MARS-JUPITER AEROGRAVITY ASSIST TRAJECTORIES FOR HIGH-ENERGY MISSIONS

A Mars aerogravity assist for high-energy missions (solar flyby and Pl uto missions) is considered,It is found that for high-energy missions, Mars aerogravity assist alone will involve very high Earth launch ene rgy and heating rate, The potential of an alternative technique of com bining Mars aerogravity assist with Jupiter gravity assist for high-en ergy missions is examined. The analysis shows that the use of this tec hnique could reduce Earth launch energy and heating rate by 50 and 85% , respectively. Some problems regarding the actual implementation of t his alternative technique are also discussed.