NASA, BILI - 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.

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