What worries me is that they’re stealing a little bit of Jupiter’s momentum every time. If they’re not careful it’ll fall towards the sun and we’ll have a Jupiter landing on our heads.
Spacecraft can use the gravitional energy from Jupiter to perform a “slingshot” maneuver, gaining significant momentum and reaching the outer solar system with less fuel.
Context?
Jupiter is used as a gravity assist to launch spacecraft further. This maneuver is known as a slingshot.
What worries me is that they’re stealing a little bit of Jupiter’s momentum every time. If they’re not careful it’ll fall towards the sun and we’ll have a Jupiter landing on our heads.
</s>
Ah ok. I remember we also did this with the Moon for one if the Apollo missions
Spacecraft can use the gravitional energy from Jupiter to perform a “slingshot” maneuver, gaining significant momentum and reaching the outer solar system with less fuel.