Space Quiz Grand Finale

NSSC – 2017 (Grand Finale) IIT-Kharagpur Quiz by Somnath Chanda

What’s in Offer….
 Written Round
 All the questions are on statues or
memorials of anything related to space
studies or explorations
 Answers are not at all inter-related
 Marks for each correct answer :--
+ 10 marks : (without stake)
+ 15 / - 05 : (with stake)

*
Statue of the
most well-
known alumni
of Purdue
University at
the university
campus…
Who?

Neil Armstrong
*

1
This is the statue of ‘Maria’ at
Filmpark Babelsberg, Germany.
This film (and few more on the
same genre) made by the
director had a great impact in
future space studies.
Either, name this film or
identify that futuristic director.

2
Named Unisphere, this
Earth-like structure at USA
tilts at the same 23.5o angle
the Earth does as it orbits the
sun. Though Earth has no
rings, unlike Jupiter, Saturn,
and others, it has three.
If one of these represent the
first communications satellite
to orbit the Earth, what do
the other two rings represent?

3
A statue of the Franciscan missionary
Father Junipero Serra, credited for
bringing Christianity to California
and nearby regions, has stood in the
U.S. Capitol since 1931. An effort to
replace the statue with another statue
of a LGBT icon who also has a
special first to his/her credit, is
already undergoing.
Who?

4
Project Mercury was one of the
first ambitious programmes of
NASA. It conducted twenty
unmanned flights (some using
animals), and six successful
flights by astronauts. The no. 7 in
this ‘statue’, represents the seven
original astronauts involved in
the first mission of that project.
What does the remaining part
signify?

5
Sergei Korolev, a very
important figure during
the Space-Race, is highly
regarded as the father of
practical astronautics.
In this statue, what is he
actually holding?

5

Metropolis / Fritz Lang
1

Represent the orbits of the first
American and Russian cosmonauts,
respectively
2

Sally Ride – the first US lady
to go into space
3

Astrological symbol of
Mercury
4

Sputnik
5

 Infinite Bounce
 All the questions are also Open to Pounce
 Clockwise Round
+ 10 / 0 : (Bounce)
+ 10 / - 05 : (Pounce)
 Dynamic Scoring available

*
The 2014 Winter Olympic Games at Sochi, Russia
highlighted their space-culture in various ways. As
part of the space-themed Opening Ceremony, the
Olympic Cauldron was lighted by the Olympic torch
that flew to the International Space Station. (vis – 1 & 2)
Why this former textile-factory worker and also an
amateur skydiver (vis - 3) attracted a greater amount of
attention during that ceremony?

*
1 2

1
3

Valentina Tereshkova
*

1
Harvard University made an exception this year to
allow a high-profile student to move into her dorms
a day earlier than the other students. Her parents
wanted to make the whole operation covert and
requested accordingly.
Though the student and their parents had nothing to
do with astronomy, why this particular episode has
been asked in today’s quiz?

Obamas chose the time
of the Solar Eclipse
1
The Obama family waited for eclipse when everyone was busy
watching it – and then did the necessary things.

2
This 2014 doodle celebrated the birthday of Annie
Jump Cannon with whom this romantic sentence is very
much associated : ‘Oh, Be A Fine Gal/Guy — Kiss Me!’
Why does this sentence carry a special significance to the
students of Astronomy and Cosmology?

Classification system of the Stars
2
Consisting of 7 categories, they are indicated by the letters : O, B, A,
F, G, K & M (Oh, Be A Fine Gal/Guy — Kiss Me!)

3
Billed as ‘Tintin meets Brian Cox’, the new graphic
novel ‘Mysteries of the Quantum Universe’ has been
the brainchild of theoretical physicist Thibault
Damour and illustrator Mathieu Burniat. It tells the
story of famous explorer Bob and his dog Rick’s
travels through the quantum universe under the able
guidance of their guide – the letter ‘h’.
How is ‘this guide’ better known to us?

3

Planck’s Constant
3

4
This pathbreaking project, originally named after the
first PM of the country, was initially pegged at Rs. 3
Crore. It ultimately cost a little more as furniture and
other things had to be bought in at the last moment.
Interestingly, a public-toilet complex was converted
into a data receiving centre for the occasion.
Also found a place of pride in the currency notes,
which prestigious project, ultimately named after a
noted mathematician is being hinted at?

