Use the table to answer the question. Planet Estimated Mass of Planet (1024 kg)

Venus 4.87
Mars 0.642
Jupiter 1,898.0
Neptune 102.0

A spacecraft flies within 500,000 km of each of these planets. Based on its mass, which planet would gravitationally attract the spacecraft the least? (1 point)

Jupiter Jupiter Mars Mars Venus Venus Neptune

1 answer

To determine which planet would gravitationally attract the spacecraft the least, we can look at the estimated mass of each planet. The gravitational attraction is directly related to the mass of the planet — the more massive the planet, the stronger its gravitational pull.

Based on the provided masses:

  • Venus: 4.87 x 10²⁴ kg
  • Mars: 0.642 x 10²⁴ kg
  • Jupiter: 1,898.0 x 10²⁴ kg
  • Neptune: 102.0 x 10²⁴ kg

Among these, Mars has the smallest mass (0.642 x 10²⁴ kg). Therefore, it would gravitationally attract the spacecraft the least.

The answer is: Mars.