Consider the following statements regarding: The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO 1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission 2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA 3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: Mangalyaan is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). This was its official designation.
Statement 2 is incorrect: India was not the second country to orbit Mars. Several countries had successfully sent spacecraft to Mars before Mangalyaan, including the USA, Russia, and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Statement 3 is correct: India was indeed the only country at that time to succeed in placing a spacecraft into Martian orbit on its very first attempt. This was a significant achievement for ISRO.
Hence, option C is the correct answer.