Approxiverse

Space

Orbits, distance, and the mechanics of going anywhere.

Why it is hard to go up out of the solar system

Earth hands you 29 kilometres per second sideways, and every burn you can afford is added to it — so the tilt you can buy runs out long before the Sun's poles.

Interactive

Trajectories to other planets

Plot a real transfer from Earth to any planet, and see why you never aim at the target.

Interactive