For the Benefit of All: The NASA Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
4 min
For the Benefit of All: The NASA Quiz
Image: © Bryan Allen/Corbis

About This Quiz

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been exploring space for more than 50 years. How much do you know about the scientists, engineers, pilots and machines that carried America into space?
Which program lead to the United States' first crewed space flight?
Serenity
Apollo
Mercury
The first major repairs conducted by astronauts in space were performed on which spacecraft?
Skylab
the Hubble Space Telescope
Sputnik II
How many custom-tailored space suits did each primary crew member of an Apollo mission have?
one
three
10

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Which space shuttle was the first to be launched into space?
Challenger
Columbia
Discovery
NASA was built on an existing government agency that had been doing space and rocketry research in the 1940s and 1950s. What was that agency?
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
Earth Defense Force (EDF)
TIROS-1 was the first operational satellite to do what?
fire ballistic missiles at a moving target
observe weather from space
take clear photos of Russian military bases

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What species was the first living being launched into space by the U.S.?
dog
guinea pig
monkey
Hundreds of human artifacts have been left on the moon, but only the Apollo 15 landing site contains money. How much cash is on the moon?
$1 million in gold bars
a single Kennedy 50-cent piece
$200
Which unmanned spacecraft performed the first flyby of Mars?
Mariner 4
Mariner 3
Telus 1

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The Apollo 13 mission was aborted for what reason?
A micrometeor strike punctured the command module.
A short circuit caused an explosion that left the craft with insufficient battery power.
The heat shield was torn away at launch, making it likely the craft would overheat on re-entry.
When was the last time humans walked on the moon?
2003
1967
1972
The National Aeronautics and Space Act is the law that created NASA. Which president signed it?
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Harry S. Truman

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Which space shuttle was the first to be built?
Columbia
Atlantis
Enterprise
In August 2013, the Mars Curiosity rover played the first song ever played on another planet. What song was it?
"Happy Birthday"
The Beatles' "Good Morning"
Deep Purple's "Space Truckin'"
In what two years were the most new astronauts selected to join NASA?
1963 and 2002
1970 and 1985
1978 and 1996

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Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space, but who was the first American woman in space?
Linda M. Godwin
Shannon Lucid
Sally Ride
What spacecraft is farther from Earth than any other human-made object?
Cassini
New Horizons
Voyager I
Astronaut Scott Kelly holds an important record among American astronauts. What is it?
longest single space flight
first astronaut without a college degree
first selfie in space

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What year did the space shuttle Challenger disintegrate shortly after launch?
1986
1999
1979
When NASA selected the first astronauts in 1959, they had to meet a very specific physical requirement. What was it?
They had to be able to deadlift 250 pounds (113 kilograms).
They had to be 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) or shorter.
They had to weigh 180 pounds or less.
What was the largest, most powerful rocket ever made?
Antares 300
Saturn V
Atlas V

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Mariner 9 was the first U.S spacecraft to orbit Mars (or any other planet). What happened to it after its experiments were completed in 1972?
It crashed onto the Martian surface.
NASA mysteriously lost contact with it.
It remains in orbit around Mars today.
Gus Grissom, Edward White III and Roger Chaffee were the first Americans killed in a NASA spacecraft. On which mission were they killed?
Apollo 1
Gemini 5
Mercury 5
A 1993 NASA mission sent astronauts into space to complete a major repair. What did they fix?
faulty landing gear on space shuttle Atlantis
the Hubble Space Telescope's optics
damaged solar cells on the Mir space station

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Space shuttle Discovery holds the record for orbiting Earth the most times during its career. How many orbits did it complete?
278
2,004
5,830
What was the goal of Project Gemini, which ran from 1961 to 1966?
to put an astronaut into orbit around Venus
to make astronomical observations from beyond Earth's atmosphere
to test and refine the equipment and techniques necessary to accomplish the planned moon missions
The Telstar satellite performed the first publically available satellite television broadcast in 1962. What was the first broadcast?
a baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs
a performance by Elvis Presley
a parade of U.S. troops at the National Mall in Washington

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When was the last time there were no Americans in space?
June 8, 2012
Nov. 2, 2000
Aug. 28, 1987
What were the first U.S. missions to reach the surface of Mars?
Centurion 4 and 5
Viking 1 and 2
Minuteman 8 and 9
All space shuttle missions had the prefix "STS." What did this stand for?
Shuttle Technical Sequence
Shuttle Transport Schedule
Space Transportation System

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