If a satellite sent to Mars is designed to return a rock sample to Earth,how fast must the satellite be launched from its surface in order to escape Mars's gravity? For reference,Mars has a mass of and a radius of 2,400 km.
A) 100 m/s
B) 6,000 m/s
C) 20 m/s
D) You must know the mass of the satellite to determine the answer.

Question

If a satellite sent to Mars is designed to return a rock sample to Earth,how fast must the satellite be launched from its surface in order to escape Mars's gravity? For reference,Mars has a mass of  and a radius of 2,400 km.
A) 100 m/s 
B) 6,000 m/s 
C) 20 m/s 
D) You must know the mass of the satellite to determine the answer.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The escape velocity calculation requires the mass of the planet along with its radius, which is provided in the question. However, the mass of the satellite is not necessary to calculate the escape velocity. The formula for escape velocity is Vesc=√((2GM)/r), where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the planet, and r is the radius of the planet. Plugging in the values for Mars, we get Vesc=√((2*6.674e-11*(11e23))/(2,400,000))=5,992.81 m/s, which is approximately 6,000 m/s. Therefore, the answer is B) 6,000 m/s.

If a Satellite Sent to Mars Is Designed to Return