Martian Trivia – Can You Ace This Quiz About Mars?
Written by Tori Highley
Last updated · 9 min play time
Looking to challenge your Martian knowledge? This Mars quiz will test all you know about the Rover missions, NASA's research, and the Red Planet itself. Whether you are a NASA nerd or a future resident of Mars, you'll know if should join the Mars team at NASA by the end of this quiz.
Know why the Red Planet appears red? Or what the weather is like on the surface? Mars isn't the closest planet to Earth, but it is the one we know the most about, thanks to our Rover friends sending us information as they explore the rocky surface. Despite all this, studying Mars takes years of patience for the scientists in charge, so every tidbit they learn is a monumental occasion. This quiz takes a look at all we have learned about the only planet we've traversed, other than our own of course. So if you are looking for an out-of-this-world trivia experience, this quiz is your Opportunity.
Prove Your Mars Mettle
It's one thing to say you know about Mars and quite another to pass a test on your knowledge. If you are every bit the NASA enthusiast we expect, you have a chance at acing this Martian trivia challenge. However, if you couldn't help but doze off on your Planetarium visit, you will at least learn enough to catch up with the program by the end of this quiz. If you can launch yourself into this endeavor, you'll find Mars to be much more than a dusty red planet.
Got More Science Smarts to Share?
Think you can beat NASA scientists with your otherworldly knowledge? Once you've mastered Mars, explore the rest of our science challenges! Your thirst for knowledge will be your asset as you prove your science expertise. Whether you are an expert of on-planet or off-planet exploits, you'll find QuizGriz has more than enough here on Earth to challenge your competencies and expand your mind!
Quiz written by
Tori HighleyWith a passion for science communication and a Physics degree to back it up, Tori Highley is always ready to write. She enjoys delving into the unknown and hard-to-understand, and she loves making challenging concepts approachable. Trivia creation is her expertise, but when she isn't crafting quizzes, she's usually gardening or gaming.
Mars Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 287 Plays · No comments
Question 1
While we know about dust, rocks, and ice, scientists discovered something BIG about a mile beneath the surface of the south pole of Mars. Can you name what they found?
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AWater
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BMartians
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CAn old artificial satellite
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DEarth debris
Water
Water! An Italian team of scientists found evidence of a large lake of liquid water just a mile beneath the surface of the south pole. They used a ground-penetrating radar to find the water, since water is a strong radar reflector. While this still has to be confirmed, this is a great indication that other liquid lakes of water might exist on Mars as well.
Question 2
The Perseverance rover has four science objectives. Which of these is NOT one of them?
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AIdentify past environments capable of supporting microbial life
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BTest faster-than-light travel on the surface of Mars
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CSeek signs of possible past microbial life in those habitable environments
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DTest oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere
Test faster-than-light travel on the surface of Mars
Faster-than-light travel is a feature of science fiction and fantasy, not a current platform for NASA or the Mars missions. The Mars missions focus on four main tenants: looking for habitability, seeing biosignatures, caching samples, and preparing for humans.
Question 3
On Earth, the air you breathe is 78% nitrogen, but on Mars, the air is less than two percent nitrogen. What chemical makes up 96% of the air you'd breathe on Mars?
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AOxygen
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BNeon
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CCarbon dioxide
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DTitanium
Carbon dioxide
The air on Mars is largely carbon dioxide, the same chemical you exhale after a nice breath of Earth air. Martian air also has under two percent each of Argon and Nitrogen, and less than one percent of other chemicals.
Question 4
Mars is the second-smallest planet in our Solar System. Do you know what planet is smaller than Mars?
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AJupiter
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BMercury
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CEarth
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DVenus
Mercury
Mars is a little over 1/10th the mass of the Earth, and Mercury is a little over half of Mars' mass.
Question 5
If you spent a day on Mars and looked at the sky, what color would it be?
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AGreenish
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BPitch black
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CBlueish
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DReddish
Reddish
Mars is a dusty planet, and it is known for having planet wide dust storms that can last days or months. Enough soil and dust remain suspended in the atmosphere afterwards that the sky looks reddish from the Martian surface.
Question 6
If you wanted to climb the tallest mountain in the Solar System, you'd have to go on a mission to Mars. What is the name of the mountain you'd be looking for?
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AMount Doom
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BMt. Mars
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COlympus Mons
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DEverest Mars
Olympus Mons
Olympus Mons, a shield volcano on the surface of Mars, is 13.6 miles high as measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter.
Question 7
Think back to elementary school science. What makes Mars look red?
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ATiny red ants that cover the surface
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BIron oxide in the surface material
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CThe reflection of the Sun filtered through the mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere
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DAlgae blooms on the surface
Iron oxide in the surface material
Iron oxide is the reason for the reddish appearance of Mars, and it's also the reason for the color of blood and rust. Scientists think that Mars might have looked grey or charcoal in the past, before the iron oxidized!
Question 8
The first Mars rover, the Sojourner, was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Where did it land on Mars?
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ALos Angeles
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BMons Olympus
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CLake Eerie
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DAres Vallis
Ares Vallis
The Sojourner landed in 1997 in an area called Ares Vallis, a site chosen by NASA engineers for two reasons. First, it seemed like a flat area, safe for landing and travelling. Second, it looked like there might be evidence of an ancient flood in the area, which would have a wide variety of rocks and debris carried to the landing site from the flood.
