Science in Space IELTS Reading Answers

Science in Space IELTS Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading section includes a thought-provoking passage titled Science in Space, which examines the role and challenges of scientific research aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This passage features 13 questions designed to test candidates’ understanding of key ideas, research developments, and technological efforts in space exploration. The questions are spread across various formats, including True/False/Not Given, multiple choice, and sentence completion, requiring careful reading and analytical thinking. As Science in Space is a frequently appearing topic in IELTS Reading practice materials, reviewing this passage and its answer explanations can help students improve both their reading speed and accuracy under timed conditions.

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Science in Space IELTS Reading Passage

The passage below "Science in Space" is inspired by the Reading Practice Test. Based on the reading passage, you should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13.

Science in Space

1. A premier, world-class laboratory in low Earth orbit. That was how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency (NASA) sold the International Space Station (ISS) to the US Congress in 2001. Today no one can doubt the agency’s technological ambition. The most complex engineering project ever attempted has created an enormous set of interlinked modules that orbits the planet at more than 27,000 kilometres per hour. It might be travelling fast but, say critics, as a lab it is going nowhere. So far, it has gone through $150 billion.

2. So where should its future priorities lie? This question was addressed at the recent 1st annual ISS research and development conference in Colorado. Among the presenters was Satoshi Iwase of Aichi Medical University in Japan who has spent several years developing an experiment that could help solve one of the key problems that humans will face in space: keeping our bodies healthy in weightlessness. One thing that physiologists have learned is that without gravity our bodies begin to lose strength, leaving astronauts with weakened bones, muscles and cardiovascular systems. To counter these effects on a long- duration mission to, say, Mars, astronauts will almost certainly need to create their own artificial gravity. This is where Iwase comes in. He leads a team designing a centrifuge for humans. In their preliminary design, an astronaut is strapped into the seat of a machine that resembles an exercise bike. Pedalling provides a workout for the astronauts muscles and cardiovascular system, but it also causes the seat to rotate vertically around a central axis so the rider experiences artificial gravity while exercising.

3. The centrifuge project highlights the station’s potential as a research lab. Similar machines have flown in space aboard NASA’s shuttles, but they couldn’t be tested for long enough to prove whether they were effective. It’s been calculated that to properly assess a centrifuge’s impact on human physiology, astronauts would have to ride it for 30 minutes a day for at least two months. The only way to test this is in weightlessness, and the only time we have to do that is on the space station,’ says Laurence Young, a space medicine expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

4.  There are certainly plenty of ideas for other experiments: but many projects have yet to fly. Even if the centrifuge project gets the green light, it will have to wait another five years before the station’s crew can take a spin. Lengthy delays like this are one of the key challenges for NASA, according to an April 2011 report from the US National Academy of Sciences. Its authors said they were ‘deeply concerned’ about the state of NASAs science research, and made a number of recommendations. Besides suggesting that the agency reduces the time between approving experiments and sending them into space, it also recommended setting clearer research priorities.

5.  NASA has already begun to take action, hiring management consultants Pro-Orbis to develop a plan to cut through the bureaucracy. And Congress also directed NASA to hire an independent organisation, the Centre for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to help manage the station’s US lab facilities. One of CASIS’s roles is to convince public and private investors that science on the station is worth the spend because judged solely by the number of papers published, the ISS certainly seems poor value: research on the station has generated about 3,100 papers since 1998.The Hubble Space Telescope, meanwhile, has produced more than 1,300 papers in just over 20 years, yet it cost less than one-tenth of the price of the space station.

6.  Yet Mark Uhran, assistant associate administrator for the ISS, refutes the criticism that the station hasn’t done any useful research. He points to progress made on a salmonella vaccine, for example. To get the ISS research back on track, CASIS has examined more than 100 previous microgravity experiments to identify promising research themes. From this, it has opted to focus on life science and medical research, and recently called for proposals for experiments on muscle wasting, osteoporosis and the immune system. The organisation also maintains that the ISS should be used to develop products with commercial application and to test those that are either close to or already on the market. Investment from outside organisations is vital, says Uhran, and a balance between academic and commercial research will help attract this.

7. The station needs to attract cutting-edge research, yet many scientists seem to have little idea what goes on aboard it. Jeanne Di Francesco at ProOrbis conducted more than 200 interviews with people from organisations with potential interests in low gravity studies. Some were aware of the ISS but they didn’t know what’s going on up there, she says. ‘Others know there’s science, but they don’t know what kind.’

