Question

The spacecraft is designed to leave the surface of Mars with the first stage of its...

The spacecraft is designed to leave the surface of Mars with the first stage of its propulsion system and be put into Martian orbit. Then, the second stage is used to boost the spacecraft from Martian orbit into an interplanetary trajectory and return to Earth. If the spacecraft is in Martian orbit at an altitude of 224 km, what is the velocity required to escape the gravitational attraction of Mars. Give your answer in km/s. Note that the velocity direction and magnitude required to actually return to Earth may be different.

Homework Answers

Answer #1

Given: Altitude at which spacecraft is in the Martian Orbit = 224 km

Escape Velocity is calculated using the formula

where G is the Universal Gravitational Constant, G=6.67*10-11 m3/kg s2

M is the Mass of Planet from which the spacecraft should escape i.e., Mass of Mars in this case

M=6.39*1023 kg

R0 is the Distance between the centers of the two bodies i.e., distance between center of Mars and the spacecraft.  

R0=Radius of Mars+Altitude

Radius of Mars, R= 3390 km

R0=3390+224=3614 km= 3614000 m

Substitute the values in the above formula

v= 4856.62 m/s= 4.85662 km/s

The spacecraft should travel with a velocity of 4.86 km/s to escape the gravitational attraction of Mars.

Know the answer?
Your Answer:

Post as a guest

Your Name:

What's your source?

Earn Coins

Coins can be redeemed for fabulous gifts.

Not the answer you're looking for?
Ask your own homework help question
Similar Questions
4. We are planning a human exploration mission to Mars. We will first place our spacecraft...
4. We are planning a human exploration mission to Mars. We will first place our spacecraft into a circular around Mars and then send down a lander. a) If we want the spacecraft to orbit at an altitude of 170 km above the Martian surface, what will the velocity and orbital period of the spacecraft? b) When we land astronauts on the surface of Mars, what acceleration due to gravity in terms of g’s (i.e. as a fraction of the...
A Titan IV rocket has put your spacecraft in a circular orbit around Earth at an...
A Titan IV rocket has put your spacecraft in a circular orbit around Earth at an altitude of 260 km. Calculate the force due to gravitational attraction between the Earth and the spacecraft in N if the mass of the spacecraft is 2150 kg.
Pls do it ASAP 4. We are planning a human exploration mission to Mars. We will...
Pls do it ASAP 4. We are planning a human exploration mission to Mars. We will first place our spacecraft into a circular around Mars and then send down a lander. a) If we want the spacecraft to orbit at an altitude of 170 km above the Martian surface, what will the velocity and orbital period of the spacecraft? b) When we land astronauts on the surface of Mars, what acceleration due to gravity in terms of g’s (i.e. as...
A satellite is designed to orbit Earth at an alltitude above its surface that will place...
A satellite is designed to orbit Earth at an alltitude above its surface that will place it in a gravitational field with a strength of 4.5 N/m.             a)        Calculate the distance above the surface of the Earth at which the satellite must orbit.             b)        Assuming the orbit is circular, calculate the acceleration of the satellite and its direction. c)         At what speed must the satellite travel in order to maintain this orbit
A scientist requires the construction of a diffraction-limited telescope to image small dunes on Mars. The...
A scientist requires the construction of a diffraction-limited telescope to image small dunes on Mars. The telescope will be mounted on a spacecraft instrument platform. The spacecraft will orbit Mars at an altitude of 500 km. The dunes are 1 m in diameter (horizontal size, as seen from above). The wavelength of instrument operation is 600 nm. The large-format detector is a CCD with 4096x4096 array of pixels, where each pixel is 20x20 microns in size. The scientist requires that...
Problem Solving: LightSail 2 LightSail 2 was a satellite that was designed to use solar radiation...
Problem Solving: LightSail 2 LightSail 2 was a satellite that was designed to use solar radiation to change its altitude as it circled Earth. The spacecraft had a mass of 5.0kg. It was originally launched by a rocket with its sail closed, and established an orbit at an altitude of 720 km above Earth’s surface. Then it deployed its sail, which had an area of 32m2 . Assume the sail is completely reflective. 1) After a full month of “½...
i) Explain the difference between a man-made and a natural satellite. ii) State two important advantages...
i) Explain the difference between a man-made and a natural satellite. ii) State two important advantages of weather satellites. iii) Starlink is a satellite constellation being constructed by SpaceX to provide global satellite Internet access. The constellation will consist of thousands of small satellites in low earth orbit. A Starlink launch to an altitude of 550km is required. The Falcon 9 launcher delivers 9.0 metric tonnes payload into a LEO orbit. The lift-off mass is 318 tonnes. The U of...
Spacecraft orbit Initial orbit radius (km) 7000 Comet properties semi major axis (Au) 1.5 eccentricity 0.2...
Spacecraft orbit Initial orbit radius (km) 7000 Comet properties semi major axis (Au) 1.5 eccentricity 0.2 inclination (deg) 10 argument of perihelion (deg) 60 Comet mass(kg) 3E16 Consider the requirement to transfer a satellite, initially in an elliptical orbit about the Earth that is to be to be placed in orbit about a Comet. You should note from the data that is provided to you that this target Comet orbit is neither circular nor a coplanar orbit with the initial...
ADVERTISEMENT
Need Online Homework Help?

Get Answers For Free
Most questions answered within 1 hours.

Ask a Question
ADVERTISEMENT