The Bridge V Learning Edition 1 ; our solar system | Page 39

Venus
108.2
41.4
4.73
0.12
Earth
149.6
0
0.00
0.00
Mars
227.9
78.3
8.94
0.22
Jupiter
778.3
628.7
71.77
1.78
Saturn
1,427
12,77.4
145.82
3.62
Uranus
2,869.6
2,720
310.50
7.70
Neptune
4,496.6
4,347
496.23
12.31
Pluto
5,900
5,750.4
656.44
16.29
However, matters are not that simple in practise. The flight paths to the planets are much more
complicated. Planets, the Earth and the Sun keep pulling on the spacecraft during the whole
journey. The following flight times are more realistic:
Saturn
6.05 years
Jupiter
2.73 years
Mercury
0.4 years
(ca. 5
months)
Pluto
45.5 years
Venus
0.29 years
(ca. 3.5
months)
Mars
0.71 years
(ca. 3.5 months)
Uranus
16.1 years
Neptune
30.6 years
Credit: UNAWE / C.Provot
Full description
•
•
Build an origami paper rocket with the children from the instructions found in the
Appendix.
Now hold a discussion with the children about what would be the requirements for the
rockets to travel to each planet, and how much time each journey would take.
Consider not only the distance to a planet, but also its surface conditions. Which
planets can we land on (see activity 4.1)? How do we get through the asteroid belt
that lies between Mars and Jupiter? What happens if we change the speed of the
rocket?
Tip: This activity can also be combined with 4.6.