A 2000 kg lunar lander is in orbit 70 km above the surface of the moon. It needs to move out to a 500 km -high orbit in order to link up with the mother ship that will take the astronauts home.
How much work must the thrusters do?
In the orbit, the centripetal force on the lander is equal to gravitational force from the moon. We find total energy in an orbit and work done will be equal to change in orbital energy.
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