04. Fly Me to the Moon
How do we get from Earth to Mars?
Some math to consider:
The Sun is 149.6 million km from Earth, this would be the radius, r, of Earth's orbit.
It takes Earth 365.25 days to orbit the Sun.
1. Calculate how long it takes Earth to orbit the Sun in hours.
2. Calculate the circumference of Earth's orbit of the Sun. (C = 2𝜋r)
3. Using this information, calculate the speed that Earth orbits the Sun.
The Sun is 227.9 million km from Mars, this would be the radius, r, of Earth's orbit.
It takes Mars 687 days to orbit the Sun.
1. Calculate how long it takes Mars to orbit the Sun in hours.
2. Calculate the circumference of Mars' orbit of the Sun. (C = 2𝜋r)
3. Using this information, calculate the speed that Mars orbits the Sun.
Activity: use the document, "Fly Me to the Moon" as well as the paper template showing Earth and Mars' orbits of the Sun.
Follow the instructions to plot a flight path from Earth to Mars. You can then plot the return flight back to Earth from Mars.
