An artificial satellite orbiting around the Earth does not fall down. This is so because the attraction of Earth

Option D is correct. At orbital height, around 400 km for low Earth orbit, gravity is still about 90 per cent of its surface value, roughly 8.7 m/s². The attraction clearly exists. A satellite stays up because this inward pull keeps changing the direction of its velocity, and that inward acceleration equals v²/r, the centripetal acceleration needed for circular motion. The satellite is in continuous free fall around the Earth, and the Earth's curvature keeps it from landing.

• A is wrong. Gravity extends indefinitely and only weakens with distance, following the inverse square law.
• B is wrong. The Moon's pull on a near-Earth satellite is negligible for this purpose, and nothing is being neutralised.
• C is wrong. Gravity does no work on the satellite's speed in a circular orbit. The orbital speed comes from the launch velocity, while gravity only changes its direction.

Core concept: gravitation as the centripetal force. This links to the Science and Technology and Space topics in the syllabus, and to Mains answers on satellite communication and remote sensing.

Trap: choosing C because speed and motion seem linked. Gravity supplies acceleration, not speed.