Ans: Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction.

Ans: Science gives man inspiration and aspiration. Space science makes man look outwards from his planet, towards the stars. Space science tries to answer the ultimate questions How did our Earth and our Solar System evolve? Where are we in the Universe? Where are we going? Where did life come from, and are we alone in the Universe?

Ans: Nigeria signified its intention to venture into space at an intergovernmental meeting at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1976.

Ans: Nigeria has launched a total of 6 satellite since inception of its space program namely, NigeriaSat 1 NigeriaSat 2, NigeriaSat X, NigComSat-1, NigComSat-1R, Nigeria EduSat-1.

Ans: Yes, just like any other defence organisations/formations such as Nigerian Defence Academy, Defence Intelligence Agency amongst others

Ans: The employment process is similar to any other MDAs where vacancies are advertised as the need arises.

Ans: The motion of something in orbit (like a planet around a star) is a combination of the effect of inertia and of gravity. 'Inertia' means that something moving will continue going in a straight line at a constant velocity unless it is stopped (this is Newton's first law). If there were no gravity, for example, something moving past the Sun would just keep going in the same direction. The force of gravity from the Sun pulls the planet towards the Sun. However, the material which formed the planets was originally moving too and the inertia from the original motion does not go away; instead you get a sum of the two. That makes for a diagonal motion at any one instant. However, the direction the force of gravity and therefore the planet's direction of motion changes as the planets changes its position relative to the Sun. The result is an orbit around the Sun.

Ans: The rotation period of the Sun varies from about 25 days at the equator to over 30 days at the poles, so it takes roughly two weeks for a feature to cross the solar disc.

Ans: If a planet’s surface is similar to Earth, dominated by plants using photosynthesis, atmospheric carbon dioxide will be steadily converted into oxygen. These oxygen atoms will produce an ozone layer that emits particular, unique spectral lines in the light spectrum of that planet. We should be able to see the 'ozone line' in the spectra of planets orbiting nearby stars. We can also detect carbon dioxide absorption features and even methane and ammonia. Together, these lines will tell us the principal atmospheric constituents, and whether the planet is Earth-like or not. If you detect ozone, there must be an Earth-like surface and atmosphere because free oxygen cannot exist in an atmosphere without constant replenishment. The only chemical process we know to replenish oxygen on a planetary scale is photosynthesis.

Ans: Direct imaging is possible, but the planets are too far away, too small, and not bright enough to make detailed observations of the surface, for example. Also, most of them are so close to their stars that the glare from the nearby star overwhelms the image and hides the much fainter planet. A planet like Jupiter at the same distance from its star is about one million times fainter, optically, than the star. This kind of contrast is very hard to detect so close to the main star.

Ans: There has been extensive discussion on this topic sparked by attempts to block the Galileo and Ulysses launches on grounds of the plutonium thermal sources being dangerous. Numerous studies claim that even in worst-case scenarios (explosion during launch, or accidental re-entry at interplanetary velocities), the risks are extremely small.