Space Exploration Quiz

Who was chosen as the astronaut for America's first orbital flight?

• Michael Collins

• John Glenn

• Buzz Aldrin

• Neil Armstrong

What was the main concern about sending a man into space?

• Communicating with aliens

• Returning him safely to Earth

• Choosing the right astronaut

• Building the rocket

Which rocket was used to take the Mercury capsule into orbit?

• Saturn V

• Space Shuttle

• Falcon Heavy

• Atlas

What did John Glenn request before his flight?

• A new spacesuit

• To double-check the math

• A different rocket

• More training time

What protected the spacecraft from extreme heat when re-entering Earth's atmosphere?

• Solar panels

• Oxygen system

• Rocket pack

• Heat shield

Who did John Glenn trust to check the numbers?

• Catherine Johnson

• His fellow astronauts

• The electronic computers

• The mission control team

What was the main role of the human computers?

• Crunching numbers

• Designing the spacesuits

• Piloting the spacecraft

• Building the rockets

What issue did the capsule encounter during the first orbit?

• Rocket malfunction

• Oxygen leak

• Automatic control system acted up

• Communication failure

How many orbits was John Glenn cleared for during his mission?

• 3

• 5

• 10

• 7

What did the engineers hope would keep the loose heat shield in place?

• Manual control

• Rocket pack

• Magnetic field

• Extra fuel