Aditya-L1 has been placed in a halo orbit around which point, and at what approximate distance from the Earth?
- A.L2, about 15 lakh kilometres
- B.L1, about 15 lakh kilometres
- C.L1, about 3.8 lakh kilometres
- D.L5, about 15 crore kilometres
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, L1, about 15 lakh kilometres. The Lagrange point L1 of the Sun and the Earth lies between the two bodies, roughly 1.5 million or fifteen lakh kilometres from the Earth. At that point the gravitational pulls of the Sun and the Earth combine with the motion of the spacecraft so that it keeps station with the Earth. A spacecraft there can watch the Sun without any interruption from an eclipse or from the night side of the Earth, which is why Aditya-L1 was sent there.
Option A names L2, which lies on the far side of the Earth from the Sun at a similar distance and holds the James Webb Space Telescope. Option C gives the distance of the Moon from the Earth, about 3.84 lakh kilometres, which is far too close. Option D gives roughly the distance of the Earth from the Sun and a different Lagrange point altogether. Remember that L1 is about one hundredth of the way to the Sun.
Read the full article: Aditya-L1 and Space Science Missions: Notes and MCQs
Practice Questions
View allIn which year did Captain Rakesh Sharma travel to space in a Soviet space programme?
- A.1981
- B.1982
- C.1983
- D.1984
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Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma flew in April 1984 aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11 as part of a joint programme between the Soviet Union and India, and spent about eight days aboard the Salyut 7 space station.
Read the full explanation →Which of the followings has been dubbed as India maiden human spaceflight programme?
- A.Mangalyaan II
- B.Gaganyaan
- C.Chandrayaan II
- D.Aditya L-1
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Gaganyaan is the programme under which the Indian Space Research Organisation is preparing to send Indian astronauts into a low orbit around the Earth in a crew module of its own and bring them back safely.
Read the full explanation →The first pico satellite of India is:
- A.INSAT
- B.STUDSAT
- C.GSAT-4
- D.ANUSAT
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STUDSAT, short for Student Satellite, was the first pico satellite built in India. A pico satellite is one that weighs under about one kilogram, and STUDSAT weighed less than that.
Read the full explanation →What is the primary objective of the Chandra Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) payload?
- A.To assess the Moon geological composition
- B.To measure the vertical temperature profile of the lunar regolith
- C.To measure the Moon atmospheric pressure
- D.To study the Moon magnetic field
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ChaSTE was carried on the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3. It has a probe fitted with a set of temperature sensors, which was pushed into the lunar soil to a depth of about ten centimetres near the south polar region.
Read the full explanation →In the year 2021, DRDO launched which satellite by PSLV-C51 to enhance India surveillance capability in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)?
- A.Satish Dhawan Satellite
- B.Sindhu Netra Satellite
- C.Sindhu Durga Satellite
- D.Sri Shakti Satellite
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Sindhu Netra was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and was placed in orbit in February 2021 by the PSLV-C51 flight, the same flight whose main payload was the Amazonia-1 satellite of Brazil.
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