Science and Technology
What is tested
Space, defence, biotechnology, health and IT developments with an Indian and Karnataka angle, plus basic physics and biology applied to current missions.
Core facts
- Bengaluru hosts ISRO's UR Rao Satellite Centre and ISTRAC, along with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, HAL and NAL.
- Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander touched down near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023, with the Pragyan rover deployed; Aditya-L1 was inserted into a halo orbit around the Sun–Earth L1 point in January 2024.
- Gaganyaan is India's crewed orbital programme; the TV-D1 crew escape demonstration flew in October 2023. Propulsion testing is at Mahendragiri and launches from Sriharikota.
- Fundamentals repeatedly asked: Lagrange point stability, geostationary versus polar sun-synchronous orbits, cryogenic upper stages, and vaccine platforms such as mRNA and viral vector.
Worked example
Question: Why is a Lagrange point useful for a solar observatory? Reasoning: at L1 the gravitational pulls of the Sun and Earth supply the centripetal requirement, so a spacecraft holds a fixed position relative to Earth with little fuel, giving continuous uninterrupted solar viewing - the reason Aditya-L1 sits there rather than in low Earth orbit.
Traps that cost marks
- Saying Chandrayaan-3 landed exactly at the lunar south pole; it landed near it, around 69° south.
- Confusing geostationary orbit (35,786 km, equatorial) with sun-synchronous polar orbit.
- Mixing up ISRO centres: propulsion at Mahendragiri, launch at Sriharikota, tracking at Bengaluru.