jmc

Question

NASA's Perseverance Rover was launched on July 30, 2020. After traveling 292,526,838 miles, it landed on Mars in Jezero Crater about 6.5 months later. Which of the following is closest to the Rover's average interplanetary speed in miles per hour?

Accepted Answer

Note that 6.5 months is approximately 6.53024 hours. Therefore, the speed (in miles per hour) is 292,526,8386.53024 300,000,0006.53024 = 10,000,0006.524 10,000,0006.425 = 10,000,000160 = 62500 60,000. As the answer choices are far apart from each other, we can ensure that the approximation is correct.