Main Topic 9: Interplanetary Mission Design-The Mars Case

• 1.5237 AU

• 225,000,000 km

Mars is one of Earth’s two closest planetary neighbors.

• With about ________ AU

• _____________ km

• circular

  • elliptical

• Earth

  • fully fueled

______________

• third law,

Trans -Martian Injection

Hohmann cotangential elliptic transfer orbit Assumptions:

1. Earth’s and Mars’ orbits are both _______ rather than _______.

2. The spacecraft is already in ____ orbit, fully _____, and ready to travel to Mars.

__________________________________________

• The time it takes to get to or from Mars can be estimated using Kepler’s _______

• TE = 1

• aE = 1

• aT= 1.26185 AU

• T = 1.41746 years

Hohmann cotangential elliptic transfer orbit

If the period T about the Sun is measured in units of years and a is measured in AU units, then for Earth TE = and aE = _, and for Mars aM = 1.5237 AU.

• The semi-major axis length of the transfer orbit will be: aT= ___ AU

• Therefore, for the transfer orbit to Mars, the orbital period is T= ___ years

• However, this is the time for a complete orbit, so the transfer time to Mars will be half of this value, Ttransfer = 0.71 years

• Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Propellant requirements

Review of Tsiolkovsky’s rocket equation

• Full Name: __________________

• Donald Pettit,

  • Financial Resources

  • Life support

  • Orbital mechanics

  • Radiation exposure

The tyranny of the rocket equation

• By ________ NASA Astronaut

• The verdict: is it possible?

  • Yes, but unlikely to happen in the near future. .

• Nothing is impossible with science and engineering, but it will be a huge challenge.

  • _____________

  • ___________

  • ____________

  • ___________