Space – Medium Level – GK Questions

Triton has a retrograde orbit (opposite to Neptune's rotation), suggesting it was captured from the Kuiper Belt rather than forming in situ.

NavIC operates with a network of 21 ranging and integrity monitoring stations across India for precise orbit determination and signal correction.

Main sequence stars fuse hydrogen into helium in their cores via the proton-proton chain or CNO cycle, releasing energy that counteracts gravitational collapse.

SHAPE (Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth) actually studied Earthshine to validate techniques for detecting habitable exoplanets, not lunar properties directly. Correction: SHAPE observed Earth from lunar orbit. Revised answer reflects actual function.

The Vikas engine, derived from France's Viking engine, uses hypergolic propellants: Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) as fuel and Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4) as oxidizer.

VELC (Visible Emission Line Coronagraph) images and spectroscopically analyzes the solar corona to study coronal heating and dynamics.

Unlike Jupiter and Saturn (gas giants dominated by hydrogen/helium), Uranus and Neptune contain higher proportions of 'ices' (water, ammonia, methane), hence termed ice giants.

Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the lunar surface approximately 19 minutes after Armstrong during Apollo 11's EVA on July 20, 1969.

Oceansat satellites carry ocean color monitors and scatterometers for studying sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, wind vectors, and marine resources.

MCF has facilities in Hassan (Karnataka) and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) for monitoring and controlling geostationary satellites throughout their operational life.

The CMB is remarkably isotropic (uniform) at 2.725 K, with minute anisotropies (~1 part in 100,000) that seeded the formation of cosmic structures.

ISRO used a ballistic capture trajectory, arriving at Mars with minimal relative velocity, reducing fuel needed for orbit insertion compared to traditional methods.

Vega is a small-lift launch vehicle developed by ESA (primarily Italy and France) for launching small scientific and Earth observation satellites.

Note: AstroSat is already operational (launched 2015). If referring to future missions, XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) was launched in Jan 2024. For optical specifically, no new dedicated optical space telescope is currently named beyond AstroSat's UV/optical instruments. Clarification: AstroSat remains India's multi-wavelength space observatory.

Eris, discovered in 2005, is slightly more massive than Pluto, prompting the IAU to redefine 'planet' and create the 'dwarf planet' category.

Neutron stars have densities of ~10^17 kg/m³. A cubic centimeter (teaspoon-sized) would weigh roughly a billion metric tons due to degenerate neutron matter.

NSIL, incorporated in 2019 under the Department of Space, handles commercialization of ISRO technologies and launch services, based in Bengaluru.

After 15 years in orbit, Mir was deliberately deorbited in March 2001, with debris falling into the South Pacific Ocean.

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.