📖 Chapter 6 of 12 · Mysterious Space- Basic 2 · Class 7
Chapter 5: The Helpful Machines Above Us: Satellites
What is a satellite?
A satellite is a machine that we send up to travel around the Earth. Held in its path by gravity, it circles high above us, again and again. From up there, a satellite can see large parts of the Earth and can send and receive signals across great distances.
How do satellites help India?
Satellites do quiet, useful work every day. They carry television and telephone signals, help us watch the weather and warn of storms, and guide maps and directions — India even has its own navigation system called NavIC. India's very first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched long ago in 1975, and ISRO has launched a great many since.
Story Time — The Warning from the Sky
Bhavesh · Puri, Odisha
Bhavesh's family, who fished off the coast of Puri, always listened to the weather news before taking the boat out. One evening the news gave a serious warning: a great storm was coming across the sea, and all boats must stay ashore for three days.
“How can they know about a storm that has not arrived yet?” Bhavesh asked his father. “From the satellites,” his father said. “High above the Earth, India's weather satellites watch the clouds and the sea. They saw this storm forming far away and sent the warning down to us.”
Bhavesh thought of the fishing families all along the coast, safe at home because a machine in space had seen the danger coming. “So a satellite far above the sea,” he said, “kept our boats safe?” “It did,” said his father. “Years ago, storms would arrive with no warning, and many boats were lost. Now the satellites watch over us.”
Three days later the storm passed, exactly as the satellite had foreseen, and then the sea grew calm again. When the family finally sailed out, Bhavesh looked up at the clear sky and thought about the quiet, helpful machine circling somewhere far above.
“It cannot stop the storm,” he said, “but it can warn us in time.” His father nodded. “That warning is worth a great deal. That is one of the many ways our satellites serve the country.”
Story Time — The Voice That Found the Way
Nisha · Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Nisha's family set out by car to visit relatives in a village deep in the Rajasthan desert, a place none of them had been before. Her father placed his phone on the dashboard, and a calm voice began to guide them: “In five hundred metres, turn right.”
“How does the phone know where we are, out here with no signboards?” Nisha wondered. Her mother explained. “Satellites. Several of them, high above the Earth, send down signals. The phone listens to them and works out exactly where we are, then shows the way.”
“India has its own navigation satellites now,” her mother added, “a system called NavIC, built by ISRO. It helps fishermen, travellers, and drivers find their way, all across our country.” Nisha watched the little arrow on the map move steadily along the empty desert road.
When they reached the village — exactly as the voice had promised — Nisha's little cousin ran out to greet them, amazed they had found the place at all. “The sky showed us the way,” Nisha told her, only half-joking. “Machines far above the desert, guiding our car.”
That evening, under the brilliant desert stars, Nisha looked up and imagined the satellites among them, circling patiently, sending their steady signals down to travellers below. “The same sky that gives us stars,” she thought, “also helps us find our way home.”
Solved Examples
Think first, then read the answer.
1. What is a satellite?
Show answer
Answer: A satellite is a machine we send up to travel around the Earth, held in its path by gravity.
2. Name three ways satellites help us.
Show answer
Answer: They carry television and telephone signals, watch the weather and warn of storms, and guide maps and directions.
3. How did a satellite keep Bhavesh's family safe?
Show answer
Answer: A weather satellite saw the storm forming far away and sent a warning, so the boats stayed ashore.
4. What is NavIC?
Show answer
Answer: NavIC is India's own navigation system, built by ISRO, that helps people find their way.
5. What was India's first satellite, and when was it launched?
Show answer
Answer: India's first satellite was Aryabhata, launched in 1975.
Check Your Understanding
A. Fill in the blanks
- A satellite travels around the _______.
- India's navigation system is called _______.
- India's first satellite was _______.
B. Write True or False
- Satellites can help warn us about storms. ( ___ )
- Satellites are held in their path by gravity. ( ___ )
- Satellites are of no use to ordinary people. ( ___ )
C. Answer in one word
- Which machine in space carries TV signals?
- Which system helps a phone show the way?
D. Think and answer
- How do weather satellites help fishing families?
- Name one thing at your home that may use a satellite.
- Why is a storm warning so valuable?
Check your understanding
Tap an answer to see if it is correct. This is just for fun — nothing is saved.
1. What is a satellite?
- A star
- A machine that orbits the Earth
- A kind of cloud
Show answer
B. A machine that orbits the Earth
2. What is India's navigation system called?
- NavIC
- Aryabhata
- Mangalyaan
Show answer
A. NavIC
3. How do satellites help fishing families?
- They catch fish
- They warn about storms
- They sell the catch
Show answer
B. They warn about storms