(Solution) - A space probe is to be placed in a circular -(2025 Original AI-Free Solution)

Paper Details

A space probe is to be placed in a circular orbit of radius 2500 mi about the planet Mars. As the probe reaches A, the point of its original trajectory closest to Mars, it is inserted into a first elliptic transfer orbit by reducing its speed. This orbit brings it to point B with a much reduced velocity. There the probe is inserted into a second transfer orbit by further reducing its speed. Knowing that the mass of Mars is 0.1074 times the mass of the earth, that rA = 5625 mi and rB = 112,500 mi, and that the probe approaches A on a parabolic trajectory, determine the time needed for the space probe to travel from A to B on its first transferorbit.