• Nonononoki@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I still cannot comprehend how the math and physics work. How can you calculate the trajectory of an object flying several times the speed of sound, millions of kilometers, with the duration on several weeks while being on a planet that moves even faster than that object?

    EDIT: The Earth is rotating as well lol

    • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Because all of it is expected and known. It would actually be a lot harder to calculate if it were something taking place just here on earth. You have to factor in stuff like wind and turbulence which throws calculations off. But in space? Little to no unexpected variables. It’s Newton’s first law; an object in motion stays in motion.

      We know the position of the moon and how it will move.

      We know the position of the earth and how it will move.

      We know the position of the spacecraft and how it will move.

      From there, it’s just math.