NASA, Space Exploration - GS questions based on daily current affairs

1)   NASA’s ATom mission is for

a. Analyse gas molecules of Mars’s atmosphere
b. Analyze atoms and molecules of elements in meteorites
c. Find amount of pollution in remote corners of Earth
d. None of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Find amount of pollution in remote corners of Earth

Explanation:

  • NASA is launching an airborne mission that will map the contours of the Earth’s atmosphere to discover how much pollution exists in the most remote corners of the planet and assess how the environment has changed as a result.
  • Pollutants emitted to the atmosphere are dispersed over the whole globe, but remote regions are cleaner, by factors of 1,000 or more, than areas near the continents, researchers said.
  • The Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission is the first to survey the atmosphere over the oceans.
  • ATom is particularly interested in methane, ozone and airborne particles called black carbon, which have strong effects on climate and which all have both human and natural origins.


2)   Which of the following are parts of the New Frontiers program of NASA?

1) Juno
2) Cassini–Huygens
3) New Horizons


a. 1, 2
b. 1, 3
c. 2, 3
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1, 3

Explanation:

  • The New Frontiers program is a series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA with the purpose of researching several of the Solar System's planets including Jupiter, Venus, and the dwarf planet Pluto.
  • There are currently two New Frontiers missions in progress, New Horizons, which launched on January 19, 2006, and Juno, which launched on August 5, 2011; a third New Frontiers mission, OSIRIS-REx, has been selected for launch in September 2016.
  • New Horizons is for Pluto and Juno is for Jupiter.


3)   Which of the following countries will be launching an expedition in Ladakh?

1) India
2) US
3) Australia
4) France


a. 1, 2, 4
b. 1, 4
c. 1, 2, 3
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1, 2, 3

Explanation:

  • A team of scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Mars Society Australia and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, will mount an expedition to Ladakh this August to study the similarities of certain parts of the region’s topography and microbial life to Martian surroundings.
  • Ladakh offers a “high UV (ultra-violet) exposed, dry ecosystem with Mars analogue topological features that tell us heaps about the origin and evolution of our planet’s topological features.
  • Before Ladakh, there have been expeditions to the deserts such in Atacama, Chile; Mojave, California; Arkaroola, Australia as well as the Arctic and Antarctica, organised since 2006.
  • For the first time India is part of Spaceward Bound programme, which educates future space explorers and funds expeditions to places with extreme climate conditions.
  • They will be testing a rover that will collect samples and analyze some of the high altitude springs etc.
  • The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany has expertise in studying ancient climate and life.


4)   Which of the following statements are correct about Pluto?

1. Pluto was the first Kuiter belt object to be discovered.
2. Eris, a dwarf planet discovered in 2005 is larger than Pluto in diameter.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
After New Horizons measured Pluto's diameter as 2370 km in July 2015, it was determined that Eris is slightly smaller in diameter than Pluto.


5)   What is the name of Stephen Hawking led search for alien life beyond solar system?

a. Explore
b. Brotherhood
c. Breakthrough Mission
d. Breakthrough Listen
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Breakthrough Listen

Explanation:
Launched at the Royal Society in London, with the Cambridge cosmologist Stephen Hawking, the Breakthrough Listen project will search for alien life yet by listening out for potential radio signals coming from advanced civilizations far beyond the solar system. The project will not broadcast signals into space but listen the radio signals.


6)   Match the following

1. Pluto ------------------------------------ i. Cassini–Huygens
2. Jupiter ---------------------------------- ii. Juno
3. Ceres ----------------------------------- iii. Curiosity
4. Saturn ---------------------------------- iv. New Horizon
5. Mars ------------------------------------- v. Dawn


a. 1-iv, 2-v, 3-iii, 4-ii, 5-i
b. 1-v, 2-iv, 3-ii, 4-iii, 5-i
c. 1-i, 2-v, 3-ii, 4-iii, 5-iv
d. 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-v, 4-i, 5-iii
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-v, 4-i, 5-iii

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


7)   Consider the following statements

1. India is third country to reach Mars.
2. It is the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


8)   Consider the following statements

1. Space probe Rosetta's lander Philae became the first spacecraft to land on a comet
2. The European spacecraft Rosetta performed a fly-by of a massive asteroid Lutetia

Which of the above statements is/are correct?


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


9)   Consider the following statements

1. ASTROSAT is India's first mission for studying distant celestial objects
2. It will be launched by GSLV
3. It is a first multiwavelength astronomy satellite
4. India will join the group of U.S., Europe, Russia and Japan who have similar missions launched previously

Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?


a. 1,2,3
b. 2,3,4
c. 1,3,4
d. All
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All

Explanation:
It is scheduled to launch on board the PSLV in October 2015.


10)   Consider the following statements related to GOCE Satellite

1. GOCE is a satellite launched by NASA
2. It is first Living Planet Program satellites
3. It studies Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation

Which of the above statements is/are correct?


a. 1,2
b. 2,3
c. 1,3
d. All
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 2,3

Explanation:
The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) was the first of European Space Agency's Living Planet Program satellites intended to map in unprecedented detail the Earth's gravity field. GOCE mapped the deep structure of the Earth's mantle and probed hazardous volcanic regions. It brought new insight into ocean behavior.


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