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MozAngeles
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Homework Statement
On Apollo Moon missions, the lunar module would blast off from the Moon's surface and dock with the command module in lunar orbit. After docking, the lunar module would be jettisoned and allowed to crash back onto the lunar surface. Seismometers placed on the Moon's surface by the astronauts would then pick up the resulting seismic waves.
Find the impact speed of the lunar module, given that it is jettisoned from an orbit 100 km above the lunar surface moving with a speed of 1550 m/s.
v(final) =--------------m/s
Homework Equations
KEfinal + PEfinal = KEinital + PEinital
It is the gravitational potential energy = -GMm/r
KE=1/2mv2
G is a universal constant = 6.67 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2
M = mass of the moon
r = distance of the module from the center of the moon.
M = 7.349 x 1022kg
radius of the moon = 1737.1 km
rinitial = 100*103 m?? don't know if this is right..
rfinal = 100*103 m
The Attempt at a Solution
No idea where to start except that E(inital)=E(final)