07

02
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Current Affairs/GK
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SPACE
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 ORBITER, LANDER, ROVER

Orbiters fly around the

planet making

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observations like

02
weather and mapping,
and often acting as
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communications relays
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for experiments on the

surface.
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Rovers planetary
surface exploration

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device designed to
02
move across the
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solid surface on a
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planet or other
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planetary mass
celestial bodies.
Landers any
spacecraft that can

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land safely - are

02
designed to reach
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surface of a planet
and survive long
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enough to telemeter
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data back to Earth.

Some landers are
stationary, other carry
a rover
 WHAT IS AN ORBIT?
An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one. An object in an
orbit is called a satellite. A satellite can be natural, like Earth or the moon. Many planets have moons that
orbit them. A satellite can also be man-made, like the International Space Station.

07
02
What Shape Is an Orbit?
Orbits come in different shapes. All orbits are elliptical, which means they are an ellipse, similar to an
40
oval.
19

An object's momentum and the force of gravity have

to be balanced for an orbit to happen. If the forward
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momentum of one object is too great, it will speed past

and not enter into orbit. If momentum is too small, the
object will be pulled down and crash. When these forces
are balanced, the object is always falling toward the
planet, but because it's moving sideways fast enough,
it never hits the planet.
 TYPES OF ORBITS
GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT (GEO) – Satellites in GEO
circle Earth above the equator from West to East,
travel at the exact same rate as the Earth and

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hence appear to be stationary over a fixed
position. GEO are quite far away from the Earth.

02
Ex: telecommunication satellites.
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LOW EARTH ORBIT (LEO) – relatively closer to

Earth’s surface (160-1000km above Earth). Their
22

plane is a bit tilted. It is a commonly used orbit.

Ex: satellite imaging, international space station
(ISS)

MEDIUM EARTH ORBIT (MEO) – wide range of

orbits anywhere between LEO and GEO
 TYPES OF ORBITS
Polar orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) –
usually travel past Earth from north to south
rather from west to east, passing roughly over

07
the Earth’s poles Sun synchronous orbit (SSO).
Synchronous with the Sun, this satellite will

02
always visit the same spot at the same local
time.
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19

Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or transfer

orbits – special kind of orbit used to get from
one orbit to another. Satellites are not placed
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directly on their final orbit. Used to reach GEO.

Lagrange points (L-points) – Specific points far

out in space where gravitational fields of Earth
and Sun combine in a way that spacecraft that
orbit them remain stable and can thus be
anchored related to Earth.
 FIRST PEOPLE INTO SPACE/MOON
•First Man in Space: Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (Soviet cosmonaut)
1961

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•First woman into Space: Valentina Tereshkova (Soviet cosmonaut)

02
1963
•First Man on Moon: Neil Armstrong (American astronaut) 1969 –
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Apollo 11
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•First Indian in Space: Rakesh Sharma (Indian IAF pilot) 1984 - aboard
Russia's Soyuz T-11
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•First Indian woman into Space: Kalpana Chawla (American

astronaut) 1997 – STS-87 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
•First woman on Moon: none so far
•First Indian on Moon: none so far
•First person on Mars: none so far
 ISRO
HQ – BENGALURU
CHAIRMAN – S. SOMNATH

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ESTABLISHMENT – 15TH AUGUST, 1969

02
FOUNDER – VIKRAM SARABHAI
40
19

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Thiruvananthapuram : Lead centre of

ISRO responsible for design and development of launch vehicle technology.
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Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh –

(the Spaceport of India) - responsible for
providing Launch Base Infrastructure for Indian Space Programme.
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai: Father of the Indian Space Program.
 IMPORTANT LAUNCH VEHICLES OF INDIA
POLAR SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE (PSLV)
• Was developed to launch Low Earth Orbit satellites into Polar and Sun Synchronous

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Orbits.
• PSLV is the third generation launch vehicle of India (after SLV and ASLV)

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• Used in:
1.Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 (PSLV C-11)
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2.Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 (PSLV C-25)
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GEOSYNCHRONOUS SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE (GSLV)

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Was developed to launch the heavier INSAT class of Geosynchronous satellites into orbit.
• This is a fourth generation launch vehicle.
• GSLV Mk II is the largest launch vehicle developed
by India, which is currently in operation.
• GSLV MkIII-M1 successfully injected Chandrayaan- 2, India’s second Lunar Mission,
in to the planned Orbit on July 22, 2019
Right now, ISRO is working on Small Satellite Launch Vehicle.
Design made in 2018

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Less cost and less people needed to set it up

