Question #3: Week of October 28, l996
Mars has two moons: Deimos and Phobos. If you stood on the surface of Mars and looked up into the night sky, you would see Deimos slowly travel from east to west across the sky while Phobos would be slowly traveling from west to east. In other words, the two Martian moons travel in opposite directions across the Martian sky. Yet both moons actually orbit Mars in the same direction. Explain this apparent paradox.
Answer:
One moon revolves around Mars slower than Mars rotates.The other moon revolves around Mars faster than Mars rotates.So when you stand on the surface of Mars you would see one moon move from the east and set in the west because the rotation of Mars passes the moon.The other moon rises in the west and sets in the east because it passes up the rotation of Mars.They are actually going the same direction.
Michael Lawhorn
Question #4: Week of November 4, l996
Sometimes the winds on Mars can blow at hundreds of miles per hour and kick up giant dust storms that blanket the entire planet. Yet, if you stood on the surface of Mars at one of these times, you would probably not be blown over. Why?
Correct answers:
The atmosphere isn't as dense on Mars as on Earth - Rebekah Martone
The dust is too light - Erik Hall, Christi Oliver
Question #6: Week of November 18, 1996
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) took off in November and is scheduled to arrive at Mars between Sept. 11 and Sept. 22, 1997. The Mars Pathfinder (MPF) takes off sometime in December. No matter when it leaves, it is scheduled to arrive on July 4, 1997. Why does the Pathfinder get to Mars earlier, even though it leaves later? And how can the Pathfinder have an exact arrival date even though its liftoff date may vary?
This answer was judged BEST of all middle school/junior high submitted answers to the question. Congratulations Little Trojans!
Because of the weight of MGS and the maximum amount of propellant used in the rocket, it takes a longer and slower path to Mars. The lighter Mars Pathfinder will travel a shorter path to Mars and will therefore arrive earlier. In order to arrive on the 4th of July, regardless of the launch date within its launch window, engineers can simply alter the arc of the path MP travels.
Mike Doty, Erik Hall, Nate Farber, Alison Spangler, Mike Schwenke, Ryan Wallace, Andy Hunter, Stacy Tomshack, Micheal Shepherd, A.J. Sherry, John Deeken, Leigh DeLude, Sean Cole, John Nay, Beth Edgington, Travis Rose, and Christina Bushling
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