Physics
Planets
Spaceflight
Stars
Life In Space?
100
This force is what keeps our feet on the ground and our solar system and our galaxy in place.
What is gravity?
Fun fact: gravity exists, in some form, everwhere in the universe. There is no space where you would just float without falling toward anything else.
100
This gas giant is the largest planet in our Solar System.
What is Jupiter?
Jupiter is the Roman name for the Greek god, Zeus, who was sort of the head honcho of all the gods.
100
Perhaps the most famous astronaut of all time, this American was the first to step foot on the moon and to deliver the "One small step for man" speech.
Who was Neil Armstrong?
Armstrong was accompanied by Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins remained in the command module, orbiting the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin spent almost 22 hours on the lunar surface.
100
This star is the closest one to Earth, at about 93 million miles away.
What is the sun?
The sun is only a medium-sized star.
100
This term, given to describe things that originated anywhere other than on the planet Earth, shares a Latin root with a kind of reddish clay or ceramic material. The term is not "alien", which simply means "foreign".
What is "extraterrestrial"?
The Latin word "terra" means "land"; extra-terrestrial therefore means "from beyond the land". Terra cotta, the type of reddish clay or ceramic material, translates roughly to "cooked land".
200
When one celestial body is moving at a speed roughly equal to the strength with which it is being pulled toward another celestial body, it enters this cyclic motion.
What is orbit?
This video by (now retired) high school physics teacher Dan Burns is a really great demonstration of orbital dynamics: https://youtu.be/MTY1Kje0yLg
200
This is the only planet known to be inhabited entirely by robots.
What is Mars?
Fifteen probes, landers, rovers, and other artificial objects have been sent to Mars from four different terrestrial (Earthly) space organizations. Of those, eleven successfully transmitted data back to earth, and two are still operational on the Martian surface.
200
NASA retired this iconic reusable spacecraft in 2011.
What is the Space Shuttle?
Four fully operational shuttles were used between 1981 and 2011: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis.
200
Human cultures recognized these shapes between the relative positions of stars in the sky and ascribed to them names that draw from various mythologies.
What are constellations?
Fun fact: most of the stars and celestial bodies that comprise constellations are at very different distances from Earth. Viewed from another point in the galaxy they would be unrecognizable.
200
This science laboratory has been continuously inhabited by humans in low Earth orbit since the year 2000.
What is the International Space Station?
The International Space Station, or ISS, is modular, meaning that its components can be continuously added to or swapped out. It was supposed to be in use until around 2030, with many changing variables affecting its overall lifespan.
300
Anything—not just a spacecraft—that orbits another celestial body in space is classified as one of these.
What is a satellite?
Everything from moons to space telescopes and space stations can be a satellite, as long as they are in orbit around a planet.
300
In 2006 this celestial body was downgraded from "planet" to "dwarf planet" because it failed to meet one of the three conditions necessary for planetary status.
What is Pluto?
The three conditions necessary to be called a planet are: (1) it must be in orbit around the Sun, (2) it must be massive enough for its own gravity to pull it into a shape defined by its hydrostatic equilibrium—usually a spheroid—and (3) it must dominate its orbital path in terms of its mass. Pluto fails to meet this third condition, with the other objects in its orbit adding up to a much greater mass than Pluto itself has.
300
Elon Musk, the billionaire who founded Tesla Motors, is also behind this highly successful spaceflight startup.
What is SpaceX?
As of November 2020, SpaceX has carried two crewed missions from the United States to the International Space Station.
300
This term is given to the practice of ascribing personality traits and predictions about future events to people based on the positions of stars in the sky at the time they were born.
What is astrology?
Much of the language used in astrology is kept intentionally vague so that it can be applied to a wide variety of actual personality traits and events. Astrology is not scientific, but many find it to be an engaging way to consider circumstances and events.300
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield became a media sensation in 2013 when he released a video of himself performing a version of this song while aboard the International Space Station.
What is "Space Oddity" by David Bowie?
Hadfield changed some of the lyrics so that instead of the astronaut losing control of the spacecraft and drifting off into the abyss, he merely contemplates his successful journey.
400
This state, of being devoid of matter, results in negative pressure, and characterizes most of space. In this state, sound waves cannot travel and organisms tend to blow up as their matter expands to fill the void.
What is a vacuum?
Interesting fact: if you were to remove part of your space suit while you were exposed to the vacuum of space, you would experience something called rapid decompression, in which your exposed body parts would quickly swell up and many other nasty things would happen to you.
400
This nearby Earth-sized planet has a stormy atmosphere of deadly gases, but above its clouds humans would need only an oxygen supply to survive comfortably outside.
What is Venus?
Above Venus's stormy clouds, even the atmospheric pressure is similar to Earth's; it's just not the type of gas we can breathe. Many scientists have proposed flying colonies, but unfortunately none have been seriously developed.
400
The first successful crewed moon landing mission was known by this name.
What was Apollo 11?
The Apollo program included 32 successful missions and 2 failed missions. A total of six crewed missions successfully landed humans on the moon.
400
At the end of their life cycle, stars collapse, forming these massive regions of space-time.
What are black holes?
The gravitational force of black holes is so strong that all matter, energy, and even time are sucked into them.
400
This microscopic creature resembling a tiny six-legged manatee can survive in outer space.
What is a tardigrade, or water bear?
There are about 1,300 species of tardigrades, known to be able to survive in extreme temperature, radiation, and pressure conditions. Because of this, scientists have determined that it could even survive in space.
500
This term—usually used in regards to spaceflight—describes the process of falling or being pulled back into the atmosphere of a planet.
Fun fact: at the right angle and speed, an object can actually bounce off a planet's atmosphere instead of going through this process.
What is re-entry?
500
Thanks to its largely liquid composition and the spin of its rotation, Earth is not a perfect sphere but rather, this shape.
What is an oblate spheroid?
An oblate spheroid is sort of like a slightly squished-down sphere.
500
This Soviet Cosmonaut was the first human to journey into outer space.
Who was Yuri Gagarin?
The boundary at which Earth's atmosphere "ends" and outer space "begins" is called the Kármán line, at an altitude of 100 km. However, atmospheric particulates exist in orbit around Earth at much higher altitudes.
500
This star, which shares its name with a satellite radio company and a character in the Harry Potter stories, is the brightest in the night sky.
What is Sirius?
Sirius is known colloquially as the Dog Star, reflecting its prominence in the constellation Canis Major.
500
This astronaut set the American record (not the world record) for spending the longest consecutive time in space aboard the International Space Station.
Who is Scott Kelly?
Scott Kelly's twin brother, Mark, who is also an astronaut, remained on the ground as a control in all the studies Scott was conducting on extended time spent in space. Mark recently became a senator in Arizona.