Shoot for the moon. If you miss, you're now in orbit, and that was almost certainly the goal anyway
this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2025
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Plot twist, it’s elliptical.
That assumes we don't blow up or get the death shimmy on the way up
That was pretty much how the USSR spun Luna 1
There are a lot of ways to shoot for the moon that don't end with anything close to an orbit. Though it's pretty hard to get out of orbiting the sun from here...
Yeah, but if you're actually aiming for the moon and miss, an orbit is pretty likely. It may not be a good orbit, but consider that you're most likely to miss because the moon has precessed in its orbit during your transit further than you expected, meaning that you'll end up coming around the back of the moon and captured by its gravity.
It's moving pretty fast though.
That's relative.
Relative is the only fast that matters
Nuh uh. I measured it just now, put my trusty ruler in front of my face and measured only 2 CM!
Oh, that sounds like a challenge. I'ma build a rocket with turkey heat shields