The Mars Missions Quiz – Facts Worth Knowing

Take the Mars missions quiz to explore Mariner 4's first close-up photos, the Viking landers, orbiters like Mars Express and MAVEN, the UAE's Hope probe, InSight's quakes, China's Tianwen-1 and plans for human missions. Ten questions with facts worth knowing.

Start the Mars Missions Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

First
Which spacecraft sent the first close-up photos of Mars in 1965?
Lander
Which NASA landers searched for life on Mars in 1976?
Orbit
Which was the first spacecraft to orbit Mars, in 1971?
Europe
Which ESA orbiter has studied Mars since 2003?
UAE
Which country's Hope probe reached Mars in 2021?
India
Which country reached Mars orbit on its first try in 2014?
Quakes
Which NASA lander measured marsquakes?
Ice
Which lander confirmed water ice near Mars's north pole in 2008?
Volcano
What is the tallest volcano on Mars?
Window
How often do launch windows to Mars open?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which spacecraft sent the first close-up photos of Mars in 1965?
Answer: Mariner 4
It showed a cratered surface.
Q2: Which NASA landers searched for life on Mars in 1976?
Answer: Viking 1 and 2
Their results remain debated.
Q3: Which was the first spacecraft to orbit Mars, in 1971?
Answer: Mariner 9
It waited out a global dust storm.
Q4: Which ESA orbiter has studied Mars since 2003?
Answer: Mars Express
It found signs of past water.
Q5: Which country's Hope probe reached Mars in 2021?
Answer: United Arab Emirates
It studies Martian weather.
Q6: Which country reached Mars orbit on its first try in 2014?
Answer: India
The mission was called Mangalyaan.
Q7: Which NASA lander measured marsquakes?
Answer: InSight
It operated from 2018 to 2022.
Q8: Which lander confirmed water ice near Mars's north pole in 2008?
Answer: Phoenix
It scraped ice from the soil.
Q9: What is the tallest volcano on Mars?
Answer: Olympus Mons
It is about 22 kilometers high.
Q10: How often do launch windows to Mars open?
Answer: About every 26 months
Earth and Mars must line up.

The Mars Missions Quiz – Missions to the Red Planet

Mars has fascinated people for centuries, and it has been the target of more missions than any other planet. Mariner 4 sent the first close-up photos in 1965, revealing a cratered world, and Mariner 9 became the first orbiter in 1971.

Viking landers searched for life in 1976, and later missions found evidence of ancient rivers, lakes and underground ice. Orbiters from the United States, Europe, India, the UAE and China map the planet and study its thin atmosphere.

Many missions failed, showing how hard reaching Mars is. Launch windows open every 26 months, and agencies are planning sample return missions and eventual human journeys, which would take months each way.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for space fans exploring Mars missions.

Which mission sent first photos
What Viking searched for
Which nations reached Mars
What InSight measured
How often launch windows open

Did You Know?

Valles Marineris is a vast canyon.
A Mars day is about 24 hours 37 minutes.
Mars has two small moons.
Dust storms can cover the planet.
Mars gravity is about 38% of Earth's.