3, 2, 1, Blastoff! Trivia on San Diego's Very Own Astronaut, Sally Ride

The countdown is on for the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on April 29, and here at La Jolla Patch, we love astronauts. How could you not? They’re amazing, with a capital “A.”

Although we’ll watch from afar via our television or computer screens, there’s plenty of reason to feel inspired by the space program catapulting humans into orbit, in part to a local underpinning.

Based in the UTC section of San Diego, Sally Ride Science was created and is presided over by the first American female astronaut to enter space. The company, to which Dr. Sally Ride lent her name, purveys innovative education tools to ensure a continued enthrallment with science and encouragement of children to pursue knowledge and careers in related domains. Breaking down barriers for women entering technical fields, just as Ride did, is also part of the corporate mission.

Although Ride is best known for making the American woman’s debut outside of our earth’s atmosphere, she’s had a multitude of out-of-this-world experiences in her lifetime.

With the help of a representative from Sally Ride Science, we’ve compiled a list of fascinating factoids about the famous astronaut’s life and career, but we’ve deviously inserted one fake.

Question: From the list below, choose the Sally Ride bluff that’s as far-out false as Pluto’s planet status.

A. Her last meal before launching into outer space was fish tacos.

B. She holds the title for the youngest American ever in space, at 32 years old.

C. She recently appeared in a Louis Vuitton video ad alongside fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell.

D. Her favorite thing to order at Starbuck’s is a Venti Green Tea.

E. She was part of the team that investigated the Challenger shuttle explosion.

F. At one time, she was employed by as a professor of physics.

To answer this week's trivia question, submit your answer via the "Comments" section at the bottom of this article. Each participant may submit one entry. To be entered in the prize drawing, you must answer correctly before the Endeavour launches on April 29 at 12:47 p.m. PST.

One winner, selected in a random drawing, will be announced in next week’s trivia column and awarded a gift card. If your entry is drawn, we will contact you for a mailing address. For more details, please see the . 

Answer to last week’s “Surfer Speak” trivia question:

We asked: One of the terms below describes the area surfers wait to score a ride just outside where waves break. Can you pick the word that matches this definition?

A.  Lip 

B.  Swell 

C.  The Green Room 

D.  Lineup 

E.  Mushburger

The Answer:

D. The lineup is where surfers wait to catch their waves. If you’re a novice, it’s advisable to make yourself scarce as more experienced surfers paddle in for their rides.

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