Space Part-1

Total Questions: 50

21. "DAVINCI+" and "VERITAS" - two new missions announced by NASA, are related to : [U.P.R.O/A.R.O. (Pre) 2021]

(a) Moon
(b) Venus
(c) Mars
(d) Jupiter

Correct Answer: (b) Venus

Solution:DAVINCI+' and 'VERITAS' will be NASA's first missions to Venus since the 1990s. VERITAS is tentatively scheduled to launch in December 2027, and would begin orbiting Venus in July 2028 (DAVINCI+’s launch is targeted for 2029). These missions are part of NASA's Discovery Programme.

VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) mission will map the surface of the planet, study its geology, and hunt for volcanic activity. VERITAS – which means truth in Latin – will help scientists learn the facts about how Venus became a sulfurous inferno, while Earth developed to become home to an abundance of life.
DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) with its atmospheric probe, will study the dense atmosphere of Venus to understand the trigger and evolution of the runaway greenhouse effect.

22. Match List-I with List-II: [69th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2023]

List-I (Space Mission)	List-II (Exploration)
A. Cassini-Huygens	1. Jupiter
B. Juno	2. Saturn and its rings
C. Artemis	3. Venus
D. VERITAS	4. Human Space-flight – Moon to Mars

CODE	A	B	C	D
(a)	2	1	4	3
(b)	2	3	1	4
(c)	1	4	3	2
(d)	2	4	3	1

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 2 1 4 3
(b) 2 3 1 4
(c) 1 4 3 2
(d) 2 4 3 1

Correct Answer: (a) 2 1 4 3

Solution:Cassini-Huygens was a space research mission by NASA, ESA and ISRO to send a space probe to study the planet Saturn and its system.

Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter.

The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program that is led by NASA. The program's stated long-term goal is to establish a permanent human base on the Moon to facilitate human missions to Mars.

VERITAS mission is for studies of the surface and interior of Venus with a powerful new generation of scientific instruments.

23. Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched? [I.A.S. (Pre) 2014]

Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched?

Spacecraft	Purpose
1. Cassini-Huygens	:Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth
2. Messenger	:Mapping and investigating the Mercury
3. Voyager 1 and 2	:Exploring the outer solar system

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

Correct Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Solution:Cassini-Huygens was an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn. So clearly pair 1 is not correctly matched.

Messenger was a NASA’s robotic spacecraft which orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015.

The Voyager program is a continuing American scientific program that employs two space probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 to study the outer Solar System. Clearly, pair 2 and 3 are correctly matched.

24. NASA’s "Cassini" spacecraft is on mission for which planet? [Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2016]

(a) Jupiter
(b) Mars
(c) Saturn
(d) Venus

Correct Answer: (c) Saturn

Solution:The "Cassini" spacecraft was the orbiter component of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. This ambitious international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) was specifically designed to conduct an in-depth study of the ringed planet and its complex system of moons and rings.

25. Which one of the following is a spacecraft? [I.A.S. (Pre) 2008]

(a) Apophis
(b) Cassini
(c) Spitzer
(d) TechSar

Correct Answer: (b) Cassini

Solution:Cassini was a spacecraft developed by NASA to study ringed planet (Saturn) and its domain. TechSar is an Israeli reconnaissance satellite launched by India’s launching vehicle PSLV. Apophis is an asteroid and Spitzer was a space infrared telescope developed by NASA.

26. "The experiment will employ a trio of spacecraft flying in formation in the shape of an equilateral triangle that has sides one million kilometers long, with lasers shining between the craft." The experiment in question refers to: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2020]

(a) Voyager-2
(b) New Horizons
(c) LISA Pathfinder
(d) Evolved LISA

Correct Answer: (d) Evolved LISA

Solution:The experiment in question refers to evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) which is a proposed space probe to detect and accurately measure gravitational waves. It is a space-based gravitational wave observatory building on the success of LISA Pathfinder and LIGO.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is leading this mission with support from NASA and an international consortium of scientists. eLISA is a spectacular plan of setting into space three spacecraft, a mother and two daughter spacecraft, which will fly in a triangular formation, trailing the Earth in its orbit around the sun at a distance of over 50 million km.

Each arm of the imaginary equilateral triangle will measure about a million km. The distance between the spacecrafts is precisely monitored by laser interferometers to detect passing gravitational waves. This mission is slated for 2034.

27. What is the purpose of ‘evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)’ project? [I.A.S. (Pre) 2017]

(a) To detect neutrinos.
(b) To detect gravitational waves.
(c) To detect the effectiveness of missile defence systems.
(d) To study the possibility of inter-planetary travel.

Correct Answer: (b) To detect gravitational waves.

Solution:eLISA, which has now evolved into the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA) with NASA participation, is designed to directly detect and precisely measure gravitational waves from astrophysical sources.

These ripples in spacetime are predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity and are generated by accelerating massive objects like black holes and neutron stars.

28. Scientists of Britain have built ‘Gravity Tractor’. Identify the same from the following. [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2009]

(a) A double storied ‘Jugaad’ type tractor trolley to be used in public transport.
(b) A tractor with a mechanism to sweep public roads and is economical to run.
(c) A bullet train runs on the Principle of Earth’s ‘gravity’ with the help of powerful magnets.
(d) A spacecraft with a mechanism which would check asteroids from hitting the Earth.

Correct Answer: (d) A spacecraft with a mechanism which would check asteroids from hitting the Earth.

Solution:In 2009, British scientists announced that they have designed a special spacecraft that can save the Earth from a catastrophic collision. The 10 ton spacecraft named ‘Gravity Tractor’ would be deployed to intercept an asteroid en route to the Earth and has the ability to fly 160 ft alongside it. The idea of a gravity tractor was put forward in 2005 by Edward T. Lu and Stanley G. Love.

29. Recently, scientists observed the merger of giant 'black holes' billions of light-years away from the Earth. What is the significance of this observation? [L.A.S. (Pre) 2019]

(a) 'Higgs boson particles' were detected.
(b) 'Gravitational waves' were detected.
(c) Possibility of inter-galactic space travel through 'wormhole' was confirmed.
(d) It enabled the scientists to understand 'singularity'.

Correct Answer: (b) 'Gravitational waves' were detected.

Solution:Recently, scientists observed that billions of light years away, two black holes have collided to create a larger one—the biggest black hole merger yet detected. It has a mass more than 80 times that of the sun.

The significance of this observation is that the gravitational waves were detected. The resulting energy injected into the fabric of spacetime was also record breaking, with five sun's worth of mass released in the form of gravitational waves as the two holes spiraled in towards each other.

Such titanic amounts of energy meant that the signal was still detectable by the time it reached gravitational wave detectors on Earth.

30. Gravitational waves were seen for the first time in: [U.P. P.C.S. (Mains) 2017]

(a) September 2014
(b) September 2015
(c) August 2017
(d) October 2017

Correct Answer: (b) September 2015

Solution:The first direct observation of gravitational waves was made on 14 September 2015 and was announced by the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) on 11 February 2016.