[ELI5] Why do rockets have to go around in orbit and do a bunch of squiggly maneuvers to get to the moon? Why cant they just go in a straight line?

Question

And by straight, i mean, just… Point the nose of the rocket towards the moon and keep steering till you get there….

In: Physics

Answer 1

The moon orbits at a speed of 3700 km/h. If you just went to where the moon is going to be it is either going to fly past you or smack into you. Since you need to match the moons speed it just make sense to go into an orbit around earth first.