Question

The landing of a spacecraft is cushioned with the help of airbags. During its landing on Mars, the velocity of downward fall is 16 meters/second. Immediately after the impact, the velocity is reduced to 1.2 meters/second. If the spacecraft has a mass of 11.5 × 10^4 kilograms, what is your estimate for the impulse if the time of impact is 0.8 seconds?

Answer 1

change in momentum = impulse on that object.

Answer 2

but i dont know the force?

Answer 3

but you know the change in momentum...

Answer 4

F=m(v-u)/t
or F*t=mv-mu
impulse = change in momentum
v=final velocity
u= initial velocity