Why does a rocket have to be so large whereas the lunar lander needs to have a small rocket motor?

Answer 1

A rocket leaving earth has to generate enough force to escape earth's gravity so a large rocket motor is needed,the moons gravity is far lees than earth's gravity so a smaller rocket motor is used

Answer 2

If you're talking about the total system that takes men to the Moon and brings them back, think of what you have at takeoff from Earth: A large payload being lifted by large fuel tanks with rocket motors below them - a LOT of weight. That just gets the passenger compartments and the trans-lunar-injection rocket stage into low earth orbit. Once the TLI rocket has done its work, you have only the passenger compartments, which consist of a landing vehicle and a return vehicle with its return rocket. Once in lunar orbit, the lander, only a small piece of the original pile of boosters and payload, gets to go to the surface. Because the Moon's gravitational pull is much less than that of Earth, it takes much less fuel to soft land the lander and return it back to orbit. Once the crew is back in the return vehicle, the lander can be discarded, the remaining rocket, attached to the return vehicle, can be fired, then discarded. Only the return vehicle with its heat shield for reentry into Earth's atmosphere comes back to a landing out of all the equipment that was originally stacked up for launch at the beginning of the mission.

Answer 3

Robert is right - the gravity stress on the moon is extra or less a million/6 of that on earth. however the different situation that consistent with possibility he did no longer rather make sparkling is that whilst we left the earth we had to hold all that gas alongside at the same time as we've been launching, which made the rocket lots heavier initially. via a techniques the biggest fraction of the Saturn rocket weight consisted of gas that could must be used the two in the process the launch series (consistent with possibility ninety 5%) or in the process the return. on account that so little gas became into needed to end the venture as quickly as we've been given to the moon, the lander weighed lots much less - and then it weighed even much less interior the decrease gravity container.

Answer 4

The launcher from earth is massive compared to it's payload and, it has to lift itself into orbit against the Earth's pull of Gravity which is 6 times greater than the moon's and fight against the drag of the atmosphere..
The very small Lunar Lander, needs much less fuel for lift off to reach the Lunar Orbiter, and has little gravity and no air resistance to overcome.

Answer 5

The initial blast from Earth has to overcome the Earth gravitational pull.
The moon only has 1/6th of the Earths gravity hence a smaller force is required to escape it.

Answer 6

Okay, you are talking Rocket Science here. A "lunar toy" is already there, so to speak. Whereas, the bigger rocket needs propellant in order to get out there and fight the earth's gravitational pull. Believe me; a Rocket Scientist who can figure almost anything out; lunar boogedy-boogedy toy buggies would have to be humongous if they didn't already have a mother ship to carry them out and plant them onto their new playground. Nice question.

Answer 7

The earth's gravity is stronger compared with the moon.This means that you need a higher velocity to escape earth's gravitational pull thus a bigger engine is needed to achieve a higher velocity.

Answer 8

a bigger engine is needed to overcome earth's gravity. the moon has far less gravitational pull and so not as much force is needed.

Answer 9

Less gravitational pull of the moon has little to do with the weight of the LEM.

Answer 10

You have just brought up another piece of proof that the lying buggers never went to the moon.

If they'd thought about it a bit more the motor would have been bigger.