Mars, ISS - GS questions based on daily current affairs

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Since the 1970s, scientists have identified valleys and channels on Mars which they think were carved out and eroded by rain and surface runoff, just like on Earth.
• Similar structures had not been seen on Arabia Terra until the team analysed high resolution imagery from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft.
• While a few valleys were identified, the team found the existence of many systems of fossilised riverbeds which are visible as inverted channels spread across the Arabia Terra plain.
• The inverted channels are similar to those found elsewhere on Mars and Earth. They are made of sand and gravel deposited by a river and when the river becomes dry, the channels are left upstanding as the surrounding material erodes.
• On Earth, inverted channels often occur in dry, desert environments like Oman, Egypt, or Utah, where erosion rates are low - in most other environments, the channels are worn away before they can become inverted.

ANSWER: Mars

Explanation:

• Mars had a warm and wet climate about four billion years ago and provided a more favourable environment for life, say scientists who have discovered fossilised riverbeds on an ancient region of the red planet.
• The study identified over 17,000 km of former river channels on a northern plain called Arabia Terra, providing further evidence of water once flowing on Mars.
• While a few valleys were identified, the team found the existence of many systems of fossilised riverbeds which are visible as inverted channels spread across the Arabia Terra plain.

ANSWER: Sol

Explanation:

• The term sol is used by planetary astronomers to refer to the duration of a solar day on Mars. A mean Martian solar day, or "sol", is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds.
• Mars has an axial tilt and a rotation period similar to those of Earth. Thus it experiences seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter much like Earth, and its day is about the same length. Its year is almost twice as long as Earth's.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- The ISS program is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA(USA), Roscosmos(Russia), JAXA(Japan), ESA(Europe), and CSA(Canada).
- The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations.
- NASA is planning to move out of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2024.

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- ISS is now the largest artificial body in orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth
- ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuzrockets as well as American Space Shuttles.
- ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz, and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US.

ANSWER: None

Explanation:
- The International Space Station orbits within the middle of the thermosphere
- The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia),JAXA (Japan) , ESA(Eurpe), and CSA (Canada).