
NASA News - Mars Reading Quiz
Authored by Rebecca Buchanan
Science
6th Grade
Used 2+ times

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6 questions
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1.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
1 min • 1 pt
Which paragraph from the article BEST supports the conclusion that designing a successful helicopter flight on Mars is challenging?
NASA has been exploring Mars for over 50 years. The U.S. space agency has sent orbiters, landers
and rovers to explore Earth's neighbor. NASA's next mission will be the first to send a tiny robotic
helicopter to another planet.
It took four years of testing and redesign to create a helicopter capable of operating on the Red Planet.
Mars' atmosphere is very thin. Hovering just 10 feet above the surface is the equivalent of soaring
100,000 feet above Earth.
The helicopter is equipped with solar cells. The cells will charge its lithium batteries and an internal
heating mechanism to keep it warm through the Martian night. On Mars, it can get very cold, especially
at night. Temperatures can plummet to minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The helicopter's first flight should be a short one: It will climb 10 feet and hover for 30 seconds before
returning to the ground. If all goes according to plan, the craft will make four more flights over the course
of a 30-day test campaign, each progressively longer and more complex than the first.
2.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Which selection from the article describes how scientists hope to use the information provided by the tiny helicopter?
"To make it fly at that low atmospheric density, we had to scrutinize everything, make it as light as
possible while being as strong and as powerful as it can possibly be," said Mimi Aung. She is the Mars
Helicopter project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The helicopter is equipped with solar cells. The cells will charge its lithium batteries and an internal
heating mechanism to keep it warm through the Martian night. On Mars, it can get very cold, especially
at night. Temperatures can plummet to minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The car-size rover is equipped with a drill for collecting rock samples, and instruments for conducting
chemical analyses and seeking potentially habitable environments. An experiment to test the viability of
producing oxygen from the planet's carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere will be performed.
If all goes according to plan, the craft will make four more flights over the course of a 30-day test
campaign, each progressively longer and more complex than the first.
3.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
"The Mars Helicopter is an autonomous spacecraft. It has a meter-long rotor and a body the size of a chihuahua."
What is the best definition of the word "autonomous" as it is used in this sentence?
Out of control
well researched
self-driven
freee
4.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
"If the Mars Helicopter fails, the overall Mars 2020 mission will not be harmed. But the potential upsides for NASA are thrilling."
The word "thrilling" in the sentence above tells the reader that the possibilities for the Mars Helicopter are:
Exciting
Mysterious
Informative
Overwhelming
5.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
According to the article, this is the first mission that sends a tiny robotic helicopter to Mars.
True or False
True
False
6.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
What is the theme of this article?
Finding life on Mars
Looking for life on Mars
To test technology on Mars
Inform humans about aliens on Mars
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