PET 2026 · General Awareness

Space missions: service, experiment and training

Classify space programmes by whether they navigate, dock, observe or simulate

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MINDMAPS FOR UPSCPET 2026 · VISUAL REVISION

Space missions: service, experiment and training

Classify space programmes by whether they navigate, dock, observe or simulate

Comparison
Four distinct space-programme roles

NavIC · navigation

  • ISRO’s NavIC provides regional positioning, navigation and timing services.
  • Provides positioning, navigation and timing over India and a 1500 km surrounding belt.
  • Uses geostationary and inclined geosynchronous satellites for continuous regional cover.

SpaDeX · docking

  • SpaDeX demonstrated orbital docking in 2025.
  • Two satellites (Chaser and Target) rendezvoused and docked in low Earth orbit.
  • Made India the fourth country with space-docking capability (after US, Russia, China).

Roman · observation

  • Space telescopes observe above Earth's atmosphere to avoid blurring and absorption.
  • NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope honours the astronomer called 'Mother of Hubble'.
  • Roman is designed for wide-field infrared surveys, including dark-energy and exoplanet studies.

HOPE · ground analog

  • Analog missions test habitats, crew protocols and instruments in Earth environments.
  • ISRO inaugurated the HOPE analog setup in Tso Kar Valley, Ladakh in July 2025.
  • Earth analog sites reproduce selected challenges, not the full lunar or Martian environment.
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Practise this concept · संबंधित प्रश्न

One visual, several questions. These links open the original paper at the matching question.

25 Oct · Shift 1 · 2026

25 Oct · Shift 2 · 2026

Sources & study notes · स्रोत

Independent revision material, linked to the paper’s concepts. The question papers and answer-key status are available on OpenPYQ.