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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to the number of asteroids and comets in the solar system as time goes on?
(a) It remains about the same.
(b) It diminishes.
(c) Its change is unknown.
(d) It increases.

2. Which of the following is NOT one of the missions that observed Venus using radar telescopes?
(a) Vesta.
(b) Magellan.
(c) Pioneer.
(d) Venera.

3. When did a "disrupted" comet famously fall into Jupiter?
(a) 2000.
(b) 1964.
(c) 1982.
(d) 1994.

4. What type of government is Sagan most opposed to?
(a) Plutocracy.
(b) Theocracy.
(c) Fascism.
(d) Socialism.

5. What does Martian soil seem to contain?
(a) Organic material.
(b) Oil.
(c) Ice.
(d) Methane.

Short Answer Questions

1. The primary discipline that Sagan argues nations benefit from by investing in space exploration is called which of the following?

2. How does Sagan characterize most of the benefits gleaned from the space programs of the 60s and 70s?

3. What did Steven Hawking worry about with regard to black holes?

4. What type of Mars mission did President Reagan turn down?

5. How old are the terrain features generated by Venus' volcanoes?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sagan believe that humanity will progress in the next hundred or so generations?

2. Why does Sagan believe it is unlikely that a manned mission to Mars will be carried out in the near future?

3. What does Sagan believe would be necessary for the safety of the human race to be secured?

4. What is unusual about the surface of Venus?

5. How is Venus different from Earth?

6. What does Sagan think were the major upsides of the Apollo missions?

7. What promising signs does Mars have for being host to life?

8. Why does Sagan suggest that space exploration aids in protecting the planet?

9. What profit motivations exist in a manned mission to Mars?

10. What would the process of "terraforming" on Mars be like?

(see the answer keys)

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