The National Aeronautics and Space Agency—better known as NASA—is one of the world’s foremost scientific organizations. Having pioneered missions to Earth’s orbit, the moon, Mars, and beyond, they are an agency __1__ some of humanity’s greatest space achievements. So it should be comforting to the rest of us that they also know how to have a little bit of fun.
The latest Mars rover, Perseverance, displayed a special coded message on its descent parachute. If __2__ from binary code, the inner ring of the orange and white pattern on the parachute reads “Dare Mighty Things.” It is a line from a speech by former US president Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt that talks about the value of challenging oneself. It is indeed a __3__ message for a space exploration agency. The pattern also shows—again in binary code—the exact location of the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) on Earth.
This is not the first time that NASA __4__ secret codes to Mars. A tool on Perseverance used for getting color-accurate photos includes icons of waving people, dinosaurs, bacteria, and more. Earlier rovers like Curiosity also had their own hidden secrets. For example, the robot’s tread marks displayed the Morse code for JPL, which acted as both a joke and a valuable tool for __5__ the wheels were working properly. So it’s becoming something of a tradition for Mars rovers to carry not just scientific instruments, but also a sense of humor.
1. (A) content with (B) possessed of (C) responsible for (D) transformed into
2. (A) to translate (B) translates (C) translating (D) translated
3. (A) fitting (B) shameful (C) clumsy (D) mysterious
4. (A) had sent (B) will send (C) has sent (D) is sending
5. (A) inquiring (B) ensuring (C) boasting (D) wondering
