Abstract
In this work, the concept of a multipurpose mission that can explore both the Moon and Mars with a single launch is proposed, and potential launch opportunities are analyzed to establish an early-phase trajectory concept. The proposed mission applies the concept of a piggyback ride to a small-sized lunar probe, i.e., the daughtership, of the main Mars orbiter, i.e., the mothership. For the trajectory design, the Earth-Moon-Mars gravity assist (EMMGA) trajectory is adopted for the mothership to reach Mars, and the daughtership is assumed to be released from the mothership during lunar flyby. To investigate the early-phase feasibility of the proposed mission, the launch windows have been analyzed and the associated delta-Vs have been directly compared with the solutions obtained for typical Earth-Mars direct (EMD) transfer options. The identified launch windows (in the years 2031 and 2045) could be the strongest candidates for the proposed conceptual mission. Under the current assumptions, up to approximately 15% (in 2031) and 9% (in 2045), more dry mass is expected to be delivered to Mars by appropriately selecting one of the currently available launch vehicles, regardless of whether the EMMGA transfer option is used. For missions around the Moon using a SmallSat in 2031, the feasibility of a lunar orbiter case and an impactor case is briefly analyzed based on the delta-Vs required to divert the SmallSat from the mothership. Although the current work is performed under numerous assumptions for a simplified problem, the narrowed candidate launch window from the current work represents a good starting point for more detailed trajectory design optimization and analysis to realize the proposed conceptual mission.
Highlights
For many scientific reasons, interest in interplanetary exploration for scientific discovery purposes is currently rising.e National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced its goal of a human exploration mission to Mars and is first focusing on the return of humans to the surface of the Moon
As a part of this plan, NASA will construct a lunar orbital platform called the Gateway, which is a modular space station located in near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) between the Earth and the Moon [1]. e Gateway will serve as the gateway for lunar landing and further deep space missions [2]
The total mission costs for interplanetary missions can be reduced by using a number of approaches, such as by minimizing the required overall delta-Vs to accomplish the mission, by designing the mission trajectory to target multiple planets within a single launch, or by designing missions that can be performed with a small-sized spacecraft
Summary
Interest in interplanetary exploration for scientific discovery purposes is currently rising. One of the solutions could be building a mothership that can carry a small satellite as an onboard payload to achieve a lunar flyby en route to Mars, which certainly will provide additional opportunities to explore the Moon with a single launch. E current study investigates launch opportunities for an Earth-Mars mission utilizing a flyby of the Moon, and it includes an estimation of the required overall delta-V budgets. 2. Models and Methods is section describes the models and methods used to design an Earth-Moon-Mars gravity assist (EMMGA) trajectory and determine the orbit of a lunar SmallSat. In this paper, we use a single lunar flyby method similar to that described by Hernandez and Barbee [26] to calculate the EMMGA trajectory. Reducing overall delta-V cost by utilizing multiple gravity assist is another important factor that should be considered during the early mission design phase. The delta-Vs in the current work are assumed to be impulsive burns during each phase
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