Question

In 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter crashed because calculations were performed in English units instead of SI units. At one point, the orbiter was just 187,000 feet above the surface, which was too close to stay in orbit. What was the height of the orbiter at this time in kilometers? (Assume 1 meter equals 3.281 feet.)

a) 57 kilometers
b) 31 kilometers
c) 56 kilometers
d) 30 kilometers

Answer 1

The Mars Climate Orbiter was mistakenly measured to be at 187,000 feet above Mars, which is equivalent to 57 kilometers after converting feet to meters and then to kilometers.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 1999 Mars Climate Orbiter incident is an example of a critical error made due to a failure to convert English units to SI units. Specifically, the orbiter was supposed to reach an altitude of 140-150 km above Mars but ended up only 57 km above, due to a mix-up between English units and metric units regarding the measurement of thrust.

Now, to convert the orbiter's incorrectly calculated altitude of 187,000 feet above the Martian surface to kilometers, we use the conversion factor where 1 meter equals 3.281 feet:

1. First, convert feet to meters:
   187,000 feet / 3.281 feet/meter = 57,000 meters.
2. Next, convert meters to kilometers:
   57,000 meters / 1,000 meters/kilometer = 57 kilometers.

Therefore, the height of the orbiter at that time in kilometers was 57 kilometers (option c).