A Blast From the Future! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Apollo 17

The Apollo program was an American project of manned and unmanned missions with the goal of landing a human being on the moon. Apollo 17 was the final mission of the program, with the launch taking place in December 1972. The launch is notable for being the first night-launch carried out by NASA, and the final time a Saturn V rocket was used for a manned mission.

Answer: Vostok 6

Launched in June 1963, Vostok 6 was the first time that a woman was launched into space. Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was selected from over 400 applicants to pilot the mission. During the nearly three-day flight, Tereshkova spoke over the radio with Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Answer: Freedom 7

Despite being named Freedom 7, Alan Shepard's first space flight was not the seventh mission in it's program. The Freedom 7 mission was part of Project Mercury, with all mission nicknames containing a number seven to represent the seven astronauts chosen to be a part of the program. The mission lasted for around 15 minutes, with Shepard not making it into the Earth's orbit.

Answer: Shenzhou 5

Shenzhou 5 was the first manned Chinese space mission, making China the third country worldwide (after Russia and the USA) to be capable of independently launching humans into space. The flight lasted for over 21 hours, with taikonaut Yang Liwei landing in Inner Mongolia, only 5 km away from the target landing site.

Answer: Gemini 5

After the initial Mercury program, Gemini was the second series of American manned space missions. The project is so-named because the Gemini spacecraft had a capacity of two astronauts rather than the solo missions that had previously been undertaken. Gemini 5 was the longest manned space mission to date, and demonstrated the new fuel cell capabilities that would be necessary for a manned flight to the moon.

Answer: Vostok 1

Piloted by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Vostok 1 was the first manned spaceflight in human history. The flight was a major landmark in the 'space race' between the Soviet Union and the United States that began during the cold war in 1957. The mission lasted for almost two hours and completed a full orbit of the Earth.

Answer: Soyuz 4

Taking place in January of 1969, the twin missions of Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 were the first successful docking of two spacecraft in outer space. Soyuz 4 was launched with only commander Vladimir Shatalov on board, but docked with Soyuz 5 and gained Aleksei Yeliseyev and Yevgeny Khrunov for the return journey. The mission lasted around three days in total, and orbited the Earth 48 times.

Answer: Apollo 11

Perhaps the most famous manned spaceflight of all time, Apollo 11 was the first time that humankind set foot on the moon. Taking place in July of 1969, Apollo 11 successfully fulfilled John F. Kennedy's promise that the United States would have a person on the moon by the end of the decade. After Apollo 11, five subsequent Apollo missions put people on the lunar surface.

Answer: Voshkod 2

Launched in March 1965, Voshkod 2 was the first space mission to contain extra-vehicular activity - also know as a spacewalk. Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov spent 12 minutes outside of the spacecraft, attaching a camera at the end of the airlock to film himself.

Answer: STS-31 ( Space Shuttle Discovery)

The 35th space shuttle mission launched by the United States, STS-31 is notable for the cargo that it carried into space. Lasting just over five days and with a crew of five people, STS-31 placed the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit around the Earth.

Although not the first space telescope, Hubble was the most powerful and versatile space telescope at the time of its launch. Since 1990 the telescope has been repaired multiple times by subsequent space shuttle missions.