[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?

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

In: Physics

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Anonymous 0 Comments

First of all: You can go directly to a lunar orbit (or lunar landing) without going into an Earth orbit first. If I’m not mistaken it actually requires slightly less fuel.

However, it’s a very bad idea to just point your rocket towards the Moon and accelerate until you get there. First of all, the Moon moves. So you’d have to plan ahead and target the point where it’s going to be.

Then the next question is: How and when do you decelerate? Do you want to enter a Moon orbit first and maybe leave a return vehicle there?

Anonymous 0 Comments

If you point at the Moon and go, you will miss the Moon, because by the time you complete the journey, the Moon will have moved.

You have to aim for where the Moon will be at the time you reach its orbital distance.
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