During the landing of the spacecraft, the forces acting on it include the force of gravity and the force produced by the parachute.
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Gravity: The spacecraft has a weight of 6.1 million pounds, which means gravity exerts a downward force of 6.1 million pounds pulling it towards the Earth.
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Parachute: When deployed, the parachute generates an upward force due to air resistance, also known as drag. This force opposes the weight of the spacecraft.
Given these forces, the correct response for the forces acting during the landing is:
The parachute’s upward force resists gravity’s downward force.
This means that the upward force from the parachute works against the downward force of gravity, which helps to slow the descent of the spacecraft as it falls back to Earth.