On which date did India's Mars Orbiter Mission successfully enter the orbit of Mars?
- A.5 November 2013
- B.24 September 2014
- C.22 July 2019
- D.14 November 2008
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, 24 September 2014. After a journey of about ten months the spacecraft fired its engine and was captured by the gravity of Mars on that day. With it India became the first country in the world to reach Mars orbit at its very first attempt, the first Asian country to reach the planet, and the Indian Space Research Organisation the fourth space agency to do so.
Option A, 5 November 2013, is the launch date of the same mission, and confusing launch with arrival is the standard mistake here. Option C, 22 July 2019, is the launch date of Chandrayaan 2. Option D, 14 November 2008, is the day the Moon Impact Probe of Chandrayaan 1 struck the lunar surface. Each of the four dates is real, so the question rewards a candidate who has tied every date to its own event.
Read the full article: Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan: India's Moon and Mars Missions
Practice Questions
View allChandrayaan 1, India's first mission to the Moon, was launched in which year?
- A.2005
- B.2008
- C.2013
- D.2019
Show answer
Chandrayaan 1 was launched on 22 October 2008 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota and reached lunar orbit within a fortnight.
Read the full explanation →Which launch vehicle carried Chandrayaan 1 into orbit?
- A.PSLV C11
- B.GSLV Mark Three
- C.SLV 3
- D.LVM3 M4
Show answer
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in its extended configuration carried Chandrayaan 1 on 22 October 2008. The same family of rockets, in the C25 flight, later carried the Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013, which shows how much the Indian space programme achieved with a medium lift vehicle.
Read the full explanation →The presence of water molecules on the Moon was confirmed using data from which instrument carried by Chandrayaan 1?
- A.Moon Impact Probe
- B.Moon Mineralogy Mapper
- C.Orbiter High Resolution Camera
- D.Lyman Alpha Photometer
Show answer
This imaging spectrometer, supplied by the United States space agency and flown on the Indian orbiter, measured how sunlight reflected from the lunar surface and found the absorption signature of water molecules and hydroxyl, especially towards the poles.
Read the full explanation →Chandrayaan 2 was launched in July 2019 on which rocket?
- A.PSLV C25
- B.GSLV Mark Three
- C.ASLV
- D.PSLV C11
Show answer
Chandrayaan 2 lifted off on 22 July 2019 on the heaviest Indian rocket then flying, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark Three, which has since been renamed LVM3.
Read the full explanation →What are the names of the lander and the rover of the Chandrayaan missions?
- A.Aryabhata and Bhaskara
- B.Vikram and Pragyan
- C.Rohini and Apple
- D.Aditya and Mangal
Show answer
The lander is named Vikram after Vikram Sarabhai, the physicist who founded the Indian space programme and is called its father.
Read the full explanation →