JEOPARDY! fans have realized a mind-boggling piece of trivia about Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.

Before becoming a frontrunner as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, Mark competed on Celebrity Jeopardy!.

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Potential Vice Presidential candidate Mark Kelly was on Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015Credit: Jeopardy!

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Mark Kelly made it to the finals against Aaron Rodgers and Kevin O’LearyCredit: Jeopardy!

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Mark Kelly posing with the late Alex Trebek who died in 2020 of pancreatic cancerCredit: Jeopardy!
Kelly, 60, who retired from NASA as an astronaut in 2011 after four trips to space, was on the game show spinoff in 2015.

He made it all the way to the finals against NFL quarterback (and future guest host) Aaron Rodgers and Kevin O’Leary of ABC’s Shark Tank.

Mark finished in second place, losing to Aaron but defeating “Mr Wonderful” and winning $10,000 for charity.

Mark earned $10,000 for Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas.

The buzzworthy connection was shared in the Jeopardy! online fan page over the weekend.

“Potential VP nominee a Celebrity Jeopardy alum,” the fan posted. “Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, astronaut and possible Democratic VP nominee, was a Celebrity Jeopardy finalist in 2015!”

‘LIKE THIS GUY!’

Other fans rocketed to the comments section, stunned by the find.

“He’s my favorite among the potential candidates. Glad to know he is smart,” one person wrote.

“I haven’t seen it before, so thanks for posting!” posted another.

“Too bad I only vote for champions,” quipped a third.
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“I just keep finding more and more reasons to like this guy,” wrote a fourth.

“Cool. I didn’t remember him being on!” exclaimed a fifth.

HOW DID HE DO?

Mark competed the last year that the late Alex Trebek hosted the special before his tragic 2020 passing from pancreatic cancer.

Mark had some winning moments in the finals, even if he didn’t ultimately win.

“In 2015, the Dawn spacecraft began orbiting this object in the asteroid belt, the first dwarf planet ever visited,” host Alex asked for $2,000.

“What is Pluto?” Kevin replied incorrectly, as the first to buzz in.

“That is what I was going to say,” Kelly quickly joked, scoring laughter from the studio audience (the correct response was Ceres.)

Ultimately, Mark had $8,600 going into Final Jeopardy! and no one knew the answer to the last clue.

Under the category of “Business,” the players were shown photos of two men standing beside motorcycles and had to name the two early 20th-century business leaders.

Kelly wrote down “Ford and Pontiac,” wagering half of his earnings. O’Leary chose “the Wright Brothers,” and Rodgers guessed “Ernst and Young.”

The correct answer was Harley and Davidson.

MARK AMAZES ALEX TREBEK

“It was a lot of fun,” Mark told Alex and his opponents in a post-game chat.

Alex asked Mark about space travel and the possibility of sending astronauts to Mars in the future.

Predicting a Mars mission will happen in 30 years, Mark said, “I think the first person to walk on Mars is alive today.”

He said it would take “six months to get there,” but “with a better engine, we could do it in three months.”

Mark – who commanded the shuttle Endeavour’s final mission – added that the goal of space travel is advancements in technology.

“If we didn’t send people to the moon you could make an argument we wouldn’t have computers or laptops.”

Alex and his fellow players stood by, amazed by the predictions and insight.

During the game, Mark also explained he was playing for the hospital where his wife stayed after an assassination attempt.

“I am playing for Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas, which is the hospital where Gabby stayed in for six months after she was nearly assassinated,” Kelly said.

Gabby Giffords, Mark’s wife since 2007 and former congresswoman from Arizona, was in the studio audience cheering him on.

Alex pointed out that another of Mark’s family members had his support at the time, albeit in outer space.

Mark’s brother Scott is also a retired astronaut who commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on Expeditions 26, 45, and 46.

“A couple of hundred miles up is your twin brother, Scott, on the International Space Station,” Alex said. “And he may be watching — if his antenna is long enough.”

RECENT CELEBRITY JEOPARDY! WINNERS

Celebrity Jeopardy! has returned on ABC as an annual $1 million special after Alex’s death.

Actor Ike Barenholz won Season 1 and, in a first, was invited to the subsequent Tournament of Champions, where he made it to the semifinals, stunning fans.

Parent Trap actress Lisa Ann Walter won Season 2 from a sole Final Jeopardy get (“The Butler Did It”) and will be in the next Tournament of Champions.

ABC has already renewed Season 3 of the spinoff for this winter because of its sky-high ratings.

Former champion Ken Jennings is now the sole host of the franchise.

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Mark Kelly told the fascinated players and host about space travel after the gameCredit: Jeopardy!

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Alex Trebek looked amazed as the astronaut-turned-Senator predicted humans would walk on Mars in our lifetimeCredit: Jeopardy!