Consider the following statements: The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO1.is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission2.made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA3.made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attemptWhich of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. A

   1 only

   Statement 1 is correct: Mangalyaan is the Mars Orbiter Mission. Statement 3 (success in the first attempt) is also treated as correct, so 1 only is incomplete.

2. B

   2 and 3 only

   Statement 2 says India was the second country after the USA to orbit Mars. The Soviet Union and NASA had already achieved Mars orbiters long before; ESA too had Mars Express. India was not second. 2 and 3 only is therefore not the key.

3. C

   1 and 3 only

   Mangalyaan is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission, and ISRO placed an orbiter around Mars on its first dedicated attempt — a first among space agencies in the usual exam formulation. Statement 2 is false on ‘second after USA’. Hence 1 and 3 only is the official key.

4. D

   1, 2 and 3

   All three would require the ‘second after USA’ claim. That claim is false, so this option is wrong.

Summary. Official key is (c) 1 and 3 only. MOM/Mangalyaan reached Martian orbit in September 2014 at comparatively low cost. The name equivalence in statement 1 is true. Statement 3 records the first-attempt success. Statement 2 fails because the USSR and the USA (and later ESA) preceded India in Mars orbit. India was the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, which is a different and true boast.