Space quiz questions: from Apollo to Artemis

With NASA's Artemis programme working to return humans to the Moon, now is the perfect time for some space exploration trivia. Here are six questions spanning the history of human spaceflight.

The questions

Q1: How many people have walked on the Moon: 8, 10 or 12?

Ans: 12

All were American men who landed between 1969 and 1972. No one has walked on the Moon since Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt.

Q2: The Artemis programme is named after the Greek goddess of the Moon, who was the twin sister of which god?

Ans: Apollo

The naming connects back to the original Moon landing programme. In mythology, Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and the Moon.

Q3: Who was the first human in space, orbiting Earth in Vostok 1 in April 1961?

Ans: Yuri Gagarin

The cosmonaut's flight lasted 108 minutes and made one complete orbit. He ejected from the capsule at 7 km altitude and parachuted to Earth separately.

Q4: The famous phrase "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" was spoken by which astronaut upon first stepping onto the lunar surface?

Ans: Neil Armstrong

He stepped onto the Moon on 20th July 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission. Buzz Aldrin followed shortly after.

Q5: Which planet in our solar system has the tallest known mountain, a shield volcano standing roughly three times the height of Mount Everest?

Ans: Mars (the mountain is Olympus Mons)

The mountain stands about 22 kilometres high. Its base is so wide that standing on it, you couldn't see the edges.

Q6: Voyager 1, launched in 1977, became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. What material is the onboard disk that contains sounds and images of Earth made of?

Ans: Gold

The record contains greetings in 55 languages, music from various cultures, sounds of nature, and images encoded as audio signals. It includes instructions for playing it.

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These questions work well in a science round or as a standalone space-themed mini quiz.