Modified Gravity and a Space Probe–Venus Mission

Abstract

A comparison of gravitational forces and a space probe’s trajectory parameters is made for two different models of the sun’s field, expressed in Schwarzschild and isotropic coordinates. It is shown that these two representations of a single Schwarzschild solution give, in the tangent space format, different deflections from classical finite trajectories and, hence, from one other; greatly amplified by a planet’s (Venus’) gravity assist, this effect renders it possible to experimentally specify the format of the gravity law that dominates the solar system.