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50 free Chris Hadfield trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Chris Hadfield decided to become an astronaut at nine, watching Apollo 11 from a corn farm in Ontario, and got there by way of air cadets, CF-18 intercepts of Soviet bombers and the US Air Force Test Pilot School. He flew to Mir in 1995, installed Canadarm2 in 2001 as the first Canadian to walk in space, and in 2013 commanded the International Space Station while turning life in orbit into a social-media phenomenon. These 50 questions cover the pilot, the astronaut and the performer. The Tu-95 intercept, the anti-fog solution that blinded him mid-spacewalk, the five months of Expedition 34 and 35, the first music video made in space and the licence fight that took it offline, the $5 note unveiled from orbit, the Maple Leafs jersey under his Sokol suit and the bestselling memoir and Cold War thrillers that followed. Easy questions stick to the Bowie cover and the Moon landing that inspired him; the expert tier asks about NEEMO 14, Emm Gryner and the commander he relieved. Every answer is cited to a page we checked.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which Ontario city was he born?
Sarnia
The city's airport was renamed Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport in 1997.
Q 02Which televised event at age nine made him decide to become an astronaut?
The Apollo 11 Moon landing
He watched it from a corn farm in southern Ontario.
Q 03Through which youth organisation did he earn his glider pilot licence?
Royal Canadian Air Cadets
He won the glider scholarship at 15 and a powered-flight scholarship at 16.
Q 04In which discipline did he take his honours degree at the Royal Military College in 1982?
Mechanical
He spent two years at Royal Roads first and graduated with honours.
Q 05Which fighter jet did he fly on NORAD intercept missions?
CF-18 Hornet
He was the first CF-18 pilot to intercept a Soviet Tu-95 bomber in the Canadian Arctic.
Q 06Which Soviet bomber did he become the first CF-18 pilot to intercept in the Arctic?
Tupolev Tu-95
The propeller-driven 'Bear' was a regular visitor to the edge of Canadian airspace.
Q 07Where did he attend the US Air Force Test Pilot School?
Edwards AFB, California
He graduated top of his class in 1988 and won the Liethen-Tittle Award.
Q 08Where did he earn his master's degree in aviation systems in 1992?
University of Tennessee Space Institute
His thesis dealt with high-angle-of-attack aerodynamics of the F/A-18.
Q 09Roughly how many different aircraft types has he flown?
Over 70
As an exchange test pilot with the US Navy he flew the F/A-18 and A-7 Corsair II.
Q 10How many applicants did he beat to become one of four new Canadian astronauts in 1992?
About 5,330
Julie Payette and Dafydd Williams were selected alongside him.
Q 11For how many Space Shuttle missions did he serve as NASA's chief CAPCOM?
25
CAPCOM is the voice of mission control to astronauts in orbit.
Q 12Which space station did he visit on his first flight, STS-74, in 1995?
Mir
He remains the only Canadian ever to have boarded it.
Q 13Which Space Shuttle flew the STS-74 mission?
Atlantis
The crew attached a five-tonne docking module to the Russian station.
Q 14What milestone did he achieve for Canada on STS-74?
Q 21Which Russian spacesuit was he qualified to spacewalk in?
Orlan
The Sokol is the pressure suit worn inside Soyuz, not for spacewalks.
Q 22At what rank did he retire from the Canadian Armed Forces in 2003?
Colonel
He had served 25 years.
Q 23He commanded which underwater NASA mission aboard the Aquarius lab in 2010?
NEEMO 14
The crew lived and worked underwater for fourteen days.
Q 24Which spacecraft carried him to the ISS in December 2012?
Operating the Canadarm in orbit
He was also the only Canadian ever to go aboard Mir.
Q 15What did he help install on the International Space Station during STS-100 in 2001?
Canadarm2
The mission also delivered the Italian-made Raffaello resupply module.
Q 16Which Shuttle carried him on STS-100?
Endeavour
The 11-day flight was ISS assembly flight 6A.
Q 17How many spacewalks did he perform on STS-100?
Two
Together they lasted 14 hours 50 minutes and took him ten times around the world.
Q 18What temporarily blinded him during his first spacewalk?
Anti-fog solution in his visor
He had to vent oxygen into space to clear his eyes and later told the story in a TED talk.
Q 19How long in total did he spend outside on his STS-100 spacewalks?
14 hours 50 minutes
He circled the Earth ten times while outside.
Q 20In which Russian town was he NASA's director of operations from 2001 to 2003?
Star City
He qualified there as a Soyuz flight engineer and to spacewalk in the Russian Orlan suit.
Soyuz TMA-07M
He launched on December 19 and docked two days later.
Q 25Which numbered ISS crew did he command in 2013?
Expedition 35
It was the first time a Canadian had commanded the station.
Q 26How large was the crew he was responsible for as ISS commander?
Five
They ran dozens of experiments on how low gravity affects human biology.
Q 27To whom did he hand over command of the ISS in May 2013?
Pavel Vinogradov
He departed on May 13, 2013, after five months aboard.
Q 28Which David Bowie song did he famously perform in a video recorded on the ISS?
Space Oddity
It was the first music video recorded in space; the ending was changed so Major Tom lands safely.
Q 29Who arranged the piano part for his ISS music video?
Emm Gryner
Gryner had toured with Bowie in 1999–2000.
Q 30Why was his Bowie cover video taken offline in May 2014?
A one-year music licence expired
Bowie himself wanted it licensed for free; it returned that November with a two-year deal.