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New Proposed Path for Manned Trips to Mars: Let Mars' Gravity Capture Spacecraft
As illustrated in this article at io9.com, the conventional method considered for launching a manned craft to Mars might make less sense, even if it takes less time, than a more complicated but more efficient means akin to a method that's been already been successfully used to minimize the amount of fuel used in exploring both within and beyond the solar system.
Known as the "Hohmann Transfer" method, this type of maneuver is known to be effective. But it is also quite expensive and relies very heavily on timing. Hence why a new idea is being proposed which would involve sending the spacecraft out ahead of Mars' orbital path and then waiting for Mars to come on by and scoop it up.
This is what is known as "Ballistic Capture", a new technique proposed by Professor Francesco Topputo of the Polytechnic Institute of Milan and Edward Belbruno, a visiting associated researcher at Princeton University and former member of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
In their research paper, which was published in arXiv Astrophysics in late October, they outlined the benefits of this method versus traditional ones. In addition to cutting fuel costs, ballistic capture would also provide some flexibility when it comes to launch windows.
Mars aint the kind of place to raise your kids
For a manned mission it is necessary to minimize time, not fuel.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
So, we start with the quote about a Hohmann Transfer, in such a way as to suggest something completely different.
I'm sure there was a good reason for that, though TFA itself manages to mangle a bit of orbital physics all on its own, in addition to whoever submitted/edited the /. suumary....
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
If you look at a Hohmann's ellipse, it would appear that you can get fairly significant shortening of the interplanetary trip by a fairly marginal increase in the Earth departure speed. The problems with it are the increased rendezvous speed at Mars (aerocapture perhaps necessary?), and the fact that it doesn't shorten the whole mission, just the trip. In other words, you get a longer stay at Mars. But that could be useful, too, it could cut down the radiation exposure a bit and maximize the mission's scientific output.
Ezekiel 23:20
Wasn't this already addressed recently?
1) This is horrible for manned craft, due to the much longer flight-time resulting in higher costs for maintaining the crew ... uhm, I'm sure there were more points
2) This is far from new, though so far only used for getting to the moon
3)
Why is this linking to a Gawker site (IO9) instead of the actual original article at:
:(
http://www.universetoday.com/117615/making-the-trip-to-mars-cheaper-and-easier-the-case-for-ballistic-capture/
The Gawker site merely copies/pastes what the original article states plus ad LOADS of additional advertising.
How does this get past the Slashdot editors? Was this an intentional Promo or has Slashdot declined just this much these days
----- In Your Cubicle No One Can Hear You Scream...
Gawker sites are always useless clickbait advertising traps. Thus they have so many sites linking to each other for more advertising clicks. What passes for journalism there is simply reposting other people's work. Buzzfeed actually manages to be worse (you know it is bad when Gawker calls someone out for plagarisim.)
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
As far as I know it's impossible to do in KSP. This is due to KSP not simulating gravitation effects from multiple bodies: you get only the gravitation effect from a single celestial body depending on which "sphere of influence" you are in. This is also why you don't have Lagrange points in KSP.