Here’s Part V (401–500) of the Space GK Series.
Space Discoveries & Facts
Q401. Who discovered that planets move in elliptical orbits?
A401. Johannes Kepler.
Q402. Who discovered the law of universal gravitation?
A402. Isaac Newton.
Q403. Who discovered Pluto?
A403. Clyde Tombaugh (1930).
Q404. Who discovered Uranus?
A404. William Herschel (1781).
Q405. Who discovered Neptune?
A405. Johann Galle (1846).
Q406. Who first observed Saturn’s rings?
A406. Galileo Galilei.
Q407. Who is called the “Father of Modern Astronomy”?
A407. Nicolaus Copernicus.
Q408. Who first proposed the heliocentric theory?
A408. Copernicus.
Q409. Who is known as the “Father of Rocket Science”?
A409. Dr. Robert H. Goddard.
Q410. Who is known as the “Father of Indian Space Program”?
A410. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
Satellites
Q411. What is a geostationary satellite?
A411. A satellite that orbits Earth at the same rotational speed, appearing fixed at one point.
Q412. At what altitude do geostationary satellites orbit?
A412. About 35,786 km above Earth.
Q413. What is a polar orbit satellite?
A413. A satellite that passes over the Earth’s poles.
Q414. What is a low Earth orbit satellite (LEO)?
A414. A satellite orbiting Earth at 160–2000 km altitude.
Q415. What is India’s first dedicated meteorological satellite?
A415. INSAT -1B (1982).
Q416. What is NavIC?
A416. India’s regional navigation satellite system.
Q417. What is GPS?
A417. Global Positioning System (USA).
Q418. What is GLONASS?
A418. Russian global navigation system.
Q419. What is Galileo system?
A419. European Union’s satellite navigation system.
Q420. What is BeiDou?
A420. China’s satellite navigation system.
Space Phenomena
Q421. What are shooting stars?
A421. Meteors burning in Earth’s atmosphere.
Q422. What are comets mostly made of?
A422. Ice, dust, and rock.
Q423. What is a meteorite?
A423. A meteor that survives atmosphere and hits Earth.
Q424. What is an asteroid?
A424. Small rocky body orbiting the Sun, mostly between Mars and Jupiter.
Q425. What is a black hole?
A425. A region in space with gravity so strong that not even light can escape.
Q426. What is a supernova?
A426. An explosion of a massive star.
Q427. What is a pulsar?
A427. A rapidly spinning neutron star emitting beams of radiation.
Q428. What is a quasar?
A428. Extremely bright and distant active galactic nucleus.
Q429. What is a galaxy?
A429. A large system of stars, gas, and dust bound by gravity.
Q430. What is the name of our galaxy?
A430. Milky Way.
Human Spaceflight
Q431. Who was the first person to orbit the Earth?
A431. Yuri Gagarin (1961).
Q432. Who was the first American in space?
A432. Alan Shepard.
Q433. Who was the first woman in space?
A433. Valentina Tereshkova (1963).
Q434. Who was the first American woman in space?
A434. Sally Ride (1983).
Q435. Who was the first space tourist?
A435. Dennis Tito (2001).
Q436. Who was the first Indian in space?
A436. Rakesh Sharma (1984).
Q437. What was Rakesh Sharma’s famous reply to Indira Gandhi about India from space?
A437. “Saare Jahan Se Achha.”
Q438. Who is Kalpana Chawla?
A438. First Indian-born woman astronaut (USA).
Q439. Who is Sunita Williams?
A439. Indian-origin astronaut with NASA, record spacewalks.
Q440. Who is the first Saudi woman astronaut in space?
A440. Rayyanah Barnawi (2023).
Space Organizations & Achievements
Q441. Where is ISRO’s headquarters located?
A441. Bengaluru, India.
Q442. Where is NASA’s headquarters?
A442. Washington D.C., USA.
Q443. What does ESA stand for?
A443. European Space Agency.
Q444. What does JAXA stand for?
A444. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Q445. What does CNSA stand for?
A445. China National Space Administration.
Q446. Which country launched the first artificial satellite?
A446. USSR (Sputnik 1, 1957).
Q447. Which country landed the first human on the Moon?
A447. USA (Apollo 11, 1969).
Q448. Which country first landed a rover on the far side of the Moon?
A448. China (Chang’e-4, 2019).
Q449. Which country first landed a spacecra
ft softly on the Moon’s south pole?
A449. India (Chandrayaan-3, 2023).
Q450. Which private company first sent astronauts to ISS?
A450. SpaceX (Crew Dragon, 2020).
Space Missions
Q451. What was the first human space mission?
A451. Vostok 1 (1961, Yuri Gagarin, USSR).
Q452. What was the first American crewed space mission?
