With the success of Chandrayaan 3, India became which country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon?
- A.Second
- B.Third
- C.Fourth
- D.Fifth
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, fourth. The Soviet Union was the first to place a craft gently on the lunar surface, the United States followed, and China became the third. India joined them on 23 August 2023 with the landing of the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan 3. India also became the first country of any to land in the south polar region, which is the separate record often asked in the same paper.
Option A, second, and option B, third, understate the position and belong to the United States and China. Option D, fifth, overstates it. Keep the two claims apart in memory: fourth country to soft land anywhere on the Moon, and first country to land near the lunar south pole. A question may test either, and the wording will tell you which.
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 →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
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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
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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.
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