Image: narvikk/E+/GettyImages
About This Quiz
In the 1960s, America was captivated by the possibility of landing a human, invariably referred to as a "man," on the moon. This goal was a matter of national prestige and pride, a matter of beating what was then our most prominent political enemy (who we'd mention by name, but can't; it'd be a spoiler for one of the quiz questions to come). It was also something of a distraction in the late 1960s when race relations and the Vietnam War were dividing the nation as few things did before or since.Â
Though America's space program was lagging behind that of That Powerful Rival, there had been signs that things were going in the right direction. NASA had launched Alan Shepard into space, then John Glenn into orbit. But just when the moon seemed within reach, there was a tragic setback, a flash fire in a grounded capsule, during a launch rehearsal, killed three crew members, among them Gus Grissom. This set back manned flights for 20 months, while NASA investigated what went wrong.
As we all know, things eventually went right, and an American was the first to leave a footprint on the moon. How much do you know about this momentous historical event? We've got a quiz that'll test your space savvy - give it a try now!
Which president considered it important to land a man on the moon "and bring him back safely"?
Dwight Eisenhower
Lyndon B. Johnson
John F. Kennedy
Kennedy made the vow to send a human to the moon, which was not fulfilled in his lifetime. His predecessor, Eisenhower, thought it was crazy to spend billions (yes, billions, in 1960s dollars) in what was essentially a competition with the Soviets.
Richard Nixon
Advertisement
What was the name of the NASA mission that the moon landing was part of?
Apollo 11
The lunar missions were named after the Greek god of daytime, learning and medicine, a forward-thinking, ambitious sort of god. The Viking missions were unmanned ones to Mars.
Apollo 14
Viking II
Gemini 1
Advertisement
Which of these astronauts was NOT a part of the lunar mission?
Buzz Aldrin
Neil Armstrong
Michael Collins
Yuri Gagarin
If you got this question wrong, the rest of this quiz might not go so well. Gagarin not only wasn't part of the Apollo mission, but he wasn't even part of NASA. He was a Russian cosmonaut and the first man in space.
Advertisement
Which year did the Apollo 11 lunar module land on the moon?
1967
1968
1969
Sadly, the Apollo 11 mission occurred in the last year of the 1960s. We say "sadly" because it would have been probably the one thing that could have kept the 1970s from being a lousy decade from start to finish. (Consider: Nixon, disco, stagflation, Carter, Iran hostage crisis, polyester...)
1970
Advertisement
More specifically, in what month did the moon landing take place?
January
April
July
If you've got a newspaper from July 21, 1969, you've got a real keepsake on your hands. It was on the previous day that Armstrong took his first steps on the moon.
November
Advertisement
Who was president of the U.S. at the time of the moon landing?
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
While Kennedy made the bold (and costly) promise to send a human to the moon, it wasn't him or his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, who saw it through. It was Richard Nixon.
Gerald Ford
Spiro Agnew
Advertisement
True or false: The Apollo 11 mission wasn't the first time a craft had landed on the moon.
True
The Soviets, who led in most space-related accomplishments before the Apollo 11 mission, landed the Luna 2 module previously. It was, of course, unmanned.
False
Advertisement
What was the name of the lunar module (the part that actually landed)?
The America
The Eagle
This allowed for the majestic-sounding phrase "The Eagle has landed." Which has been parodied in various ways ever since.
The Laika
The Santa Maria
Advertisement
Which of these Apollo astronauts didn't walk on the moon?
Buzz Aldrin
Michael Collins
Michael Collins stayed in orbit, piloting the command module. Hey, somebody had to - he's the unsung hero of the mission!
Both Aldrin and Collins
All three astronauts walked on the moon.
Advertisement
About how long did Aldrin and Armstrong spend on the moon?
One hour
Five hours
Eight hours
Nearly a day
To us, this sounds like a long time to spend on a barren airless surface. Unless they found a Starbucks up there, which seems possible given the green mermaid's market saturation.
Advertisement
What was the name of the mission's command module (which stayed in orbit during the landing)?
