Space Race Quiz

Name:

Date:

Instructions: From Sputnik to the Space Shuttle, relive the thrilling competition to conquer the final frontier.

1.
What year did the Soviet Union launch Sputnik, the first artificial satellite?
A
1955
B
1956
C
1957
D
1958
2.
What was the name of the dog the Soviets sent into space aboard Sputnik 2?
A
Zvezdochka
B
Belka
C
Strelka
D
Laika
3.
Who was the first human in space?
A
Alan Shepard
B
Valentina Tereshkova
C
Yuri Gagarin
D
John Glenn
4.
Who was the first American in space?
A
Gus Grissom
B
John Glenn
C
Scott Carpenter
D
Alan Shepard
5.
What was the name of NASA's first manned space program?
A
Gemini
B
Mercury
C
Apollo
D
Skylab
6.
What was the first woman in space, a Soviet cosmonaut, named?
A
Sally Ride
B
Valentina Tereshkova
C
Svetlana Savitskaya
D
Kathryn Sullivan
7.
What NASA program bridged the gap between Mercury and Apollo?
A
Gemini
B
Pioneer
C
Vanguard
D
Skylab
8.
Which Apollo mission suffered a tragic launchpad fire in 1967 that killed three astronauts?
A
Apollo 8
B
Apollo 11
C
Apollo 1
D
Apollo 7
9.
Who were the three astronauts killed in the Apollo 1 fire?
A
Grissom, White, Chaffee
B
Shepard, Glenn, Carpenter
C
Schirra, Cooper, Slayton
D
Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins
10.
What was America's first space station called?
A
Salyut
B
Freedom
C
Mir
D
Skylab
11.
What was the joint U.S.-Soviet space mission in 1975?
A
Mercury-Vostok Project
B
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
C
Skylab-Salyut Mission
D
Gemini-Soyuz Docking
12.
Who was the first American woman in space?
A
Judith Resnik
B
Sally Ride
C
Kathryn Sullivan
D
Mae Jemison
13.
What was the name of the first reusable spacecraft, launched in 1981?
A
The Space Shuttle Discovery
B
The Space Shuttle Enterprise
C
The Space Shuttle Challenger
D
The Space Shuttle Columbia
14.
What phrase did Alan Shepard supposedly say before his first spaceflight in 1961?
A
'Light this candle'
B
'Let's get this show on the road'
C
'Here we go'
D
'Ready for liftoff'
15.
What did President Kennedy tell Congress in May 1961 about space exploration?
A
To build a space station
B
To land a man on the Moon before the decade was out
C
To match the Soviet Union's achievements
D
To send a probe to Mars

Answer Key

Question 1

C. 1957

Question 2

D. Laika

Question 3

C. Yuri Gagarin

Question 4

D. Alan Shepard

Question 5

B. Mercury

Question 6

B. Valentina Tereshkova

Question 7

A. Gemini

Question 8

C. Apollo 1

Question 9

A. Grissom, White, Chaffee

Question 10

D. Skylab

Question 11

B. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

Question 12

B. Sally Ride

Question 13

D. The Space Shuttle Columbia

Question 14

A. 'Light this candle'

Question 15

B. To land a man on the Moon before the decade was out

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