A research probe is to be released from a booster at an altitude of above the surface…

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

Problem

1.50\times10^{3}\,\text{kg}

research probe is to be released from a booster at an altitude of

250\,\text{km}

above the surface of Mars and must escape permanently from Mars’s gravitational influence. Atmospheric effects are negligible. (Useful data: Mass of Mars

=6.4\times10^{23}\,\text{kg}

; radius of Mars

=3.39\times10^{6}\,\text{m}

.) (a) Determine the minimum launch speed the probe must have *at the moment of release* in order to escape Mars. (b) Calculate the corresponding minimum launch kinetic energy that must be supplied to the probe. (c) If the actual launch speed is

5.0\%

greater than the value found in part (a), determine the probe’s speed after it has traveled very far from Mars, where Mars’s gravitational potential energy is effectively zero.

Related theory

Browse the problem library