Question 1

True or false: The Planck spacecraft was named after Max Planck, the founder of quantum theory.

Accepted Answer

True. ESA's Planck mission honored Max Planck, whose work on blackbody radiation underpins the cosmic microwave background physics Planck studied.

Question 2

True or false: Planck carried a small rover to deploy on a nearby asteroid.

Accepted Answer

False. Planck was a pure observatory, not a lander or rover; it had no asteroid mission component.

Question 3

True or false: Planck mapped the cosmic microwave background with higher resolution than the WMAP satellite.

Accepted Answer

True. Planck had superior angular resolution and sensitivity, revealing finer details in the CMB than WMAP could achieve.

Question 4

True or false: Planck operated for over four years, far exceeding its original design lifetime.

Accepted Answer

True. Launched in 2009, Planck ran until 2013—more than twice its planned 15-month mission—thanks to efficient cryogen use.

Question 5

True or false: Planck orbited the Moon before reaching its final observation point.

Accepted Answer

False. Planck went directly to the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million km from Earth, without any lunar flyby.

Question 6

True or false: Planck was powered by a nuclear radioisotope thermoelectric generator.

Accepted Answer

False. Planck used solar panels for power and passive cooling; no nuclear power source was aboard.

Question 7

True or false: Planck's detectors were cooled to just 0.1 Kelvin using a multi-stage cryogenic system.

Accepted Answer

True. Its bolometers operated at 0.1 K via a series of coolers, including a dilution fridge, to detect faint CMB signals.

Question 8

True or false: Planck discovered that the universe is expanding faster than previously thought.

Accepted Answer

False. Planck refined the Hubble constant, but the faster expansion (Hubble tension) was later highlighted by other data, not Planck's direct discovery.

Planck spacecraft Trivia Questions