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Mission control center won't be required to launch it
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19
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 IMPORTANT MISSIONS
1.RISAT-2BRI

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•Launch Date :- December 11, 2019

02
•Launch Vehicle :- PSLV-C48 (50th launch of PSLV)
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•Launched from :- Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota
•Orbit Type : Low Earth Orbit
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•Mission Life :- 5 years

•RISAT is a radar imaging earth observatory satellite.
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•Purpose :- It is an earth observatory satellite (EOS), to help India watch its

border closely. Also, it will provide services in the fields of agriculture,
forestry and disaster management.
2. GSAT-30
•Launch Date :- January 17, 2020
•Launch Vehicle – Ariane-5 VA-251
•Launched from – Kourou launch base, in French Guiana (Europe's Spaceport)

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•Orbit Type :- GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit)
•The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series. GSAT- 30 is to

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serve as replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage.
•Mission Life – More than 15 years
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Purpose – Telecommunication Satellite - It is a communication satellite providing DTH television
service, Stock Exchange, Connectivity to VSATs (very small aperture terminal) for ATMs,
Television and Teleport Services etc.
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22

3. EOS-01
•Launch Date :- November 07, 2020
•Launch Vehicle :- PSLV-C49 (51st launch of PSLV)
•Launched from :- Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota
•Purpose :- EOS-01 is an earth observation satellite, intended for applications in agriculture,
forestry and disaster management support.
•EOS-01 is another Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) that will work together with RISAT-2B and
RISAT-2BR1 launched in 2019.
4. CMS-01

Launch Date :- December 17, 2020

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• Launch Vehicle :- PSLV-C50 (52nd launch of PSLV)
• Launched from :- Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota

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• Mission Life :- 7 years
• Purpose :- communication satellite - To provide telecom services.
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5. AMAZONIA-1 (BRAZIL)
Launch Date :- February 28, 2021
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Launch Vehicle :- PSLV-C51

Launched from :- Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
Amazonia – 1 is an Optical earth observation satellite of National Institute for Space Research
(INPE) - research unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations
• Purpose :- - Amazonia-1 will send remote-sensing data for observation and monitoring of
deforestation in the Amazon rainforests and the state of agriculture in Brazil.
• PSLV-C51 / Amazonia – 1 is the first dedicated commercial mission of New Space India Limited
(NSIL), a Government of India company under Department of Space.
6. ADITYA – L1
•First dedicated Indian mission to study the Sun.
•The Satellite will be placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) (which is 1.5 million
km from the Earth) of the Sun-Earth system.

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•Aditya-L1 Support Cell has been set up at Uttarakhand to bring all data on board India’s first dedicated solar
space mission to a single web-based interface.
•Launch date: January 2023

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•Launch Vehicle: PSLV-XL
•Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre
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7. GAGANYAAN
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India's first manned space mission to send 3 people for 7 days

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• It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days. Gaganyaan
orbital spacecraft project was kicked off in August 2018.
• Was expected to be launched in 2022, year of 75th anniversary of India’s Independence
• Mission delayed due to in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
Total 3 flights will be sent into orbit: (2 unmanned flights and one human spaceflight) •First unmanned
mission is planned in December 2021 (Heavy lift launcher, GSLV MkIII rocket with a modified top portion
will be used). Russia and France is helping us with training and equipment.
•Second unmanned flight is planned in 2022-23 (Female robot – Vyommitra will be sent)
•Union minister of state for space Jitendra Singh
8. NISAR Satellite

•NISAR :- NASA-ISRO SAR - NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar

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•Launch Date :- 2024
•Baseline Mission Duration: 3 years

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•Purpose :- NISAR will observe Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces globally ; will
measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces, and ice masses providing
40
information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater, and will support
a host of other applications
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•The partnership agreement was signed between NASA and ISRO in September, 2014.
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9. CHANDRAYAAN – 1
India's first mission to Moon
• Launch Date : October 22, 2008
• Launched from : Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota • Launch Vehicle : PSLV - C11
• Mission life : 2 years
10. CHANDRAYAAN – 2

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•Launch Vehicle : GSLV-Mk III - M1
•It comprised of an Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover
•(Pragyan) to explore the unexplored South Pole of the Moon

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•Launch Date : July 22, 2019
•Launched from : Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota
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•ISRO had planned the landing on the South Pole of the lunar surface. However, the lander Vikram hard-
landed in September last year.
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•Its orbiter, which is still in the lunar orbit, has a mission life of seven years.
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11. CHANDRAYAAN – 3
• India's third mission to Moon
• It is likely to be launched in 2023.
• Unlike its predecessor, Chandrayaan-3 will not have an orbiter.
12. MARS ORBITER MISSION

•India's first mission to the Red Planet.

