Mission Description

Variable Specific Impulse Mission:  Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) trajectory from Earth to Mars and back. Earth and Mars are points that follow a realistic ephemeris. Final Earth return mass is specifed.....minimize Earth departure mass. This is an idealized Mars Sample Return or simply an Earth-Mars Roundtrip trajectory.

• Depature Year ~2018 (departure date is free)
• Total Roundtrip <= 540 days (inequality constraint)
• Mars Stay Time >= 30 days (inequality constraint)
• System Power 10Mw
• Efficiency 50% (constant)
• Payload 15 MT (transported throughout)
• System Alpha 4kg/KW
• Engine System Mass 40 MT
• Mass Picked up at Mars 5 MT
• Earth Return Mass 60 MT
• Thrust variable
• ISP 2,000 sec <= ISP <= 20,000 sec
• Engine Degradation None
• Coast Periods allowed if optimal
• Initial Mass Minimize
• Originally modeled using Copernicus

Additional Mission Options

A. Same as case 30, except minimum stay time is 60 days.
B. Same as case 30, except minimum stay time is 360 days.
C. Earth - Mars rendezvous

• Model a fusion propulsion system
• Power 3 GW
• Specific Impulse 70,500 seconds
• Power and Propulsion System Specific Mass 0.01 kg/kW
• Final Mass 100 metric tons
• Departure Date 2024 (optimized)
• Initial Orbit is Earth sphere of influence, V_infinity = 0.0
• Flight Time 27 days
• Originally modeled in VARITOP

D. To Jupiter: Same as option C except flight time is 73 days and destination is Jupiter.
E. To Saturn: Same as option C except flight time is 110 days and destination is Saturn.
F. To Uranus: Same as option C except flight time is 171 days and destination is Uranus.
G. To Neptune: Same as option C except flight time is 229 days and destination is Neptune.
H. To Pluto: Same as option C except flight time is 246 days and destination is Pluto.

Input/Output files

Copernicus20060313.zip (download)

VARITOPv9_11.zip (download)

All Reference Case 30: MW to GW interplanetary mission(s) Files (download zip)