that in the coming years, owing to the Webb telescope’s advanced capabilities, they will be able to detect more Earth-sized planets. So far, most of the discovered exoplanets are similar to Jupiter as Earth-sized planets are much smaller in size and harder to discover with older telescopes.

LHS 475b, It is roughly the same size as Earth, with a diameter of 99% that of Earth. It is a celestial, rocky planet located approximately 41 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Octane. It differs from Earth in two respects, first that it completes one orbit in only two days and secondly it is hundreds of degrees hotter than Earth.

About Exoplanet : Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars and are away from our solar system. The first confirmation of the detection of an exoplanet was in the year 1992. The first confirmation of the detection of an exoplanet was in the year 1992. According to NASA, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been discovered so far. Exoplanets come in different sizes. They can be large and gaseous like Jupiter and small and rocky like Earth. There is also variation in their temperature, which can range from extremely hot (Boiling Hot) to extremely cold (Freezing Cold)...

Source : The Hindu

10 .

In which year ISRO's 'Shukrayan I' mission to Venus has shifted?

A)

2031

B)

2029

C)

2027

D)

2025

Correct Answer : 2031

P. Sreekumar, the Satish Dhawan Professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and advisor to its space science programme, stated in a talk on January 9 that the organisation has not yet received approval from the Indian government for the Venus mission and that, as a result, the mission may be delayed until 2031.

Shukrayaan I, the ISRO Venus mission, was scheduled to launch in December 2024. The concept was conceived in 2012; five years later, after the Department of Space got a 23% increase in the 2017–2018 budget, ISRO started preliminary investigations. In April 2017, the organisation requested payload proposals from research institutions.

The best time to launch from Earth to Venus is once every 19 months or thereabouts. In case it misses the 2024 window, ISRO has "backup" launch dates in 2026 and 2028.

But every eight years, new better windows present themselves that further cut down on the quantity of fuel needed for takeoff.

Shukrayaan I was "initially scheduled for a 2023 launch," according to Sreekumar, who was speaking at an Indo-French astronomy conference at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru.

However, "right now the 2031 window is extremely excellent," he added. Before spacecraft assembly and testing, he stressed, the project must have "official approval and funding."

In the budget year 2022–2023, ISRO was given an allocation of 13,700 crores, a small increase from the previous year.

Gaganyaan, the human spaceflight mission, received the majority of it. Various industry groups have created a wishlist ahead of the upcoming budget announcement and in response to recent reforms in the private spaceflight sector, which include increases in local manufacturing and procurement...

Source : Times Now News