ISRO and India's Space Missions
ISRO and India's Space Missions
India's space programme is one of the most asked science-and-technology areas in NTPC, and the questions follow ISRO's news: SpaDeX docking, Aditya-L1 observations, Chandrayaan-3 and NISAR. Static facts (founding, father of the programme, launch sites, first satellite) also repeat. Learn each mission with three tags: launch vehicle, launch date and what made it a first.
1. ISRO Basics
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| ISRO founded | 15 August 1969; headquarters Bengaluru |
| Father of the Indian space programme | Vikram Sarabhai |
| First rocket launch | 21 November 1963, Thumba, Kerala |
| Main launch centre | Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh |
| First Indian satellite | Aryabhata, 1975 (launched by the Soviet Union) |
| First Indian launch vehicle success | SLV-3 placed Rohini in orbit, 1980 |
| Launch vehicles | PSLV (workhorse), GSLV, LVM3 (heaviest), SSLV (small satellites) |
| ISRO Chairman | V. Narayanan (from January 2025) |
| Commercial arms and regulator | Antrix (1992), NSIL (2019), IN-SPACe (2020) |
| NavIC | Indian regional navigation satellite system |
2. Landmark Missions
| Mission | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Chandrayaan-1 (2008) | Found evidence of water molecules on the Moon |
| Mangalyaan (2013) | Reached Mars orbit on 24 September 2014; India first to succeed on its first attempt |
| Chandrayaan-3 | Launched 14 July 2023 on LVM3; lander Vikram touched down near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023; rover Pragyan |
| Aditya-L1 | India's first solar mission; launched 2 September 2023 on PSLV; halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point, about 1.5 million km from Earth, from 6 January 2024; 7 payloads |
| SpaDeX | Space Docking Experiment; launched 30 December 2024 on PSLV-C60; satellites SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target) docked on 16 January 2025, making India the fourth country to dock in space |
| 100th launch from Sriharikota | GSLV-F15 with NVS-02, 29 January 2025 |
| NISAR | NASA-ISRO radar satellite, launched 30 July 2025 on GSLV-F16 |
| Gaganyaan | India's human spaceflight programme |
| Future goals | Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035; an Indian on the Moon by 2040 |
✗ SpaDeX made India the third country to dock in space | ✓ India became the fourth, after the USA, Russia and China
✗ Aditya-L1 orbits the Moon | ✓ Aditya-L1 studies the Sun from a halo orbit around the L1 point, about 1.5 million km from Earth
हिंदी नोट: इसरो की स्थापना 15 अगस्त 1969 को हुई; विक्रम साराभाई भारतीय अंतरिक्ष कार्यक्रम के जनक हैं। स्पैडेक्स मिशन से भारत 16 जनवरी 2025 को अंतरिक्ष में डॉकिंग करने वाला चौथा देश बना। आदित्य-एल1 भारत का पहला सौर मिशन है।
Exam Pointer: Verified NTPC patterns: the docking mission completed in January 2025 (August 2025 UG CBT-1) and Aditya-L1 observations (August 2025 UG CBT-1). Moon-mission and launch-vehicle questions are tagged syllabus-based.
Pariksha Pattern: Every Way NTPC Asks This Topic
Pattern 1: Docking and new technology missions
[PYQ: NTPC UG CBT-1 20-Aug-2025 Shift-3]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. What does SpaDeX stand for?
Space Docking Experiment.
Answer: Space Docking Experiment
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Name the two SpaDeX satellites, the launch vehicle used, and India's rank among countries that have docked in space.
SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target) were launched on PSLV-C60 on 30 December 2024 and docked on 16 January 2025. India became the fourth country, after the USA, Russia and China.
Answer: SDX01 and SDX02; PSLV-C60; fourth
Pattern 2: Solar mission Aditya-L1
[PYQ: NTPC UG CBT-1 8-Aug-2025 Shift-2]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. What does Aditya-L1 study, and from where?
It studies the Sun from a halo orbit around the first Lagrange point (L1) of the Sun-Earth system.
Answer: The Sun, from around L1
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. About how far is L1 from Earth, why is it a good place to watch the Sun, and how many payloads does Aditya-L1 carry?
About 1.5 million km. At L1 the Sun is never hidden by the Earth or the Moon, so it can be watched without eclipses. The spacecraft carries 7 payloads.
Answer: About 1.5 million km; no eclipses; 7
Pattern 3: Moon and Mars missions
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. What are the names of the lander and rover of Chandrayaan-3?
Lander Vikram and rover Pragyan.
Answer: Vikram and Pragyan
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. On what date did Chandrayaan-3 land, near which region of the Moon, and which day now marks that event? Which mission made India the first country to reach Mars orbit on the first attempt?
It landed on 23 August 2023 near the lunar south pole; 23 August is National Space Day. Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) reached Mars orbit on 24 September 2014.
Answer: 23 August 2023, south pole; National Space Day; Mangalyaan
Pattern 4: Launch vehicles, centres and firsts
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Who is called the father of the Indian space programme?
Vikram Sarabhai.
Answer: Vikram Sarabhai
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Which mission was ISRO's 100th launch from Sriharikota, and which joint satellite with NASA was launched in July 2025?
GSLV-F15 carrying NVS-02 on 29 January 2025 was the 100th launch. NISAR, the NASA-ISRO radar satellite, was launched on 30 July 2025 on GSLV-F16.
Answer: GSLV-F15 (NVS-02); NISAR
60-Second Revision
- ISRO 1969, Bengaluru; Sarabhai father; Sriharikota launch site; Aryabhata 1975.
- Chandrayaan-3: Vikram and Pragyan, landed 23 Aug 2023 near the south pole.
- Aditya-L1: first solar mission, L1 about 1.5 million km away, 7 payloads.
- SpaDeX docking 16 Jan 2025: India fourth country; NISAR July 2025.