Trajectory options for the Mariner Mark II Tempel 2 rendezvous mission

Recent schedule changes have motivated a reassessment of the mission options for the Mariner Mark II Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby. A new baseline mission has been selected, which will launch in September 1992 and arrive at comet Tempel 2 in December 1996. The geometry of the comet's orbit imposes on the mission total delta-V requirements that can best be met by selection of a delta-V-EGA trajectory, during which an earth gravity assist is used to improve mission performance. There is considerable freedom in the choice of comet arrival date and asteroid flyby targets; associated with each potential asteroid flyby is a different penalty in terms of delta-V and comet arrival data. Analysis of the trajectory and the asteroid flyby options will continue throughout the early phases of the Project.