Important Questions for CBSE Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 4 - An Indian American Woman in Space: Kalpana Chawala

A. Very Short Answer Questions: 1 Mark 

1. Word – Meaning from the given chapter: 

i. Frontier

Ans: Border or boundary.

ii. Aeronautical 

Ans: Branch of science related to aircraft building or flying it.

iii. Licensed 

Ans: Permitted by law to do some tasks.

iv. Encyclopedic 

Ans: Vast knowledge on a subject.

2. Fill in the blanks:

i. Unprecedented space tragedy is _______. 

Ans: a catastrophic incident occurring in space that has never occurred before.  

ii. Certified flight instructor _______. 

Ans: is a person who has the proper qualification to train other people about flying aircraft. 

iii. Space mission is _______. 

Ans: a specific set of tasks to be performed by a group of people in space. 

iv. Encyclopaedic knowledge is about ______. 

Ans: having enormous knowledge regarding many aspects of one or more subjects.

True – False:

i. Dr Kalpana Chawla was a part of the international crew aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle, Columbia. 

Ans: True

ii. Dr Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of India to go into space. 

Ans: True

iii. She did her masters in India. 

Ans: False

iv. She was not permitted to fly multi-engine land aeroplanes, single-engine seaplanes and gliders. 

Ans: False

4. Match the following with respect to Columbia’s ill-fated voyage:

Ans: 

5. Give the meaning of the given phrasal verbs:

i. Onboard

Ans: On a ship, aircraft, space shuttle or on a team

ii. Broke apart

Ans: Denigrated  

iii. Carry on 

Ans: Continue

iv. Streaked over 

Ans: Passing by quickly or spread across a large area

B. Short Answer Questions: 2 Marks 

1. Where was Kalpana Chawla born? 

Ans: Kalpana Chawla was born in Karnal, in Haryana, a northern state of India. 

2. When was she born? 

Ans: Kalpana Chawla was born on 1st July 1961.

3. Who was her husband? 

Ans: Dr. Kalpana Chawla married Jean-Pierre Harrison, who himself was a flight instructor.

4. When and why did she go to the U.S.? 

Ans: After getting her graduate degree in India, Kalpana Chawla went to the United States of America to pursue a Masters degree in aeronautical engineering and eventually to obtain a doctoral degree. 

5. What were her abilities? 

Ans: Kalpana Chawla was not only a trained astronaut. She also had the credibility to fly different types of aircraft. She could fly multi-engine land aeroplanes, single-engine seaplanes as well as gliders. She also obtained a certification to teach flying aircraft.

C. Short Answer Questions: 3 Marks 

1. Why was Kalpana Chawla known as Indian-American? 

Ans: Kalpana Chawla was an Indian by birth. Her birthplace was Karnal, Haryana. Later when she married an American, she was awarded citizenship of the United States of America. Thus, she was called Indian-American. 

2. What motivated her to be an astronaut? 

Ans: Kalpana Chawla obtained a Bachelor degree in aeronautical engineering in India. Later she completed her Master degree course in the U.S. and earned a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering. NASA selected her for training as an astronaut in 1994. The important people in her life also encouraged her to become an astronaut. 

3. Describe the abilities mentioned by the journalist? 

Ans: According to the journalist, an astronaut must have vast knowledge in different subjects and most profoundly in Aeronautical Engineering. He/She must also have deep knowledge in Biology, astrophysics and other subjects. He mentioned that in space, an astronaut’s body goes into changes, of which the individual should be very much aware.

4. What was Kalpana Chawla’s first mission in space? 

Ans: The first mission in space attended by Kalpana Chawla was Columbia flight. The space shuttle was launched on November 19, 1997. She flew in the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. 

5. Write the first stanza of the poem. 

Ans: 

Beauty is seen 

In the sunlight, 

The trees, the birds, 

Corn growing and people working 

Or dancing for their harvest.

D. Long Answer Questions: 5 Marks 

1. Write a biography of Kalpana Chawla in approx 100 words. 

Ans: The first Indian woman to travel into space, Kalpana Chawla was born on July 1st, 1961 in Karnal, Haryana. Her schooling and graduation in aeronautical engineering were completed in India. She obtained two master degrees in aerospace engineering and also completed her doctoral research in the U.S. She was selected for astronaut training in 1994 by NASA. Her first mission was in the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS 87. She spent a total of 336 hours in space during that mission.  Her untimely death came during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1st 2003. She was posthumously honoured with the Congressional Space Medal.

2. Describe the mission in which Kalpana Chawla lost her life. 

Ans: The Space Shuttle Columbia was lifted off on 23 January 2003 from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. There were a total of seven members including Kalpana Chawla. The shuttle was returning on  February 1st, 2003 on re-entering the earth’s atmosphere when at around 200,000 feet it lost all contacts with the radar and was destroyed. 

3. What was the idea of pursuing a dream for Kalpana Chawla? Is it possible to be successful? 

Ans: When it came to her ambitions and dreams, Kalpana Chawla believed that dreams are the roads to success and fulfilling her ambitions. One must have the vision to find his dream and must have the courage and motivation to fulfil it. With courage and a dream to continue, she became an astronaut despite the hurdles she faced.  Yes, it is possible to be successful. Success comes to you only when you have a goal and a strong desire to achieve it. This strong desire to achieve the goal helps us to do whatever possible to become successful.

4. Do you have a ‘dream’, or something you very much wish to do? 

Ans: The driving force towards success in life is dreams. They are powerful tools to drive the inner self towards bringing out the best in one.  My dream is very simple. I wish to qualify for the medical entrance examination and become a doctor. A doctor helps society in staying healthy and cures people. I too wish to become a doctor and help the world and cure poor people for free. Whatever it takes, I am going to work hard till I make the world a better place. 

5. Why is Kalpana Chawla regarded as an inspiration for millions of Indians? 

Ans: Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian born female astronaut to travel into space. Even though she faced a multitude of obstacles, she continued to live her dream and finally achieved it. She not only excelled academically but also was an accomplished pilot and a certified flight instructor. Her dream came true to become an astronaut as she was selected for NASA’s project. She travelled to space in Columbia Space Shuttle’s first mission in 1997 and spent 15 days 16 hours 34 minutes in space. Unfortunately, she could not live her dream when the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster happened on February 1st, 2003. She was a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal posthumously.  From her life story, millions of Indians can take inspiration from how a girl born in the small city of Haryana became the first female astronaut from India to visit space. While addressing students from her college in Chandigarh, she gave a message that said to keep dreaming and working hard for their dreams to be fulfilled.

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