Planets, stars, probes and the people who went up there.
About this quiz
This Space Quiz has two halves. One is astronomy: planets and their moons, eclipses and meteor showers, our galaxy and its neighbors, and the people who worked out how the solar system moves. The other is space exploration: Moon landings, rockets and probes, space stations and what everyday life is like for astronauts in orbit.
There are friendly questions about the Sun and the Moon and tougher ones about pulsars, a Soviet rocket designer and lesser-known missions. Read the fact after each answer and 10 questions, at 20 seconds apiece, will teach you a surprising amount about the universe.
Try a few questions
Tap an answer to check it, or open the answer underneath.
Astronauts must exercise for about two hours every day in space to combat what?
- Loss of muscle and bone
- Motion sickness
- Overheating
- Boredom
Answer: Loss of muscle and bone
Did you know? Without gravity to work against, muscles waste and bones lose density alarmingly fast. Daily workouts on special harnessed treadmills and resistance machines help astronauts stay healthy enough to walk again when they return.
Rockets are built in stages because of what?
- Regulations require it
- It makes them easier to transport
- Each stage burns a different planet's fuel
- Dropping empty tanks and engines makes the rest far more efficient
Answer: Dropping empty tanks and engines makes the rest far more efficient
Did you know? Carrying dead weight upwards costs propellant that must itself be carried, so the penalty compounds sharply. Reaching orbit in a single stage is theoretically possible and has never been done with useful cargo.
The Milky Way and the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy are on course to do what in a few billion years?
- Orbit at a fixed distance
- Collide and merge
- Swap all their stars instantly
- Drift apart forever
Answer: Collide and merge
Did you know? Andromeda is racing toward us and will merge with the Milky Way in around four billion years. Yet stars are so far apart that almost none will actually hit — the two galaxies will mostly pass through each other and settle into one.
Jupiter's moon Europa attracts attention because it probably has what?
- An oxygen atmosphere
- Active volcanoes of lava
- Rings of its own
- A liquid ocean beneath its ice shell
Answer: A liquid ocean beneath its ice shell
Did you know? Tidal flexing from Jupiter keeps the interior warm enough for water to stay liquid despite the distance from the Sun. That ocean may hold more water than all of Earth's, which is why missions are being sent to look.
SpaceX changed launch costs primarily by doing what?
- Building smaller rockets
- Landing and reusing rocket boosters
- Using a new type of fuel
- Launching from the sea only
Answer: Landing and reusing rocket boosters
Did you know? Throwing away the most expensive part of a rocket every flight had been standard practice since the beginning. Early landing attempts failed publicly and repeatedly before the technique became routine.
A 'shooting star' streaking across the night sky is usually caused by what?
- A satellite crashing
- A distant star exploding
- A tiny grain of space dust burning up in the atmosphere
- Lightning high up
Answer: A tiny grain of space dust burning up in the atmosphere
Did you know? Most meteors are made by specks no bigger than a grain of sand, vaporising from friction as they hit the atmosphere at tens of kilometres per second. The dramatic streak comes from a particle you could barely see in your palm.