Ricerc@Sapienza

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

Taking into consideration a probe moving in an elliptical orbit around a celestial body, the possibility of determining conditions which lead to constant values on average of all the orbit elements has been investigated here, considering the influence of the planetary oblateness and the long-term effects deriving from the attraction of several perturbing bodies.