Name Date Chapter 2 Performance Task Space Explorers It takes three days to send a spacecraft to the Moon. How long would it take to send astronauts to the Sun? What about the other planets in our solar system? How far away from the Sun are they? Astronomers call the average distance from Earth to the Sun an astronomical unit (AU). Planet Average Distance from the Sun (AU) The table shows the average distance of each Mercury 0.387 planet in our solar system from the Sun. Venus 0.723 Earth 1.000 Mars 1,524 Jupiter 5.203 Saturn 9.537 Uranus 9.189 Neptune 30.07 1. How much farther is Saturn from the Sun than Jupiter? 2. How far apart would Mars and Jupiter be if they were on opposite sides of the Sun? 3. A space probe is a type of spacecraft that explores space without astronauts. A space probe is 4 times farther from the Sun than Mercury. How far is the probe from the Sun? Which planet is the probe near? 4. How many times farther is Jupiter from the Sun than Venus? How many times farther is Saturn from the Sun than Mars? Round your answers to the nearest tenth. Copyright @ Big Ideas Learning, LLC Big Ideas Math: Modeling Real Life Grade 6 All rights reserved Assessment Book Space Explorers Orion is a new spacecraft for exploring deep space. This spacecraft is designed to take astronauts to the Moon and beyond. Someday, it may take people to Mars. During a test flight, Orion reached speeds of 20,000 miles per hour. 5. One astronomical unit is about 93,000,000 miles. At 20,000 miles per hour, how many astronomical units can Orion travel in one hour? 6. If Orion travels 20,000 miles per hour, how many astronomical units can it travel in one day? one year? 7. How long would it take Orion to travel 1 AU from Earth? 8. Choose a planet in our solar system. At 20,000 miles per hour, how long would it take to travel from Earth to that planet? Copyright @ Big Ideas Learning, LLC Big Ideas Math: Modeling Real Life Grade 6 All rights reserved. Assessment Book