On Feasibility of Manned Interplanetary Travel from Earth to Mars

摘要

This lecture includes two parts: (ⅰ) chemical propulsion; (ⅱ) electrical propulsion. We review the work on Mars trajectories done over the past several years by the Aero-Astronautics Group of Rice University, dealing first with chemically powered spacecraft and then with electrically powered spacecraft (Refs.1-7). For the algorithmic tools employed in trajectory optimization, see Refs.8-14.