A low energy transfer, or low energy trajectory, is a route in space which allows spacecraft to change orbits using very little fuel. These routes work in the Earth-Moon system and also in other systems, such as traveling from Earth to Mars or between the satellites of Jupiter. The drawback of such trajectories is that they take longer to complete than higher energy (more fuel) transfers such as Hohmann transfer orbits.
Low energy transfer are also known as weak stability boundary trajectories, or ballistic capture trajectories.
Low energy transfers follow special pathways in space, sometimes referred to as the Interplanetary Transport Network. Following these pathways allows for long distances to be traversed for little expenditure of delta-v.
Missions that have used low energy transfers include:
- Hiten, from JAXA
- SMART-1, from ESA
- Genesis, from NASA.
- GRAIL, from NASA.
Proposed missions using low energy transfers include:
- European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO)
- Mars Direct
Read more about Low Energy Transfer: History, Delta-v Savings
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