8. According to Alan Stern, planetary scientist, the biggest public relations boost for the ISS may come from the privately funded space flight industry. Companies like SpaceX could help NASA and its partners when it comes to resupplying the ISS, as it suggests it can reduce launch costs by two-thirds. Virgin Atlantic’s Space Ship Two or ZeroUnfinity’s high- altitude balloon could also boost the space station’s fortunes. They might not come close to the ISS’s orbit, yet Stern believes they will revolutionise the way we, the public, see space. Soon everyone will be dreaming of interplanetary travel again, he predicts. More importantly, scientists are already queuing for seats on these low-gravity space-flight services so they can collect data during a few minutes of weightlessness. This demand for low-cost space flight could eventually lead to a service running on a more frequent basis, giving researchers the chance to test their ideas before submitting a proposal for experiments on the ISS. Getting flight experience should help them win a slot on the station, says Stern.

Also Read: 

• IELTS Reading Tips And Strategies

• IELTS Listening Tips

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Science in Space IELTS Reading Questions with Answers

Question 1–6

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
Write

• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

• NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1. The ISS travels at a speed faster than 27,000 kilometres per hour.
   Answer: TRUE
   Explanation: The first paragraph mentions that the ISS "orbits the planet at more than 27,000 kilometres per hour."

2. Iwase’s machine will allow astronauts to exercise in artificial gravity.
   Answer: TRUE
   Explanation: Paragraph 2 describes how the machine involves pedalling and spinning, allowing the rider to "experience artificial gravity while exercising."

3. Similar centrifuge machines have been tested on the Moon.
   Answer: FALSE
   Explanation: The passage says similar machines flew aboard NASA shuttles, not on the Moon.

4. Aichi Medical University specialises in space medicine.
   Answer: NOT GIVEN
   Explanation: The passage mentions Satoshi Iwase works there but does not state the university specialises in space medicine.

5. Astronauts need to use the centrifuge for six months to see results.
   Answer: FALSE
   Explanation: It says astronauts would need to ride it for 30 minutes a day for at least two months, not six.

6. CASIS was formed to replace NASA as the main space research organisation.
   Answer: FALSE
   Explanation: CASIS was hired to help manage the station’s US lab facilities, not replace NASA.

Question 7–10

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

7. What problem is associated with the ISS as a laboratory?
   A. It travels too fast to collect data
   B. It has not delivered enough research output
   C. The modules do not connect properly
   D. It is too expensive to maintain
   Answer: B
   Explanation: Critics say “as a lab it is going nowhere,” and only about 3,100 papers have been published despite its massive cost.

8. What has slowed down research on the ISS?
   A. Too many new proposals from CASIS
   B. A focus on commercial rather than academic goals
   C. A long wait between approval and launch
   D. Resistance from private investors
   Answer: C
   Explanation: The passage states the National Academy of Sciences criticised the long time between approving and sending experiments into space.

9. What is one of CASIS's priorities?
   A. Promoting space tourism
   B. Attracting funding from outside sources
   C. Reducing the number of experiments
   D. Training astronauts in medical research
   Answer: B
   Explanation: CASIS wants to convince investors that ISS science is worth funding and to strike a balance between commercial and academic research.

10. Why is Alan Stern hopeful about the future of ISS research?
    A. More astronauts are training in biology
    B. CASIS is partnering with major universities
    C. Space tourism may help public interest
    D. Cheaper flights may encourage more experiments
    Answer: D
    Explanation: Stern believes that low-cost flights from companies like SpaceX will let researchers test ideas more easily and frequently.

Question 11–13

Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.

CASIS has examined a large number of previous experiments and selected areas such as (11) ______ and medical research as a focus. The organisation believes it is also important to work on projects with (12) ______, and on products that are already commercially available. The lack of knowledge about the ISS among many (13) ______ is seen as a major problem.

11. Answer: life science
    Explanation: The passage says CASIS decided to focus on “life science and medical research.”

12. Answer: commercial application
    Explanation: CASIS wants to “develop products with commercial application and to test those... already on the market.”

13. Answer: scientists
    Explanation: Jeanne Di Francesco found that many “scientists seem to have little idea what goes on aboard” the ISS.

Guidance to PW