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•Commonly referred to as Mangalyaan-1
•Launch Vehicle : PSLV C-25

02
•Launch Date : November 5, 2013
•Launch Site : Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
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•Mars Orbit Insertion Date : Sept 24, 2014
•Mars Orbiter has lost communication with the ground stations bring its life to an end in October, 2022.
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13. SPANDEX (Space Docking experiment)

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15-20 days astronauts will stay

Extension of gaganyaan mission
Docking – this is necessary to transfer humans from one spacecraft to another. It also joins two structures
and converts them into a single large unit.
Two experimental modules will be sent to the space by 2023.
If successful, then after US, Russia and China, India will be the 4th to own its own space station
14. XPoSAT – X-ray Polarimeter Satellite
To study cosmic X-rays.

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It will be India’s second astronomical observatory after AstroSat (designed to observe high
energy cosmic objects with multiple wavelength)

02
XPoSAT is smaller and more specialized version of AstroSat
Crab Nebula has been the only X-ray source so far for the scientists to measure polarization
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Started in 2017
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To be launched in 2023
Planned duration – 5 years
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Polarisation is an important property of emitting radiation from astrophysical sources. These

measurements of X-ray provide an opportunity to study the behavior of matter and radiation
under extreme magnetic fields and extreme gravitational fields.
15. SAMUDRAYAAN MISSION
Working on deep ocean mission

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Name of the vehicle – Matsya
Manned mission to go until 6000 m for deep sea exploration of polymetallic nodules for up to

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72 hours under sea
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It is a part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ pilot project for deep ocean mining for rare
minerals.
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Project has been undertaken by the National Institute of Ocean Technology

Launch of Indian Space Association
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 AMERICAN SPACE MISSIONS
NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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• Headquarters :- Washington, D.C., United States
•
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CEO :- Bill Nelson
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• Establishment :- 1958
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• Founder :- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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 WHICH COUNTRY LAUNCHED A SOLID-FUELED ROCKET NAMED ZULJANAH
INTO SPACE IN JUNE 2022?
IRAN

07
Zuljanah is named after the horse of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prohpet Muhammad

02
Low Earth ORBIT
It is the first indigenously designed and indigenously manufactured hybrid fuel satellite launch
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vehicle.
It is the third civilian Satellite Launch Vehicle, developed in Iran, after Safir and Simorgh.
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The launch vehicle was made by Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran).
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Capital – Tehran
President – Ebrahim Raisi
Currency – Iranian Rial
Which space agency has launched ”Endurance mission” in May, 2022 to find
out why planet Earth supports life, whereas other planets like Mars and
Venus do not?

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NASA

02
Rocket – Oriole III-A sounding rocket
Launched from – Ny-Alesund in Svalbard, Norway
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19
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 Which space agency has launched “CAPSTONE CubeSat” mission to the
moon from New Zealand in June 2022?

07
NASA
Name of the Rocket – Electron Rocket

02
Purpose – it will study a specific orbit where NASA plans to build a small space station for
astronauts to stop at before and after going to the moon’s surface.
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CAPSTON – Cislunar autonomous positioning system technology operations and navigation
experiment
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 NASA has successfully launched a rocket from ……….’s Northern Territory,
making history as the agency’s first commercial spaceport launched outside
US

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Australia

02
40
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22
 A satellite named Zhongxing-6D was launched by which country in April,
2022?

07
CHINA
China National Space Administration

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Lunched from – Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan Province
Name of the rocket – Long March 3B rocket
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22
 In which state, India’s first mirror telescope has been commissioned in June
2022?

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UTTRAKHAND

02
Has been commissioned atop Devasthal, Uttrakhand
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This telescope which is the largest in Asia will help survey the sky and make it possible to
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observe several galaxies and other astronaomical objects.

22

Built by astronomers from Inida, Belgium and Canada

Liquid mirror telescopes are those which have mirrors which reflective liquid
 Which country has conducted its first successful satellite launch using a
domestically developed rocket ‘Nuri’ on 21st June, 2022?

07
SOUTH KOREA

02
Launched from. - Naro Space Centre, in Goheung
Lunched by which rocket – Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II or Nuri
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The launch made South Korea the world’s 10th nation to place a satellite into space with its own
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technology.
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Capital – Seoul
President. - Yoon Suk Yeol
Currency – South Korean won
PM – Han Duck soo
NASA is set to launch a mission called ‘DAVINCI Mission’ to investigate Venus
atmosphere climate system in

07
2029

02
Launch by which rocket – Atlas V
It will measure different aspects of atmosphere and climate of Venus
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It will be the first mission to study Venus by means of both flybys and descent
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DAVINCI – Deep atmosphere venus investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry and Imaging
Mission
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 Which country successfully launched a new satellite Gaofen-3 03 for Earth
observation in April 2022?

