Question

Following are some famous space missions. Arrange them in chronology
(A) International Space Station, NASA
(B) NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)
(C) Sentinel, ESA
(D) Robotic spacecraft Hayabusa, JAXA
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A. (A), (B), (C), (D).
• B. (A), (D), (C), (B).
• C. (B), (A), (D), (C).
• D. (C), (B), (D), (A).

Hint:

To remember this sequence, focus on the extremes:
ISS is the oldest (launched in 1998).
NISAR is the newest/future mission (planned launch in 2024).
This places (A) first and (B) last, which uniquely identifies option (B).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Chronology in space exploration involves tracing the launch dates and operational periods of major satellites, spacecraft, and space stations.
These missions are launched by diverse international space agencies—including NASA (USA), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and ISRO (India)—to study Earth observation, deep space, asteroid sampling, or human habitation.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us identify the launch years of each of the listed space missions to establish their chronological order:
(A). International Space Station (ISS), NASA:
The construction of the International Space Station began with the launch of its first module, Zarya, on November 20, 1998.
The first resident crew arrived in November 2000, making it a pioneer in long-term human habitation in space.
Thus, (A) is the earliest mission (1998).
(D). Robotic spacecraft Hayabusa, JAXA:
Hayabusa was an asteroid sample return mission developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
It was launched on May 9, 2003, traveled to the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa, collected samples, and successfully returned them to Earth in June 2010.
Thus, (D) is the second mission (2003).
(C). Sentinel, ESA:
The Sentinel missions are a family of next-generation Earth observation satellites developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) under the Copernicus program.
The first satellite in this series, Sentinel-1A, was launched on April 3, 2014.
Thus, (C) is the third mission (2014).
(B). NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR):
NISAR is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to develop a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar satellite for Earth remote sensing.
Its planned launch is scheduled for 2024.
Thus, (B) is the most recent/future mission (2024).
Arranging these in chronological order:
(A) ISS (1998) \(\rightarrow\) (D) Hayabusa (2003) \(\rightarrow\) (C) Sentinel (2014) \(\rightarrow\) (B) NISAR (2024).
This matches the sequence: (A), (D), (C), (B), corresponding to option (B).

Step 3: Final Answer:
Consequently, the correct chronological sequence of the space missions is (A), (D), (C), (B).