Q. Which of the following pair(s) is/are correctly matched?

SpacecraftPurpose
1.Cassini-Huygens:Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth
2.Messenger:Mapping and investigating the Mercury
3.Voyager 1 & 2:Exploring the outer solar system

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

  • 1 only
  • 2 and 3 only
  • 1 and 3 only
  • 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Cassini–Huygens
  • Cassini–Huygens, commonly called Cassini, was a space-research mission by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency to send a space probe to study the planet Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites.
  • It took us to astounding worlds where methane rivers run to a methane sea and where jets of ice and gas are blasting material into space from a liquid water ocean that might harbor the ingredients for life.
MESSENGER
  • MESSENGER was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury’s chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field.
  • The name is a backronym for “Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging”.
Voyager program
  • The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two robotic interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
  • They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable alignment of the two gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and the ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, to fly near them while collecting data for transmission back to Earth.
  • After launch, the decision was made to send Voyager 2 near Uranus and Neptune to collect data for transmission back to Earth.
voyager