Name _____________________________
NASA'S ACHIEVEMENTS
Aleisha Glendale
In 1958, the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or
NASA. Since then, NASA has had many important achievements in space exploration and
travel. In the 1960s, NASA created the Apollo program with the goal of traveling to the
Moon. Throughout the 1960s, astronauts trained hard and scientists worked on improving
spacecraft.
On July 16, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins roared off
toward the Moon on the Apollo 11 spacecraft.
1. Based on what you have read, the rest of this article will be about
O some of the things the United States has done.
O some of the things NASA has done.
O some of the things the space shuttle has done.
Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first people to walk on the Moon.
NASA's Apollo 11 mission was one of the most important steps in space exploration. Table 1
lists some of the earlier Apollo missions that led to the historic Moon landing.
In the 1970s, NASA began to use satellites to explore space. These unmanned spacecraft
are launched into space, where they orbit high above the Earth's surface. Satellites have
many uses.
2. Satellites are important for space exploration because they
O help scientists study outer space.
O help astronauts get to the moon.
O orbit the solar system.
They can help study far off parts of outer space or conditions on Earth. They can also send
information from one place on Earth to another.
In the 1980s, NASA created the space shuttle. The space shuttle was meant to take
astronauts and equipment into space to perform research, repair satellites, and study the
solar system. The space shuttle became the first spacecraft that could be reused. Earlier
spacecraft could only be used one time.
Space shuttles have completed many important missions. Since the 1980s, NASA has
focused on the space shuttle as its main space exploration tool.
With the help of the Apollo missions, satellites, and the space shuttle, NASA has learned
a lot about the universe. However, there are still many discoveries to be made. NASA
scientists continue to work on ways to help people explore space.
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3. Which word has the SAME root as historic?
O heroic
O hissing
O history
O hysterics
4. Based on information in this passage, which of NASA's achievements happened FIRST?
O They used space shuttles to repair satellites.
O They sent Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon.
O They launched unmanned satellites to study outer space.
O They used satellites to send information from one place on Earth to another.
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5. What is one way space shuttles are DIFFERENT from earlier spacecraft?
O Space shuttles are faster.
O Space shuttles are reused.
O Space shuttles are unmanned.
O Space shuttles are built by NASA.
6. What is the MAIN IDEA of the passage? Use details from the story to explain your answer.
NASA has accomplished great things over the years. The Apollo program started in the 1960s
and led to the first man walking on the moon. Satellites came in the 1970s. They helped us study
space and conditions on Earth. NASA built the space shuttle in the 1980s. It helped astronauts
do research in space. Space shuttles were the first spacecraft that could be reused.
NASA has helped us learn a lot about the universe. The Apollo 11 was one of the most important
missions because the first men walked on the moon. Space shuttles have also been important.
Space shuttles were the first spacecraft that could be reused. They have helped astronauts do
research in space. Space shuttles have become NASA's main exploration tool.
NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I have been to NASA
when I was on vacation in Florida. Many people go to Cape Canaveral, Florida, each year. There,
you can learn more about astronauts and different spacecraft. They have pictures of the first
men who went to the moon in the 1960s. I would like to work for NASA someday.