A spacecraft is flying away from the moon toward earth.

Question

A spacecraft is flying away from the moon toward earth.

What will be true of the moon’s gravitational pull on the spacecraft?

Responses

It will increase.

It will increase.,

It will remain the same.
It will remain the same.

It will repel the spacecraft.
It will repel the spacecraft.

It will decrease.

It will decrease.,

Answer 1

It will decrease.

Answer 2

The correct response is:

"It will decrease."

Answer 3

The correct answer is "It will decrease." When a spacecraft is flying away from the Moon towards Earth, the distance between the spacecraft and the Moon is increasing. As per the law of gravitation, the gravitational force between two objects decreases as the distance between them increases. Therefore, the gravitational pull of the Moon on the spacecraft will decrease as the spacecraft moves further away.