Innovation Across the Universe

IRIS is responsible for observing how solar material moves, gathers energy, and heats up as it travels through the Sun's atmosphere. What does IRIS stand for?

• Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

• Innerspace Region Image Spacecenter

• Inter Regional Intergalactic Spacecraft

• Inner Rotating Image Spectrograph

What was the first NASA mission to land on Mars?

• Viking 1 and 2

• Mariner 9

• Mars Global Surveyor

• Grail

• Observer

Osiris-Rex returns samples of ______________ to Earth to help understand hazards and resources near Earth in space.

• Comets

• Asteroids

• Moons

• Planetoids

Stardust and Stardust Next took pictures of comet _____________ and returned them to Earth to provide a better understanding of comets and the beginnings of our solar system.

• AnneFrank

• Tempel1

• Wild 2

• Juno

New Horizons was the first mission to the dwarf planet Pluto, and is venturing deeper to the mysterious Kuiper Belt – a relic of solar system formation. What year did this launch?

• 2007

• 1985

• 1996

• 2006

________ was the first planetary explorer to be launched by a Space Shuttle, first mission to test “aerobraking” – a maneuvering technique that used Venus’ atmosphere to slow or steer the spacecraft.

• Grail

• Magellan

• Pathfinder

• Maven

The password for clue #2 is Kuiper Belt

• Yes.

• Choose the other answer.