Astronaut

Approximately how old is our solar system? 

4.5 billion years

As of 2017, the last astronaut to fly alone in space was who?

Ron Evans

How long does it take the Moon to orbit Earth once? 

27 days

NASA's original qualifications for astronauts determined that you could only be a maximum height of what?

5'11"

Russian astronauts go by what name?

Cosmonauts

The first ever woman in space was who?

Valentina Tereshkova

Who was the first American woman in space?

Sally Ride

The NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas is named after who?

Lyndon Johnson

The only Mercury astronaut to walk on the moon was who?

Alan Shepard

What arbitrary line is used to mark the spot where space begins?

Karman Line

What do you call an exploding star?

Supernova

What do you call the highest point the Sun reaches in the sky above an observer? 

Zenith

What element is the Sun chiefly made of? 

Hydrogen

What is a scientific name for the birth of our universe? 

Big Bang

What is the opposite of Occident? 

Orient

What is the Sun mainly comprised of? 

Hydrogen

Which of the planets in our solar system is the largest? 

Jupiter

Which of these nations does not provide NASA with international astronauts?

Mexico

Who was the first American to orbit Earth?

John Glenn

Who was the first man on the moon?

Neil Armstrong

In the early days of NASA, where would spacecraft shells land after they had left space?

The ocean

Gus Grissom was a part of what NASA space program?

Project Mercury

What is the name of the first African American to go to space?

Guion Bluford

Who was the first American to venture into outer space?

Alan Shepard

In what branch of the military was John Glenn?

Marines

When training to become a NASA astronaut, how long must you tread water in a space suit?

10 minutes

Duct tape was used to avert disaster on which of these space missions?

Apollo 13

NASA originally intended to call their astronauts what?

Mercury

What is an asteroid?

A small planet

Approximately how many times larger is the sun's diameter compared to the Earth's?

About 100 times

How many degrees does the planet Earth "lean"?

23

Which of these alternatives isn't a term in astronomy?

Contamination

What is the relationship between the diameter of the Moon and that of the Earth?

1 to 4

How many years does it take for Halley's Comet to orbit the Sun?

76

What is an astronomical unit?

Medium distance between the Sun and Earth

Which is Jupiter's (and the solar system's) largest moon with a diameter slightly bigger than that of Mercury?

Ganymede

What is "The Evening Star" also known as?

Venus

What is the name of the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus?

Deneb

What planet do the moons Titan, Atlas and Pandora belong to?

Saturn

What was the maximum length according to the original NASA qualifications for astronauts?

1.80 meters

What is the event that is believed to have created the Universe called?

Big Bang

What is a prominence?

A gas pillar that is expelled from the sun

Which constellation ISN'T named after an animal?

Aquarius

Halley's Comet passes Earth with an interval of how many years?

76

Which of the 8 planets of the Solar System travels one lap around the sun in 365.25 days?

Earth

As of 2017, who was the last man to stand on the moon?

Gene Cernan

Astronaut John Young once brought what type of sandwich on board a spacecraft?

Corned beef

Astronaut urine collection systems were developed due to complications with what astronaut?

Alan Shephard

At what university did Neil Armstrong teach?

University of Cincinnati

Neil Armstrong's spacesuit weighed around how much while on Earth?

180 pounds

The first astronaut to be removed from a space flight because of an injury was who?

Scott Carpenter

The first astronaut to quit NASA was who?

John Glenn

The first astronaut to speak to the United Nations was who?

John Glenn

What American astronaut was the first to walk in space?

Edward White

What was the first American spacecraft to be launched into space?

Freedom 7

What was the first manned American spacecraft to be launched into space?

Freedom 7

What was the first musical instrument played in space?

Harmonica

What was the name of the school teacher who died in the Challenger explosion?

Christa McAuliffe

Which college has graduated the most astronauts?

United States Naval Academy

Which of these astronauts orbited Earth in his underwear?

Frank Borman

Who is the second man to step foot on the moon?

Buzz Aldrin

Who was the first astronaut to eat in space?

John Glenn

Who was the first astronaut to make two trips to space?

Gus Grissom

Who was the first human to venture into outer space?

Yuri Gagarin

Who was the first U.S. senator to go to space?

Jake Garn

Which of these astronauts was also a United States Senator?

John Glenn

Approximately how long does it take for the light from the sun to reach Earth?

About 8 minutes

Can our sun become a black hole?

No, it's too small

The planet Mars received its name from a Roman god, but which one?

God of War

Which artist wrote a song in the 70s in which he asked if there was "Life on Mars"?

David Bowie

How many moons does the dwarf planet Pluto have?

5

Which planet is also known as the morning star?

Venus

Which planet is closest to the sun?

Mercury

What is the belief that the sun is at the center of the Solar System called?

Heliocentrism

Which of these alternatives is a common position for a black hole?

In the center of a galaxy

Do black holes rotate?

Some do, some do not

What do we call a star that has collapsed to a very small size?

White Dwarf

What is the sun's incandescent plasma "atmosphere" called?

Corona

Which planet, or dwarf planet, has the longest orbit around the sun?

Pluto

How is the planet Mercury different from other planets in our solar system?

It has no moons

How many days does it take for the Moon to complete a lap around Earth?

27

Which planet do the moons Io and Europa orbit?

Jupiter

How high up must you go before entering space?

62 miles

Counting from the sun, in what place is the planet Venus located?

Second place

During which century did scientists start to suspect the existence of black holes?

The 18th century

What is a so-called wormhole?

Two black holes connected to each other

What can escape a black hole?

Nothing