Optimal two-impulse interplanetary trajectories: Earth-Venus and Earth-Mars missions

• Gagg Filho, L. A. ^[1] ; da Silva Fernandes, S. ^[2]
  1. [1] Departamento de Astronomía, Casilla 160-C, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
  2. [2] Flight Mechanics Department, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, Praça Marechal Eduardo Gomes 50, Vila das Acácias, 12228-900, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil.
• Localización: Revista mexicana de astronomía y astrofísica, ISSN-e 0185-1101, Vol. 59, Nº. 1, 2023, págs. 11-43
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen

  • This work describes several models to design optimal interplanetary trajectories. The transfer problem consists in transferring a space vehicle from a circular low Earth orbit (LEO) to a circular low orbit around a destiny planet (Venus or Mars). Models based on the two-body, four-body, and five-body problems are considered. Also, several versions of the patched-conic approximation are utilized including a detailed version that designs a lunar swing-by maneuver. The results show that the optimal trajectories for Earth-Mars and Earth-Venus missions collide with the Moon if a lunar swing-by maneuver with an unspecified altitude of the closest approach is included in the trajectory design; however, sub-optimal trajectories that do not collide with the Moon exist, presenting a smaller fuel consumption than the trajectories without lunar swing-by and with no greater changes in the time of flight.