1. Subscribersonhouse
    Fast and Curious
    slatington, pa, usa
    Joined
    28 Dec '04
    Moves
    53223
    09 Feb '07 18:163 edits
    They are planning a trip to Phobos as a prelude to a mars sample return since phobos has no atmosphere and very low gravity so it would be a test of the systems to do the job on Mars for real. My question has to do with the arithmetic of how much you would weigh on phobos. I think Earth's escape velocity is 11,186 Meters/Sec.
    Escape velocity on Phobos clocks in at a mere 12 meters/Sec. Am I correct in assuming you just divide the two to get what you weigh there? No funny business with the math is there? So 11,186/12=932 and change so my weight here on earth is 100 Kg or 100,000 grams then I should weigh 100,000/932=107 grams or about 4 ounces on Phobos, right? It also looks like you could push off the planet permenently, since 100KG only needs to push upwards with a force of say 120 grams, the escape velocity of 12 Meters/second=about 26 miles per hour, so it seems you should be able to kick off Phobos forever.

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