Chandrayaan-1 Trivia Questions

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was deliberately crashed near the south pole to trigger debris analysis and confirm water signatures.

Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008, using a PSLV-C11 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The statement is factually correct.

Chandrayaan-1 was an orbiter only; it carried an impact probe but no rover. India's first lunar rover landed with Chandrayaan-3 in 2023.

It lasted just 312 days (10 months) before radio contact was lost in August 2009—far short of its planned two-year mission.

Its Moon Mineralogy Mapper detected hydroxyl molecules, confirming water ice in polar craters—a groundbreaking finding for future missions.

Its Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) captured stereo images covering 95% of the lunar surface, producing the most detailed 3D map at the time.

Chandrayaan-1 detected elements such as thorium and calcium, but no uranium. Uranium on the Moon was previously confirmed by NASA's Lunar Prospector in 1998.

NASA provided the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, ESA contributed three instruments, and Bulgaria supplied a radiation monitor—rare international collaboration.