UPSC Prelims 2016 Question:

Consider the following statements:

The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO 

1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission 
2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA 
3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which is commonly referred to as Mangalyaan, is a space probe launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on November 5, 2013. It was launched aboard PSLV C-25. So, statement 1 is correct.
  

• • It successfully entered Mars orbit on September 23, 2014, making ISRO only the fourth space agency in the world to do so. Prior to India, only the United States, the Soviet Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) had successfully explored Mars. So, statement 2 is not correct.
    
    

• India is the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit Mars in its very first attempt. So, statement 3 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (3) is the correct answer.

Subject: Science and Technology | Space and Related Developments