Question

Difficulty: MediumScience, Emerging Technology, and Space Missions in News

With reference to the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, recently featured in space technology news, consider the following statements:
1. It is a joint collaborative lunar exploration initiative between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
2. Under the mission agreement, ISRO will manufacture the lunar rover while JAXA will provide the lander module.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 onlyAnswer
  2. B
    2 only
  3. C
    Both 1 and 2
  4. D
    Neither 1 nor 2

Answer

Only Statement 1 is correct.
Only Statement 1 is correct. The Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission is a collaborative effort between ISRO (India) and JAXA (Japan) aimed at investigating the presence, quantity, and quality of water on the Moon's south pole. Under the agreed division of work, ISRO is responsible for designing and developing the lunar lander, while JAXA is responsible for building the lunar rover and providing the H3 launch vehicle.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate Statement 1 regarding the participating space agencies in LUPEX.
Statement 1 is correct. LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration) is a planned joint mission between India's ISRO and Japan's JAXA to explore the polar region of the Moon for potential water-ice reserves.
Accurately identifies the bilateral space agency partnership.
2
Evaluate Statement 2 regarding hardware development roles.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The payload responsibility division assigns the lander module to ISRO and the lunar rover along with the H3 launch vehicle to JAXA.
Identifies the deliberate reversal of lander and rover allocations between ISRO and JAXA.
3
Synthesize the correctness of statements to select the final option.
Only Statement 1 is correct.
Statement 1 is true while Statement 2 is false.

Key Concept

Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission framework and agency responsibilities
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