Aryabhata
4

5
After being named the Commander of Apollo 14, this
WWII veteran decided to do something unique during
the mission. With the help of one of his friends,
he modified the shaft of a piece of rock collecting
equipment (vis) and covered it with a sock so it
wouldn’t be discovered before launch. He then
perfectly executed his plan and on his return to earth,
was duly penalised on the charge of ‘littering’.
What did he do that was kind of replicated by Mikhail
Tyurin 35 years later?

He played golf on moon
5
Tyurin played golf at the International Space Station (ISS). It was a
part of a commercial for Element 21, a Canadian golfing equipment
company. His target was the planet Earth.

6
The central plot point of this episode of Beast Wars,
was also referenced in the 2005 anime series - Fafner
in the Azure as one of the objects that the aliens
discover.
Which highly sophisticated object is the centre of
attraction in both the instances?

Voyager Golden Record
6

7
Eratosthenes, a former librarian of Alexandria was said to
be the first person to calculate the circumference of the
Earth. Inspired from his childhood practise of peering
down into the darkness of a deep well and looking for the
reflecting sun-light, he did some crafty geometrical
calculations and measured the distance between the cities
Alexandria and Syene. He accordingly got the desired
result using the unit ___, which as per modern standards is
almost equal to 80 metres (263 ft).
Identify this ancient unit that is still being kept alive, albeit
in a completely different avatar.

7

Stadia
7

*
Secretly established in 2000 with the goal for an
‘enduring human presence in space’, this private
company has been given due credit by it’s one-time
employee Neal Stephenson in his 2015 sci-fi novel
‘Seveneves’.
Identify the well-known owner of this company.

*
The Coat-of-Arms
of the company

Jeff Bezos
*

8
Despite having no substantial knowledge on the
subject, these constellations may have helped whom to
navigate through a long journey covering more than
12000 nautical miles?

8

Pi Patel
8

9
Despite being ‘an honourable
mention’, this Lahore-born
gentleman was awarded the Kirti
Chakra during mid ‘80s and went
on to command a squadron and a
base, and was even offered the air
attache’s job in Moscow.
Who?

Ravish Malhotra
(Back-up of Rakesh Sharma)
9

10
One of the very few astronauts to have been part of
as many as six space-missions, he traveled into space
three times : as Pilot of Gemini 9A in June 1966, as
Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 10 in May 1969, and as
Commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972. He was
also a backup crew-member for the Gemini 12,
Apollo 7 and Apollo 14 missions.
He is presently the last entry in which elite list?

Last Man to walk on Moon
10
He was Eugene Cernan

11
In order to settle down in UK,
Jose Mourinho – the Special
One, reportedly viewed a
Beetham Tower apartment in
2016. Despite several warnings
by his friends and relatives, the
Mourinho family went to have a
look at the Manchester’s tallest
skyscraper.
What is so spooky about that
building?

UFO
11
The Beetham Tower is famous for making a peculiar whistling sound
whenever it's a bit bit breezy, that has been compared to an alien
invasion or UFO sound. Also in the recent past, it has been accused
as a possible reason for UFO sighting in Greater Manchester.

4
These are the new additions in a long list which
include Barnacle Bill, Yogi, Coronation, Shelter Island
& Pot of Gold.
Put funda.

Rocks on Mars
4

13
Since the Apollo era, millions of people worldwide
have literally taken benefit from the cutting-edge
technology used in NASA’s suit construction.
With the process known as ‘blow rubber molding’
used in producing astronauts’ helmets, a former NASA
engineer named Frank Rudy pitched an idea for a
suitable shock absorber. His concept used a pad made
of interconnected air cells as cushion.
Which ‘airy’ brand was thus born?

Nike Air
13

14
The Constellation Program was a manned spaceflight
program developed by NASA. As reflected in the logo,
there were three major goals of the program –
‘completion of the ISS’ (Earth), ‘return to the Moon
no later than 2020’ (Moon) and something a little
more ambitious. The last goal also found expression
through the booster rocket which was named after a
Greek god.
What was the ambitious third goal of that program?

14

A Crewed Flight to Mars
14
The name given to the booster rocket was Ares (The Greek
equivalent of the Roman god Mars).

