General Awareness · 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

What was the Space Race?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

The Space Race began in the 1950s. It was the time of the Cold War, in which the United States and the Soviet Union fought for technological superiority. Each country wanted to prove that its political and economic system was better. Both superpowers wanted to launch the first satellite and put a human being into space. To the shock of the US, the Soviets had beaten them in the first phase of the Space Race. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human sent into Earth's orbit, only a month before American astronaut Alan Shepard was launched into space.

  1. To run races in the space

  2. To take the first satellite and human being into space

  3. To shock each other

  4. To prove other country inferior
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

‘Both superpowers wanted to launch (set in motion) the first satellite and put a human being into space’.

Multiple choice

‘Both superpowers’ means

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

The Space Race began in the 1950s. It was the time of the Cold War, in which the United States and the Soviet Union fought for technological superiority. Each country wanted to prove that its political and economic system was better. Both superpowers wanted to launch the first satellite and put a human being into space. To the shock of the US, the Soviets had beaten them in the first phase of the Space Race. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human sent into Earth's orbit, only a month before American astronaut Alan Shepard was launched into space.

  1. Two countries

  2. Two powerful persons

  3. Two powerful groups

  4. Two powerful satellites
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Both superpowers, i.e. the United States and the Soviet Union. So, option 1 is correct.

Multiple choice

Orbit means

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

The Space Race began in the 1950s. It was the time of the Cold War, in which the United States and the Soviet Union fought for technological superiority. Each country wanted to prove that its political and economic system was better. Both superpowers wanted to launch the first satellite and put a human being into space. To the shock of the US, the Soviets had beaten them in the first phase of the Space Race. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human sent into Earth's orbit, only a month before American astronaut Alan Shepard was launched into space.

  1. a path in the space

  2. a race track

  3. a satellite

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

‘Earth's Orbit’ means ‘a fixed path in the space around earth’.

Multiple choice

How did the Soviets beat US in the first phase?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

The Space Race began in the 1950s. It was the time of the Cold War, in which the United States and the Soviet Union fought for technological superiority. Each country wanted to prove that its political and economic system was better. Both superpowers wanted to launch the first satellite and put a human being into space. To the shock of the US, the Soviets had beaten them in the first phase of the Space Race. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human sent into Earth's orbit, only a month before American astronaut Alan Shepard was launched into space.

  1. American astronaut was launched into space

  2. Yuri Gagarin was the first to be sent into space

  3. Alan Shepard lived in the space for a month

  4. The Soviets tried to shock the US
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Soviets had beaten them (U.S) in the first phase of the Space Race. 'In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human sent into Earth's orbit.' 

Multiple choice

Which is the world's the first green ship?

  1. Auriga Leader

  2. Amanda Lauder

  3. Avid Morris

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

The Auriga Leader, launched in 2008, is widely recognized as the world's first car carrier ship to use solar power, making it a pioneer in green shipping.

Multiple choice

The Big Bang recreation experiment was started at ……. on September 10, 008?

  1. NASA

  2. VSSC

  3. ISRO

  4. CERN
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Big Bang recreation experiment refers to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), which began operations on September 10, 2008. The LHC is the world's largest particle accelerator designed to simulate conditions just after the Big Bang. NASA is a space agency, VSSC and ISRO are Indian space organizations - none conducted this particle physics experiment.

Multiple choice

Directions: The short passage below is followed by a question based on its content. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

The little spaceships that could - Nasa's twin Voyagers - celebrate their 25th year on Tuesday by speeding towards the very edge of our solar system, carrying messages from Mozart, Bach and Chuck Berry. The first Voyager was launched on August 20, 1977, and was expected to take a quick four-year tour of Jupiter and Saturn, send back some data and retire. The other was launched on September 5, 1977 with a similar mission, but through a different route. Instead, the doughty robotic probes have kept going and going, snapping never-before-seen images of the outer planets, discovering volcanoes on Jupiter's moon 'Io' and a massive atmospheric storm on Neptune.

What is the theme of the passage?

  1. NASA'S spaceships - the Voyagers - have succeeded in sending across image that would have otherwise been considered difficult.

  2. NASA'S twin Voyagers have been touring space for images that were not initially expected of them.

  3. NASA'S twin Voyagers have continued to explore space for a far longer period than was expected of them.

  4. NASA'S twin Voyagers have succeeded in covering planets that were far beyond their planned capabilities.

  5. NASA's twin Voyagers have delivered way beyond their capabilities.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

 The 25-year period covered by the spaceships in place of the originally expected four- year tour, is the main thrust of the passage. Hence, (3) is the answer.