Medium Level – GK Questions

Sun-synchronous orbits maintain constant illumination angles, ideal for consistent imaging conditions required by remote sensing and earth observation satellites.

The Local Group contains three large spiral galaxies: Milky Way, Andromeda (M31), and Triangulum (M33), plus dozens of dwarf galaxies.

Vikram landed at approximately 69°S latitude near the lunar south pole, a region of significant scientific interest due to permanently shadowed craters potentially containing water ice.

SSLV is designed for small satellites (up to 500 kg to LEO), whereas PSLV can carry up to ~1,750 kg to Sun-Synchronous Orbit or ~1,400 kg to LEO. SSLV complements PSLV for smaller payloads.

Valles Marineris stretches over 4,000 km across Mars' equator, making it the largest canyon system in the solar system, dwarfing Earth's Grand Canyon.

BeiDou is China's global satellite navigation system, operational since 2020, providing positioning, navigation, and timing services worldwide.

GSAT-24 was built by ISRO and transferred to NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), which leased full capacity to Tata Play for direct-to-home broadcasting.

The Orion Nebula (M42) is a diffuse emission nebula and active star-forming region. Planetary nebulae are shells of gas ejected by dying low-mass stars.

The first crewed Gaganyaan mission plans to carry three Indian astronauts to a 400 km orbit for up to three days.

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) became visible to the naked eye in July 2020, one of the brightest comets in decades, discovered by NASA's NEOWISE mission.

STS-31 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery deployed Hubble on April 24, 1990. Subsequent servicing missions corrected its optics and upgraded instruments.

Electric propulsion (ion thrusters) achieves much higher fuel efficiency (specific impulse) than chemical rockets, enabling longer missions with less propellant, though acceleration is very gradual.

Stars with initial masses above ~20-25 solar masses typically end their lives as core-collapse supernovae, leaving behind black holes. Lower-mass stars become neutron stars or white dwarfs.

PRL was established in 1947 in Ahmedabad and serves as a premier research institute for space sciences, supported by ISRO and DST.

GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) enhances GPS accuracy for aviation and other applications over India using geostationary satellites.

Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star located about 4.24 light-years from the Sun, making it the nearest known star to our solar system.

L1 is a gravitational equilibrium point between the Sun and Earth, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth toward the Sun, allowing continuous solar observation.

SpaceX is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk. NASA is the U.S. government agency.

INSAT-3DR and INSAT-3DS are dedicated meteorological satellites with enhanced capabilities for disaster monitoring, cyclone tracking, and search-and-rescue support.

Enceladus ejects water vapor and ice particles from fractures near its south pole, indicating a subsurface ocean. It is a key target for astrobiology.