Question 9
When the poles of Mars freeze over, what chemical makes up the frozen plains?
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AOxygen
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BSodium bicarbonate
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CCarbon dioxide
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DCalcium carbonate
Carbon dioxide
The poles of Mars do have frozen water, but what makes up the plains of ice that look similar to the poles on Earth is actually carbon dioxide freezing over. In the summers on Mars, the atmospheric pressure rises as it evaporates into the atmosphere, and in the winters, the atmospheric pressure lowers as the carbon dioxide freezes onto the poles.
Question 10
Having landed on Mars in 1997, what is the name of the first Mars Rover?
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APerseverance
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BSojourner
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CEnterprise
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DMartian
Sojourner
The first Rover mission was the Mars Pathfinder Mission, sending the Sojourner to Mars to be the first wheeled robot to explore the Red Planet. It outlived its expected lifespan of seven days, exploring mars more than 12 times that for a full life of 83 days.
Question 11
There's a lot of hype about the Mars Rover program, but the Rovers weren't alone when they reached the surface. What year did the Viking Landers make history by being the first successful spacecraft to land on the Red Planet?
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A1976
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B2012
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C1902
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D1969
1976
Just seven years after we put a man on the moon, we put spacecraft on Mars. The Viking Landers were the first to touch down on Mars, with Viking 1 landing in July 1976, and Viking 2 landing in September of the same year. In 1971, the Soviets sent a lander to the surface which survived for a few seconds, however, it sent back no science data, so the mission was a bust.
Question 12
Earth has one moon; how many moons does Mars have?
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A1
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B0
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C12
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D2
2
The Red Planet has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is about 13.8 miles in diameter, and Deimos is about 7.8 miles in diameter.
Question 13
Earth's tilt of axis is 23.5 degrees. What is the tilt of axis of Mars?
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A90 degrees
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B360 degrees
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C25 degrees
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D7 degrees
25 degrees
The axial tilt of Mars is 25 degrees, making it the closest axial tilt to Earth of any of the eight planets in our solar system. While 1.5 degrees doesn't seem like a huge difference, it has a dramatic effect on the seasonal climates of Mars compared to the Earth.
Question 14
It takes 668 Martian days for Mars to travel all the way around the Sun. If you moved to Mars, how many Earth days would it be before you had spent a whole Martian year there?
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A1224 Earth days
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B30 Earth days
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C365 Earth days
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D687 Earth days
687 Earth days
Martian days are only about 39 minutes longer than Earth days. This means that while it takes 668 Martian days to travel all the way around the Sun, 687 Earth days have passed during that time.
Question 15
If you weighed 200 lbs on Earth, what would you weigh on Mars?
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A75.4 lbs
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B222 lbs
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C8.3 lbs
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D103 lbs
75.4 lbs
Gravity is the force that pulls your mass down on the scale, and on Mars, it is about a third of what it is on Earth. You would weigh about a third of what you normally weigh on Earth.
Question 16
Mars has a temperature range from -284 degrees Fahrenheit to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, but what is its average temperature?
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A57 degrees Fahrenheit
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B-212 degrees Fahrenheit
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C-81 degrees Fahrenheit
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D-99 degrees Fahrenheit
-81 degrees Fahrenheit
Earth's average temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit is above the freezing point of water, but Mars' average temperature is well below that point at -81 degrees Fahrenheit. Almost all water on Mars today exists as ice.
Question 17
The extensive canyon system known as the Valles Marineris stretches along the Martian equator for over 2500 miles. It was formed by what kind of geological process?
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ATectonic plate action
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BWater erosion
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CMining quarry byproduct
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DCoastline emergence
Tectonic plate action
While primitive, Mars has plate tectonics, just like Earth. The Valles Marineris was formed along the splitting of the surfaces near the equator, which opened it up to further erosion.
Question 18
If you went on a Martian walk, how much less gravity would you experience compared to Earth?
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A42%
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B62.5%
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C2%
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D200%
62.5%
Your walk would be quite a bit easier on Martian soil than on Earth soil. Mars has 62.5% less gravity than Earth, and scientists expect that walking would be a very different combination of a shuffle and a hop.
Question 19
The Mars 2020 mission seeks to answer questions about habitable conditions and astrobiology on Mars. Can you name the rover carrying out the mission?
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ATemperance
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BCuriosity
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CL.E.A.F.
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DPerseverance
Perseverance
Curiosity landed on Mars in August of 2012, but Perseverance has a take off date of July 2020 and an arrival date on Mars of February 2021.
Question 20
Should you be worried about a major windstorm destroying your base when you land on Mars?
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ANo, because the force of the major windstorms is not large enough to cause major damage.
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BNo, because the air has no water in it which means Mars wind is less damaging.
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CYes, because "The Martian" (2015) started out that way and that movie was super accurate.
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DYes, because there's a lot of dust being carried by those winds.
No, because the force of the major windstorms is not large enough to cause major damage.
While Mars is known for its massive windstorms, the strongest wind speeds hit about 60 miles per hour, which is not even half the speed hit in hurricanes back on Earth. On top of wind speed, the atmosphere of Mars is only about 1% as dense as Earth, meaning the inertial force of wind on Mars is really low. The most you'd need to worry about from those Martian dust storms is getting covered in dust.
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