Questions

1. Elon Musk's SpaceX was chosen by NASA on Friday to build a lunar landing system to transport astronauts to the surface of the moon. SpaceX beat out two other companies competing for the contract, including:
a) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin
b) Mark Zuckerberg’s Moon Landing Ship
c) Jack Dorsey’s Spaced Out
d) Bill Gates’ Lost in Space

2. The lunar landing system is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to bring American astronauts back to the moon by _______________, and then will target trips to Mars and beyond.
a) 2022
b) 2024
c) 2044
d) 2121

3. The European Union warned this week that _______________ Russian troops are currently amassed near Ukraine’s borders.
a) 1,500
b) 15,000
c) 150,000
d) 1.5 million

4. While acknowledging there is nothing they can do to stop Russia, European Union officials said they:
a) plan to impose the strictest economic sanctions on Russia
b) would demand the United Nations send troops to protect Ukraine
c) called on Russia “to withdraw their troops”
d) told Ukrainian leaders “there is nothing we can do”

5. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an “anti-riot” bill into law in _______________ on Monday.
a) New York
b) Oregon
c) Georgia
d) Florida

6. The “Combating Public Disorder” bill signed by Gov. De Santis includes the following provisions: (CHOOSE 3)
a) raises the charge for battery on a police officer to a minimum of six months in jail
b) denies people the right to peacefully protest
c) makes blocking a highway a felony offense
d) allows cities to be held liable for insufficient riot control (if officials tell police officers to ‘stand down’ during a riot)

7. In an effort to break up China’s monopoly on rare earth minerals, the U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded $30 million in funding to Australia’s Lynas Corp to build a rare earth _______________ in Texas.
a) mining operation
b) processing plant
c) excavation site
d) manufacturing plant

8. Products that require rare earths to manufacture include all but which ONE?
a) fighter jets
b) solar panels and wind turbines
c) electric car batteries
d) bicycles
e) smartphones
f) precision-guided missiles

9. The Russian government announced on Thursday that it is pulling its troops back from Ukraine's borders. The announcement was:
a) surprising
b) expected
c) not surprising
d) believed to be due to Putin’s fear of the EU and US

10. Although the Russian troops will be pulled back, the military will leave behind:
a) armored vehicles and other equipment to be used in future drills
b) MREs to be distributed to the Ukrainian soldiers on the other side of the border
c) their wives and children
d) a fully equipped communications center