The gravitational force that a spaceship experiences from Earth is influenced by the distance between the spaceship and the Earth itself, as described by Newton's law of universal gravitation. According to this law, the gravitational force is inversely related to the square of the distance between two masses. Therefore, as the spaceship gets closer to Earth, the gravitational pull it experiences from Earth becomes stronger.
When the spaceship is closest to Earth, this distance is minimized, resulting in the maximum gravitational attraction. As the spaceship travels away from Earth towards the Moon, the distance increases and, consequently, the gravitational pull decreases. The force of gravity from the Earth decreases as the spaceship moves away from it and increases again as it approaches. Hence, the strongest gravitational force exerted by Earth on the spaceship occurs when it is closest to Earth.