50 Question Challenge #14, Space: answers and sources
Spoilers ahead! Play the video first. Here is every answer, the fun fact and the source we checked it against.
Scores: 0-19: Stargazer · 20-29: Space rookie · 30-39: Astronaut · 40+: Mission commander. Don't forget your Couch Wager. Spotted a mistake? Email hello@ahaville.com with the question number.
Level 1: Easy
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Let's start easy. What kind of object is the Sun?
A star Its equator spins once in 25 days, its poles in 36.
Source: science.nasa.gov/sun/facts/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun
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What blocks the Sun during a solar eclipse?
The Moon The Sun is about 400 times wider and 400 times farther away.
Source: science.nasa.gov/eclipses/types/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse
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“One small step for man, one giant leap for…” what?
Mankind Armstrong said he meant “one small step for a man.”
Source: airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/one-small-step-man-o... · wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong
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What do we call a ball of ice and dust with a glowing tail?
A comet Its tail points away from the Sun, not always behind it.
Source: science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet
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Which planet is closest in size to Earth?
Venus Its surface is hot enough to melt lead.
Source: science.nasa.gov/venus/venus-facts/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus
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About how long does the Moon take to circle Earth?
About a month The words “month” and “moon” share the same root.
Source: science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/ · etymonline.com/word/month
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What do we call a space rock that lands on Earth?
A meteorite The biggest known one still lies where it fell, in Namibia.
Source: science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite · wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoba_meteorite
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Why could the footprints on the Moon last for ages?
There's no wind or rain They could stay there for millions of years.
Source: science.nasa.gov/moon/ · starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level1/apoll...
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What do we call the Moon when we can't see it at all?
New moon Its sunlit side is facing away from us.
Source: science.nasa.gov/moon/moon-phases/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/New_moon
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Last easy one: which planet is farthest from the Sun?
Neptune Pluto has counted as a dwarf planet since 2006.
Source: science.nasa.gov/neptune/facts/ · science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/
Level 2: Real NASA photos
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What is in the photo?
Saturn Its main rings are often only about 30 feet thick.
Source: science.nasa.gov/saturn/facts/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saturn_from_Cassini_Orbit...
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What is in the photo?
Mars That scar is a canyon about as long as New York to LA.
Source: science.nasa.gov/mars/facts/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Valles_Marineris · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PlanetMars-VallesMarineri...
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What is in the photo?
Jupiter It outweighs all the other planets combined.
Source: science.nasa.gov/jupiter/facts/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jupiter_OPAL_2024.png
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What is in the photo?
ISS It flies at about 17,500 miles per hour.
Source: nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-facts-... · wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:International_Space_Stati...
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Which mission took this photo?
Apollo 8 It's called Earthrise. Bill Anders took it in 1968.
Source: nasa.gov/image-article/apollo-8-earthrise/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthrise · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthr...
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What is in the photo?
Neptune Only one spacecraft has visited it: Voyager 2.
Source: science.nasa.gov/neptune/facts/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neptune_Full_(original).jpg
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What is in the photo?
Hubble It's about as long as a school bus.
Source: science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HST-SM4.jpeg
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What is in the photo?
Pluto Its bright heart is about 1,000 miles wide.
Source: science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombaugh_Regio · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nh-pluto-in-true-color_2x...
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What is in the photo?
Mercury A year there lasts just 88 Earth days.
Source: science.nasa.gov/mercury/facts/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet) · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercury_in_true_color.jpg
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What is in the photo?
The Moon It's the side of the Moon we never see from Earth.
Source: science.nasa.gov/moon/viewing-tips/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_side_of_the_Moon · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moon_Farside_LRO.jpg
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Level 3: Quick: space words
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Level 4: Missions and records
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In which city is NASA's Mission Control for astronauts?
Houston It first ran a flight in 1965: Gemini 4.
Source: nasa.gov/johnson/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_C._Kraft_Jr._Mission_Contr...
- 32
On which Apollo mission did an oxygen tank explode on the way to the Moon?
Apollo 13 The crew used their lunar module as a lifeboat.
Source: nasa.gov/mission/apollo-13/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13
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Who circled the Moon alone during Apollo 11's landing?
Michael Collins Behind the Moon, he lost all radio contact.
