What is the preferred orbital trajectory for a rover/lander to land on a body?

Asked Jul 04 '20 at 03:24

Active Jul 04 '20 at 03:24

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With the new perseverance rover about to launch to mars, I have a question about landers and rover orbital trajectories. Do the landers/rovers circularize their orbit before landing on the body or do they go for a direct landing?

I've noticed landers on the moon generally circularize their orbit before landing (I'm not 100% sure of this) but for something like a Mars lander they do not?

asked Jul 04 '20 at 03:24

Bruce Vici

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atmosphere vs no atmosphere: When things land on Mars what fraction of their velocity do they remove propulsively? and Is this a first Mars aerobraking for ESA, or for anyone? – uhoh Jul 04 '20 at 03:46
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I think Mars landers enter an orbit first, before atmospheric-entry-burn. Which one depends on the landing location: e.g. Curiosity landed near the equator so it had to enter an equatorial orbit and Perseverance will too (if it enters an orbit first). The Phoenix lander probably had to enter a rather polar orbit. Titan on the other hand wasn't orbited by Huygens, the Huygens lander decelerated enough to enter its atmosphere and land on Titan without orbiting it first. – LoveForChrist Jul 04 '20 at 05:44

What is the preferred orbital trajectory for a rover/lander to land on a body?

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