Hohmann Transfer

My final project for ModSim (Modeling and Simulation of the Physical World) was open-ended with a focus on mechanics. A partner and I decided to create a simple model of the Hohmann Transfer using MATLAB.

The Hohmann Transfer describes the movement of an object (ship) from one circular orbit to another. In our case, we were modeling the transfer of a ship from Earth’s orbit to Mars’ orbit; using the Hohmann Transfer is the most fuel-efficient way to travel to Mars.

When the ship leaves Earth’s orbit, it doesn’t immediately get captured by Mars’ orbit. It needs to get within a certain distance of Mars to get caught in its orbit. Using our model, we found a range of starting velocities that would put the ship close enough to be caught in Mars’ orbit.

We didn’t look at final velocities, however, which is important as well, because if the ship is going too fast, it will escape Mars’ orbit and keep going to who-knows-where. We had hoped to look at that as well as fuel restraints, but for a three-week project, that was a little ambitious!