UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What happened to ISRO’s PSLV-C62 mission?

Q1. With reference to the PSLV-C62 mission of January 2026, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The primary payload EOS-N1 (Anvesha) was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  2. The mission was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
  3. The anomaly that caused the mission failure occurred during the second (PS2) liquid stage of the launch vehicle.
  4. One of the co-passenger satellites was THEOS-2A of Thailand's GISTDA.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q2. Consider the following statements comparing the PSLV-C62 mission with the preceding PSLV-C61 mission. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. PSLV-C62 was the second consecutive failure of the PSLV, following the PSLV-C61 mission.
  2. Both PSLV-C61 and PSLV-C62 encountered their critical anomalies during the third stage of the launch vehicle.
  3. Prior to PSLV-C62, the PSLV had recorded a success rate of approximately 94% across more than 60 flights.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. The Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) constituted to investigate the PSLV-C62 anomaly was set up under whose authority?

  • A. Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
  • B. Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
  • C. Cabinet Secretary, Government of India
  • D. Chairman, Space Commission of the Department of Space

Q4. With reference to the PSLV-C62 mission, consider the following statements. Which of the above is NOT correctly identified?

  1. EOS-N1 (Anvesha) was a hyperspectral imaging satellite of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  2. Thailand's THEOS-2A satellite of GISTDA was among the co-passenger payloads.
  3. The mission was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
  4. The mission failure was traced to an anomaly in the fourth (PS4) liquid stage of the launch vehicle.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 4 only

Q5. The EOS-N1 (Anvesha) satellite, the primary payload of the PSLV-C62 mission, was developed by which one of the following organisations?

  • A. National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO
  • B. U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), ISRO
  • C. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
  • D. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)
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