Neil DeGrasse Tyson on the Future

In “Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration After Curiosity,” how does Tyson say NASA paves the way for private companies to succeed?

• In “Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration After Curiosity,” how does Tyson say NASA paves the way for private companies to succeed?
  
• NASA allows private companies to take the lead in exploring the frontiers.
  
• NASA creates the technology that private companies then can develop further.
  
• NASA pays private companies to take risks and innovate costly new technologies.

Which of the following situations best describes a capitalistic society?

• Businesses are privately owned and compete with one another for customers.
  
• The government owns all businesses and decides what products to produce.
  
• People get all they need by hunting, fishing, and growing a few plants in small gardens.
  
• The government tells business owners how much to charge for their goods.

In “Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration After Curiosity,” what does Tyson say is needed to stir up interest in science?

• NASA must do something that has never been done before.
  
• NASA must demonstrate that a new technology is proven and reliable.
  
• NASA must provide technology that can be used by private companies.
• NASA must demonstrate that a new technology is proven and reliable.
  

Which quotation from the article best supports the answer to Question 9?

• . . . low-Earth orbit is no longer the frontier. NASA has been going in and out of low-Earth orbit since 1962.
  
• I see private enterprise as a fundamental part of creating a space industry, but there will always be the frontier.
  
• A different kind of understanding of the value of sending humans into space needs to be had. . . .
  
• You won't need tariffs to keep your factories stateside, because you'll be innovating at a pace where you're making products the rest of the world hasn't figured out how to make yet.

In “Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration After Curiosity,” what claim about how NASA should operate does Tyson argue?

• NASA should become a private company so that it can compete on a fair basis with private companies.
• NASA should reduce spending and allow corporations to innovate and expand their operations into space.
• NASA should not share its technology with private companies so that those companies will be forced to innovate on their own.
• NASA should be making scientific breakthroughs that will lead to further developments by private companies and that will inspire the public.

Read this statement from “Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration After Curiosity.” When an industry matures, it means it’s not advancing and of course the jobs go overseas.   What reason does Tyson give to explain this argument?

• Because low-Earth orbit is no longer the frontier. NASA has been going in and out of low-Earth orbit since 1962.
• Anything NASA does in space that has never been done before drums up interest in science.
• You start thinking that the science fiction story you just read or movie you just saw is maybe in reach.
• That’s the obligation of the multi-national corporation, to put the factory where it can make the widget as cheap as possible.

From Tyson’s explanation in “Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration After Curiosity,” choose which of the following effects would be most likely if the United States were to land a human on Mars.

• American factories would not be relocating overseas.
• Most people would continue living as though nothing has happened.
• Other countries would quickly begin experimenting with space travel.
• Universities would be demanding more financial support for research.

Which statement from the article best supports the answer to question 13? 

• Private enterprise is giving us access to low-Earth orbit for less than what NASA was providing.
• It’s an understanding—that the public does not yet have—of the role of NASA as a flywheel of innovation, influencing not only direct spin-offs but also the culture itself.
• For example, in the movie Prometheus, they have these flying spheres that go up and down caves and use laser tomography to map their structure. We don’t have that, but that’s really cool and I can imagine having that.
• When an industry matures, it means it’s not advancing and of course the jobs go overseas. That’s the obligation of the multi-national corporation, to put the factory where it can make the widget as cheap as possible.

What is the most likely meaning of enterprise as it is used in the following sentence?
My uncle opened his bakery six years ago, and now it is a successful enterprise with twenty employees.

• special hobby
  
• business firm
  
• unrealized dream
  
• government agency

According to “Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration After Curiosity,” why will a private company never build the first colony on Mars?

• Private companies do not have the technological expertise.
  
• Private companies do not have the technological expertise.
  
• The U.S. government will not permit private companies to build colonies.
  
• Since building a colony will not be profitable, private companies will not make the effort.