15
During the launch of the Apollo 8 spacecraft in 1968,
the technicians faced a peculiar problem. The rocket
had a rubber strip holding together a covering that
protected a measuring instrument. NASA needed a
means to insure that the rubber strip could slide off
freely during the rocket’s launch. A NASA engineer
solved the problem with a little help from his wife.
What did he do to solve the problem?

He used Johnson’s Baby Powder
15

 Tribute to NSSC
 All the questions are on (a little) hardcore
Astro & Space fundas
 Differential Scoring
* 10 - if 1 team gets it right
* 09 - if 2 teams get it right
* 03 - if all the teams get it right

1
Among the 214 patents registered in his name, this
one is considered to be an important milestone in the
study of astronomy and space-science.
Who?

1

2
The part of an Armada, this robotic spacecraft mission
from the European Space Agency, became the first
spacecraft to make close up observations of a comet.
On 13 March 1986, the mission succeeded in
approaching a comet’s nucleus at a distance of 596
kms. It was aptly named after an early Italian
Renaissance painter who famously depicted one in his
painting - Adoration of the Magi.
Who?

2

3
Team Indus, ‘the only Indian team competing for the
$30M Google Lunar XPRIZE’ has quite a few tasks to
finish to win the top-prize. Among these, some
noteworthy ones to be performed successfully in space
are – Inflatable Dome, Photosynthesis and Laser
Lighting. About the other task, TMC MP Sisir Kumar
Adhikari had already asked a question in the
parliament.
What is that other challenging task?

4
This circumstellar disc in the Solar System beyond the
(known) planets, is popularly named after (A) but
sometimes (A & B) both get the credit. Home to three
officially recognized dwarf planets : Pluto, Haumea
and Makemake, it is said to be the place from where
some of the Solar System’s moons, such as Neptune’s
Triton and Saturn’s Phoebe, are thought to have
originated.
What is being talked about?

4

5
In a curious case of gender (mis)management,
Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka are sometimes referred
to as the Three Sisters and sometimes as the Three
Kings.
Where can one find them together?

6
Apollo 10 was the last NASA mission which allowed the
astronauts to choose their own callsigns (in this case,
‘X’ for the lunar module and ‘Y’ for the command
module). Starting in Apollo 11, NASA initially chose
‘Snowcone’ and ‘Haystack’, and renamed to
‘Columbia’ and ‘Eagle’.
Identify X & Y who are somewhat inter-related.

7
SOFIA, a modified Boeing 747SP, is currently used as the
World’s only Flying Observatory. Initially Boeing delivered
the aircraft to Pan Am for commercial passenger service. At
the invitation of Pan Am on May 20, 1977, an elderly lady,
Anne, christened the aircraft, to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the beginning of something historic. After
changing hands couple of times, it was again rechristened
by aviator-cum-artist Erik. The date chosen for the latter
function was May 21, 2007, the 80th anniversary of the
completion of that earlier-mentioned historic event.
After whom/what the aircraft has been officially named?

8
This Calvin and Hobbes panel is trying to highlight
which ‘apparent contradiction’?

Robert H. Goddard
1

Giotto
2

Brewing Beer
3

Kuiper Belt
4

Belt of Orion
5

‘Snoopy’ & ‘Charlie Brown’
6

Charles Lindberg
7
It has been rechristened as ‘Clipper Lindberg’

Fermi Paradox
8
The paradox deals with the contradiction between high estimates of
the probability of the existence of extra-terrestrial civilizations and
the lack of evidence for such civilizations

 Written Round
 All the questions are on wonderful
nebulas whose ‘namesakes’ are pretty much
wellknown for other reasons
 Answers are not at all inter-related
+ 10 marks : (without stake)
+ 15 / - 05 : (with stake)

*
A perfect example of
pareidolia (the psychological
phenomenon of perceiving
familiar shapes in random or
vague images), this celestial
object shares it’s name with
something that took place in
front of 114,580 live audiences
on a hot afternoon in mid-1986
at Mexico City.
What?

Hand of God
*

1
The nebula formed
around the giant red
star is popularly
named after a very
wellknown work-of-
art, created from a
room at the Saint-
Rémy-de-Provence
asylum.
What?

