Human Exploration: From Earth to Space

Question: Who was the first human to orbit Earth?

Answer: Yury Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, was the first human to orbit Earth. He did so on April 12, 1961.

Question: Which one of these was not one of Christopher Columbus’s ships?

Answer: The Golden Hind, captained by Sir Francis Drake, sailed around the world from 1577 to 1580.

Question: What famous traveler was known as Il Milione?

Answer: Marco Polo, who spent 17 years in China, was known as Il Milione (The Million) for the countless stories he told of his adventures.

Question: Where was Ferdinand de Magellan from?

Answer: Magellan was from Portugal, though he traveled around the world in the early 1500s under the flag of Spain.

Question: Which was the last continent to be discovered?

Answer: European explorers did not discover Antarctica until the 19th century, making it the last continent to be discovered.

Question: Who was the first human on the Moon?

Answer: On July 20, 1969, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon.

Question: Who was the first European to visit the Bahamas?

Answer: Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit the islands of the Bahamas.

Question: Who was the first person to reach the South Pole?

Answer: Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) was the first person to reach the South Pole and to sail around the world through the Northwest passage. He was also one of the first to cross the Arctic by air.

Question: Who was the first woman in space?

Answer: Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova was the first woman in space. She orbited Earth in 1963.

Question: Who was the first American astronaut to orbit Earth?

Answer: John Glenn, later a U.S. senator from Ohio, was the first American astronaut to orbit Earth.