A452. Mercury-Redstone 3 (Freedom 7, 1961).
Q453. What was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon?
A453. Luna 2 (USSR, 1959).
Q454. What was the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon?
A454. Luna 9 (USSR, 1966).
Q455. What was the first spacecraft to land on Mars?
A455. Viking 1 (USA, 1976).
Q456. What was the first spacecraft to fly past Pluto?
A456. New Horizons (USA, 2015).
Q457. What was the first spacecraft to touch the Sun’s atmosphere?
A457. Parker Solar Probe (USA, 2018).
Q458. What was the first spacecraft to collect asteroid samples and return to Earth?
A458. Hayabusa (Japan, 2010).
Q459. What was the first spacecraft to land successfully on an asteroid?
A459. NEAR Shoemaker (USA, 2001, on asteroid Eros).
Q460. What was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet?
A460. Mariner 9 (USA, 1971, Mars).
Moon & Mars
Q461. Which was India’s first Moon mission?
A461. Chaandrayaan-1 (2008).
Q462. Which mission discovered water molecules on the Moon?
A462. Chaandrayaan-1 (2008).
Q463. Which Indian mission first orbited Mars?
A463. Mangalyaan / MOM (2013).
Q464. Which country first landed a rover on Mars?
A464. USA (Sojourner rover, 1997).
Q465. Which country’s rover is called Perseverance?
A465. USA (NASA, 2021).
Q466. Which country’s rover is called Zhurong?
A466. China (2021).
Q467. Which country’s rover is called Pragyan?
A467. India (Chaandrayaan-3, 2023).
Q468. Which country plans the Artemis mission to the Moon?
A468. USA (NASA).
Q469. What is the goal of Artemis III mission?
A469. To land humans on the Moon’s south pole.
Q470. What is India’s planned human spaceflight program called?
A470. Gaganyaan.
Space Science & Technology
Q471. What is a space telescope?
A471. A telescope placed in orbit beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
Q472. What is the most famous space telescope?
A472. Hubble Space Telescope.
Q473. What is the successor to Hubble?
A473. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Q474. What is the largest radio telescope in the world?
A474. FAST (China).
Q475. What is the main purpose of JWST?
A475. To study early galaxies, stars, and exoplanets.
Q476. What is the Chaandrayaan-2 orbiter still doing?
A476. Orbiting the Moon and sending data.
Q477. What is India’s first dedicated astronomy satellite?
A477. Astrosat (2015).
Q478. What is the Indian reusable launch vehicle called?
A478. RLV - TD.
Q479. What is the Indian heavy-lift rocket?
A479. GSLV Mk III (now LVM3).
Q480. What is India’s first private rocket?
A480. Vikram-S (by Skyroot Aerospace, 2022).
International Space Station (ISS)
Q481. When was the ISS launched?
A481. 1998.
Q482. Which countries operate the ISS?
A482. USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, and ESA members.
Q483. What is the orbital height of the ISS?
A483. Around 400 km above Earth.
Q484. How many astronauts can live in the ISS at a time?
A484. Typically 6–7.
Q485. Which private company supplies cargo to ISS?
A485. SpaceX and Northrop Grumman.
Q486. Which private company carries astronauts to ISS?
A486. SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Q487. Who is the first Indian-origin woman to visit the ISS?
A487. Sunita Williams.
Q488. Who holds the record for longest single stay on ISS (American)?
A488. Mark Vande Hei (355 days, 2021–22).
Q489. Who holds the record for longest time in space overall?
A489. Gennady Padalka (878 days).
Q490. Which Indian-origin astronaut is set to fly Boeing Starliner to ISS?
A490. Sunita Williams (2025 planned).
Future of Space
Q491. What is SpaceX’s next-generation spacecraft called?
A491. Starship.
Q492. What is Blue Origin’s lunar lander called?
A492. Blue Moon.
Q493. What is India’s planned Venus mission?
A493. Shukrayan-1.
Q494. What is ISRO’s planned solar mission called?
A494. Aditya-L1 (launched 2023).
Q495. What is ISRO’s future Mars mission called?
A495. Mangalyan-2.
Q496. What is the first country planning a Mars human mission?
A496. USA (NASA, 2030s).
Q497. What is Elon Musk’s goal for Mars?
A497. Colonization with SpaceX Starship.
Q498. What is the first all-civilian space mission called?
A498. Inspiration4 (SpaceX, 2021).
Q499. What is the main challenge for humans living on Mars?
A499. Lack of breathable air, low gravity, radiation exposure, and extreme cold.
Q500. What is the dr
eam vision of humanity’s space exploration?
A500. To become a multi-planetary species.
The 5 series of Space GK questions, containing questions from 1 to 500, are completed here.
