Question

NASA rediscovered India's lunar spacecraft that was lost in space during the past eight years known as:

• A. Mangalayaan – II
• B. Mangalayaan – I
• C. Chandrayan – II
• D. Chandrayan – I

Hint:

Remember: “Mangalyaan” is for Mars, “Chandrayaan” is for the Moon. Chandrayaan–I was India’s first lunar mission.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Chandrayaan–I was India’s first lunar probe, launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in October 2008.
Its mission was to survey the Moon’s surface, including mapping its chemical composition and searching for water ice.
In 2009, ISRO lost contact with Chandrayaan–I, and it was presumed lost.
Nearly eight years later, in 2017, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory used Earth-based radar to locate the spacecraft still orbiting the Moon.
Option (a) Mangalayaan–II and (b) Mangalayaan–I refer to India’s Mars missions, not lunar missions.
Option (c) Chandrayaan–II is the later lunar mission launched in 2019, not the rediscovered one.
Option (d) Chandrayaan–I is correct because it is the spacecraft NASA found after being uncontactable for years.
This rediscovery was a significant achievement, demonstrating advanced space tracking technology and reaffirming the success of India’s first lunar mission.