Space Studies

Question 1

Name and describe the force that governs the motions of our solar system

Answer 1

Gravity (gravitational pull)

Question 2

Explain how gravity can make items heavier/lighter (at different locations in the solar system)?

Answer 2

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Question 3

Explain how gravity affects rockets?

Answer 3

The rocket must overcome the gravitational pull in order to reach space

Question 4

How does size & distance affect gravity?

Answer 4

The more mass (size) the more gravity; the closer the object the stronger the gravity.

Question 5

Who was the first man in space?

Answer 5

Yuri Gagarin (Soviet), in 1961

Question 6

Which was the first US manned space program?

Answer 6

Project Mercury

Question 7

Who was the first US citizen to orbit the earth?

Answer 7

Alan Shepard, in 1961 (one month after Yuri)

Question 8

Which was the first satellite sent into space by the Soviets?

Answer 8

Sputnik 1, in 1957

Question 9

What is the order of the planets from the sun?

Answer 9

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

Question 10

Which planets are inner planets?

Answer 10

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Question 11

Which planets are outer planets?

Answer 11

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Question 12

Where is the asteroid belt located?

Answer 12

Roughly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Question 13

Describe each of the planets

Answer 13

Mercury - smallest; closest to sun
Venus - Sister planet; hottest
Earth - water planet
Mars - Red planet
Jupiter - largest planet
Saturn - the ringed planet
Uranus - blue/green gas planet with rings
Neptune - highest wind speeds

Question 14

Who was the first man to walk on the moon?

Answer 14

Neil Armstrong, Apollo 2, 1969

Question 15

List and describe the Galilean moons

Answer 15

The four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei around January 1610. They are by far the largest of the moons of Jupiter. They are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Question 16

Explain space probes?

Answer 16

An instrumented spacecraft for exploring the upper atmosphere, space, or celestial body in order to get information about the environment, physical properties, etc.

Question 17

Explain rockets?

Answer 17

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Question 18

Explain telescopes?

Answer 18

A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation (such as visible light).

Question 19

Asteroids

Answer 19

any of numerous small, often irregularly shaped rocky bodies that orbit the Sun primarily in the asteroid belt, a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They range in size. 1800 have been cataloged and as many as a million or more smaller ones may exist

Question 20

Comets

Answer 20

A celestial object that orbits the Sun along an elongated path. A comet that is not near the Sun consists only of a nucleus – a solid core of frozen water, frozen gases, and dust. When a comet comes close to the Sun its nucleus heats up and releases a gaseous coma that surrounds the nucleus. A comet forms a tail when solar heat or wind forces dust or gas off its coma, with the tail always streaming away from the Sun.

Question 21

Meteors

Answer 21

Also called a “shooting star” or “falling star”. A bright streak of light in the sky caused by the entry into Earth’s atmosphere of a meteoroid or a small icy particle.

Question 22

Meteorites

Answer 22

A meteor that reaches the Earth’s surface because it has not been burned up by friction with the atmosphere. Meteorites are believed to be fragments of comets and asteroids.

Question 23

What must be considered for humans to travel in space?

Answer 23

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Question 24

How is the future of space exploration different/similar from the past?

Answer 24

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