Escaping Earth. But suppose the goal is to let the rocket escape from Earth’s gravity forever so it can fly off into the depths of space. That’s when scientists do a neat trick called staging ...

This speed is called the escape velocity. It takes a lot of fuel to reach that speed, which is why early rockets, like Apollo's Saturn V, were so big : They had to carry enough fuel to get to the ...

Escaping Earth. But suppose the goal is to let the rocket escape from Earth’s gravity forever so it can fly off into the depths of space. That’s when scientists do a neat trick called staging.

A rocket launching from a planet bigger than Earth would need to achieve a higher escape speed. For example, Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system. It’s so big, it could swallow 1,000 ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d ...

Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph (about 40,000 kilometers per hour) to escape Earth? – Bo H., age 10, Durham, New Hampshire There’s a reason why a rocket has to go so fast to escape Earth.

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Benjamin L. Emerson, Georgia Institute of Technology (THE CONVERSATION ...

Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph (about 40,000 kilometers per hour) to escape Earth? – Bo H., age 10, Durham, New Hampshire There’s a reason why a rocket has to go so fast to escape Earth. It’s ...