The astronaut can successfully return to her spaceship by using the device that releases jets of air. Specifically, if she releases air from the device in a direction that points towards the spaceship, she will generate a force that propels her towards the spacecraft due to the conservation of momentum.
Here's how it works:
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Direction of Air Release: If the astronaut points the jet of air directly towards her spaceship and releases it, the action of pushing air in that direction will create a reaction force that pushes her in the opposite direction – towards the spaceship. This is based on Newton's Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
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Using Air in All Directions: If she releases air in all directions, the net force might not result in a movement towards the spaceship because the forces from different directions could cancel out. Thus, this would be less effective for getting her back to the ship.
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Releasing Air Away from the Spaceship: If she were to release air away from the spaceship, she would actually be pushed further away due to the same principle of conservation of momentum, making it counterproductive to the goal of returning to the spacecraft.
Given these points, the best method for the astronaut to return to her spaceship is by directing the air jets towards the spaceship. Therefore, the correct statement is:
The astronaut can release air from the device in a direction that points towards the spaceship.
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