Question

The planet Mars has a radius of 3 390 km, mass of 6.42 × 1023 kg and a period of rotation about its axis similar to that of the Earth (24 hours). In the future of Mars exploration it might be useful for humans to put a satellite in an orbit around Mars that is always above the same point of that planet. This orbit, which rotates with the same period as the planet, is the equivalent of a geostationary orbit on Earth and is called an areostationary orbit (after the god Ares). How far above the surface of Mars would such an orbit have to be?

Answer 1