Rocket equation

Watch Jasmina describe how space travel is determined by the rocket equation.

The step-by-step calculations are:

[3,{rm km/s} – 0, {rm km/s} = (3, {rm km/s}) times ln Big( frac{M_i}{10^6, {rm kg}} Big)] [frac{3, {rm km/s}}{3, {rm km/s}} = ln Big( frac{M_i}{10^6, {rm kg}} Big)]

(ln) is the natural logarithm (similar to log), which works in base (e), which is just a number (approximately 2.7). So we use (e) on both sides of the equation to get rid of (ln):

[e^1 = frac{M_i}{10^6, kg}]

and finally rearrange to get (M_i):

[M_i = 2.7 times 10^6, {rm kg}]

Can we overcome this “rocket equation problem” to send humans to Mars? Let’s find out in the next step.