NDA (II) 2019 GAT Q147: Which one of the following is the name given to the lander

Q: What is the answer to NDA (II) 2019 GAT Q147?

D. Correct — D, Vikram. The lander of Chandrayaan-2 was named Vikram, after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, regarded as the father of the Indian space programme. The mission also carried a rover called Pragyan (meaning 'wisdom') and an orbiter. As of the November 2019 exam, Vikram had attempted a soft landing near the Moon's south pole on 6-7 September 2019 but lost contact during the final descent and crash-landed, while the orbiter continued to function normally.

NDA (II) 2019 General Ability Test · Question 147 of 148

Question text verified against the official NDA question paper.

Which one of the following is the name given to the lander of Chandrayaan-2?

(a)Vigyan
(b)Anusandhan
(c)Pragyan
(d)Vikram

Answer

Why

Correct — D, Vikram. The lander of Chandrayaan-2 was named Vikram, after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, regarded as the father of the Indian space programme. The mission also carried a rover called Pragyan (meaning 'wisdom') and an orbiter. As of the November 2019 exam, Vikram had attempted a soft landing near the Moon's south pole on 6-7 September 2019 but lost contact during the final descent and crash-landed, while the orbiter continued to function normally.

Why the others are wrong

(a)Vigyan — 'Vigyan' (science) was not the name of any Chandrayaan-2 component; the lander was Vikram.
(b)Anusandhan — 'Anusandhan' (research) was not used for the lander or rover of Chandrayaan-2.
(c)Pragyan — Pragyan was the name of the rover carried inside the Vikram lander, not the lander itself — this is the classic mix-up.

Concept

Chandrayaan-2 was ISRO's second lunar mission, launched on 22 July 2019 on the GSLV Mk III (now LVM3). It comprised three elements — an orbiter, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, and aimed for a soft landing near the Moon's south pole.

The trap is Pragyan, the rover, which the lander was carrying. Fix the roles — Vikram is the lander, Pragyan the rover — and the answer is clear. As of today, Chandrayaan-3's lander, also named Vikram, went on to soft-land successfully near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023.

Key facts

Chandrayaan-2's lander was named Vikram, after Vikram Sarabhai.
Its rover was named Pragyan, meaning 'wisdom'.
Chandrayaan-2 was launched on 22 July 2019 on the GSLV Mk III (LVM3).
The Vikram lander lost contact during descent on 6-7 September 2019, while the orbiter kept working.

ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander with the Pragyan rover mounted on its ramp. — Vikram was the lander of ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 mission launched in July 2019; the rover it carried was named Pragyan.Image: Indian Space Research Organisation · Wikimedia Commons (GODL-India)

Study next

ISRO's lunar programme (Chandrayaan-1, 2 and 3)Chandrayaan-3 and the 2023 south-pole soft landingLaunch vehicles PSLV and GSLV Mk III (LVM3)Vikram Sarabhai and the origins of the Indian space programmeComponents of a lunar mission (orbiter, lander, rover)

Common traps

Swapping the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan).
Assuming the 2019 landing succeeded — Vikram crash-landed; it was Chandrayaan-3 that soft-landed in 2023.

Name the lander/rover of a mission, or match ISRO missions to their spacecraft and launch vehicles.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The rover carried by the Chandrayaan-2 mission was named
- (a)Vikram
- (b)Pragyan
- (c)Vigyan
- (d)Bhim
Answer(b) Pragyan — the rover carried inside the Vikram lander.
practice — not a real PYQ
Chandrayaan-2's lander 'Vikram' was named after
- (a)Homi Bhabha
- (b)Vikram Sarabhai
- (c)Satish Dhawan
- (d)A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Answer(b) Vikram Sarabhai — regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.