Quiz of the Day
Moon Day: Apollo 11 & The Space Race
Monday, 20 July 2026
One giant leap — the Moon landing of 1969, the race to get there, and humanity's cosmic ambitions
1. Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon's surface on July 20, 1969. What were his famous first words?
- We have landed on the Moon
- Houston, we have arrived
- That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind
- One small step for man, one giant leap for humanity
Armstrong always insisted he said 'a man' — making the contrast between an individual human step and a collective human leap meaningful. Audio analysis supports that the 'a' was present but obscured by static. NASA officially accepts his version of the quote.
2. Who was the third member of the Apollo 11 crew, who remained in orbit around the Moon while Armstrong and Aldrin descended?
- Alan Shepard
- Jim Lovell
- Michael Collins
- John Glenn
Collins orbited the Moon alone in the Columbia command module for 21.5 hours while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. He's often called 'the forgotten astronaut,' but Collins himself seemed at peace with his role, later writing that he felt 'awareness, anticipation, satisfaction' rather than loneliness.
3. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, beginning the Space Race. Which Soviet achievement first placed a human in space?
- Vostok 1 carrying Yuri Gagarin
- Soyuz 1 carrying Vladimir Komarov
- Voskhod 1 carrying a three-man crew
- Luna 9 landing on the Moon
Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on April 12, 1961, in a flight lasting 108 minutes. He ejected from the capsule and parachuted separately — a fact kept secret for years because the rules required landing inside the craft for spaceflight records. April 12 is now celebrated as Cosmonautics Day in Russia.
4. President Kennedy famously committed the US to landing on the Moon before the end of the decade in a 1962 speech at which university?
- Caltech
- Rice University
- MIT
- Harvard
Kennedy's 'We choose to go to the Moon' speech in Houston was designed to galvanise public support for the enormous cost of the Apollo program. He told the crowd: 'We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.'
5. How many Apollo missions successfully landed astronauts on the Moon?
- 7
- 6
- 4
- 9
Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 all successfully landed on the Moon. Apollo 13 famously aborted its landing after an oxygen tank explosion. Apollo 17 in December 1972 was the last crewed Moon mission — and no human has returned since. Geologist Harrison Schmitt remains the last person to have walked on the Moon's surface.
6. What famous statement did astronaut Jim Lovell make during the Apollo 13 mission?
- We have a problem, Houston
- We need to turn around
- Houston, we've had a problem
- Mission abort required immediately
The actual words were 'Houston, we've had a problem' — past tense. The film Apollo 13 (1995) changed it to 'Houston, we have a problem' for dramatic effect. The explosion occurred 56 hours into the mission; the crew improvised solutions with NASA engineers over four days to return safely to Earth.
7. The Moon's surface gravity is approximately what fraction of Earth's gravity?
- One-half
- One-tenth
- One-quarter
- One-sixth
At 1/6th of Earth's gravity, a person who weighs 80 kg on Earth weighs about 13 kg on the Moon. This allows for the famous 'Moon hop' — astronauts bouncing in their bulky suits. The reduced gravity also means sounds cannot travel (no atmosphere), and impacts create dramatic plumes of dust that settle slowly.
8. The flag planted by Apollo 11 astronauts is no longer standing, destroyed by what event?
- Solar wind degradation
- Moonquake
- Meteor impact
- The exhaust from the ascent engine
Buzz Aldrin watched the flag fall as the ascent engine fired — the blast knocked it over. The flags from later missions (planted further from the module) likely still stand, but ultraviolet radiation has bleached them completely white. From Earth, we can't see them even with the most powerful telescopes.
9. The Moon is moving away from Earth at what rate per year?
- 3.8 cm
- 1 cm
- 27 cm
- 10 cm
Laser reflectors left by Apollo missions allow scientists to precisely measure the Moon's drift — it's retreating at about 3.8 cm per year. The Moon was much closer in Earth's early history, making tides far more extreme. In the distant future, the Moon will be too far away to produce total solar eclipses — ending one of Earth's most spectacular natural phenomena.
10. Which spacecraft was the first to successfully land on another planetary body (the Moon)?
- Ranger 7
- Surveyor 1
- Luna 2
- Luna 9
Soviet probe Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon in February 1966, transmitting panoramic photographs of the lunar surface. Before this, scientists genuinely feared the lunar surface might be covered in deep, fluffy dust that would swallow any spacecraft — or astronauts. Luna 9 showed the surface was firm enough to stand on.
11. The Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon. What is the name of NASA's new rocket used for Artemis missions?
- Saturn VI
- Starship
- Space Launch System
- Falcon Heavy
The Space Launch System (SLS) is NASA's most powerful rocket ever built, designed to carry the Orion capsule and crew to the Moon. Artemis aims to land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface. SpaceX's Starship is contracted to serve as the lunar lander for Artemis missions.
12. On which part of the Moon did Apollo 11 land?
- The Sea of Serenity
- The Oceanus Procellarum
- The Ocean of Storms
- The Sea of Tranquillity
The Sea of Tranquillity (Mare Tranquillitatis) was chosen for Apollo 11 because it's relatively flat and smooth — important for a safe first landing. The landing site, called Tranquility Base, is now protected as part of the Apollo 11 Historical Heritage Site, though no treaty prevents spacecraft from landing there.
13. What conspiracy theory about the Moon landing has persisted for decades, despite overwhelming evidence?
- It was filmed by Stanley Kubrick
- It occurred 5 years earlier than claimed
- It was actually Soviet footage
- NASA filmed it in a TV studio
The Kubrick conspiracy claims the director faked the footage after directing 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Among many debunking facts: the Soviet Union — with every reason to expose a hoax during the Space Race — never challenged the landing's authenticity; 400,000 people worked on Apollo; and we've since photographed the landing sites from lunar orbit.
14. What was the mission duration of Apollo 11 from launch to splashdown?
- 5 days
- 12 days
- 19 days
- 8 days
Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24 — a total of 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, and 35 seconds. The astronauts were quarantined for 21 days after return, due to fears about lunar microbes — though no such microbes have ever been found.
15. The Moon has a 'far side' permanently facing away from Earth. When was it first photographed?
- 1966 by a US probe
- 1965 by a joint mission
- 1957 by the US
- 1959 by the Soviet Union
Luna 3 photographed the far side of the Moon in October 1959, transmitting grainy but revolutionary images. The far side looks very different from the near side — it's heavily cratered with few of the dark 'seas' (maria) that cover the near side. This asymmetry is still not fully understood by scientists.