How did we land back on earth from the moon

935 viewsOtherPlanetary Science

Wouldn’t when we land on the moon, the earth would still be in motion bc of the orbit, and so whenever we exit the orbit of the moon (Which was orbiting the earth) the earth would still be in a constant orbit moving at high speeds, how did we calculate and intercept earth in said orbit.

In: Planetary Science

15 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Imagine you are sitting on a bus traveling at high speed down the highway, holding a ball in your hand. Now toss the ball straight up in the air. Why does the ball fall back down to your lap instead of flying to the back of the bus the instant it leaves your hand? Because it has still the momentum from the moving bus and it doesn’t lose that momentum just because you aren’t holding it anymore.

The astronauts leaving the moon still have the same momentum that the moon has of “falling” around the earth (otherwise known as orbiting), and they don’t lose that momentum just because they left the surface of the moon.

You are viewing 1 out of 15 answers, click here to view all answers.