Bowen Griffin

12/31/2023 · Junior High School

Asteroids are considered a source of many key elements, such as iron, nickel, or titanium. In order determine the materials making up an asteroid, the mass of the asteroid must be determined. You are part of a team that will use changes in kinetic energy to determine the mass of an asteroid. A small rocket of mass \( m \) is launched from the surface of an asteroid of radius \( R \) with initial speed \( v_{i} \). After the, rocket has traveled so it is a distance \( d \) from the center of the asteroid, its speed has dropped to \( v_{f} \). Find the mass of the asteroid. You answer should be given in terms of the variables given ( \( m, \mathrm{R}, \mathrm{d}, v_{i} \), and \( v_{f} \) ), other typical constants as needed (for example: \( \mathrm{e}, \mathrm{c}, \mathrm{pi}, \mathrm{G}, \mathrm{g} \) ) and numerical factors.