Imagine you are a member of a space project team, and for the next two weeks you and your team of experts need to work very hard for the launch of a new satellite to explore the lunar surface. How would you prioritize and manage financial constraints while striving towards the project's overall goals?
Well, that's really challenging. Isn't it?
For any space project, the most important aspect that defines its overall goals is the Finance or project cost. A significant challenge that must be overcome is the high cost. Yes, for any space project, it takes careful planning in addition to resources that may not always be there at hand or on call.
Numerous missions to date have failed and the money spent on those has also gone to waste. Hence, a space exploration mission should be affordable. Ever since Engineers & Scientists have tried to solve this problem by thinking about effectively utilizing physics to our advantage.
The laws of physics play a crucial role in the planning and execution of space missions. For example, the rocket equation, which describes the relationship between the velocity of a rocket and the amount of fuel it needs, is used to determine the optimal launch trajectory for a spacecraft.
The law of conservation of energy is used to calculate the amount of fuel required for a spacecraft to land on the lunar surface and then return to Earth.
Additionally, the law of gravity is used to calculate the spacecraft's trajectory as it approaches the lunar surface.
Let's dive into an important concept used in lunar missions.
When a spaceship or satellite is sent to the moon, its path is in the form of a figure '8' that encompasses Earth & the Moon. This should remind us of why space agencies (like NASA, ISRO, JAXA) implement such orbits when sending their ships off into outer space.
Engineers have discovered that this 'design' or path requires much less energy than an elliptical orbit. First of all, it goes without saying that a perfect ellipse is one of the options for getting to our nearest celestial neighbor.
But if there is any inaccuracy in trajectory calculation, however slight it may be (a consequence of an inaccurate understanding of physics at that time), then the ship would either run into Earth or miss the Moon point-blank.
If the ship's path resembles a figure eight then it is because at some point the gravitational pulls from Earth & the Moon are in direct competition against each other. The ship will change directions by turning into one of these forces and moving along their lines of force until another force takes hold and causes the ship to turn in another direction.
As long as the gravitational pull on one end balances out with that of whichever planet the spaceship is orbiting, then it can maintain a safe trajectory while saving fuel and hence the cost!
The Indian space program (ISRO) has set the bar for first time missions with one of their most successful Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) at a cost of just INR 450 million ($73 million). This figure was a small fraction of what NASA had spent on similar missions, making MOM the least costly mission to ever reach Mars!
If you are curious to learn about the basic concepts that were responsible for the mission's success, do checkout this article - Mangalyaan: The least costly interplanetary mission ever :: Bailey Universe | Your science news world (bailey-universe.com)
Here's one more thing that you may find interesting.
Don't just read about physics, experience it!
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