Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs – September 18-19,2022 [Mock Test]
September 19, 2022 September 19, 2022
1. Identify the personality:
- He has defeated Chikka Deva Raja of Mysore.
- He fought Battle of Wai.
- He died in the Battle of Sangmeshwar.
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Shivaji I
[B] Shambhaji I
[C] Rajaram I
[D] Shivaji II
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Shambhaji I]
Notes:- Sambhaji was the elder son of Shivaji who was credited for defeating Chikka Deva Raja of Mysore.
- Prince Akbar, the rebellious son of Aurangzeb, took shelter with him.
- He died in the battle at Sangmeshwar in 1689.
- He was defeated by the Mughal commander Muqqarrab Khan and was killed along with his personal counsellor, Kavi Kalash.
- The Battle of Wai was fought in 1687 as a part of the Mughal–Maratha Wars. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj sent his forces under his Senapati, Hambirao Mohite to oppose Mughal army led by Sarja Khan. It was won by the Marathas, but during its course, the dynasty lost out on one of its most significant leaders — Sambhaji Maharaj.
2. With reference to the POEM (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module), consider the following statements:
- It will utilize the second and the third stage of a rocket as a stabilized platform to perform experiments.
- It is carrying payloads from Indian space start-ups Digantara and Dhruva Space.
- It has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control system.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 3
[B] Only 1 & 2
[C] Only 2 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Only 2 & 3]
Notes:- POEM, the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module is a platform that will help perform in-orbit experiments using the final, and otherwise discarded, stage of ISRO’s workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
- The PSLV is a four-stage rocket where the first three spent stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) after launching the satellite into orbit ends up as space junk.
- However, in PSLV-C53 mission, the spent final stage will be utilised as a “stabilised platform” to perform experiments.
- POEM is carrying six payloads, including two from Indian space start-ups Digantara and Dhruva Space.
- POEM has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system for attitude stabilisation, which stands for controlling the orientation of any aerospace vehicle within permitted limits. The NGC will act as the platform’s brain to stabilize it with specified accuracy.
- POEM will derive its power from solar panels mounted around the PS4 tank, and a Li-Ion battery. It will navigate using “four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyros & NavIC”.
- It carries dedicated control thrusters using Helium gas storage. It is enabled with a telecommand feature.
- The Indian space agency first demonstrated the capability of using PS4 as an orbital platform in 2019 with the PSLV-C44 mission that injected Microsat-R and Kalamsat-V2 satellites into their designated orbits. The fourth stage in that mission was kept alive as an orbital platform for space-based experiments.
3. NASA’s mission CAPSTONE is designed to test which of the following celestial bodies?
[A] Mars
[B] Moon
[C] Mercury
[D] Venus
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Moon]
Notes:- NASA has launched CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds (25 kg). CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, is designed to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit.
- The satellite is heading toward an orbit intended in the future for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program.
- As a pathfinder for Gateway, CAPSTONE aims to help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies, and by verifying the dynamics of the halo-shaped orbit.
- The orbit is known as a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO). It is significantly elongated, and is located at a precise balance point in the gravities of Earth and the Moon.
