Poll Has Apollo left earth orbit?

[HAL9001]

This an be definited differently - what do you mean?
Did they leave earth-orbit, because the moons gravity was stronger than earth - or didn't they, because moon is in earthorbit, too?
(multiple choice is allowed for those, who think that option 1 or 2 is right, but that 3 is right, too)

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Techinically I would say yes because they were orbiting the Moon, they were under the Moon's gravity not the Earths, the Moon is under the Earths gravity and the Apollo missions were in the Moons gravity, so yes. :blink:

 

[HAL9001]

well, they didn't eject from earth orbit... moon is in earth orbit, and moon-orbit is by this a special kind of earth orbit, just as the ISS is orbiting earth and sun at the same time...

 

[Grover]

i think all three, its not technically earth orbit, since they orbited the moon, but they were also orbiting the earth, though it was very much distorted by the moon's SOI

and finally, they landed on the moon, so they did what they wanted to anyway

 

[HAL9001]

i think all three, its not technically earth orbit, since they orbited the moon, but they were also orbiting the earth, though it was very much distorted by the moon's SOI

and finally, they landed on the moon, so they did what they wanted to anyway

that's, what I think, too, but also wen they did what they wanted to it's still an interesting question and I tink when they orbited moon and earth and sun at the same time (wich was true) they didn't leave earth-orbit, because they orbited earth, whole time. but I'm also not really sure...

 

[Grover]

well right now, if a rock was in orbit around the moon (or if one of the appollo spacecraft had shut down completley after LOI) they would be orbiting the moon (obviously). but their trajectory over the course of 27/28 days would go around the earth, giving them a haphazard earthy orbit, due to the strong perbutation from the moon. and at the same time, their trajectory over a year would show an orbbit around the sun, severely distorted due to strong perbutations from both the moon and earth.

so definatley, they were in lunar orbit, but also earth orbit, and also helios-orbit, all at the same time...

so if you had a large moon with satalites of its own, and a spacecraft orbiting that, you would have 4 orbits going on at once (sun, planet, large moon, smaller satalite)

 

[Tommy]

Yes and no. In a technical way, yes, because they left the Earth's SOI and entered the Moon's SOI (the moon was the dominant body), and no - because the Moon orbits the Earth.

In a real way, no. A Lunar orbit is just an extremely perturbed Earth Orbit. Just like an Earth Orbit is just an extremely perturbed Solar orbit.

The Apollo craft could have escaped Earth's gravity - but didn't have the range to actually get anywhere. There was enough dV, air, "consumables", etc, for a Moon trip, and no more.

 

[HAL9001]

well right now, if a rock was in orbit around the moon (or if one of the appollo spacecraft had shut down completley after LOI) they would be orbiting the moon (obviously). but their trajectory over the course of 27/28 days would go around the earth, giving them a haphazard earthy orbit, due to the strong perbutation from the moon. and at the same time, their trajectory over a year would show an orbbit around the sun, severely distorted due to strong perbutations from both the moon and earth.

so definatley, they were in lunar orbit, but also earth orbit, and also helios-orbit, all at the same time...

so if you had a large moon with satalites of its own, and a spacecraft orbiting that, you would have 4 orbits going on at once (sun, planet, large moon, smaller satalite)

Apollo had 4 orbits, they were orbiting the center of the galaxy, too

 

[Rtyh-12]

And knows what the galaxy orbits around... if it does...

Anyway, I would vote for all of them. I agree with Tommy.

Edit: This is only theoretically. In reality I don't think any of the astronauts actually cared, they only cared that they were in Moon orbit.