Q 01/05

Which president's message rides aboard Voyager's Golden Record?

A) Richard Nixon

B) Gerald Ford

C) Jimmy Carter

D) Ronald Reagan

Answer · why

C) Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter called the record "a present from a small distant world" and wrote that humanity was attempting to survive its time so that it might live...

Q 02/05

Voyager 1 launched 16 days after its twin but overtook Voyager 2 while both were crossing what?

A) The Moon's orbit

B) The asteroid belt

C) Saturn's rings

D) The Kuiper belt

Answer · why

B) The asteroid belt

The asteroid belt is where Voyager 1 pulled ahead in December 1977; its shorter, faster route then delivered it to Jupiter four months before the prob...

Q 03/05

From which US launch site did both Voyager probes lift off in 1977?

A) Vandenberg

B) Cape Canaveral

C) Wallops Island

D) White Sands

Answer · why

B) Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral launched the pair in reverse order: Voyager 2 lifted off first, on August 20, and Voyager 1 followed from the same pad on September 5.

Q 04/05

Which rocket launched the Voyager probes?

A) Saturn IB

B) Titan IIIE

C) Atlas-Centaur

D) Delta II

Answer · why

B) Titan IIIE

Titan IIIE existed because NASA's Atlas-Centaur was too weak to throw heavy probes such as Viking and Voyager at the planets, so the Centaur upper sta...

Q 05/05

When Voyager 1's booster shut down early, its Centaur stage saved the launch with roughly how much fuel to spare?

A) About 3 seconds' worth

B) About 30 seconds' worth

C) About 5 minutes' worth

D) About an hour's worth

Answer · why

A) About 3 seconds' worth

About 3 seconds' worth was left in the tanks: the Centaur had to burn longer than planned to cover for the stage below it, while the launch team waite...