Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars's atmosphere (aerobraking) before settling into their final orbits?
A) It saved money because the spacecraft used atmospheric drag to slow down rather than needing to carry enough fuel to slow by firing rocket engines.
B) It allowed the orbiters to get higher resolution pictures of the surface as it came close when skimming through the atmosphere.
C) It allowed the spacecraft to collect samples of the atmospheric gas for return to Earth.
D) Each spacecraft also carried a lander, and the lander could only be dropped to the Martian surface when the spacecraft passed through the atmosphere.
Question 2
Tycho Brahe's contribution to Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion were
A) his detailed and accurate observations of the planet's position.
B) his observations of Jupiter's moons.
C) a mathematical explanation of epicycles.
D) a precise lunar calendar.
E) the correct explanation of lunar phases.
Sam, a rhesus macaque, was flown to a height of 55 miles (89 km) by NASA in 1959
Mars Avalanche Hirise
Stereo Image taken by NASA STEREO Probes launched in 2006; utilizing two Spacecrafts to image the Su
Amazing NASA Pictures Collection
Amazing NASA Pictures Collection
Young recent immigrants often develop two identities