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Last Modified: 2:01pm 10 Aug 11

Impulse on the Genesis spacecraft

The Genesis Spacecraft spent several years in space before returning to the Earth.

After it reached the lower portions of the atmosphere, where the air is thick, it was supposed to deploy a parachute and float gently downwards:

Unfornately, the chute failed to open, and so the spacecraft fell rapidly through the air ....

.... and decelerated VERY sharply when it struck the ground.

The spacecraft, which has a mass 206 kg, and diameter 1.5 m, was travelling at about 89 m/s when it struck the ground.

  1. What was the spacecraft's initial momentum?
  2. What was the spacecraft's final momentum?
  3. What was the impulse given to the spacecraft by the ground?
  4. Now, let's just GUESS that the impact lasted for a time about t = 0.1 s. What would the average force on the spacecraft be during that time?
  5. Based on this average force, what would be the average acceleration of the spacecraft?
  6. Using this average acceleration, how far would the spacecraft move into the ground (ouch) during the impact?
  7. Look at the picture below to get an idea for the size of the spacecraft. Estimate the diameter of the entire probe. Roughly half of the probe was buried underground in the crash. Is this consistent with your calculations above of the distance travelled during the acceleration?
  8. If the two distances are not consistent, explain what is going on.


Adapted from Prof. Michael Richmond. Sorry, we could not find this page | RIT CIS - Center for Imaging Science

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Last Modified: 2:01pm 10 Aug 11