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
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Vikram and Pragyan. The lander is named Vikram after Vikram Sarabhai, the physicist who founded the Indian space programme and is called its father. The six wheeled rover is named Pragyan, a Sanskrit word meaning wisdom. Both names were used for Chandrayaan 2 in 2019 and again for Chandrayaan 3 in 2023.
Option A names Aryabhata, India's first satellite of 1975, and Bhaskara, an early Earth observation satellite. Option C names Rohini, the satellite put in orbit by the SLV 3 in 1980, and Apple, an experimental communication satellite of 1981. Option D mixes Aditya, the solar observatory launched in 2023, with a word for Mars. All are real Indian space names, which is exactly why they are placed here.
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 →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
Show answer
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.
Read the full explanation →