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) Responses Venus Venus Jupiter Jupiter Mars Mars Neptune

Answer 1

To determine which planet would gravitationally attract the spacecraft the least, we can look at the estimated mass of each planet, as gravitational attraction is directly related to mass. A planet with a lower mass will exert a weaker gravitational pull.

Here are the estimated masses of the planets:

• 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 estimated mass at 0.642 x 10²⁴ kg. Therefore, the planet that would gravitationally attract the spacecraft the least is Mars.