I understand why astronauts orbiting the earth are weightless since they are in constant freefall. But why are the astronauts who went to the moon weightless?
I imagine that as you accelerate away from the earth towards the moon, you are no longer falling but are instead climbing. Intuitively, I think that this would give you some kind of gravity. Coming back I would think that you are constantly falling towards the earth, so I understand how the return journey would be weightless.
In: Physics
When you accelerate you would be pushed back into your seat, but for the majority of the flight path the spacecraft is not accelerating (that much) so the space craft is “falling” with the astronauts.
The engines are off for the majority of the time.
Latest Answers