Which country's spacecraft made the first ever landing on the far side of the Moon?
- A.United States
- B.Russia
- C.China
- D.India
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, China. The Chinese mission Chang'e 4 landed on the far side of the Moon in January 2019, the first spacecraft ever to do so, and released the rover Yutu-2. A landing there is difficult because the far side never faces the earth, so a separate relay satellite was placed in position to carry signals. China later brought lunar samples back to the earth with Chang'e 5.
Option A, the United States, landed the Apollo crews on the near side. Option B, Russia, as the Soviet Union, made the first soft landing of any kind with Luna 9 in 1966, again on the near side. Option D, India, landed near the south pole with Chandrayaan-3 in 2023, which is a different achievement and the most likely confusion in this question. The far side belongs to China.
Read the full article: Space Agencies and Missions of the World: Exam Notes
Practice Questions
View allWhat is the expansion of NASA?
- A.National Agency of Space Administration
- B.Navigational Aeronautics and Space Administration
- C.National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- D.National Aeronautics and Space Agency
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NASA is the civilian space agency of the United States, established in 1958 after the launch of Sputnik, with its headquarters at Washington DC.
Read the full explanation →The Indian Space Research Organisation was formed in which year?
- A.1962
- B.1969
- C.1972
- D.1975
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ISRO was formed on 15 August 1969, taking over the space work that had been carried on since 1962 by the Indian National Committee for Space Research.
Read the full explanation →Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite of the earth, was launched in 1957 by which country?
- A.United States
- B.Soviet Union
- C.United Kingdom
- D.France
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Sputnik 1 was launched on 4 October 1957 and became the first artificial satellite to circle the earth, sending out a simple radio signal that stations across the world could hear.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first human being to travel into space?
- A.Neil Armstrong
- B.Yuri Gagarin
- C.Alan Shepard
- D.Alexei Leonov
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The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin circled the earth once aboard Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961 and became the first human being in space, a flight that lasted about one hour and forty eight minutes.
Read the full explanation →What was the name of the first Indian satellite, launched in 1975?
- A.Rohini
- B.Bhaskara
- C.Aryabhata
- D.INSAT-1A
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India's first satellite was named after the ancient astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata and was launched on 19 April 1975 from a Soviet site, since India did not yet have a launch vehicle of its own.
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