The first moon landing in 1969 captivated the world and sparked curiosity about space exploration. Even now, over 50 years later, it still prompts questions about how it was achieved and what astronauts experienced on their historic journey. Here we have compiled 51 riddles covering little-known details, intriguing technologies, and fascinating perspectives on the iconic Apollo 11 mission.
Riddles About Astronauts and Training
1. Who were the first two people to walk on the moon?
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first two people to walk on the moon. Armstrong was the first to set foot on the lunar surface, memorably declaring “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as he did so on July 20, 1969.
2. How long did the Apollo astronauts train for the moon missions?
In total, the Apollo astronauts trained for around 2 years to prepare for their missions to the moon. Their training was intensive and covered topics like geology, math and physics, first aid, photography, driving vehicles, and operating complex spacecraft systems.
3. True or false: The astronauts could smell outer space when they opened the hatch on the lunar module.
False – the moon doesn’t have an atmosphere and sound doesn’t transmit in a vacuum. When the astronauts opened the hatch, they reported the area just smelled like the inside of their lunar module.
Riddles About Spacesuits and Moonwalking
4. What bear’s fur was used on parts of the astronauts’ spacesuits?
Ringtail possum fur from the animal’s belly was used over parts of the astronauts’ suits, boots, and helmets. The fur helped provide insulation without putting extra weight or bulk on the spacesuits.
5. Why did spacesuits have long insoles?
The astronauts’ spacesuit boots had extra-long, almost shoehorn-like insoles. These were needed because in the lighter gravity on the moon, the astronauts’ feet spread out and elongated up to half a shoe size.
6. How heavy was each Apollo astronaut’s backpack and what was in it?
The astronauts’ PLSS (Portable Life Support System) backpacks weighed just over 70 lbs on Earth. They contained an oxygen tank, batteries, cooling system, communication gear, and other life support systems needed to keep astronauts alive during spacewalks and moonwalks.
7. What was surprising about the dust kicked up when the astronauts walked on the moon?
The lunar dust clung surprisingly well to spacesuit fabrics and proved difficult to brush off. Scientists think this is because the shards of lunar dust were very jagged on a microscopic level, allowing them to latch onto suits almost like Velcro.
Riddles About the Lunar Module
8. What drink container was the lunar module built from?
Parts of the lunar module were made from aluminum recycled from soft drink cans. In fact, it’s estimated that the ascent stage of the Eagle lunar module that took Armstrong and Aldrin back to the command module was built from an estimated two billion recycled cans!
9. True or false: A key on the lunar module was accidentally broken during the Apollo 11 mission.
True! While preparing to lift off from the moon, Aldrin accidentally snapped off the ignition key. Fortunately, Armstrong was able to use a pen to turn on the switch instead so they could fire up the engines.
10. What was the lunar module called?
The lunar module was known as the Eagle. So when Armstrong and Aldrin became the first astronauts to land on the moon, it was actually the Eagle that touched down.
Riddles About Experiments and Moon Activities
11. At what speed did Armstrong and Aldrin drive the lunar rover vehicle?
The lunar rover vehicle reached top speeds of just 8 mph. Any faster risked losing control in the low lunar gravity. It was lighter on Earth, but increased significantly in weight when driven in spacesuits in the weaker gravity.
12. How many moon sodas did the Apollo 11 astronauts have?
They had zero moon sodas! Since the moon has no atmosphere, opening carbonated drinks in space isn’t a good idea. The sudden lack of pressure makes all the fizz rush out and the drink bubble over.
13. What game did astronaut Charlie Duke leave behind on the moon?
Astronaut Duke left a photo of his family along with a small amount of weights and a falcon feather. This was part of an ongoing experiment testing Galileo’s theory that objects of different masses should fall at the same rate in a vacuum. The items remain up there to this day.
14. How many golf balls did Alan Shepard hit on the moon?
Shepard managed two golf swings and hit two golf balls during Apollo 14. He claimed the second one went “miles and miles and miles” but was likely only about 200 yards given the low lunar gravity and lack of air resistance.
Riddles About Moon Features and Geography
15. Craters wider than this number of kilometers are called walled plains. What is the number?
On the moon, craters wider than 300 kilometers across are classified as giant impact basins called walled plains. The most famous is the Sea of Tranquility, landing site for Apollo 11 and over 900 km wide!