Source: nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(astronaut)
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How many of NASA's space shuttles flew into space?
5 The test shuttle Enterprise never went to space.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program · wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise
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Since which year have people lived on the ISS without a break?
2000 The first crew moved in on November 2, 2000.
Source: nasa.gov/international-space-station/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_1
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Which spacecraft is the farthest human-made object from Earth?
Voyager 1 In 2012, it became the first to reach interstellar space.
Source: science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1
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What was the name of the helicopter that flew on Mars?
Ingenuity It was planned for 5 flights and made 72.
Source: science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/ingenuity... · wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingenuity_(helicopter)
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NASA's Opportunity rover was built for 90 Mars days. How long did it work?
Almost 15 years A dust storm finally cut it off in 2018.
Source: science.nasa.gov/mission/mer-opportunity/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover)
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In April 2026, where did NASA's Artemis II fly four astronauts?
Around the Moon They flew farther from Earth than anyone ever had.
Source: nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_II
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Last one: what did Apollo astronauts drive on the Moon?
An electric buggy Three of them are still parked up there.
Source: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_lrv.html · nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-first-apollo-astronauts-to-... · wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Roving_Vehicle
Level 5: Impossible
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Who made the first spacewalk, in 1965?
Alexei Leonov He spent about 12 minutes outside his capsule.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Leonov · wikipedia.org/wiki/Voskhod_2
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How old was John Glenn on his second spaceflight, in 1998?
77 His first one had been 36 years earlier.
Source: nasa.gov/history/25-years-ago-sts-95-john-glenn-returns-t... · wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-95
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In which year is Halley's Comet next due back?
2061 It swings by about every 76 years.
Source: science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/1p-halley/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet
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Which world in our solar system is the most volcanically active?
Io It's a moon of Jupiter, with hundreds of volcanoes.
Source: science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/io/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_(moon) · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Io_highest_resolution_tru...
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About how high is the Kármán line, a common edge of space?
About 62 miles That's 100 kilometers straight up.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line · fai.org/page/icare-boundary
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On the ISS, what do astronauts recycle into drinking water?
Their urine and sweat The station can recycle about 98% of its water.
Source: nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/nasa-achieves-wate...
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Why did NASA crash its DART spacecraft into an asteroid in 2022?
To test pushing it off course Its orbit around a bigger asteroid got 33 minutes shorter.
Source: jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-study-asteroids-orbit-shape-change... · wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Asteroid_Redirection_Test
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What is the record for the longest single stay in space?
437 days Valeri Polyakov spent them on Mir, from 1994 to 1995.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov · wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_records
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How many countries have landed people on the Moon?
Only one So far, only the US: six landings, 1969 to 1972.
Source: nasa.gov/the-apollo-program/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing
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The very last one. What were the first animals sent into space, in 1947?
Fruit flies Launched from New Mexico, they came back alive.
Source: aps.org/apsnews/2023/01/fruit-flies-space · wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_in_space
The Big Aha stories
- The farm boy who found Pluto: As a teenager, Clyde Tombaugh moved with his family to a farm in Kansas. He built his own telescopes from old farm machinery and car parts. He mailed his drawings of Jupiter and Mars to Lowell Observatory in Arizona. In January 1929, he started work there. On February 18, 1930, comparing photos of the night sky, he spotted a faint dot that moved. He was 24. He had found Pluto. Today, Pluto's bright heart is officially named after him: Tombaugh Regio. Sources: science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/ · lowell.edu/i%e2%99%a5pluto-festival-2022-who-was-clyde-to... · science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-1997-february-04-clyd... · nasa.gov/solar-system/pluto-features-given-first-official... · wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Tombaugh
- The telescope that needed glasses: In April 1990, the space shuttle Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Its first pictures came back blurry. The main mirror was ground wrong by about 1/50 of the width of a human hair. The mirror couldn't be swapped in space. So engineers built small corrective mirrors, like a pair of glasses. In December 1993, on a mission with five spacewalks, astronauts put the glasses in. Hubble has sent back sharp pictures ever since. Sources: science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/observatory/design/optics/ · nasa.gov/mission/sts-61/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope · wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-61
Bonus question
Driving nonstop at 60 mph, how long would it take to reach the Moon? We reveal the answer in the pinned comment under the video.