Question

Assume that Mars and Earth are in the same plane and that their orbits around the Sun are circles (Mars is ≈230×10^6km from the Sun and Earth is ≈150×10^6km from the Sun).

a) How long would it take a message sent as radio waves from Earth to reach Mars when Mars is nearest Earth?

b) How long would it take a message sent as radio waves from Earth to reach Mars when Mars is farthest from Earth?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

speed of light ≈ 300 000 000 m/s

a) How long would it take a message sent as radio waves from Earth to reach Mars when Mars is nearest Earth?

(230e9 - 150e9) / 3e8 = 277 s or 4 minutes 27 seconds.

b) How long would it take a message sent as radio waves from Earth to reach Mars when Mars is farthest from Earth?

(230e9 + 150e9) / 3e8 = 1267 s or 21 minutes 6 seconds.