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China
Launch from – Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre

02
Launch by which rocket – Long March-4C rocket
40
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22
Which country proposed world’s first habitable planet search mission called
Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) in May 2022?

07
CHINA

02
40
19
22
 Which country has decided to quit the International Space Station after
2024?

07
Russia

02
ISS is a multinational collaborative project involving 5 participating space agencies
40
It has been in earth’s orbit since 1998, has been jointly developed by Russia and the United
19

States.
22
 Which country has launched a first of its kind named DART to change the
path of an asteroid by intentionally crashing a spacecraft into it?

07
USA
NASA

02
Launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Launched by – SPACE X’s Falcon 9 Rocket
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Under this mission, NASA will build advanced technologies which would protect the Earth from
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Hazardous asteroid collision

22

DART – Double Asteroid Redirection Test

 Which country launched three new remote Sensing Satellites as a part of
Yagon-35 in June 2022?

07
China

02
Launched from. - Xichang Satellite Launch Centre
Launched by Long March-2D carrier rocket
40
19
22
 Which country successfully test fired the most powerful Hwasong-12
ballistic missile in January, 2022?

07
North Korea

02
40
19
22
 Which country has launched Inmarsat-6 F1 a communication satellite into
geostationary orbit?

07
JAPAN
Launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre

02
Launched by: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H- IIA204 rocket
40
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
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1ST OCTOBER 2003

HQ – Chofu, Tokyo, Japan
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 Which country has recently launched the group of satellites named as
Shijian-6 05?

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China

02
Launched from – Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China
Launched by – Long March-4B rocket
40
19
22
 Agnikul Cosmos opened India’s first rocket engine factory in which city in
July, 2022?

07
Chennai
Space tech start up, Agnikul Cosmos has inaugurated india’s first ever factory to manufacture 3-

02
D printed rocket engines in Chennai
40
Agnikul Cosmos has developed a single piece, fully 3D printed rocket engine called Agnilet
which can be directly used in a rocket.
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22

Agnikul was founded in 2017.

ISRO successfully launched communication satellite GSAT-24 from Kourou in
______ in June 2022?

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French Guiana

02
Launched from – Kourou in French Guiana (South America)
Launched by which rocket – Ariane 5 rocket
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Developed by ISRO for NSIL (NewSpace India Limited)
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22
Which space agency successfully launched earth observation satellite EOS-04
and two small satellites in February, 2022?

07
ISRO

02
LAUNCHED FROM – Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh
40
Launched by which rocket – PSLV-C52 rocket
19
22
 What is the name of the probe launched by NASA has successfully entered
the Sun’s upper atmosphere in December, 2021 for the first time in history?

07
Parker Solar Probe

02
This is the name of the probe to be launched by NASA in 2018 to explore the Sun’s outer
atmosphere.
40
19

It has been designed and built by John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and
named after a Physicist Eugene Parker.
22

After three years of launching, Parker has finally arrived in the solar atmosphere. Parker Solar
Probe has flown through the Sun’s upper atmosphere for the first time in history – the corona.
 Which country has developed a Relativistic Klystron Amplifier which can
destroy satellites in space?

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China

02
40
19
22
 ARTEMIS MISSION

•By NASA
•Artemis– Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and

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•Electrodynamics of Moon’s Interaction with the Sun.
•It plans to send the next man and first woman to the lunar surface by the year 2024.

02
•The program is divided into three parts :-
• Artemis-I is most likely to be launched 2022 (uncrewed flight)
40
• Artemis-II by 2023 (the first crewed flight test)
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• Artemis-III will land astronauts on the Moon in 2024.

•• Rocket :- The Space Launch System (SLS – the most powerful rocket in the world
22

which can travel 2.80,000 miles from the Earth for over 4-6 weeks) and Orion Spacecraft.

•ARTEMIS - Twin sister of Apollo from Greek mythology. Goddess of the moon.
 IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND

07
Which country has released world’s most detailed map of Moon in May 2022? – China

02
Which country launched the Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite GOES-T satellite
to study Earth’s weather and climate? – USA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
40
19

Which space agency launched world’s largest telescope named James Webb Space Telescope?
NASA
22

NROL-87 (National Reconnaissance Office Satellite) a spy satellite was launched by – SpaceX
(the satellite was carried by Falcon Rocket F9)