Question

Mars Rover When the Mars rover was deployed on the surface of Mars in July 1997, radio signals took about 12 minmin to travel from Earth to the rover.
How far was Mars from Earth at that time?

Answer 1

Answer:

s = 2.16 x 10¹¹ m

Explanation:

Since, the waves travelling from Earth to the Mars rover are electromagnetic. Therefore, there speed must be equal to the speed of light. So, from the equation given below:

s = vt

where,

s = the distance between Earth and Mars = ?

v = speed of the wave = speed of light = 3 x 10⁸ m/s

t = time taken by the radio signals to reach the rover from Earth

t = (12 min)(60 s/1 min) = 720 s

Therefore,

s = (3 x 10⁸ m/s)(720 s)

s = 2.16 x 10¹¹ m