How did newtons laws of motion help with the apollo 13 disaster?
To have continued to enter orbit around the moon, the acceleration due to gravitational attraction of the moon would have to be countered, the spacecraft would have to be slowed. Instead, the acceleration approaching the moon was not checked, so instead of orbiting, the spacecraft looped around the far side, then left back towards earth at the same (but negative) acceleration they experienced on the approach. The moon’s gravity essentially acted to reverse their direction of travel, without expenditure of fuel. So, the acceleration due to gravity gave them the acceleration and direction they needed to return. I quote: Newton’s First Law of Motion “Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest and that an object in motion tends to stay in motion. In order for a change to happen to an object’s motion, a force must be applied to it. A force is an action that can change an object’s motion or shape. It can be described as a push, pull or twist. A force can
