Q 01/05

As of 2025, Tereshkova is still the only woman ever to have done what in space?

A) Flown with her husband

B) Commanded a crew

C) Flown a mission alone

D) Spent a year in orbit

Answer · why

C) Flown a mission alone

Flown a mission alone: hers was the last flight of the Soviet one-seat capsule, and every woman who has gone into orbit since has flown as part of a c...

Q 02/05

Which spacecraft carried Tereshkova into orbit?

A) Voskhod 2

B) Vostok 6

C) Vostok 1

D) Soyuz 1

Answer · why

B) Vostok 6

Vostok 6 was the last flight of its programme, and she greeted the launch by calling out, 'Hey sky, take off your hat! I'm coming to see you.'

Q 03/05

Which American became her country's first woman in space, 20 years after Tereshkova's flight?

A) Christa McAuliffe

B) Mae Jemison

C) Eileen Collins

D) Sally Ride

Answer · why

D) Sally Ride

Sally Ride flew on the shuttle Challenger in June 1983, twenty years almost to the day after Tereshkova, and by then a second Soviet woman had already...

Q 04/05

What did mission planners forget to pack for Tereshkova's days in orbit?

A) A toothbrush

B) A hairbrush

C) A tin opener

D) A notebook

Answer · why

A) A toothbrush

A toothbrush: she had toothpaste and water for her 48 orbits, so she used her hand instead, as she revealed in 2015.

Q 05/05

As of 2025, which record set on her 1963 flight does Tereshkova still hold?

A) Longest flight by a woman

B) Highest orbit by a woman

C) Youngest woman to orbit Earth

D) Fastest launch to orbit

Answer · why

C) Youngest woman to orbit Earth

Youngest woman to orbit Earth: she was 26 and, unlike the male cosmonauts, had never piloted an aircraft before she was chosen.