The Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) took about 9 months to get to Mars from Earth. Using this piece of information and the average distance between Earth and Mars, what was MSL's average speed?
Report in miles per hour and in meters per second.
The distance between Earth and Mars is 385,000 kilometers.

For comparison, the current land speed record on Earth is about 760mph (340m/s).

Question

The Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) took about 9 months to get to Mars from Earth. Using this piece of information and the average distance between Earth and Mars, what was MSL's average speed?
Report in miles per hour and in meters per second.
The distance between Earth and Mars is 385,000 kilometers.

For comparison, the current land speed record on Earth is about 760mph (340m/s).

ujjwal · Answer

Use the formula speed =(Distance)/(time)

anonymous · Answer

is it 16.28 m/s?

anonymous · Answer

385,000km*1000=385,000,000 meters
(60*60*24*365)/12=2,628,000 seconds in one month
(2,628,000)(9)=23,652,000 seconds in 9 months
(385,000,000 meters)/(23,652,000 seconds)= 16.28 m/s

ujjwal · Answer

yeah that seems ok! But you could have calculated the number of seconds in a day and multiplied by 30 to get number of seconds in a month! However, that won't give a much different result!

anonymous · Answer

oh okay. How do I do it for mph though.? I can't just convert 16.28 m/s to mph because the units don't match.

anonymous · Answer

do I convert 385,000,000 meters to miles and 23,652,000 seconds to hours? then divide them again

ujjwal · Answer

I have no idea about mile to meter conversion! Google it! you might find something helpful!

anonymous · Answer

thanks! I got it :)