The planet Mars has mass and radius

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

The planet Mars has mass 6.4×1023 kg6.4\times10^{23}\,\text{kg} and radius 3.4×106 m3.4\times10^{6}\,\text{m}. A robotic lander of mass 1.2×103 kg1.2\times10^{3}\,\text{kg} is in a circular parking orbit 3.0×105 m3.0\times10^{5}\,\text{m} above the Martian surface. (a) Calculate the gravitational potential at the surface of Mars. (b) Determine the gravitational potential energy of the lander in the parking orbit. (c) Express the answer of part (ii) in megajoules (MJ).

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