A rocket booster that launched a 1966 NASA lunar probe was captured by Earth’s gravity in November 2019. It then escaped our gravity in March 2021. What gave it enough energy to escape?
R.C. Timm
Florissant, Colorado
The motion of the booster, named 2020 SO, is primarily driven by the gravity of the Sun and Earth. Prior to 2019, the booster was orbiting the Sun with an orbit similar to Earth’s, but moving at a slower velocity relative to our planet. So, when Earth “caught u