Pop culture in space
0Loading crowd target
Questions and sources
Pop Culture in Space — Daily trivia Sunday, September 20, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Which movie space station does Saturn's moon Mimas resemble, thanks to one giant crater?
- ASpace Station V
- BElysium
- CThe Death Star
- DStarbase Yorktown
Show answer
The Death Star
The Death Star, by pure coincidence: nobody saw Mimas's giant crater up close until Voyager 1 flew past in 1980, three years after Star Wars.
Q 02Which slingshot phone game's space edition did an astronaut introduce while floating aboard the International Space Station?
- AAngry Birds
- BCandy Crush
- CFruit Ninja
- DCut the Rope
Show answer
Angry Birds
Angry Birds. Its maker, Rovio, teamed up with NASA, and astronaut Don Pettit introduced the space edition while floating in zero gravity.
Q 03Which Chuck Berry hit is on the Golden Record the Voyager probes carry for any aliens who find them?
- AMaybellene
- BNo Particular Place to Go
- CSweet Little Sixteen
- DJohnny B. Goode
Show answer
Johnny B. Goode
Johnny B. Goode. When folklorist Alan Lomax objected that rock was adolescent, Carl Sagan replied, 'There are a lot of adolescents on the planet.'
Q 04Which Star Trek actor helped NASA recruit its first female and Black astronauts?
- AWhoopi Goldberg
- BNichelle Nichols
- CLeVar Burton
- DGeorge Takei
Show answer
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols, Uhura. She planned to leave Star Trek after its first season, until Martin Luther King Jr. told her she must not.
Q 05Which entertainment company's founder took clown noses to the space station for his crewmates?
- ABlue Man Group
- BBig Apple Circus
- CCirque du Soleil
- DRingling Bros.
Show answer
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil. Guy Laliberté reportedly paid $35 million for the trip.
Q 06After his first capsule sank, what did astronaut Gus Grissom jokingly name his next one?
- AMary Poppins
- BCalamity Jane
- CAnnie Oakley
- DMolly Brown
Show answer
Molly Brown
Molly Brown, from the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown. NASA balked at the name, then gave in when his other idea was Titanic.
Q 07Which TV channel launched with Moon-landing images showing its own logo on the flag?
- AMTV
- BVH1
- CCNN
- DESPN
Show answer
MTV
MTV. That Moon-landing image became the Moonman, the astronaut trophy handed out at its Video Music Awards.
Q 08Kubrick's team couldn't fake Saturn's rings convincingly, so 2001: A Space Odyssey's astronauts fly to which planet instead?
- AMars
- BUranus
- CNeptune
- DJupiter
Show answer
Jupiter
Jupiter. Effects wizard Douglas Trumbull later flew a ship through Saturn's rings in his own film, Silent Running.
Q 09Critics called Elon Musk's space plans fanciful, so which fictional dragon did SpaceX name its capsule after?
- ASmaug
- BPuff
- CFalkor
- DToothless
Show answer
Puff
Puff, the Magic Dragon. A decade later, the 'fanciful' capsule became the first private spacecraft to reach the space station.
Q 10Which late-night comedian's fans won NASA's online vote to name a new space station room?
- AJimmy Kimmel
- BConan O'Brien
- CStephen Colbert
- DJon Stewart
Show answer
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert. NASA named the room Tranquility instead, and gave his name to a treadmill: the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or COLBERT.
How to play
- One question at a time, four options. Tap an answer to lock it in.
- You see the answer and a short explanation right away.
- Harder questions and faster answers earn more points. Share your score at the end.