Rita Rombola, age 12, Bronx 7'2, New York, for her question:

Is it possible to fall off the earth?

If you discover a way to fall off the earth, please let us know about it. Because right now, this is a very important order of business. Our experts are trying very, very hard to make a rocket or a missile fall off the earth.. Powerful fuels are used to push these objects clear off the earth and up into the sky. The job is not an easy one.

This is because our old earth hates to let go of anything. She hugs the air and all solid objects to the ground with her pull of gravity. When you drop a stone or anything else it is this force of gravity which makes it fall, pulls it down, down to the ground.

This same force hugs you close to the earth. It pulls so hard that you could never, never fall off the earth. If you ever leave the earth, say for a visit to Mars, it will be because a powerful rocket pulls hard enough to free you from the earths gravity.