Space quiz | 12 Questions that challenge your space knowledge!

The solar system broadens from the Sun, known as Sol by the ancient Romans, through the asteroid belt to the four gas giants, on to the disk-shaped Kuiper Belt, and beyond to the teardrop-shaped heliopause. There is much we know about space and the solar system, and there is still more to explore. Take these space quiz questions and test your knowledge about the solar system and the Universe.

How old is our solar system?

A giant cloud of dust and gas, known as the solar nebula, crumbled in on itself about 4.6 billion years ago, forming what would eventually become the solar system’s Sun and planets. 

Meteorites, or space rock fragments that have fallen to Earth, have assisted scientists in determining the age of the solar system. Some of these small fragments have broken off of moons or planets and can provide valuable scientific data about the chemistry and history of their home body.

Which are the planets that make up the solar system?

Here is a short description of every planet that consists of the solar system before we head on to the space quiz questions. A little brush-up can help you get the answers right.

Mercury

Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. It is also the smallest planet in the solar system, measuring only about 3,032 miles (4,879 kilometers) in diameter and having no moons of its own.

Venus

Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, is the second planet from the Sun and the hottest planet in the solar system. Its atmosphere is a thick layer of mostly carbon dioxide gas that traps heat, allowing the planet’s surface temperatures to reach a blistering 880 F (471 C). Astronomers announced the discovery of phosphine in Venus’s atmosphere in 2020.

Earth

Earth, the third planet from the Sun, is the only planet in the Universe known to support life. The presence of liquid water determines its habitability. The Earth orbits in the so-called Goldilocks zone, which means it is at the optimal distance from the Sun for liquid water to exist; any closer, the water would evaporate into a gas, and any farther away, the water would freeze.

Mars

Mars is known as the Red Planet because of the iron-rich dust covering its surface and making it rusty. Because of this red hue, the ancient Romans named Mars after their god of war.

Jupiter 

Jupiter is the solar system’s largest planet. It is a gas giant composed primarily of helium and hydrogen, unlike the inner planets. The name is derived from the Roman gods’ king (also known as Zeus in the Greek pantheon).

According to NASA, Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, is twice as large as all of the other planets in the solar system combined, but it also has the shortest day of any planet, taking 10 hours to rotate around its axis.

Saturn

Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is the solar system’s second-largest planet. Saturn’s most notable feature is its prominent rings. Saturn, like Jupiter, is a gas giant made up of helium and hydrogen, and it is the least dense of the planets.

Uranus

Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, was discovered using a telescope in 1781 by British astronomer William Herschel. The ice giant is heavier in composition than its gas giant neighbors, consisting of water, methane, and ammonia ice.

Neptune

The eighth planet from the Sun, Neptune, was discovered in 1846. However, even before the planet’s discovery, scientists predicted its existence due to its effect on Uranus’ orbit.

12 space quiz questions

Below are the space quiz questions. Try your best to answer the questions right.

1. Which planet has the largest Asteroid belt?

• Saturn (correct answer)
• Venus 
• Jupiter 

2. Which mission of NASA brought the first human to the moon?

• Apollo program (correct answer)
• Gemini program
• Mercury program

3. Which is the smallest planet in the solar system?

• Saturn
• Mercury (correct answer)
• Venus

4.Which planet has the Great Red Spot, a massive storm system?

• Earth
• Mars
• Jupiter (correct answer)

5. What was the first manned mission of NASA?

• PQS-5
• Apollo-Soyuz
• STS-1 (correct answer)

6. Which planet is farthest from Neptune?

• Uranus
• Mercury (correct answer)
• Venus

7. Which planet do the moons Oberon and Titania belong to?

• Jupiter
• Uranus (correct answer)
• Earth

8. Name NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Mission?

• Opportunity Rover
• Spirit Rover (correct answer)
• Sojourner Rover

9. What are comets mostly made of?

• Rusty metal
• Poisonous liquid
• Dust, rocks, ice (correct answer)

10. Are there any other planets in our solar system except Earth that we can live on?

• Yes
• No (correct answer)
• Sort of

11.  When did  NASA launch its first mission to the Sun?

• 2016
• 2017
• 2018 (correct answer)

12.What is the process by which a star shines due to nuclear fusion reactions in its core?

• Supernova
• Solar wind
• Stellar nucleosynthesis (correct answer)

Key takeaways

• The Universe is incredibly huge. We still have so much to learn about all its planets, stars, and galaxies.
• A massive cloud of dust and gas known as the solar nebula collapsed about 4.6 billion years ago, forming the solar system’s Sun and planets.
• All the planets in our solar system are equally important. Be it Earth or Venus. Each planet has a specific role to play.
• The space quiz questions will help you improve your knowledge about space and the solar system.

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FAQs

Q1. Which planet is rich in gold?

Answer- At current market prices, 16 Psyche contains enough gold and other valuable metals to be worth approximately $700 quintillion, which is enough to provide each and every human being on the planet with a private fortune of nearly a hundred billion dollars.

Q2. Which planet is the pink planet?

Answer- The planet, GJ 504b, is made of pink gas. It resembles Jupiter, a significant gas planet in our solar system. However, GJ 504b is four times more massive.

Q3. What is NASA studying right now?

Answer- NASA is now preparing for a bold and innovative human spaceflight and discovery era. The agency is developing the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft for human deep space exploration.