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
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Moon Mineralogy Mapper. 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. The finding was announced in 2009 and remains the best known scientific result of the Indian space programme.
Option A, the Moon Impact Probe, was also carried by Chandrayaan 1 and struck the surface on 14 November 2008, but its role was to test descent technology and plant the flag, and its own instruments gave only supporting evidence. Option C, the Orbiter High Resolution Camera, belongs to Chandrayaan 2 and came eleven years later. Option D, the Lyman Alpha Photometer, was a payload of the Mars Orbiter Mission, not of a lunar mission.
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
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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
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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 →Chandrayaan 2 was launched in July 2019 on which rocket?
- A.PSLV C25
- B.GSLV Mark Three
- C.ASLV
- D.PSLV C11
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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
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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 →On which date did the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan 3 make its soft landing on the Moon?
- A.14 July 2023
- B.23 August 2023
- C.2 September 2023
- D.7 September 2019
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The Vikram lander of Chandrayaan 3 touched down safely in the high latitude region near the lunar south pole on that evening, and the rover Pragyan rolled out soon afterwards.
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