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Which mission carried the first living creatures to orbit Earth and return safely?
- Sputnik 2
- Vostok 1
- Korabl-Sputnik 5
- Mercury-Atlas 6
Answer: Korabl-Sputnik 5
Korabl-Sputnik 5 (Aug 1960) returned dogs Belka and Strelka after 18 orbits; Laika (Sputnik 2) died in orbit, making KS-5 first safe biological return.
Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) achieves higher specific impulse than chemical rockets by heating propellant via _______.
- Electric arc
- Nuclear fission reactor
- Radioactive decay
- Fusion plasma
Answer: Nuclear fission reactor
NTP uses fission reactors to heat liquid hydrogen to ~2500 K, achieving Isp ~900 s vs ~450 s for LH2/LOX chemical engines, enabling faster Mars transit.
The Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) for Gaganyaan successfully demonstrated crew escape at what altitude?
- 5 km
- 11.7 km
- 17 km
- 30 km
Answer: 17 km
TV-D1 conducted on Oct 21, 2023, separated the Crew Escape System at ~17 km altitude during ascent, validating abort sequence and parachute recovery systems.
Which planet possesses the strongest greenhouse effect in the solar system?
- Mercury
- Venus
- Earth
- Mars
Answer: Venus
Venus has a runaway greenhouse effect due to its dense CO₂ atmosphere (92 bar pressure), raising surface temperatures to ~465°C, hotter than Mercury despite being farther from the Sun.
Which mission will rendezvous with comet 311P/PANSTARRS in 2026?
- Comet Interceptor
- DESTINY+
- Lucy
- Hera
Answer: DESTINY+
JAXA's DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage) targets active asteroid/comet 311P, studying dust ejection mechanisms.
Frame-dragging (Lense-Thirring effect) was confirmed by which satellite experiment?
- Gravity Probe B
- LAGEOS
- MICROSCOPE
- GOCE
Answer: Gravity Probe B
Gravity Probe B (2004-2011) measured frame-dragging via gyroscope precession, confirming general relativity prediction within ~20% accuracy.
Carbonaceous chondrites are primitive meteorites rich in which compounds?
- Iron-nickel
- Silicates and organics/water
- Pure carbon
- Metallic oxides
Answer: Silicates and organics/water
C-chondrites contain hydrated minerals, amino acids, and presolar grains, preserving early solar system composition and prebiotic chemistry.
Which mission performed the first gravity assist maneuver at another planet?
- Mariner 10
- Pioneer 10
- Voyager 1
- Galileo
Answer: Mariner 10
Mariner 10 used Venus gravity assist in Feb 1974 to reach Mercury, pioneering planetary flyby technique later exploited by Voyagers and others.
Solar electric propulsion (SEP) uses which power source to drive ion/Hall thrusters?
- Nuclear RTG
- Solar photovoltaic arrays
- Fuel cells
- Radioisotope heater units
Answer: Solar photovoltaic arrays
SEP converts sunlight to electricity via solar arrays powering electric thrusters, enabling efficient cargo transport (e.g., Psyche, Lunar Gateway HALO).
Jupiter's magnetosphere is primarily powered by which energy source?
- Solar wind
- Planetary rotation
- Tidal heating
- Internal heat
Answer: Planetary rotation
Jupiter's rapid rotation (9.9 hr) drives magnetospheric dynamics via centrifugal forces and Io plasma torus coupling, unlike solar-wind-dominated Earth.
The first successful Mars landing by a European spacecraft was attempted by which mission?
- Mars Express
- ExoMars Schiaparelli
- Beagle 2
- Rosetta
Answer: ExoMars Schiaparelli
Note: Schiaparelli crashed in 2016; Beagle 2 landed but failed to deploy. No European mission has yet achieved fully successful Mars landing as of 2025.
Which space agency leads the Lunar Gateway space station project?
- Roscosmos
- CNSA
- NASA
- ESA
Answer: NASA
NASA leads Artemis/Gateway program with international partners (ESA, JAXA, CSA), establishing cislunar outpost for sustained lunar exploration.
Which mission discovered active cryovolcanism on Triton?
- Voyager 1
- Voyager 2
- Cassini
- New Horizons
Answer: Voyager 2
Voyager 2's 1989 Neptune flyby revealed nitrogen geysers on Triton, indicating ongoing geological activity driven by tidal heating or insolation.
The Sachs-Wolfe effect describes CMB temperature fluctuations caused by which phenomenon?
- Doppler shift
- Gravitational redshift/blueshift
- Thomson scattering
- Synchrotron emission
Answer: Gravitational redshift/blueshift
Photons climbing out of potential wells lose energy (redshift); falling in gain energy (blueshift), imprinting primordial density perturbations on CMB.
Superrotation in Venus's atmosphere means winds circle the planet faster than its rotation period.
- True - 60x faster
- False - slower than rotation
- True - same speed
- False - no winds exist
Answer: True - 60x faster
Venusian cloud-top winds reach 100 m/s, circling planet in ~4 days versus 243-day rotation, driven by thermal tides and wave-mean flow interactions.
Which cosmonaut holds the record for longest cumulative time in space?
- Valeri Polyakov
- Gennady Padalka
- Sergei Krikalev
- Oleg Kononenko
Answer: Oleg Kononenko
Oleg Kononenko surpassed 1,000 days in space in Feb 2024 across five missions, holding current cumulative duration record.
The NEO Surveyor mission will detect potentially hazardous asteroids using which wavelength?
- Visible
- Infrared
- Ultraviolet
- Radio
Answer: Infrared
NEO Surveyor uses infrared detectors to find dark asteroids missed by optical surveys, identifying PHAs >140 m within 5 years of launch.
Shield volcanoes on Mars differ from terrestrial ones primarily in which aspect?
- Composition
- Size and longevity
- Eruption style
- Tectonic setting
Answer: Size and longevity
Martian shield volcanoes (e.g., Olympus Mons) are vastly larger due to stationary crust over mantle plumes, allowing prolonged eruptions without plate tectonics.
The first space tourist was Dennis Tito who visited the ISS in which year?
- 1999
- 2001
- 2003
- 2005
Answer: 2001
American businessman Dennis Tito paid ~$20M to fly aboard Soyuz TM-32 to ISS in Apr-May 2001, inaugurating commercial space tourism era.
Which space agency operates the Spektr-RG X-ray observatory?
- NASA
- ESA
- Roscosmos
- CNSA
Answer: Roscosmos
Spektr-RG (launched 2019) is Russian-German mission mapping X-ray sky with eROSITA/ART-XC telescopes, discovering millions of AGNs and clusters.