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Mission to Mars

Planning the most efficient route

Two recent missions to Mars were timed to use the most fuel-efficient route. In this article we explain how a route path is devised, calculate the speed of the spacecraft at various times during the flight and find out how long the journey will take

The terms in bold link to topics in the AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA A-level specifications, as well as the IB, Pre-U and SQA exam specifications.

The most fuel-efficient trajectory of a spacecraft from Earth to Mars is described and calculated using Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion, conservation of energy and the mechanics of circular motion.

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Mars

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How to make a BB-8

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