OrbitLab

Escape Velocity Calculator

How fast do you need to go to leave for good?

Mass (kg)

Radius (m)

Escape velocity

11,185.727 m/s

Defaults are Earth's mass and radius

What you entered

Mass (kg): 5.972e+24Radius (m): 6371000

1
v = √(2GM ÷ r)
√(2 × 6.674e-11 × 5.972e+24 ÷ 6371000)= 11185.7265 m/s

Result

Escape velocity: 11,185.727 m/s

An object needs to reach 11,186 m/s to escape this body's gravity permanently.

Escape velocity of solar system bodies

Escape velocity is the square root of twice the gravitational constant times mass, divided by radius. It does not depend on the mass of the escaping object.

Body	Mass	Radius	Escape velocity
Ceres	9.39 x 10^20 kg	473 km	0.51 km/s
Moon	7.342 x 10^22 kg	1,737 km	2.38 km/s
Mars	6.417 x 10^23 kg	3,390 km	5.03 km/s
Earth	5.972 x 10^24 kg	6,371 km	11.19 km/s
Jupiter	1.898 x 10^27 kg	69,911 km	60.20 km/s
Sun	1.989 x 10^30 kg	696,000 km	617.75 km/s

The Moon's low escape velocity is why Apollo ascent stages were so small compared with the Saturn V. Escape velocity also sets which gases a body can retain: this is why Earth keeps nitrogen and oxygen but loses hydrogen and helium.

The speed where kinetic energy beats gravity forever

Escape velocity is the minimum speed at which an object's kinetic energy exactly equals the gravitational potential energy binding it to a body — go this fast (with no further thrust) and you'll never fall back.

Why bigger, denser bodies are harder to leave

Escape velocity grows with the square root of mass and shrinks with the square root of radius — this is why escaping a neutron star takes a meaningful fraction of light speed, while escaping the Moon takes barely 2.4 km/s.

Frequently asked questions

What is Earth's escape velocity?

About 11.2 km/s (roughly 40,000 km/h). This is why rockets need enormous thrust — they must reach this speed to leave Earth's gravity without falling back.

How is escape velocity related to the Schwarzschild radius calculator?

The Schwarzschild radius is the distance where escape velocity equals the speed of light. If you compress any mass to within its Schwarzschild radius, nothing — not even light — can escape, creating a black hole.

Do you really need to reach escape velocity all at once?

No. Escape velocity is the speed needed at the surface with no further thrust. Real rockets accelerate continuously, so they can escape at any speed as long as they keep thrusting. The calculation sets the minimum-energy benchmark.