Our Nearest Neighbors
This planet is known as the Red Planet due to iron oxide on its surface
What is Mars?
This force pushes a rocket upward against gravity during liftoff.
What is thrust?
This molecule is considered essential for all known forms of life.
What is water?
This astronaut spoke the words “That’s one small step for [a] man” as he became the first human to walk on the Moon.
Who is Neil Armstrong?
This U.S. agency put the first humans on the Moon.
What is NASA? (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
This is Earth’s only natural satellite.
What is the Moon?
This U.S. rocket carried astronauts to the Moon.
What is Saturn V?
This field studies the origin, evolution, and potential existence of life in the universe.
What is astrobiology?
This animal became the first living creature to orbit Earth in 1957.
What is Laika?
This orbiting laboratory has been continuously inhabited since 2000.
What is the ISS? (International Space Station)
This type of planet is similar in size to Earth and may be rocky.
What is a terrestrial planet?
This term describes dropping empty stages to improve rocket performance.
What is staging?
This region around a star allows liquid water to exist on a planet’s surface.
What is the habitable zone?
This Apollo mission was the first to orbit the Moon.
What is Apollo 8?
This organization certifies U.S. commercial launches and reentries.
What is the FAA? (Federal Aviation Administration)
This icy moon of Jupiter is believed to harbor a subsurface ocean beneath its crust.
What is Europa?
This disaster during a ground test killed three astronauts and reshaped spacecraft safety standards.
What is Apollo 1?
This equation estimates the number of communicative civilizations in our galaxy.
What is the Drake Equation?
This astronaut became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962.
Who is John Glenn?
This telescope dramatically expanded our ability to analyze deep space.
What is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)?
This exoplanet is tidally locked to its star, potentially creating a “terminator” habitable zone
What is Proxima Centauri b?
This propulsion method accelerates ions using electric fields and is highly efficient but low thrust.
What is ion propulsion?
This planetary factor helps protect surface life from harmful cosmic radiation.
What is a magnetic field? (Magnetosphere)
This first international space station demonstrated long-duration human habitation before the ISS.
What is Mir?
This four-letter acronym describes the region around Earth where gravity dominates orbital motion.
What is SOI? (Sphere of Influence)