Why in the news?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said its PSLV-C58/XPoSat mission has practically left zero debris in earth’s orbit.

About PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3)

Launched on January 1, 2024, POEM-3 utilized the spent PS4 stage of the PSLV-C58 vehicle, which initially launched XPoSat.
It is a three-axis-altitude controlled platform with power generation and tele-command & telemetry capabilities, for supporting Payloads.
The XPoSat mission aimed to leave no debris in space, demonstrating ISRO’s commitment to responsible space practices.
Upon deployment into its orbit at 650 km, POEM-3 was maneuvered to a 350 km circular orbit to minimize orbit decay time after the experiment’s completion.
After completing 400 orbits, POEM-3 re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after 73 days in space.

With the rise in the number of satellites in orbit around the earth, space debris has become a pressing issue.
Space debris in the low earth orbit (LEO) mainly comprises pieces of spacecraft, rockets, and defunct satellites, and the fragments of objects that have deteriorated explosively as a result of anti-satellite missile tests.
This debris often flies around at high speeds of up to 27,000 kilometres per hour.
Due to their sheer volume and momentum, they pose a risk to several space assets.

It creates unusable regions of the orbit due to excessive debris, and
Leads to the ‘Kessler syndrome’ – creation of more debris due to cascading collisions resulting from one collision.

	Description
Project NETRA	ISRO initiative for early warning system in space to detect debris and hazards to the Indian satellites. It can spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.
Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines	Established in 2002 by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) and endorsed by the United Nations in 2007.
Zero Debris Charter by ESA	Adopted by the European Space Agency (ESA) with the goal of achieving zero space debris by 2030.
NASA’s Orbital Debris Program	NASA’s initiative since 1979, focusing on reducing orbital debris creation, tracking existing debris, and exploring debris removal technologies.
Space Force Tracking System	Implemented by the U.S. Space Force to monitor space debris and assess collision risks in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Chinese Debris Removal Initiatives	China’s efforts include deploying spacecraft for debris removal with innovative technologies like solar sails.
Japanese CRD2 Demonstration	Partnership between Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Astroscale to develop debris removal technologies.

ISRO’s PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) recently re-entered Earth’s Orbit. What is so significant about this re-entry?

(a) It practically left zero debris in earth’s orbit.

(b) It facilitated groundbreaking research on the effects of microgravity on biological organisms.

(d) None of these.