Question

The NASA spacecraft Deep Space I was shut down on December 18, 2001, following a three-year journey to the asteroid Braille and the comet Borrelly. This spacecraft used a solar-powered ion engine to produce 0.064 ounces of thrust (force) by stripping electrons from neon atoms and accelerating the resulting ions to 70,000 mi/h. The thrust was only as much as the weight of a couple sheets of paper, but the engine operated continuously for 16,000 hours. As a result, the speed of the spacecraft increased by 7900 mi/h. What was the mass of Deep Space I?

Answer 1

The mass will be "8.86 lb".

Step-by-step explanation:

The given values are:

Force

= 70,000 mi/h

Speed

= 7900 mi/h

On applying the Law of momentum, we get

⇒
`V_(1)m_(1)=V_(2)m_(2)`

On putting the estimated values, we get

⇒
`70000 = 7900* mass \ of \ deepspace \ 1`

⇒
`mass \ of \ deepspace \ 1 = (70000)/(7900)`

⇒
`=8.86 \ lb`