16. Over what time period did lava once flow on the near side of the moon?
Evidence suggests lava flowed extensively on the moon’s near side over a 700 million year period spanning from about 3 to 4 billion years ago. This volcanic activity created the dark lunar plains clearly visible to this day.
17. How many moonquakes were the Apollo astronauts able to record using seismometers?
Over 28,000 moonquakes were recorded during the Apollo missions. The moonquakes tended to be relatively mild though, given the moon’s inactive tectonic plates. The strongest quakes reached magnitude 5 on the Richter scale.
18. What mineral were most moon rocks made of?
Plagioclase feldspar was the most common mineral found in Apollo moon rock samples. It constituted between 50-60% of most rocks in the crust, similar to Earth’s most common crust mineral – quartz.
Riddles About Return Journeys and Re-adjustment
19. How fast were the astronauts traveling when the capsule hit Earth’s atmosphere?
The command module sped into the atmosphere at around 25,000 miles per hour. Friction slowed it to 250 mph for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
20. How long did it take astronauts to recover after returning from the moon?
It took several days for astronauts to get their “land legs” back and adjust to Earth’s stronger gravity after returning. They described it as like walking through water at first. Muscle strength took 2 weeks to fully recover from wasted moon muscles.
21. How long did the splashdown delay last on Apollo 11?
The Apollo 11 command module overshot its splashdown target by 4 miles. This meant the recovery ship took an extra five minutes to reach them. During this time, the module tipped upside down and the astronauts had to wait longer to exit.
22. What was found in the Apollo 11 command module when it splashed down?
When the capsule was retrieved from the Pacific Ocean, over 100 small rock shards and moon dust had migrated inside. Some engineers even reported lunar material in their lungs after performing equipment inspection!
Riddles About Moon Legacy and Follow-Up
23. Which president initiated the Apollo program and set the challenge to land on the moon?
President John F. Kennedy started the Apollo program in 1961 and challenged the nation to land astronauts on the moon before the decade was over – a target narrowly met by Apollo 11 in 1969.
24. How large was the Apollo 11 team behind the mission?
Over 400,000 scientists, engineers, managers, contractors, administrators and other individuals participated in the Apollo space program. The efforts of this team culminated in the success of Apollo 11.
25. What role did Australia play in broadcasting the first moonwalk to the world?
Australia provided ground stations to capture live television signals from the moon and broadcast Armstrong’s first steps to an estimated 650 million global viewers. Stations in both Australia and California received and broadcast the feed.
26. How accurate was NASA’s Apollo computer compared to a smartphone?
The smartphone in your pocket is 120,000 times faster and can perform 6 million times more calculations per second than the Apollo guidance computer. Yet it successfully guided astronauts through space and multiple moon landings!
Riddles About Moon Hoaxes and Conspiracies
27. True or false – Stanley Kubrick helped fake film footage of the moon landing.
False! This is one of the most famous moon landing conspiracy theories. But reality is there is absolutely no credible evidence to suggest acclaimed filmmaker Kubrick was involved in staging fake Apollo 11 mission videos.
28. Which Hollywood producer helped design Apollo lunar spacesuits?
Although not involved in supposed filming trickery, Hollywood did contribute to Apollo missions more directly. Sci-fi producer Pierre Koenig helped develop lunar suit designs used on moonwalks.
29. What scan did NASA use to directly disprove conspiracy claims of missing crosshairs in photos?
In 2007, NASA employed advanced digital scanning and image processing to thoroughly analyze the original Apollo film magazines. They found no evidence of tampering or missing crosshairs where conspiracists had long claimed them to be airbrushed out.
30. What moon landing evidence did the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter provide?
This NASA probe imaged the exact Apollo landing sites in 2011, even spotting trails of disturbed dust left by astronauts’ tracks and equipment. It matched up with photos of these sites taken over 40 years prior during manned missions.
Hard Riddles About Moon Landings and Space Travel
31. How long would it take to drive a car to the moon at 60 mph?
Driving at a steady 60 mph, it would take around 5 months to drive the roughly 200,000 miles from Earth to the moon! Compare that to just 3 days for Apollo astronauts aboard spacecraft moving at 25,000 mph.
32. What everyday item on spacesuits helped reflect heat during moonwalks?
Duct tape! NASA lined the astronauts’ boots and some suit joints with silver tape. As well as sealing small gaps, this helped reflect radiating heat in the scorching temperatures astronauts faced on the lunar surface.