2
This emission nebula in the
constellation Canis Major,
looks like the headgear of a
mythological figure. The
name stuck after the release
of a 2011 movie.
Identify the mythological
character.

3
Formally known as MWC 922,
this nebula lies about 5000
light-years from Earth in the
constellation of Serpens. It
shares it’s name with a very
important locality of an
European capital city.
Name it.

4
Discovered by William
Herschel, the formation
resembles a person’s head
surrounded by a anorak
hood.
What is it popularly named?

5
Located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the
constellation Cassiopeia, this nebula resembles which
‘machine’, symbolic of life?

Starry Nights
1

Thor
2

Red Square
3

Eskimo
4

Heart
5

 Infinite Bounce
 All the questions are also Open to Pounce
 Anti-Clockwise Round
+ 10 / 0 : (Bounce)
+ 10 / - 05 : (Pounce)
 Dynamic Scoring available

*
What is so special about this pathway?

Trees planted by the
Russian Cosmonauts
*
Each one was planted by an astronaut just before he or she was
launched to space, a tradition that Yuri Gagarin started when he
planted the first tree just before he became the first human in space.
His tree is the largest.

1
Son of a musician in a German military regiment, he
himself started his career as a musician and employed
as the organist at the Octagon Chapel at Bath. The
patterns in the music made him curious about maths
which in turn made him fall in love with the stars.
Bigger things happened in due course of time.
Apart from a crater in moon, an asteroid and other
landmarks, he was immortalised by this symbol .
Identify this musician-turned-astronomer.

William Herscel
1
That was the Astrological Symbol of Uranus

2
Zenit was a series of military photoreconnaissance
satellites launched between 1961 and 1994. Primarily
used for spying activities, their top-secret nature were
concealed by giving the public-friendly Kosmos
designation.
In 1961, for what specific purpose this space capsule
was famously used?

In Vostok-1, Yuri Gagarin
was sent into space
2

3
Ivan Ivanovitch, now retired, first flew into space on
Korabl-Sputnik 4 on 9 March 1961, accompanied by a
dog named Chernushka, various reptiles and 80 mice
and guinea pigs. In his next mission, on 26 March
1961, he was again accompanied by a dog,
Zvyozdochka and other animals. To keep him safe
from the public, a Russian word – ‘МАКЕТ’ was
marked under his visor.
What is so special about Ivan Ivanovitch?

Mannequin
3
He was used in testing the Russian Vostok spacecraft in preparation
for its manned missions. MAKET in Russian means ‘Dummy’.

4
Columbia Pictures was set to co-produce this project
involving Peter Sellers and Marlon Brando. However, in
a strange twist of tale, the script copyright was awarded
to a certain Mike Wilson. After getting
disillusioned with the whole affair, the director
scrapped the entire project.
Identify this project which could have told us the
adventures of ‘Mr. Ang’.

‘The Alien’ by Satyajit Ray
4

5
Where do you find them together?
* Muhammad al-Idrisi – the mediaval geographer,
cartographer and Egyptologist;
* Jeanne Baré - first woman to circumnavigate the Earth;
* Tenzing Norgay & Edmund Hillary – first men to
reach the top of Mt. Everest;
* Auguste Piccard – the Swiss physicist, inventor and
explorer, known for his record-breaking hot air balloon
flights;
* Wright Brothers – known for the first airplane flight &
* Zheng He – the Chinese explorer.

Pluto
5
The mountaneous regions or the Mons/Montes are being named
after these explorers and adventurers.

6
The founder of Safari TV, the first and only
exploration channel in India, Santhosh George started
his career in tv-media at the age of 17. After making
quite a few number of telefilms, serials and
documentaries for Doordarshan, he started
Sancharam – the first visual travelogue in Malayalam.
His most significant claim to fame was announced in
2007 but yet to be materialised.
What?

1st Indian Space Tourist
6

7
To coincide with the first ever launch of the space shuttle
by NASA, a project was simultaneously planned. But
during the time earmarked for the launch, only the
Approach/Landing Test with the Enterprise (OV-101) was
completed whilst Columbia (OV-102) was under
construction. The project used the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
(NASA 905) – with a tweaked logo. NASA launched the
shuttle two years later than originally planned.
Which project, having the distinction of first to feature the
modern space shuttle, was that?

