future of space exploration g7

As explained in “Future of Space Exploration Could See Humans on Mars,

Alien Planets,” who is Mae Jemison?

• the head of the 100-Year Starship project

• an astronaut training to travel in the first expedition to Mars

• a fundraiser trying to obtain money to fund NASA’s programs

• a scientist working on new technologies for exploring the moon

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According to “Future of Space Exploration Could See Humans on Mars, Alien Planets,” what are the main purposes of the 100-Year Starship project? Choose two options.

• to generate support for NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft

• to enable human beings to establish colonies on Mars

• to help humanity overcome its problems with political instability

• to encourage public enthusiasm for travel beyond our solar system

• to develop the new technology needed to travel beyond our solar system

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According to “Future of Space Exploration Could See Humans on Mars, Alien Planets,” the 100-Year Starship project includes artists and science fiction writers, as well as scientists and engineers. What is the main reason for including people from the arts?

• Artists and science fiction writers are among the greatest critics of space travel, so changing their opinions is crucial to the success of the project.

• Artists and science fiction writers are great supporters of space travel, and they are willing to lend their time and effort to the project.

• The skills of artists and science fiction writers can help in the program’s aim of increasing public enthusiasm for space exploration.

• The program is so experimental that artists and science fiction writers

  understand it better than scientists and engineers do.

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In “Future of Space Exploration Could See Humans on Mars, Alien Planets,”

what main point does Mae Jemison make regarding Proxima Centauri, the nearest star?

• It probably will be reached by NASA’s Voyager

  1 spacecraft within her children’s lifetime.

• It cannot be reached for thousands of years, given our present technology.

• It is unlikely to have a planetary system that can support human life

• It is farther away than the distance from New York to Los Angeles

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According to “Future of Space Exploration Could See Humans on Mars, Alien Planets,” which of the following specific ideas is the 100-Year Starship program looking at closely? Choose two options

• ways to lower the cost of space travel

• ways to enable spaceships to travel more rapidly

• ways to shrink the amount of time space travel takes

• ways to adapt spaceships for public transportation on Earth

• ways to improve the human body to help it endure long space trips

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If humans someday colonize Mars, what must they do?

• write about it

• remember it

• improve it

• settle it

Which of these actions is an example of planetary motion?

• the sun’s movements

• the Earth’s movements

• rockets moving through space

• astronauts moving in spaceships

If future astronauts engage in interstellar travel, where will they go?

• from star to star

• between Earth and Mars

• between Earth and the moon

• anywhere within our solar system

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A In “Future of Space Exploration Could See Humans on Mars, Alien Planets,” how important does Mae Jemison think the support of the general population is to the success of space programs?

• The dedication and support of the general population is needed for a space program to succeed

• A space program can succeed without public support, but getting funding is easier with it

• The general population’s support has less of an impact than the government’s support.

• Technology is the key to a space program’s success, not the support of the public.

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Part B Which sentence from the news article best supports the answer to Part A?

• Mars may be one of the closest planets humans want to colonize, but it certainly isn’t the only one

• Mae Jemison described the 100-Year Starship project to an interested audience.

• “The reason we’re not on the moon has nothing to do with technology and everything to do with public will and commitment,” Jemison said.

• “I believe that pursuing an extraordinary tomorrow will create a better world today,” she said.

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