33. Which whole orange fruit accompanied Apollo 14 to the moon?
Astronaut Shepard managed to sneak a lemon on board inside his space suit pocket. He later used it to make ceremonial lemonade for his crew back on Earth.
34. How many toilet paper rolls did astronauts have available on the journey to the moon?
Toilet paper was strictly rationed at just 2 rolls for a week on a mission where showering was also impossible! Let’s just say personal hygiene challenges must have also been faced on the way to that “giant leap for mankind”.
Funny Riddles About Moon Landings
35. Why don’t athletes go to the moon anymore?
Because it has no stadium, no fields, and no events! Okay, no sporting events have actually ever taken place on the moon. But we can dream!
36. What astronaut holds the record for farthest golf ball hit?
Alan Shepard! As the only human to golf on another world, he smashed all golfing distance records when hitting balls on Apollo 14’s Fra Mauro Highlands site.
37. How did Apollo 12 astronauts know where to land?
They looked for the crater spotting where Charles “Pete” Conrad landed Apollo 12’s lunar module Intrepid!
38. Why were the Apollo astronauts never late to parties?
They could always moonwalk in! Alright alright, always arrive fashionably fast on the moon buggy.
Moon Riddles for Kids
39. Why did the astronaut take a sandwich to the moon?
In case he got hungry on the way! Long journeys need plenty of snacks, even on a cool rocket.
40. What happens if you drop a glass on the moon?
It doesn’t hit the floor! In the lower gravity, it would float down gently and likely bounce if directly dropped. But no smashing!
41. What did astronauts wear in space battles?
Star suits! Okay, no battles actually took place. But we can imagine epic space superheroes battling aliens galactic evildoers while moonwalking.
42. Why did the robot need a jacket when visiting the moon?
Because the lack of atmosphere made conditions pretty cold for a metal machine up there!
Tricky Riddles About Moon Landings
43. Can you name the light source that lit up Apollo 11’s historic moonwalk?
Although sunshine lights up the moon’s day, the actual source during Apollo 11 was luminescent paint! The lunar module descent stage had markings painted with glow-in-the-dark paint to aid visibility.
44. Which Apollo 7 astronaut smuggled a corned beef sandwich onto his spaceship?
John Young pulled out the floating unauthorized sandwich as a surprise for fellow crewmate Gus Grissom. Crumbs escaped into the spacecraft causing a minor incident!
45. What Apollo 15 moonwalker carried a falcon feather to the lunar surface?
Astronaut David Scott dropped the feather during an experiment verifying physicist Galileo’s theory that objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
46. How long does it take to drive across the moon in a car?
Trick question! Cars do not yet exist that could drive across the moon’s cratered surface. Lunar rovers only operated within Apollo landing site vicinities smaller than a large town.
Really Hard Moon Riddles
47. Apollo 13 was called a successful failure. But what non-propelled Earth return method did its crew plan as a last resort?
The crippled spacecraft’s last contingency for getting home was using their lunar module as a “lifeboat”. By orbiting around Earth, controllers would have gradually lowered Apollo 13 for an unpowered glide descent.
48. What Apollo priority saw the only use of nuclear fuel in space so far?
NASA once launched an experimental radioactive generator to power Apollo science equipment on the moon’s surface. No nuclear reactors have been used in space though – solar is much more practical!
49. Lunokhod 1 projected what image all the way from the moon to Earth using a scanning device?
The Soviet remote-controlled moon rover beamed back a picture of the Soviet flag onto a French observatory using a cylinder-mirror system as an early test of interplanetary communication.
50. At a special Apollo anniversary in 2019, Buzz Aldrin was presented with what moon boot-shaped item?
Aldrin was gifted an exact replica of the detachable overshoe he wore on the moon. Nicknamed “moon slippers”, the iconic lunar footwear covered astronauts’ spacesuit boots as they walked across the dusty surface.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed testing your mind, learning new things, and firing your imagination with these 51 moon landing riddles. From the easiest fun kids questions to obscure facts sure to stump adults, there was something to prompt awe and wonder about this pinnacle achievement of human exploration.
Each generation carries special memories of the Apollo missions. From those crammed around flickering televisions in 1969 to students launching home made moon rockets today. And the moon itself remains undisturbed – ready for future trailblazers who find answers to the next challenges of pushing beyond planet Earth.
