A human-operated spaceship reaches the moon in 3 days. The moon is about 386,400 km from Earth. Mars, our closest planetary neighbor, is, at its closest, about 140 times farther away from us than the moon if Mars stays in place. Assuming a very simple model of the solar system, about how long would it take that same spaceship to reach Mars?(1 point)
Responses
about 22.5 years
about 22.5 years
about 2.5 years
about 2.5 years
about 1 year
about 1 year
about 7.5 years
about 7.5 years
To estimate how long it would take for the same spaceship to reach Mars, we can assume that the spaceship would travel at a constant speed. According to the information given, Mars is about 140 times farther away from Earth than the moon.
If the spaceship took 3 days to reach the moon, which is approximately 386,400 km away, we can calculate the distance to Mars by multiplying the distance to the moon by 140.
Distance to Mars = Distance to the moon x 140
Distance to Mars = 386,400 km x 140 = 54,096,000 km
Given that the spaceship travels at a constant speed, we can divide the distance to Mars by the speed at which it traveled to the moon to estimate the time it would take to reach Mars.
Time to reach Mars = Distance to Mars / Speed of the spaceship
Time to reach Mars = 54,096,000 km / 386,400 km/day
Calculating this equation yields a result of approximately 140 days. Therefore, it would take the same spaceship about 140 days to reach Mars.