Athena
Columbia
"Columbia" is sometimes used as a metaphoric name for America (because of Christopher Columbus). So, like "Eagle," it was an expression of national pride.
Hawk
Nidia
Advertisement
The general area in which the Eagle landed was called the ...
Elysium Planitia
Meridiani Planum
The Marianas Trench
The Sea of Tranquility
Lunar seas, also called "maria" in Latin, are smooth, flat places on the moon. If you're viewing the moon with binoculars or a telescope, look for the darker areas.
Advertisement
What was the competition with the Soviets for dominance in space commonly called?
The Cosmos Competition
The Astro Challenge
Crossing the Lunar Curtain
The Space Race
The Space Race, it has to be said, was not one of America's marquee accomplishments. Yes, we got a man to the moon before the Soviets. But the practical benefits of the Apollo missions, in terms of technology, scientific breakthroughs, et cetera, haven't been terribly impressive. Okay, Tang is nice, but still...
Advertisement
In which ocean did the returning Columbia module splash down?
Arctic
Atlantic
Indian
Pacific
The USS Hornet was tasked with picking up the three returning astronauts. One of the people who greeted the returning party was a Navy officer named John S. McCain Jr., whose son would go on to make a splash (sorry) in politics.
Advertisement
After returning to Earth, the Apollo astronauts spent 21 days in what?
Meditative seclusion
Quarantine
Scientists knew that the Moon, barren and devoid of atmosphere, was an unlikely breeding ground for pathogens. Still, to be sure, the astronauts were sponge-bathed with antibacterials and then spent three weeks in quarantine.
Top-secret debriefings
Las Vegas, partying
Advertisement
How many other manned moon missions have there been since Apollo 11?
Two
Three
Four
Five
Though the subsequent missions got far less attention, no less than five trips sent humans to the moon after Neil Armstrong's "small step for a man." The last was in 1972.
Advertisement
What kind of rockets launched the Apollo missions from Earth?
Mercury
Hermes
Saturn
If you chose "John Deere," go to your room! This is a serious quiz about a serious episode in history, &$#!!
John Deere
Advertisement
The speed which allows spacecraft to overcome Earth's gravity is called...
Critical radius
Escape velocity
Bear in mind, "escape velocity" doesn't just apply to Earth. The Apollo 11 astronauts had to escape the moon's gravity on the way back.
Maximal velocity
Warp speed
Advertisement
What was, and still is, the name of the U.S. space agency that planned the moon missions?
The Air Force
Air America
NASA
NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Many people incorrectly think the second "A" stands for "Agency" or even "Association."
TWA
Advertisement
What key word did Armstrong leave out of his "small step... giant leap" statement?
"a"
Though Armstrong's first words on the moon are often quoted as "That's one small step for *a* man, one giant leap for mankind," he can actually be heard saying "...step for man..." Since "man" and "mankind" are interchangeable words, this makes the literal statement a bit confusing. However, people clearly understand what he was trying to say.
"for"
"man"
"the"
Advertisement
Which of these is Buzz Aldrin's first name?
Brian
Edward
Edwin
Buzz Aldrin's full name was Edwin Eugene Aldrin. His nickname was given to him by his younger brother, who called him "Buzzer" instead of "Brother."
It's actually Buzz
Advertisement
Which of the Apollo 11 astronauts died in 2012?
Buzz Aldrin
Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong was private, but not truly reclusive, in his last years. Collins and Aldrin are still alive as of the writing of this quiz.
Michael Collins
Both Armstrong and Collins
Advertisement
Which of these branches of the military did none of the Apollo astronauts serve in?
Air Force
Army
Marines
Armstrong served in the Navy. Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins both started their military careers at West Point, which is considered official enlistment in the Army, and both transferred to the Air Force.
Navy
Advertisement
Which series of spaceflights immediately preceded the Apollo program?
Artemis
Gemini
The Mercury Project was the first manned spaceflight program and the one that put John Glenn into orbit. But the Gemini project came in between them, as part of the run-up to a moon mission.
