Comprehension

Forty years after man first set foot on the moon, the United States has dispatched two unmanned lunar spacecraft to earth’s natural satellite to pave the way for humans to return there. The search for deposits of water is high on the agenda of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). India’s Chandrayaan-1 probe, too, may well join the quest. ‘Discovering water on the moon would be like finding a gold mine,’ said U.S. space agency NASA in a recent press document. It estimates that getting a bottle of water to the moon would run to about $50,000 at current launch costs. Therefore, the ability to extract water locally would be immensely useful if humans want to establish bases on the celestial body.
It is believed that water could have been brought to the moon by comets and meteorites that have crashed on its surface over billions of years. Likewise, hydrogen ions streaming out from the sun might have combined with oxygen from chemical compounds in the lunar soil and turned into water. The question is whether all this water has boiled off in the face of the moon’s scorching daytime temperatures and its low gravitational hold. 
In a paper published in 1961, three scientists at the California Institute of Technology, put forward the idea that water ‘may well be present in appreciable quantities in shaded areas in the form of ice’. The paper appeared in the Journal of Geophysical Research around the same time President John F. Kennedy committed the U.S, to landing a man on the moon. Some thirty years later, two U.S. space probes that went to the moon, Clementine and Lunar Prospector, provided evidence that water might persist as patches of ice mixed with soil at the bottom of craters at the poles. Sunlight never reaches the bottom of some craters at the lunar poles, which therefore remain at temperatures far below the freezing point of water. So these would be ideal locations for trapping water ice on the moon. But the evidence has been disputed and scientists continue to argue vigorously about whether or not earth’s nearest neighbour holds any water. 
The LRO and the LCROSS were launched from Cape Canaveral in Florid The two spacecraft, along with Chandrayaan-1, will undoubtedly throw a great deal of new light on the issue. Once the spacecraft is commissioned, a slew of instruments on it will look for signs of water ice and hydrogen in different ways. 
The LCROSS and the spent upper stage of the Atlas rocket that launched the two spacecraft have swung past the moon for the first time. NASA plans to send the empty upper stage, weighing over 2,000 kg, hurtling into a crater near the lunar south pole at a speed of about 9,000 km per hour.

Question: 1

How is the moon referred to in the passage?
I. A gold mine
II. A celestial body
III. Earth’s natural satellite
IV. Earth’s nearest neighbor

Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
  • (I) and (II) above
  • (II) and (III) above
  • (II) and (IV) above
  • (II), (III) and (IV) above
  • All (I), (II), (III) and (IV) above
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

The correct option is (D): (II), (III) and (IV) above
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Question: 2

Why is it necessary to extract water locally on the moon?

Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
  • To carry on further research
  • It is highly expensive to carry a bottle of water to the moon
  • It would be greatly useful to humans if they want to set up bases on the moon
  • It will become easy for the astronauts to stay there for a longer time
  • It reduces the burden of carrying water for the astronauts
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The correct option is (C): It would be greatly useful to humans if they want to set up bases on the moon
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Question: 3

The main objective of sending the LRO and the LCROSS to the moon is to

Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
  • Pave the way for the humans to return from the moon
  • Find out if sunlight ever reaches some craters at the lunar poles
  • Carry on complete research about the moon
  • Establish bases on the celestial body
  • Search for deposits of water
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The Correct Option is

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The correct option is (E): Search for deposits of water
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Question: 4

In the phrase, ‘slew of instruments’, the word ‘slew’ means

Updated On: Aug 19, 2024
  • A large number
  • The assembled parts
  • The automated components
  • A restricted number
  • An assortment
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

The correct option is (A): A large number
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Question: 5

It can be inferred from the passage that the moon’s

Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
  • Upper crust contains hydrogen
  • Daytime temperatures are very high
  • Lunar soil can hardly hold water
  • Surface is covered with ice
  • Gravitational hold is very high
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The Correct Option is B

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The correct option is (B): Daytime temperatures are very high
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Question: 6

Choose the statement that is true in the context of the passage.

Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
  • Sunlight never reaches the surface of the moon
  • Oxygen does not exist in any form on the moon
  • It is not yet proved whether the moon holds any water or not
  • The LRO and the LCROSS were launched in 1961
  • There are gold mines on the moon
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The correct option is (C): It is not yet proved whether the moon holds any water or not
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Question: 7

What is the belief about the existence of water on the moon?

Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
  • It exists in the form of ice
  • It is brought by comets and meteorites
  • It is formed through chemical reaction
  • It is present in considerable quantities in shaded areas
  • All the above
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The Correct Option is

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The correct option is (E): All the above
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Question: 8

What is the apt title of the passage?

Updated On: Aug 19, 2024
  • Weather Conditions on the Moon
  • Searching for Water on the Moon
  • Moon – A Gold Mine for Many
  • India’s Chandrayaan-1 Mission
  • Man’s First Steps on the Moon
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

The correct option is (B): Searching for Water on the Moon
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Question: 9

What would be the best place for trapping the ice water on the moon?

Updated On: Jul 24, 2024
  • Near the poles
  • In shaded areas
  • From any part of the moon
  • Bottom of craters at the poles
  • Upper layers of the soil
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

The correct option is (D): Bottom of craters at the poles
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