General Awareness ยท Physics

Space Exploration and Astronomy

3,952 Questions

Review significant milestones in space exploration, including artificial satellites, reusable space shuttles, and historic lunar landings. This topic also covers astronomical phenomena and telescopic observations. Such scientific general knowledge is commonly tested in SSC, railways, and banking examinations.

Space shuttle missionsArtificial satellitesLunar and planetary landingsSpace telescopes and observatories

Space Exploration and Astronomy Questions

Multiple choice

Which asteroid has a surface covered in craters, indicating a history of impacts?

  1. Vesta

  2. Gaspra

  3. Ida

  4. Eros
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Vesta has a surface covered in craters, indicating a history of impacts.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the largest asteroid that has been visited by a spacecraft?

  1. Ceres

  2. Vesta

  3. Pallas

  4. Hygiea
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Vesta is the largest asteroid that has been visited by a spacecraft, the Dawn mission.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the asteroid that is thought to be the parent body of the HED meteorites?

  1. Vesta

  2. Ceres

  3. Pallas

  4. Hygiea
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Vesta is thought to be the parent body of the HED meteorites.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the Indian telescope that is being built to study dark energy?

  1. The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

  2. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array

  3. The Thirty Meter Telescope

  4. The Extremely Large Telescope
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope is a telescope that is being built in India to study dark energy. It will be the world's largest radio telescope and will be used to observe the universe at low frequencies.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the Indian telescope that is being built to study the cosmic microwave background radiation?

  1. The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

  2. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array

  3. The Thirty Meter Telescope

  4. The Extremely Large Telescope
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array is a telescope that is being built in Chile to study the cosmic microwave background radiation. It will be the largest millimeter-wave telescope in the world and will be used to study the universe's earliest moments.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the experiment that is searching for axions?

  1. CAST

  2. IAXO

  3. ADMX

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The CAST, IAXO, and ADMX experiments are all searching for axions.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the experiment that is searching for sterile neutrinos?

  1. LSND

  2. MiniBooNE

  3. ICARUS

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The LSND, MiniBooNE, and ICARUS experiments are all searching for sterile neutrinos.

Multiple choice

Which space agency was responsible for the first successful human spaceflight?

  1. NASA

  2. ESA

  3. JAXA

  4. Roscosmos
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was responsible for the first successful human spaceflight, which was carried out by Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961.

Multiple choice

What was the name of the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth?

  1. Sputnik 1

  2. Explorer 1

  3. Vanguard 1

  4. Luna 1
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957.

Multiple choice

Which space mission was the first to land humans on the Moon?

  1. Apollo 11

  2. Apollo 12

  3. Apollo 13

  4. Apollo 14
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Apollo 11 was the first space mission to land humans on the Moon, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first humans to walk on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969.

Multiple choice

What was the name of the first space telescope launched into orbit?

  1. Hubble Space Telescope

  2. James Webb Space Telescope

  3. Spitzer Space Telescope

  4. Chandra X-ray Observatory
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Hubble Space Telescope was the first space telescope launched into orbit, on April 24, 1990.

Multiple choice

Which space probe was the first to successfully land on Mars?

  1. Viking 1

  2. Mariner 4

  3. Curiosity

  4. Opportunity
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Viking 1 was the first space probe to successfully land on Mars, on July 20, 1976.

Multiple choice

What was the name of the first space shuttle to be launched?

  1. Columbia

  2. Challenger

  3. Discovery

  4. Atlantis
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Columbia was the first space shuttle to be launched, on April 12, 1981.

Multiple choice

Which space mission was the first to successfully send a spacecraft to Pluto?

  1. New Horizons

  2. Voyager 1

  3. Voyager 2

  4. Cassini-Huygens
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

New Horizons was the first space mission to successfully send a spacecraft to Pluto, which it reached on July 14, 2015.

Multiple choice

What was the name of the first space telescope to be launched into orbit by the European Space Agency (ESA)?

  1. Hipparcos

  2. Giotto

  3. Rosetta

  4. Herschel
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Hipparcos was the first space telescope to be launched into orbit by the European Space Agency (ESA), on August 8, 1989.