Q 01/05

Which container ship blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March 2021?

A) Ever Given

B) Ever Ace

C) MSC Oscar

D) Emma Maersk

Answer · why

A) Ever Given

Ever Given: it held up an estimated $9.6bn of goods a day, and at least 369 ships were queuing by the time it was refloated.

Q 02/05

Which NASA rover landed in Mars's Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021?

A) Curiosity

B) Perseverance

C) Opportunity

D) Spirit

Answer · why

B) Perseverance

Perseverance: it is collecting cores of Martian rock and soil so that a future mission could bring them back to Earth for study.

Q 03/05

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity carried a tiny swatch of fabric from which pioneering aircraft?

A) The Spirit of St. Louis

B) The Wright Flyer

C) Concorde

D) Amelia Earhart's Electra

Answer · why

B) The Wright Flyer

The Wright Flyer: Ingenuity made the first powered, controlled flight on another planet, and though planned for five flights it made 72.

Q 04/05

Which space telescope launched on Christmas Day 2021 aboard an Ariane 5?

A) Hubble

B) Spitzer

C) Herschel

D) James Webb

Answer · why

D) James Webb

James Webb: it was too big to launch whole, so it flew folded up origami-style and then unfolded itself in space.

Q 05/05

The infrared telescope launched on Christmas Day 2021 coats its mirror segments in which metal?

A) Silver

B) Gold

C) Platinum

D) Aluminium

Answer · why

B) Gold

Gold: it boosts how well the mirrors reflect infrared light, the kind of light the telescope gathers from very distant galaxies.