RAS question
Japan's JAXA has collaborated with India on which space mission?
Correct answer: (A) LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration) mission.
Japan's JAXA has collaborated with India on the LUPEX, or Lunar Polar Exploration, mission to explore water resources in the Moon's south polar region.
Explanation
LUPEX is the relevant India-Japan collaboration because JAXA describes it as an international joint mission with the Indian Space Research Organization. Its purpose is to collect data on the quantity and quality of lunar water resources, and on how those resources are concentrated, so that their possible use in future sustainable space exploration can be assessed. The mission is focused on the lunar south polar region, where water-ice exploration is central to future lunar habitation and activity. JAXA's page states that Japan is responsible for developing and operating the launch vehicle and rover, while India is responsible for developing and operating the lander. That makes LUPEX, not a Mars, Venus, or Sun mission, the correct collaboration.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) India's Mars mission was India's solo Mars mission, not the ISRO-JAXA LUPEX collaboration described by JAXA.
- (C) A Venus mission does not match JAXA's LUPEX lunar south polar water-resource exploration; Shukrayaan is being planned independently.
- (D) A Sun observation mission points to Aditya-L1, India's solo mission, not the ISRO-JAXA LUPEX partnership.
Concept
This tests international space cooperation under Science and Technology, especially India's agency-level partnerships beyond headline national missions. RAS often asks such questions because mission objectives, partner agencies, and responsibility splits are compact but high-yield current-affairs facts.