Q 01/05

Sojourner, the first rover on the Red Planet, arrived in 1997 as part of which NASA mission?

A) Mars Pathfinder

B) Viking 3

C) Mars Observer

D) Mars Global Surveyor

Answer · why

A) Mars Pathfinder

It was the first wheeled vehicle to operate on a world other than Earth or the Moon.

Q 02/05

Sojourner was named after Sojourner Truth, who was what?

A) An astronomer

B) A pioneer aviator

C) A Civil War general

D) An abolitionist

Answer · why

D) An abolitionist

The name came from a 12-year-old's winning essay in a NASA contest.

Q 03/05

Who won the contest to name Sojourner?

A) 12-year-old Valerie Ambroise

B) NASA chief Dan Goldin

C) Astronaut Sally Ride

D) Author Ray Bradbury

Answer · why

A) 12-year-old Valerie Ambroise

She was from Bridgeport, Connecticut; runner-up Deepti Rohatgi proposed Marie Curie.

Q 04/05

After landing, Sojourner's lander was renamed in honour of which astronomer?

A) Clyde Tombaugh

B) Carl Sagan

C) Edwin Hubble

D) Percival Lowell

Answer · why

B) Carl Sagan

Sagan had died in December 1996, seven months before the landing.

Q 05/05

Rocks at Sojourner's landing site were named after what?

A) NASA engineers

B) U.S. presidents

C) Cartoon characters

D) Greek gods

Answer · why

C) Cartoon characters

Barnacle Bill, Yogi, Scooby-Doo and Casper were among the rocks analysed.