explain examples of physical laws used during the Apollo 13 mission to get it home
The lunar landing rocket "LEMDE" was use for an unintended purpode: to change the orbit so that the spacecraft circled the moon and returned. It was then used to enter the Earth's atmosphere at a safe angle and speed for reentry.
Newton's laws of motion were used to compute orbit changes that the rocket had to perform. The reaction between monomethylhydrazine and N2O4 produced the thrust needed for the rocket to work. Laws of thermodynamics are involved in rocket design. Maxwell's laws of electricity and magnetism are the basis of radio communication with Houston during the mission.
During the Apollo 13 mission, several physical laws were crucial in helping the spacecraft and its crew return home safely. Here are a few examples:
1. Newton's Laws of Motion: The three laws of motion formulated by Sir Isaac Newton were instrumental to understand how objects move in space. Newton's First Law states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. This law was significant for the spacecraft's trajectory and course corrections.
2. Conservation of Momentum: According to the law of conservation of momentum, the total momentum of a system remains constant unless acted upon by an external force. In the case of Apollo 13, conservation of momentum played a vital role during an unexpected course correction, allowing the crew to use the Lunar Module's engine as a propulsion system to adjust their trajectory.
3. Conservation of Energy: The principle of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed or transferred, was crucial during the Apollo 13 mission. It helped engineers and astronauts manage the use of available resources, like electricity and fuel, to ensure the spacecraft's systems operated effectively and efficiently.
4. Gas Laws: The behavior of gases, described by laws such as Boyle's Law and Charles's Law, helped the mission control team address the issue of rising levels of carbon dioxide within the spacecraft. They improvised a method to adapt the lunar module's square carbon dioxide scrubber into the command module's round space, using materials onboard, by applying knowledge of gas behavior and pressure.
These are just a few examples of the physical laws and principles that were applied during the Apollo 13 mission. Understanding and utilizing these concepts allowed engineers and astronauts to make critical decisions and overcome challenges to safely navigate the mission back to Earth.