Planets, the Moon, stars and space missions, including India’s Chandrayaan-3: 35 questions to play online or print, with every answer listed below. This solar system quiz also has the quiz in a printable form, a table of the planets in numbers and a timeline of missions.
Solar system quiz to print (PDF)
These four pages show the printable solar system quiz: a multiple-choice sheet, a write-in sheet, the answer key and a black-and-white sheet that saves ink. Click any picture for the PDF, or use the quiz maker below to choose the number of questions and the paper size.
How to play the solar system quiz
- Pick the options above the quiz (questions, timer) and answer each question by tapping an answer, or press 1 to 4 on a keyboard.
- A correct answer moves on by itself; a wrong one shows the right answer so you learn it.
- At the end you get your score, stars and your best score so far, plus a list of the answers to learn.
- Press Challenge a friend to send a link with exactly the same questions, or Practice the ones I missed to go again.
All 35 questions and answers
- Which planet is closest to the Sun? Mercury
- Which is the largest planet in our solar system? Jupiter
- Which planet is known as the Red Planet? Mars
- Which planet is famous for its bright rings? Saturn
- How many planets are there in our solar system? 8
- What is the name of Earth’s natural satellite? The Moon
- Which is the hottest planet in our solar system? Venus
- Which planet is farthest from the Sun? Neptune
- Who was the first person to walk on the Moon? Neil Armstrong
- Who was the first person to travel into space? Yuri Gagarin
- Who was the first Indian to travel into space? Rakesh Sharma
- What is the Sun? A star
- How long does Earth take to go around the Sun? About 365 days
- How long does Earth take to spin once on its axis? About 24 hours
- What do we call a rock from space that lands on Earth? Meteorite
- What is the name of our galaxy? The Milky Way
- Which planet spins on its side? Uranus
- Which object has a glowing tail when it comes near the Sun? Comet
- What is the name of India’s space agency? ISRO
- What is the name of NASA’s program that landed people on the Moon? Apollo
- Which Indian mission landed near the Moon’s south pole in 2023? Chandrayaan-3
- What causes day and night on Earth? Earth spinning on its axis
- What force keeps the planets moving around the Sun? Gravity
- Which planet has the Great Red Spot, a giant storm? Jupiter
- What is a group of stars that makes a pattern in the sky called? Constellation
- Which is the smallest planet in our solar system? Mercury
- What do astronauts wear to survive in space? Spacesuit
- What shape is Earth? Nearly a sphere
- Which gas do astronauts need to breathe? Oxygen
- What is the name of the space station where astronauts live and work in orbit? International Space Station
- Pluto is now called a… Dwarf planet
- Which planet is known as Earth’s twin because of its similar size? Venus
- What is the Moon’s surface covered with? Craters and dust
- How many moons does Earth have? 1
- What is the path of a planet around the Sun called? Orbit
Solar system quiz: 35 questions by topic
The solar system quiz has 35 questions, and this table groups them by topic. About a third of them are about the planets themselves, and the rest are about Earth, the Sun, space exploration and the forces that hold everything together:
| Topic | Questions | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The planets | 11 | Which planet is closest to the Sun? |
| Earth and the Moon | 7 | What is the name of Earth’s natural satellite? |
| The Sun and stars | 3 | What is the Sun? |
| Space exploration and people | 9 | Who was the first person to walk on the Moon? |
| Gravity, orbits and small objects | 5 | What do we call a rock from space that lands on Earth? |
Planets quiz: the eight planets in numbers
Every planets quiz needs the order of the planets, and the numbers in this table give the facts behind many of the answers. Distances are in astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is the distance from Earth to the Sun, and light travels from the Sun to Earth in about 8 minutes and 19 seconds:
| Order from the Sun | Planet | Type | Distance from the Sun (AU) | Width compared with Earth | Year (Earth years) | Moons | Light from the Sun takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | rocky | 0.39 | 0.38 | 0.24 | 0 | 3 min 15 s |
| 2 | Venus | rocky | 0.72 | 0.95 | 0.62 | 0 | 5 min 59 s |
| 3 | Earth | rocky | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 8 min 19 s |
| 4 | Mars | rocky | 1.52 | 0.53 | 1.88 | 2 | 12 min 38 s |
| 5 | Jupiter | gas giant | 5.20 | 11.2 | 11.9 | more than 90 | 43 min 15 s |
| 6 | Saturn | gas giant | 9.58 | 9.4 | 29.5 | more than 140 | 1 h 20 min |
| 7 | Uranus | ice giant | 19.2 | 4.0 | 84 | more than 25 | 2 h 40 min |
| 8 | Neptune | ice giant | 30.1 | 3.9 | 165 | more than 10 | 4 h 10 min |
The first four planets are small and rocky, and the next four are giants. A year on Neptune is 165 Earth years, so Neptune has completed only one orbit since its discovery in 1846. A mnemonic for the order is “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos”. Wikipedia’s article on the Solar System has the full details.
Space quiz: missions that made history
Many questions in a space quiz ask about people and missions. These are the dates and the facts behind the questions in this quiz, including India’s own missions:
| Year | Mission | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Sputnik 1 | the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union |
| 1961 | Vostok 1 | Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space on 12 April |
| 1969 | Apollo 11 | Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon on 20 July |
| 1969 | ISRO | the Indian Space Research Organisation was founded |
| 1977 | Voyager 1 and 2 | two probes were launched to the outer planets |
| 1984 | Soyuz T-11 | Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space |
| 2014 | Mangalyaan | India’s Mars Orbiter Mission reached Mars orbit on 24 September |
| 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 | India’s lander touched down near the Moon’s south pole on 23 August |
Space quiz for kids: how to use the quiz at home or in class
A space quiz for kids works well with a model of the planets. Draw the eight planets on a long strip of paper, and use the table above to place them at the right distances: if the Sun is at one end and Neptune at the other end of a 30-meter strip, Earth is 1 meter from the Sun, and Jupiter is 5 meters away. After the model, play the quiz and see how many of the 35 answers the children remember.
Astronomy quiz for kids: a five-day plan
Children can prepare for an astronomy quiz for kids with this short plan, which takes about 10 minutes a day:
| Day | Topic | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | The planets: order, size and temperature | 11 |
| Day 2 | Earth, the Moon and the Sun | 10 |
| Day 3 | Space exploration, India’s missions and astronauts | 9 |
| Day 4 | Gravity, orbits, comets and constellations | 5 |
| Day 5 | All 35 questions with the timer on | 35 |
Playing all 35 questions takes 7 minutes at 12 seconds each. For a printed version, the maker below can print 10 to 35 questions with an answer key.
Print this solar system quiz
Make a printable version for a classroom, a quiz night or homework: choose multiple choice or write-in answers, 10 to 30 questions, and add an answer key. Download a free PDF or print straight away.
Frequently asked questions
4 quick answers
How many questions are there?
35. Each game picks 10 or 20 at random, or choose All.
What age is it for?
Roughly 7 to 12, and it works for family quiz nights too.
Is Pluto a planet?
No. Pluto was called a planet from 1930 until 2006, when astronomers named it a dwarf planet. The quiz uses the answer that is correct today.
How long does the solar system quiz take?
Ten questions take about 2 minutes, and all 35 questions take 7 minutes at 12 seconds each. The timer is optional.