Moonraker
7

*
Who has been created as a tribute to these two
gentlemen?
Astronaut in reel life Astronaut in real life

Buzz Lightyear
*
Buzz Lightyear’s looks are believed to have been inspired from
actor Edward Kemmer and the name is inspired by Apollo-11
astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin

8
After a thorough search that stretched from the Sahara
desert to modern-day Iran, the scientists finally zeroed
in on a meteorite nicknamed Kharga, which fell
thousands of years ago near the port of Alexandria. It
had a very high amount of nickel and cobalt.
Which highly decorated 14th century B.C.E. artefact
that was found inside the first quarter of the 20th
century, resulted this search?

Tutankhamun’s Iron Dagger
8

9
NASA’s highly ambitious Parker
Solar Probe, a sun-skimming
spacecraft is scheduled to
launch in July 2018. It will go
within 3.9 million miles of the
sun – seven times closer than
any other spacecraft ever has.
Apart from it’s scientific
objectives, what made this
NASA project a first-of-it’s-kind?

1st NASA Project to be named
after a living scientist
9
Named after Eugene Parker, an American solar astrophysicist who
developed the theory on the supersonic solar wind. In 1987, he
proposed that the solar corona might be heated by myriad tiny
‘nanoflares’, miniature brightenings resembling solar flares that
would occur all over the surface of the Sun.

10
Based on the second novel of a semi-autobiographical
trilogy by Reidar Jönsson, this ‘80s-Swedish drama
film (poster – next slide) tells the story of the troubled 12
year-old Ingemar. The film ends with the radio
broadcast of the 1959-boxing match, between Ingemar
Johansson and Floyd Patterson.
Although never shown, who is prominently mentioned
in this film as an inspiration to Ingemar that also got
reflected in the English title of the movie?

10

Laika
10

11
Mariner 1, the first spacecraft of the US Mariner
program, was designed for a planetary flyby of Venus.
The launch was aborted due to a combination of two
failures, an antenna hardware failure and an onboard
guidance system software failure.
Arthur C. Clarke, in his report, wrote that Mariner 1 was
‘wrecked by the most expensive ____ in history’, as a
programmer goofed it up bigtime because of an
overbar’s resemblance to a ____.
Which 6-letter word, used as a bridging-element, will fill
in the blanks?

Hyphen
11

12
A noted astronomer, this polymath’s fame in the
Christian world is mainly due to the efforts of the
Englishman Edward Fitzgerald. Edward took a few
creative liberties in his most wellknown project and to
promote it, he wrote these first few lines ---
‘Wake, For the Sun, who scattered into flight
The Stars before him from the field of night,
Drives Night along with them from Heav’n, and strikes
The Sultan’s Turret with a Shaft of Light.’
Who was that polymath?
How Edward was responsible for his fame?

Omar Khayyam &
Edward translated his Rubaiyat into
English
12

13
Photos from ESA’s online image library were used to create
the imagery in this new music video - Stella by director
Laura Sans and creative director Kenzi Benabdallah.
Released on the ESA website, the main source of the
Francesco Novara-composed electronic soundtrack of this
video is an iconic project that has been named as a tribute
to the building material used in the construction of Fort
Julien near the town of Rashid in the Nile Delta.
What is that?

ESA’s Rosetta Space Probe
13

14
Exhibited in 1865 as a triumvirate with two other
paintings of volcanoes - Cotopaxi (1862 painting of an
eruption) and Chimborazo (1864 reprise of the dormant
mountain that had been the subject of his earlier
work Heart of the Andes), this painting by Frederic
Edwin Church is believed to depict the portent of a
simultaneously triumphant and desolate Union victory
in the American Civil War.
Either, name the painting or identify the subject being
portrayed in the painting.

Aurora Borealis
14

15
Invented by Gustavo Niemeyer, Geohash is a
geocoding system, implemented to offer short URLs
which uniquely identify positions on the Earth and
referred them in emails, forums, and websites.
Decoding the decimal latitudes and longitudes, a basic
formula has been given below to understand it –
Geohash Coordinates of which happening and
nationally important landmark is - tgynfwyq8sybvuy70?

IIT-Kgp
15

Space Quiz Grand Finale

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