if a space rover has a mass of 3900 kg on earth and what is its mass when it lands on Mars

if a space rover has a mass of 3900 kg on earth and what is its mass when it lands on Mars

The correct answer and explanation is:

Correct Answer:
The mass of the space rover on Mars is 3900 kg.

🌍 Explanation (300 words):

To understand this, we need to distinguish between two important concepts in physics: mass and weight.

🔹 Mass vs. Weight:

• Mass is the amount of matter in an object. It is a scalar quantity and is independent of location (Earth, Mars, Moon, etc.).
• Weight is the force of gravity acting on an object. It depends on the gravitational field strength of the planet or celestial body.

🔹 Why Mass Doesn’t Change:

The space rover has a mass of 3900 kg on Earth. Since mass is a measure of how much matter the rover is made of, it doesn’t change no matter where it is in the universe—unless you physically remove or add material to it.

When the rover travels to Mars, it remains the same object, made of the same materials, so its mass remains 3900 kg.

🔹 What Does Change on Mars?

What does change is the weight of the rover.

• On Earth, gravity is approximately 9.81 m/s², so its weight is: Weight on Earth=3900 kg×9.81 m/s2=38,259 N\text{Weight on Earth} = 3900\, \text{kg} \times 9.81\, \text{m/s}^2 = 38,259\, \text{N}
• On Mars, gravity is weaker—approximately 3.71 m/s²: Weight on Mars=3900 kg×3.71 m/s2=14,469 N\text{Weight on Mars} = 3900\, \text{kg} \times 3.71\, \text{m/s}^2 = 14,469\, \text{N}

So, while weight decreases due to lower gravity, the mass stays constant.

✅ Final Answer:

The rover’s mass on Mars is 3900 kg, same as on Earth.