if it takes a satelite 10 years to get to mars then what type of gas is that using?

Question

--concerned about fuel in midland, michigan.

Answer 1

I think it's using rocket fuel..especially at first, to escape earth's gravity and get into space. you can learn all about rocket propellant here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_fuel#Hybrid_propellants

unfortunetly we haven't found a better way of sending things to space besides strapping them to EXTREMELY combustable substances..kind of reminds me of zeppelins...whose bright idea was that?

Answer 2

First of all, a satellite stays in orbit around the Earth. Probes go to Mars.

Second, at the speed required to escape Earth's gravity, Mars is about six months away. Taking ten years to get there is ridiculous.

Thirdly, it wouldn't use fuel during the mission. Up until now, all of our space probes have been a single-boost. Some have used a slingshot effect to gain speed, like Ulysses. Most use jets for mid-flight course corrections, but those are aerosols, not fuels.

Answer 3

They do not use any propulsion while in transit with today's methods. They travel with launch momentum and possible gravity assist from larger bodies to add more momentum. Essentially they are 'coasting uphill' until they reach the balance point of neutral gravity between the earth and the destination, and then 'coast downhill' until they get to the final destination. When they arrive, they have to use some conserved rocket fuel that they had from the very start to slow down.
If they just 'want to take a quick look' at the destination, they can do a 'slingshot orbit' around the destination and use the accumulated momentum from the 'downhill' part of the trip to shoot them back home again. Ideally, there should be just enough to get them back to the starting point.

Answer 4

The probes sent to Mars took roughly 7 to 9 months, not years to reach their destination. The process is called orbital mechanics and involves using the Earth as a sling-shot to propel an artificial satellite into outer space. The satellite is sent into Earth orbit via terrestrial rockets and place in an highly eliptical orbit. It then uses either a gravitational slingshot maneuver or Hohmann Transfer with Earth's gravity to pick up speed until it achieves escape velocity (>11 km/s).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_slingshot

The NASA boys are pretty good (though not perfect) at calculating these orbits and the speed necessary to go from one planet to the next. They need to calculate in reverse, every aspect of the flight: What orbit they want around Mars; What velocity to travel between Earth and Mars (minimal amount of energy required to complete the journey in a given time frame); What size rocket to lift the payload from the platform; What location to launch from (closer to the equator is best). All of these are taken into account.

Here is a link to get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_mechanics

Other probes include the use of other planets to aid them on their journey. The Voyager deep space probes, Cassini, and Huygens, to name a few.

Answer 5

oh my gosh, if a probe took 10 years to go to mars it must be pedaling backwards.

It takes a little more than half a year to get to Mars, and propellant is not used, just gravity from Earth, and a slingshot method that uses perfect timing and launch windows to cruise to Mars in minimum time. At 45,000 mph, a probe could get past Pluto in 10 years.

Answer 6

Son, is not 10 years but nine months! More or less depending planet positions and other factors. The engines are off once it leaves Earth. Just like shooting a bullet. There are a number of available fuels, none of them suitable for your car though. They are highly volatile and are more expensive than 3 or 4 buck per galon.

Answer 7

"We've got a million dollars' worth of ethyl gas, and the reservation for the room. Tonight we're gonna drive the El Dorado to the Moon."
-El Dorado to The Moon by Michael Nesmith

Answer 8

It's just drifting through space.