Space Exploration Technology

Which of the following instruments did early astronomers use to measure the positions of celestial objects?

• Telescopes

• Astrolabes

• Rockets

• Satellites

In the early 1600s, which astronomers turned their refracting telescopes skyward to reveal previously unseen objects, including Jupiter's four largest moons?

• A) Simon Marius and Galileo Galilei

• B) Isaac Newton and William Herschel

• C) Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe

• D) Edwin Hubble and Carl Sagan

Who refined telescope technology with the invention of the reflecting telescope?

• Simon Marius

• Galileo Galilei

• Isaac Newton

• William Herschel

What technological advancement in the 1900s enabled us to travel farther into the universe than ever before?

• The harnessing of rockets to propel technologies beyond Earth into space.

• The invention of the steam engine for interplanetary travel.

• The discovery of electricity for space navigation.

• The development of the printing press for cosmic communication.

What was the name of the first artificial satellite launched in 1957?

• Sputnik 1

• Explorer 1

• Vanguard 1

• Luna 2

What is an orbiter?

• A type of robotic spacecraft that lands on a planet

• A class of artificial satellite designed to stay in a stable orbit around a moon, planet, or asteroid

• A spacecraft that returns to Earth after its mission

• A probe that travels outside the solar system

Space probes are non-crewed robotic spacecraft designed to collect measurements and images of astronomical objects as they travel through the _________.

• solar system

• ocean

• rainforest

• desert

Space probes are designed to return to Earth after completing their mission.

• True

• False

Which space probe is currently the farthest human-made object from Earth?

• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

• New Horizons

• Voyager 1

• Luna 10

What do space probes use to relay information back to Earth?

• radio signals

• laser beams

• sound waves

• magnetic pulses