Target: 2nd year, B Eng – This assignmet has been used once with a class of 9 students in the 2nd year of a B Eng / M Eng Aerospace Engineering with Astronautics & Space Technology course at Kingston University London.
This piece of coursework (a written assignment) involves demonstrating knowledge of orbital mechanics, and is focused on the analysis required for future human missions to Mars. It covers orbital mechanics, the space environment and basic propulsion and launch vehicles including use of the rocket equation and some life suport requirements. The reference text that this assignment has been drawn from is Martin Turner’s ‘Expedition Mars’.
Students who undertake this assignment or set of questions may find the normally quite specialised and analytical topic of Orbit mechanics more interesting through some context to human Mars missions that might take place in the near future.
A set of model answers is provided.
Cheers
Adam Baker