Read the following statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Choose the correct option: Assertion (A): The PSLV-C59 mission, launched in October 2024, achieved a notable milestone for international space cooperation. Reason (R): This mission successfully deployed the Proba-3 satellites, marking the first dedicated satellite launch for ESA's unique formation-flying experiment.

Correct — A. The key reads A as a claim about a milestone: an Indian rocket flying a dedicated launch for the European Space Agency.

R names that milestone. PSLV-C59 carried ESA's Proba-3, a mission built to demonstrate precise formation flying, into orbit. So R is true, and it is the reason A is true.

One flaw in A: ISRO launched PSLV-C59 on 5 December 2024, not in October.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A — R is the explanation, not a side fact. The cooperation milestone in A is an ESA mission flying on an Indian rocket, and R names that mission, Proba-3.
• (c)
  A is true, but R is false — R is true. ISRO reports that PSLV-C59 carried the Proba-3 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit and achieved its launch objectives.
• (d)
  A is false, but R is true — The key does not treat A as false. A's month is wrong, since the launch was on 5 December 2024, but the key judges A on its milestone, which R shows to be true.

PSLV-C59 was a dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), flown from the First Launch Pad at Sriharikota.

Its payload, Proba-3, is an ESA in-orbit demonstration of precise formation flying. It has two spacecraft, the Coronagraph and the Occulter, launched stacked together.

Flying about 150 m apart, the pair forms one giant coronagraph: the Occulter blocks the Sun's bright disc so the Coronagraph can view the faint solar corona.

Key facts

• ISRO launched PSLV-C59 on 5 December 2024 at 16:04 IST from the First Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
• PSLV-C59 was a dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
• Proba-3 is a European Space Agency in-orbit demonstration mission whose goal is precise formation flying.
• Proba-3 has two spacecraft, the Coronagraph Spacecraft and the Occulter Spacecraft, launched together in a stacked configuration.

Common traps

• Rejecting A on its month alone — the printed date is wrong, but the key still marks A true.
• Marking R as a side fact when R names the very mission that makes A's milestone.

No directly related past PYQ was found.