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The first successful soft landing on Venus was achieved by which Venera mission?
- Venera 4
- Venera 7
- Venera 9
- Venera 13
Answer: Venera 7
Venera 7 landed Dec 15, 1970, transmitting 23 minutes of surface data including temperature (475°C); Venera 4 was atmospheric probe only.
Which space agency developed the Angara family of modular launch vehicles?
- NASA
- ESA
- Roscosmos
- CNSA
Answer: Roscosmos
Angara replaces Proton/Zenit with environmentally friendly RP-1/LOX propulsion; modular design covers light-to-heavy lift classes from Plesetsk/Vostochny.
The Hera mission will study the aftermath of DART's impact on Dimorphos to measure _______.
- Composition change
- Momentum transfer efficiency
- Orbital period shift
- Surface albedo
Answer: Momentum transfer efficiency
Hera (ESA, launch 2024) will characterize crater morphology and momentum enhancement factor β, calibrating kinetic impact models for planetary defense.
Comet tails always point away from the Sun due to _______.
- Orbital motion
- Solar wind and radiation pressure
- Gravitational attraction
- Magnetic fields
Answer: Solar wind and radiation pressure
Ion tail aligns with solar wind magnetic field; dust tail curves due to radiation pressure; both extend anti-sunward regardless of comet's direction of travel.
Hayabusa2's MINERVA-II rovers were the first to successfully hop on an asteroid surface.
- True - on Ryugu in 2018
- False - failed deployment
- True - on Itokawa in 2005
- False - wheeled not hopping
Answer: True - on Ryugu in 2018
MINERVA-II1A/B deployed Sep 2018 hopped across Ryugu's low-gravity surface using internal rotors, returning images and temperature data.
Galaxy rotation curves remain flat at large radii instead of declining Keplerian, providing evidence for _______.
- Modified gravity
- Dark matter halos
- Stellar population gradients
- Gas pressure support
Answer: Dark matter halos
Flat rotation curves imply enclosed mass increases linearly with radius beyond visible disk, requiring extended dark matter halo dominating gravitational potential.
The first modular space station module launched by China was Tiangong-1 in which year?
- 2008
- 2011
- 2016
- 2021
Answer: 2011
Tiangong-1 launched Sep 29, 2011, serving as target for Shenzhou docking tests; deorbited uncontrollably in 2018 after extended mission.
Which space agency operates the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean altimetry satellite?
- NASA/ESA/EUMETSAT/CNES joint
- NOAA only
- JAXA only
- Roscosmos only
Answer: NASA/ESA/EUMETSAT/CNES joint
Sentinel-6 continues TOPEX/Poseidon/Jason sea-level record since 1992, measuring ocean topography with cm precision for climate monitoring.
Aerocapture uses atmospheric drag to insert spacecraft into orbit around a planet in a single pass, unlike aerobraking which requires multiple passes.
- True - saves significant propellant
- False - synonymous terms
- True - but only for Earth
- False - never successfully demonstrated
Answer: True - saves significant propellant
Aerocapture achieves orbit insertion in one atmospheric pass requiring precise guidance; aerobraking gradually lowers apoapsis over weeks/months. Aerocapture remains unflown but studied for Mars/Venus/Titan.
Tharsis Montes on Mars consists of three large shield volcanoes aligned NE-SW; which is NOT part of this group?
- Ascraeus Mons
- Pavonis Mons
- Arsia Mons
- Olympus Mons
Answer: Olympus Mons
Tharsis Montes includes Ascraeus, Pavonis, and Arsia; Olympus Mons lies northwest of Tharsis bulge as separate volcanic province.
Who was the first Asian woman to travel to space?
- Kalpana Chawla
- Chiaki Mukai
- Yi So-yeon
- Liu Yang
Answer: Chiaki Mukai
Japanese astronaut Chiaki Mukai flew aboard STS-65 in July 1994; Kalpana Chawla (Indian-origin US citizen) flew later in 1997.
Cross-link inter-satellite links in navigation constellations enable autonomous orbit determination without ground stations.
- True - used in GPS III/BeiDou
- False - requires constant ground contact
- True - only for LEO satellites
- False - technologically unfeasible
Answer: True - used in GPS III/BeiDou
Ka-band cross-links allow satellites to range each other, improving ephemeris accuracy and reducing ground segment dependency; implemented in modern GNSS.
Which mission discovered water ice in permanently shadowed craters at lunar south pole using neutron spectroscopy?
- Chandrayaan-1 MIP
- Lunar Prospector
- LCROSS
- All of the above
Answer: All of the above
Lunar Prospector (1998) detected H signature; Chandrayaan-1 MIP/M3 confirmed OH/H₂O; LCROSS impact (2009) directly sampled ice-rich ejecta.
Hot Jupiters are gas giants orbiting very close to host stars; they likely formed beyond snow line and migrated inward via _______.
- Disk migration or tidal interactions
- Core accretion in situ
- Gravitational instability
- Stellar capture
Answer: Disk migration or tidal interactions
Type I/II disk migration or high-eccentricity tidal circularization explains hot Jupiter presence interior to snow line where gas giant formation is unlikely.
Saturn's Cassini Division is a gap maintained by orbital resonance with which moon?
- Mimas
- Enceladus
- Tethys
- Dione
Answer: Mimas
2:1 mean-motion resonance with Mimas clears particles from Cassini Division; gravitational perturbations prevent stable orbits in this region.
Which Apollo mission suffered an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon?
- Apollo 8
- Apollo 11
- Apollo 13
- Apollo 17
Answer: Apollo 13
Apollo 13's Service Module O₂ tank exploded Apr 13, 1970; crew aborted landing, used LM as lifeboat, and returned safely via free-return trajectory.
New Horizons' flyby of Arrokoth revealed it to be a contact binary formed by _______.
- Collisional fragmentation
- Gentle accretion in primordial disk
- Tidal disruption
- Volcanic resurfacing
Answer: Gentle accretion in primordial disk
Arrokoth's bilobate shape with aligned lobes indicates low-speed merger of two planetesimals in cold classical Kuiper Belt, preserving early solar system conditions.
Which moon has a substantial nitrogen-methane atmosphere thicker than Mars?
- Europa
- Ganymede
- Titan
- Triton
Answer: Titan
Titan's surface pressure is 1.5 bar (vs Mars' 0.006 bar), composed of N₂/CH₄ with organic haze layers; only moon with dense atmosphere and active hydrological cycle.
ISRO's Resourcesat-2A satellite carries LISS-IV sensor with spatial resolution of _______.
- 5.8 m
- 10 m
- 23.5 m
- 56 m
Answer: 5.8 m
LISS-IV provides 5.8 m multispectral imagery over 23 km swath or 56 m over 700 km swath, supporting agriculture, forestry, and urban planning.
The reionization epoch occurred approximately between which redshift ranges?
- z=100-50
- z=20-6
- z=3-1
- z=0.5-0
Answer: z=20-6
First stars/galaxies ionized neutral hydrogen between z~20-6 (~180 Myr-1 Gyr post-Big Bang), ending cosmic dark ages; confirmed by CMB polarization and quasar spectra.