Space Trivia

NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment recently beamed data via laser from far beyond the Moon for the first time. About how far did the data travel?

A) 2 million miles

B) 5 million miles

C) 8 million miles

D) 10 million miles

December 1, 2023

ESA's Euclid spacecraft, shown in this artist's impression, is scheduled to launch in 2020 with participation from NASA.

The Euclid spacecraft, shown in this artist's impression, is scheduled is scheduled to begin regular science operations in early 2024.

Credit: ESA/C. Carreau

What is the primary mission of Euclid, the new spaceborne observatory, led by ESA (European Space Agency) with NASA contributions?

A) Find new exoplanets

B) Investigate dark matter

C) Investigate dark energy

D) Both B and C

November 17, 2023

This enhanced image of the Jovian moon Ganymede was obtained by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft during the mission's June 7, 2021, flyby of the icy moon on Juno's 34th pass close to Jupiter.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kalleheikki Kannisto © CC BY

What did NASA’s Juno mission recently observe on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede?

A) Fresh craters
B) Mineral salts and organic compounds
C) Flowing water
D) Erupting geysers

November 10, 2023

Swathed in its thick blanket of atmosphere, frigid Titan approaches the brilliant limb of Saturn, as shown in this image captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Besides Earth, which is the only world in our solar system known to have liquid lakes and seas on the surface?

A) Titan
B) Callisto
C) Enceladus
D) Europa

November 2, 2023

NASA’s Europa Clipper, depicted in this illustration, will carry a broad suite of instruments into orbit around Jupiter and conduct multiple close flybys of Europa to gather information on its atmosphere, surface, and interior.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Europa Clipper spacecraft is set to launch in October 2024. Approximately how far is Europa from Earth?

A) 111 million miles
B) 222 million miles
C) 333 million miles
D) 444 million miles

October 19, 2023

MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) was launched aboard NASA's Perseverance rover to test a technology for extracting oxygen from the Red Planet's carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. Audio of MOXIE's air compressor at work on Mars was captured by the microphone on Perseverance's SuperCam instrument on May 27, 2021, the 96th day of the rover's mission.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/IRAP

This past August, the MOXIE instrument on NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover completed its mission. It was the first instrument ever to do what on Mars?

A) Collect rock samples
C) Generate oxygen
B) Search for life
D) Cook a hot dog

October 13, 2023

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will take a spiral path to the asteroid Psyche, as depicted in this graphic, which is labeled with key milestones of the prime mission. The test periods for NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration are indicated with red dots.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Which planet’s gravity will assist NASA’s Psyche mission in its trajectory toward a rendezvous with an asteroid?

A) Venus
B) Mars
C) Jupiter
D) Saturn

October 5, 2023

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer sits in a clean room at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, shortly after being integrated with its second and final science instrument, the Lunar Thermal Mapper. Green tape on the spacecraft will be removed before launch.

Credit: Lockheed Martin Space

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer will work to help researchers understand the nature of what on the Moon's surface?

A) Water
B) Gravity
C) Air
D) Sunlight

September 29, 2023

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Mars Ingenuity helicopter is preparing for its 61st powered flight on the Red Planet. Since reaching Mars, how much time has Ingenuity spent in flight?

A) 15 minutes
B) 48 minutes
C) One hour and 48 minutes
D) Three hours and 26 minutes

September 15, 2023

A development rover that is part of NASA's CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration drives over a rock during its first autonomous drive around the Mars Yard at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in June 2023.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA wants to send a trio of these miniature rovers to explore off-world. Where are they going?

A) Mars Moon, Phobos

B) Earth's Moon

C) Near-Earth Asteroid

D) Saturn's Moon, Titan

September 7, 2023

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this image of Bettys Rock using one of the rover navigation cameras on June 20, 2022, the 474th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this image of "Bettys Rock" on June 20, 2022. The rock is named after Bettys Rock in what national park?

A) Joshua Tree

B) Shenandoah

C) Badlands

D) Grand Teton

August 10, 2023

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured these sun rays shining through clouds at sunset on Feb. 2, 2023. It was the first time that sun rays, also known as crepuscular rays, have been viewed so clearly on Mars.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SSI

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured these "sun rays", also known as crepuscular rays, shining through clouds at sunset. "Crepuscular" is taken from the Latin word for:

A) Twilight

B) Dawn

C) Evening

D) Glowing

August 1, 2023

This image acquired on December 29, 2022 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows Hellespontus Montes, a rugged mountain range located on the western rim of one of the largest impact basins in the Solar System: Hellas Basin.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Hellespontus Montes is a mountain range on Mars that has formed a unique local landscape. Scientists believe it is due to:

A) Water

B) Glaciers

C) Lava

D) Wind

NASA's Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room on June 26, 2023, at the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

Engineers and technicians at Cape Canaveral are preparing NASA’s Psyche spacecraft for liftoff, which is slated for Oct. 5. Psyche will visit:

A.) A metal-rich asteroid

B.) A long-period comet

C.) The moons of Mars

D.) The moons of Jupiter

July 13, 2023

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this doughnut-shaped rock in Jezero Crater from about 328 feet (100 meters) away using its Remote Microscopic Imager (RMI), on June 22, 2023.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/LANL/CNES/IRAP

On June 22, NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured an image of a rock in Jezero Crater shaped like which of the following food items?

A. A pizza

B. A doughnut

C. An artichoke

D. A banana

July 1, 2023

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed 'tiger stripes' near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Which essential element, necessary for life, was recently discovered on Saturn's moon, Enceladus?

A. Boron

B. Sulfur

C. Titanium

D. Phosphorus

June 9, 2023

A jet of particles pierces a star as it collapses into a black hole in this artist’s concept of a typical gamma-ray burst. The star, in the lower left corner, is swirled with light blue and gray features on its surface. The jet points toward the upper rig

A jet of particles pierces a star as it collapses into a black hole during a typical gamma-ray burst, as depicted in this artist’s concept. The jet created by gamma-ray burst 221009A had some unique features.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

This week, observations by NASA’s NuSTAR X-ray telescope gave astronomers new clues about the brightest and most energetic gamma-ray burst ever detected. Gamma ray bursts occur when:

A. A pair of black holes collide

B. The core of a massive star collapses

C. A planet falls into a massive star

D. A planet is vaporized by a super-laser from the Death Star

May 26, 2023

NASA’s Juno mission captured this infrared view of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io on July 5, 2022, when the spacecraft was about 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers) away. This infrared image was derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard Juno. In this image, the brighter the color the higher the temperature recorded by JIRAM. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM Full Image Details

What is the most volcanically active body in the solar system?

A. Earth
B. Venus
C. Jupiter's moon Io
D. Saturn's moon Enceladus