General Knowledge MCQs
Topic Notes: General Knowledge
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
3041
What is the name of the two twin spacecraft comprising the ESCAPADE mission?
Answer:
Blue and Gold
The two small satellites making up the ESCAPADE mission are named 'Blue' and 'Gold'.
3042
Which ESA mission performed a flyby of Mars in March 2025 to adjust its trajectory towards the asteroid Didymos?
Answer:
Hera
The Hera spacecraft, launched in Oct 2024, performed a gravity assist flyby of Mars in March 2025 to set it on course for its 2026 rendezvous with the binary asteroid Didymos.
3043
Updates in 2025 confirmed that the first module of the new 'Russian Orbital Service Station' (ROS) is scheduled for launch in:
Answer:
2027
Roscosmos confirmed that the first module (NEM-1) of the new sovereign Russian Orbital Station is scheduled to launch in 2027.
3044
The UAE's 'Rashid 2' rover completed its testing in November 2025 and was shipped to the US for a future launch. Which company is providing the lander?
Answer:
Firefly Aerospace
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) partnered with Firefly Aerospace to deliver the Rashid 2 rover to the lunar surface.
3045
Which payload on the IM-2 'Athena' lander was designed to drill into the lunar surface to harvest ice?
Answer:
PRIME-1 (TRIDENT drill)
The primary payload for IM-2 was PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1), which included the TRIDENT drill designed to harvest ice from below the lunar surface.
3046
In November 2025, the James Webb Space Telescope confirmed the existence of a rapidly growing supermassive black hole just 570 million years after the Big Bang in which galaxy?
Answer:
CANUCS-LRD-z8.6
JWST identified a voraciously feeding supermassive black hole in the galaxy CANUCS-LRD-z8.6, challenging theories about how quickly such massive objects could form in the early universe.
3047
The JAXA 'Martian Moons eXploration' (MMX) mission, originally targeted for 2024, was officially delayed in the 2025 timeframe to launch in which year?
Answer:
2026
Due to issues with the H3 launch vehicle, JAXA postponed the MMX mission launch from 2024 to the next available Mars window in 2026.
3048
What is the primary scientific goal of the 'ESCAPADE' mission launched in late 2025?
Answer:
Study how solar wind strips Mars' atmosphere
ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) consists of two orbiters designed to study how the solar wind interacts with Mars' magnetosphere and drives atmospheric escape.
3049
Which NASA mission performed a gravity assist flyby of Mars in March 2025 on its way to Jupiter?
Answer:
Europa Clipper
NASA's Europa Clipper, launched in October 2024, executed a Mars gravity assist flyby in March 2025 to gain the necessary speed to reach Jupiter.
3050
ISRO's 'Proba-3' mission, launched in late 2024, is a collaboration with ESA to demonstrate what technology?
Answer:
Precise formation flying to create a solar coronagraph
Proba-3 is an ESA mission launched by ISRO to demonstrate precise formation flying, where two satellites fly in tandem to form an artificial solar eclipse (coronagraph).