Solar System & Space Exploration

What is spacecraft that carries scientific instruments that collect data but has no human crew?

When did the United States create NASA to be in charge of the space program?

Planets move in orbit in an ellipse.  What shape is an ellipse?

One way Apollo astronauts explored the structure of the moon was to study ______________ .

Distances in the solar system are measured in _________ .

Areas of gas on sun's surface that are cooler than gases around them are called _________ .

Where were the first rockets made?

Many early observers and scientists thought the _____________ was the center of the universe.

What is round, orbits the sun, and has cleared out region of the solar system along its orbit?

What is the main source of power for the International Space Station?

Why do all the planets orbit the sun?

The sun's energy comes from the __________ gas it fuses into helium in its core.

Which planet has unusual six-sided cloud patterns around its north pole?

Which scientist discovered that planets orbit in an ellipse?

The asteroid belt is located between which two planets?

Which scientist's model of universe was widely accepted for nearly 1,500 years after his death?

Which word is used for the Earth-centered model of the universe?

What country launched the first satellite, Sputnik I,  into orbit in 1957?

_______ are meteoroids that pass through the atmosphere and are found on Earth's surface.

Which planets are known as "gas giants?"

What type of rockets are used to launch a variety of satellites and space probes?

Which planet(s) are surrounded by a set of rings?

Who was the first American to orbit Earth?

What is found in the Oort Cloud?

Since space exploration began, how many people have traveled as far as the moon?

Rockets demonstrate basic law of physics: for every action, there is an equal & _____ reaction.

What is the largest and most massive planet?

Voyager 2 photographed a Great Dark Spot, that is no longer there, on which planet?

Stars stay in the same position relative to one another in the sky.

Which planet has the hottest surface?

Who was the first human launched into space?

Where is the facility that astronauts train for the extreme conditions of space?

Which inner planet has almost no atmosphere because it has such weak gravity due to its size?

What are the only two planets that do not have natural satellites (moons)?

Which scientist's evidence gradually convinced others that the Sun is center of the universe?

The process through which the sun generates its energy is called __________ .

Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, is located on which planet?

Which planet rotates from top to bottom instead of from side to side, like the other planets?

Which planets have more than 60 moons?

What holds the solar system together and governs the movement of objects in the solar system?

What is a large artificial satellite on which people can live & work for long periods in space?

The time it takes a planet to rotate on its axis is its __________ .

What are loose collections of ice, dust, small rocky particles that orbit in narrow ellipses?

What is the current goal of scientists?

What was America's first space station?

What is a spacecraft that can carry a crew into space, return to Earth, and be reused?

Meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere, friction with air creates heat & streak of light called __

What is the name of the spot on the moon where astronauts first landed in 1969?

One of the first scientists to suggest that the Sun is the center of the universe was ______ .

Which scientist's theory explained arrangement of planets and how they move around the sun?

Galileo discovered four moons around which planet?

___________ is the movement of one object in the solar system around another.

How many asteroids have scientists discovered?

Which planets are small and dense and have rocky surfaces?

What type of space probe has instruments that collect and analyze soil & rock samples?

How many dwarf planets have scientists discovered in our solar system?

The time it takes a planet to orbit the sun is its __________ .

Which planet is sometimes called "Earth's twin" because it is so similar in size and mass?

About 99.85% of the mass of our solar system is contained within the __________ .

Chunks of rock or metal smaller than asteroids are called __________ .