Missions, Rockets & Stations

25 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1.Which space technology uses a planet's motion to speed a spacecraft up?
- A. a solar sail
- B. an ion engine
- C. aerobraking
- D. a gravity assist
Show answer
a gravity assist
Did you know? The Voyagers gained speed from gravity assists at the giant planets.
2.Which mission was the first rover driven on another world?
- A. Sojourner
- B. Perseverance
- C. Lunokhod 1
- D. DART
Show answer
Lunokhod 1
Did you know? Lunokhod 1 rolled across the Moon in late 1970.
3.Which satellite was the giant balloon used as a passive relay in 1960?
- A. Syncom 3
- B. TIROS-1
- C. Echo 1
- D. Explorer 1
Show answer
Echo 1
Did you know? Echo 1's metalized balloon simply reflected radio signals.
4.Which space technology slows a spacecraft by skimming a planet's atmosphere?
- A. an ion engine
- B. aerobraking
- C. a heat shield
- D. a gravity assist
Show answer
aerobraking
Did you know? Mars orbiters use aerobraking to tighten their orbits.
5.Which mission was the first American spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon?
- A. Surveyor 1
- B. Dawn
- C. Magellan
- D. Mars Express
Show answer
Surveyor 1
Did you know? Surveyor 1 landed safely in June 1966.
6.Which satellite relayed the first live transatlantic TV pictures in 1962?
- A. Telstar 1
- B. Syncom 3
- C. Echo 1
- D. Explorer 1
Show answer
Telstar 1
Did you know? Telstar 1 launched a day after a high-altitude nuclear test, and radiation soon felled it.
7.Which space technology propels craft by accelerating charged gas?
- A. aerobraking
- B. a gravity assist
- C. an ion engine
- D. a heat shield
Show answer
an ion engine
Did you know? Ion engines sip fuel but thrust for months.
8.Which mission carried the first commercial crew to the station in 2020?
- A. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
- B. Luna 9
- C. Crew Dragon
- D. Perseverance
Show answer
Crew Dragon
Did you know? Crew Dragon's first crewed flight lifted off in May 2020.
9.Which mission returned fresh lunar samples to Earth in 2020?
- A. Chang'e 5
- B. Chang'e 4
- C. Apollo 13
- D. Luna 9
Show answer
Chang'e 5
Did you know? Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample return since 1976.
10.Which mission has returned sharp Mars images with its HiRISE camera?
- A. Pioneer 11
- B. New Horizons
- C. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
- D. Sojourner
Show answer
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Did you know? MRO reached Mars in 2006 and still relays rover data.
11.Which mission was the European Space Agency's first Mars orbiter?
- A. the Voyager Golden Record
- B. Apollo-Soyuz
- C. Ranger 7
- D. Mars Express
Show answer
Mars Express
Did you know? Mars Express arrived at Mars in December 2003.
12.Which mission was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon's surface?
- A. Venera 7
- B. Apollo 8
- C. Luna 2
- D. Sojourner
Show answer
Luna 2
Did you know? Luna 2 impacted the Moon in September 1959.
13.Which mission orbited both Vesta and Ceres?
- A. Chandrayaan-1
- B. Luna 3
- C. Dawn
- D. Tianwen-1
Show answer
Dawn
Did you know? Dawn used ion propulsion to hop between two asteroid-belt worlds.
14.Which mission is the European mission to Jupiter's icy moons?
- A. BepiColombo
- B. Pioneer 11
- C. Chandrayaan-1
- D. JUICE
Show answer
JUICE
Did you know? JUICE launched in April 2023 toward Jupiter.
15.Which mission made the first successful landing on another planet?
- A. Perseverance
- B. Chandrayaan-1
- C. Venera 7
- D. Hayabusa
Show answer
Venera 7
Did you know? Venera 7 soft-landed on Venus in December 1970.
16.Which mission is the rover caching rock samples for a future return?
- A. Mangalyaan
- B. Cassini-Huygens
- C. Perseverance
- D. Voyager 2
Show answer
Perseverance
Did you know? Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater in February 2021.
17.Which mission sent home the first close-up Moon pictures from the US?
- A. Ranger 7
- B. Mangalyaan
- C. Chang'e 5
- D. Phoenix
Show answer
Ranger 7
Did you know? Ranger 7 beamed photos until its planned crash in 1964.
18.Which mission flew past Mars and sent the first close pictures in 1965?
- A. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- B. Ingenuity
- C. Mariner 4
- D. Mariner 10
Show answer
Mariner 4
Did you know? Mariner 4 revealed Mars as a cratered, moonlike world.
19.Which mission was the Mars rover planned for 90 days that ran 14 years?
- A. Curiosity
- B. Apollo 13
- C. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- D. Opportunity
Show answer
Opportunity
Did you know? Opportunity finally fell silent after a planet-wide dust storm in 2018.
20.Which mission is the fastest human-made object, diving close to the Sun?
- A. Chandrayaan-1
- B. Parker Solar Probe
- C. Luna 3
- D. Ranger 7
Show answer
Parker Solar Probe
Did you know? Parker Solar Probe flew through the Sun's corona in 2021.
21.Which mission made the first close flyby of Saturn?
- A. Luna 2
- B. Venera 7
- C. New Horizons
- D. Pioneer 11
Show answer
Pioneer 11
Did you know? Pioneer 11 slipped between Saturn and its rings in 1979.
22.Which mission has orbited Jupiter over its poles since 2016?
- A. DART
- B. Apollo 13
- C. Juno
- D. Ingenuity
Show answer
Juno
Did you know? Juno's polar path avoids Jupiter's worst radiation belts.
23.Which mission was the 2022 uncrewed test flight around the Moon?
- A. Perseverance
- B. Artemis I
- C. Dawn
- D. Juno
Show answer
Artemis I
Did you know? Artemis I sent the Orion capsule around the Moon in November 2022.
24.Which mission returned the first pictures of the Moon's far side?
- A. Apollo 13
- B. Pioneer 11
- C. Lucy
- D. Luna 3
Show answer
Luna 3
Did you know? Luna 3 photographed the far side in October 1959.
25.Which mission made the first soft landing near the Moon's south pole?
- A. Juno
- B. Chandrayaan-1
- C. Chandrayaan-3
- D. Ranger 7
Show answer
Chandrayaan-3
Did you know? Chandrayaan-3 landed in August 2023.

Questions are for entertainment — difficulty ratings are a guide, and you know your crowd best. Always follow the rules of your venue or event.