UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NASA invites ISRO to join its mission for lunar outpost

Q1. Under the Artemis Accords, the concept of a 'safety zone' is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A demarcated area of the lunar surface allotted exclusively to the signatory that first lands there, held for the duration of its activity
  • B. A radiation-shielded compartment carried aboard crewed deep-space vehicles for occupation during solar particle events
  • C. An area notified around an ongoing space activity within which other operators are informed and coordination is sought to avoid harmful interference
  • D. A band of lunar orbit set aside by common consent for the controlled disposal of spent stages and mission-generated debris

Q2. The India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG) was set up in which year, and alongside which broader bilateral understanding?

  • A. 2005, alongside the announcement of the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation initiative
  • B. 2008, alongside the conclusion of the India-U.S. 123 Agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation
  • C. 2016, alongside the designation of India as a Major Defence Partner of the United States
  • D. 2023, alongside the launch of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET)

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG): 1. Its ninth meeting was held at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru in August 2026. 2. At that meeting the two sides reaffirmed the long-term sustainability guidelines developed under the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. 3. Its seventh meeting, held in 2019, was hosted at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. 4. The NISAR satellite, cited at the ninth meeting as the largest bilateral space initiative to date, was launched in 2023. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Its ninth meeting was held at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru in August 2026.
  2. At that meeting the two sides reaffirmed the long-term sustainability guidelines developed under the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
  3. Its seventh meeting, held in 2019, was hosted at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
  4. The NISAR satellite, cited at the ninth meeting as the largest bilateral space initiative to date, was launched in 2023.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4

Q4. Consider the following statements regarding NASA's Moon Base programme, to which ISRO has been invited: 1. It aims to establish humanity's first outpost near the Moon's South Polar region. 2. NASA has sequenced the programme into three phases, with the building of permanent surface infrastructure such as a power grid falling in the phase beginning in 2029. 3. Participation is open exclusively to states that have signed the Artemis Accords, signature of which by itself confers partnership in the programme. 4. All robotic precursor landings under the programme will be carried out solely by NASA-built landers, with no role for commercial providers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It aims to establish humanity's first outpost near the Moon's South Polar region.
  2. NASA has sequenced the programme into three phases, with the building of permanent surface infrastructure such as a power grid falling in the phase beginning in 2029.
  3. Participation is open exclusively to states that have signed the Artemis Accords, signature of which by itself confers partnership in the programme.
  4. All robotic precursor landings under the programme will be carried out solely by NASA-built landers, with no role for commercial providers.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. In NASA's lunar plans announced for 2026, the designations 'Moon Base I', 'Moon Base II' and 'Moon Base III' refer to which one of the following?

  • A. Three crewed landings that will progressively assemble a habitat module at the lunar South Pole
  • B. Three successive pressurised modules of an orbiting station to be assembled in a near-rectilinear halo orbit
  • C. Three uncrewed lander missions delivering technology-demonstration payloads and science instruments to the lunar surface
  • D. Three programme phases running respectively to 2028, to 2032, and beyond 2032, each with its own budget line

Q6. Consider the following pairs relating to Chandrayaan-1: 1. Chandrayaan-1 — launched in October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota 2. Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) — an imaging spectrometer contributed by the United States and flown aboard the mission 3. M3's hydration findings — signatures strongest in the Moon's equatorial belt, with only isolated detections at the poles 4. Chandrayaan-1 operations — terminated in August 2009, roughly a year into a planned two-year mission life Which of the pairs given above is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. Chandrayaan-1 — launched in October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
  2. Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) — an imaging spectrometer contributed by the United States and flown aboard the mission
  3. M3's hydration findings — signatures strongest in the Moon's equatorial belt, with only isolated detections at the poles
  4. Chandrayaan-1 operations — terminated in August 2009, roughly a year into a planned two-year mission life
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 1, 2 and 4
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 3 only

Q7. The evidence for lunar hydration returned by the American instrument carried on India's first lunar probe rested on which one of the following kinds of measurement?

  • A. Deficits in the neutron flux above polar craters, pointing to hydrogen enrichment buried under the regolith
  • B. Absorption features in reflected sunlight, pointing to a hydrogen-oxygen chemical bond in the thin upper soil layer
  • C. Gamma-ray line emission from the surface, pointing to the abundance of oxygen-bearing minerals in the crust
  • D. Radar echoes returned from permanently shadowed craters, pointing to buried deposits of nearly pure water ice

Q8. Which one of the following correctly states the division of responsibility between the two agencies in the NISAR mission?

  • A. ISRO supplied the L-band radar and NASA the S-band radar, while NASA also provided the spacecraft bus
  • B. NASA supplied both radar payloads, while ISRO provided the launch vehicle and the 12-metre deployable reflector boom
  • C. ISRO supplied both radar payloads, while NASA provided the solid-state recorder, GPS receiver and high-speed downlink
  • D. NASA supplied the L-band radar and ISRO's Space Applications Centre the S-band radar, while ISRO provided the spacecraft bus

Q9. The U.S.-India TRUST initiative, announced in February 2025, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A trade arrangement offering reciprocal tariff concessions on technology goods and easing export controls on dual-use items
  • B. A framework for cooperation in AI, semiconductors, quantum and biotechnology and for resilient critical-mineral and pharmaceutical supply chains
  • C. A joint sovereign fund through which the two governments capitalise space start-ups and commercial launch infrastructure in both countries
  • D. A defence-technology arrangement for co-development and co-production of jet engines, armed unmanned systems and undersea platforms

Q10. Consider the following statements regarding India's participation in Axiom Mission 4: 1. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla flew as Mission Pilot on the mission launched in June 2025. 2. His stay aboard the International Space Station lasted about 18 days, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in July 2025. 3. He thereby became the first Indian ever to travel into space, the country having flown no national astronaut until then. 4. India's seat on the mission was arranged directly between ISRO and NASA, without any commercial intermediary. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla flew as Mission Pilot on the mission launched in June 2025.
  2. His stay aboard the International Space Station lasted about 18 days, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in July 2025.
  3. He thereby became the first Indian ever to travel into space, the country having flown no national astronaut until then.
  4. India's seat on the mission was arranged directly between ISRO and NASA, without any commercial intermediary.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4

Q11. Consider the following statements regarding NASA's Artemis programme: 1. Artemis II is a crewed mission that flies a free-return trajectory around the Moon's far side without landing. 2. Orion is the crew capsule carried to space by the Space Launch System in the Artemis missions. 3. Gateway is a small station to be placed in orbit around the Moon to support a series of crewed landings. 4. Artemis III is intended to place a crew in long-duration residence aboard Gateway, the first crewed surface landing being deferred to a later mission. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Artemis II is a crewed mission that flies a free-return trajectory around the Moon's far side without landing.
  2. Orion is the crew capsule carried to space by the Space Launch System in the Artemis missions.
  3. Gateway is a small station to be placed in orbit around the Moon to support a series of crewed landings.
  4. Artemis III is intended to place a crew in long-duration residence aboard Gateway, the first crewed surface landing being deferred to a later mission.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1, 3 and 4