Space & Astronomy

Scientists develop new way to reach Mars

By T.K. Randall
December 26, 2014

Image Credit: (PD) NASA via Wikimedia Commons Getting a spacecraft safely in to orbit around the Red Planet is currently an expensive, awkward and risky affair.

Launches typically take place within specific windows of opportunity when the orbital alignment of the Earth and Mars is favorable.

Slowing a spacecraft down when it gets there is also particularly difficult, requiring hundreds of pounds of extra fuel to help bring the probe in to orbit without careening off in to space.Now however scientists have come up with a cheaper and more reliable way to place a spacecraft in to orbit around Mars without needing to bring along any of that extra fuel.

While the conventional method involves intercepting the current location of the planet and then rapidly slowing down to enter orbit, the new method, known as ballistic capture, entails sending the spacecraft in to a Mars-like orbit so that it actually ends up ahead of the planet's trajectory.

When Mars finally catches up to the probe it will gently snag it in to a stable orbit, avoiding the need for it to perform any violent braking maneuvers.

"That's the magic of ballistic capture - it's like flying in formation," said researcher Edward Belbruno.

Source: Scientific American

Tags: Mars