Observing Mercury by a quasi‑propellantless mission
In this paper, the feasibility of exploiting the Sun’s gravitational force to design the final
phase (capture and orbit circularisation) to Mercury with a low propellant consumption has
been investigated. The initial conditions, on the eccentricity and argument of pericentre, for
the circularisation phase are obtained from a prime integral of motion, which takes place
when the probe moves over a polar orbit. A numerical analysis has highlighted how these
initial conditions allow, under the third-body effect, an optimal reduction of eccentricity