Mercury
Thor
Advertisement
Groundbreaking African-American mathematician Katherine Johnson, who worked on the Apollo project, was the subject of which movie?
"A Beautiful Mind"
"Hidden Figures"
"Hidden Figures" told the stories of Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, all of whom broke barriers at NASA. The film portrays as the most gifted of the three and its central character.
"The Imitation Game"
"Apollo 13"
Advertisement
Which of these Hollywood directors was dogged by rumors that he helped fake the moon landing?
Cecil B. DeMille
Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick, who died in 1999, never really escape the rumors that he helped stage and film a fake moon landing. Conspiracy theorists see several supposed "nods" to this in "The Shining," chiefly the scene in which young Danny wears an "Apollo 11" sweater with a rocket design.
Sam Peckinpah
Orson Welles
Advertisement
Up to 20 percent of Americans believe what about the moon landing?
That it never happened
When you think about it, the underlying logic isn't entirely bankrupt: America was desperate to beat the Russians to the moon, and it would be much easier to fake than to actually accomplish. However, the idea that so many people, hundreds, really, would guard this secret for the next 50 years and counting is harder to believe than anything else about the moon landing.
That it was too expensive
That it was a joint Soviet-U.S. project
That bringing back soil samples brought diseases to Earth
Advertisement
What did the Apollo 11 astronauts have to say about the famous "face on the moon"?
That it was definitely a natural feature
That it might have been made by aliens
That up close, it doesn't look like a face
There is no "face on the moon"
The famous "face" is on Mars, not the moon. The feature on the Cydonia region is generally considered to be an accident of geology, not the work of aliens.
Advertisement
True or false: The only lunar rocks on Earth are the ones Armstrong and Aldrin collected.
True
False
Moon rocks have landed on Earth as meteorites. For this to happen, they have to be violently dislodged from the moon's surface by "impact events," then fall to earth. They also have to be large enough to partially survive passing through the Earth's atmosphere. So this is rare, but it does happen.
Advertisement
Where can you see a sample of moon rock on display?
The National Air and Space Museum
The American Museum of Natural History
Johnson Space Center in Houston
All of these and more
President Nixon, in 1973, directed that a large lunar-rock sample be broken up and distributed among all 50 states and some foreign countries. Some of these "goodwill rocks" have been stolen or lost, but many others can be seen in various museums.
Advertisement
What are armalcolite, tranquillityite and pyroxferroite?
Components in the Apollo spacecraft's heat shield
Named regions of the moon
Minerals first discovered on the moon
It was initially thought that these new minerals only existed on the moon. However, they have since been discovered on Earth, though they form under rare conditions.
Dehydrated foods eaten in space
Advertisement
How far is the moon from the Earth?
86,000 miles
186,000 miles
238,900 miles
This varies slightly depending on the time of the month (that's what she said!), meaning whether the moon is at apogee or perigee. 93 million miles is, of course, the distance between Earth and the sun.
93 million miles
Advertisement
What did the "Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law" deal with?
Restrictions on talking to the media
Debriefings about whether the astronauts saw aliens
Potential medical issues of having been in space
Elsewhere in this quiz, we've mentioned the Apollo astronauts being quarantined after their mission. This was mandated under the ETEL, which was laid out specifically because of the moon landing and stayed in effect for years afterward.
The amount of pictures that can be taken in orbit or on a surface
Advertisement
Which of the astronauts said, "Houston, we have a problem"?
Buzz Aldrin
Neil Armstrong
Michael Collins
None of them
This is a famous, but slightly misquoted, line from the Apollo 13 mission. In that mission, Jack Swigert said, "Uh, Houston, we've had a problem" after an explosion damaged their craft.
Advertisement
Lunar module pilot Michael Collins shares his name with a/an ...
American president
Irish revolutionary
Michael Collins the revolutionary is probably more famous than the astronaut. He fought in the Easter Rising, and was assassinated at just 32 years old. An Irish whiskey is named for him.
Nobel-winning physicist
Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist
Advertisement
You Got:
/35
