Popular Science Australia - 01.04.2018

In 1958, the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

launched a search for the first US spacemen. Of the 508 military candidates the

agency considered, only seven would become Mercury astronauts. In early 1959, 31 top

contenders arrived at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio to endure what’s still perhaps

the most exhaustive battery of psychological, intellectual, and physical work-ups in modern

history. Hopefuls sat in extreme heat and cold, did maths in 145-decibel rooms (normal

conversation is 60 dB), and spent hours in isolation chambers. On top of all that, candidates

took 12 intelligence tests. These exams sought to predict a wealth of unknowns: how

the men would manoeuvre spacecraft, if they could problem-solve mid-flight, and

whether they grasped the science that would keep them aloft. What follows

is a subset of those brain teasers for you to try. May John Glenn be with you.

NASA

PROJECT MERCURY

1959

1

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E]

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E]

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E]

SPATIAL VISUALIZATION

move one is its

starting position

for move two).

Mark the answer

that shows how

the clock will

look once it

has finished

rotating.

What it tests:

Developed in the

late 1940s by

psychologists

J.P. Guilford and

Wayne Zimmerman,

this exam checks

how well subjects

picture objects

relative to one

another. Though

the military no

longer uses this

test, similar

ones show how

well pilots might

stay oriented

in midair.

on the sphere

alongside it

indicate. If

there are

multiple arrows,

make the turns

sequentially

(so, the clock’s

position after

The first image
shows a clock in a
set position.
From that spot,
visualise the
timepiece moving
as the arrow(s)

INSTRUCTIONS

[PAGE 38]

#1

#2

#3