In: Physics
For NASA to send a space-craft with minimum energy possible, is to set the spacecraft in an orbit that just touches the Earth's orbit at perihelion and reaches the orbit of Mars at aphelion. Assuming circular orbits for Earth & Mars.
1. What is the semimajor axis of the orbit?
2. What is the orbital eccentricity of the orbit?
3. How long does it take to go from Earth to Mars? (The orbit given is the so-called minimum-energyorbit for a craft leaving Earth and reaching Mars. Assume circular planetary orbits for simplicity.) Find t in years