Reading Comprehension " Travelling in space" Form 9 Term 1 Test 1

Yuri Gagarin was the first man to travel to outer space in April 1961. Eight years later, on 20 July 1969, Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon’s surface, collected twenty-one point five kilos of rocks and dust and made history.

Scientists now hope that people will land on Mars some time in the 2030s. Of course, there will be difficulties. The mission could cost between twenty and forty billion dollars. Secondly, the Martian atmosphere is very thin, and 95 per cent of it is carbon dioxide. It is also cold: the average temperature is –50 degrees Celsius. Thirdly, it will take six months to get there and six months to get back. In addition, astronauts will probably stay on the planet for about eighteen months, so they will be away from home for two and a half years. That’s a long time.

There will also be other problems. Communication will be slow because it will take ten minutes for a message to travel from Earth to Mars and ten minutes for a reply to get back. That means it will be difficult for astronauts to talk to friends and family. It will also be difficult to live with the same people in the same space day after day, but the astronauts will need to get on if they want to work well together.

Between 2007 and 2011, an experiment called Mars500 took place to see what such a long trip would be like. One part of the experiment was designed to copy the conditions of a real manned Mars space mission. Three Russians, two Europeans and a Chinese volunteer spent five hundred and twenty days in a closed space like a spacecraft. They had medical, physical and psychological tests every day and they watched DVDs, read books and played computer games in their free time.

The results of this experiment were interesting. People need to experience day and night every twenty-four hours to sleep normally. However, in a spacecraft it isn’t possible to have real day and night and four of the astronauts had serious problems sleeping. They spent more and more time in bed as the days passed. They became less active and more bored. Only two of the men did well. It is clear that the astronauts who travel to Mars will need to be chosen carefully.

Who was the first person to travel to outer space?

Yuri Gagarin was the first man to travel to outer space in April 1961. Eight years later, on 20 July 1969, Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon’s surface, collected twenty-one point five kilos of rocks and dust and made history.

Scientists now hope that people will land on Mars some time in the 2030s. Of course, there will be difficulties. The mission could cost between twenty and forty billion dollars. Secondly, the Martian atmosphere is very thin, and 95 per cent of it is carbon dioxide. It is also cold: the average temperature is –50 degrees Celsius. Thirdly, it will take six months to get there and six months to get back. In addition, astronauts will probably stay on the planet for about eighteen months, so they will be away from home for two and a half years. That’s a long time.

There will also be other problems. Communication will be slow because it will take ten minutes for a message to travel from Earth to Mars and ten minutes for a reply to get back. That means it will be difficult for astronauts to talk to friends and family. It will also be difficult to live with the same people in the same space day after day, but the astronauts will need to get on if they want to work well together.

Between 2007 and 2011, an experiment called Mars500 took place to see what such a long trip would be like. One part of the experiment was designed to copy the conditions of a real manned Mars space mission. Three Russians, two Europeans and a Chinese volunteer spent five hundred and twenty days in a closed space like a spacecraft. They had medical, physical and psychological tests every day and they watched DVDs, read books and played computer games in their free time.

The results of this experiment were interesting. People need to experience day and night every twenty-four hours to sleep normally. However, in a spacecraft it isn’t possible to have real day and night and four of the astronauts had serious problems sleeping. They spent more and more time in bed as the days passed. They became less active and more bored. Only two of the men did well. It is clear that the astronauts who travel to Mars will need to be chosen carefully.

How much did Apollo 11 astronauts collect from the Moon’s surface?

Yuri Gagarin was the first man to travel to outer space in April 1961. Eight years later, on 20 July 1969, Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon’s surface, collected twenty-one point five kilos of rocks and dust and made history.

Scientists now hope that people will land on Mars some time in the 2030s. Of course, there will be difficulties. The mission could cost between twenty and forty billion dollars. Secondly, the Martian atmosphere is very thin, and 95 per cent of it is carbon dioxide. It is also cold: the average temperature is –50 degrees Celsius. Thirdly, it will take six months to get there and six months to get back. In addition, astronauts will probably stay on the planet for about eighteen months, so they will be away from home for two and a half years. That’s a long time.

There will also be other problems. Communication will be slow because it will take ten minutes for a message to travel from Earth to Mars and ten minutes for a reply to get back. That means it will be difficult for astronauts to talk to friends and family. It will also be difficult to live with the same people in the same space day after day, but the astronauts will need to get on if they want to work well together.

Between 2007 and 2011, an experiment called Mars500 took place to see what such a long trip would be like. One part of the experiment was designed to copy the conditions of a real manned Mars space mission. Three Russians, two Europeans and a Chinese volunteer spent five hundred and twenty days in a closed space like a spacecraft. They had medical, physical and psychological tests every day and they watched DVDs, read books and played computer games in their free time.

The results of this experiment were interesting. People need to experience day and night every twenty-four hours to sleep normally. However, in a spacecraft it isn’t possible to have real day and night and four of the astronauts had serious problems sleeping. They spent more and more time in bed as the days passed. They became less active and more bored. Only two of the men did well. It is clear that the astronauts who travel to Mars will need to be chosen carefully.

What is the main challenge related to the Martian atmosphere?