For a flyby of the moon, like the SpaceX #dearMoon flight announced September 17, 2018, how close would they likely attempt to pass?
Is there an average or optimal trajectory for a lunar flyby used on past missions?
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asked Sep 19, 2018 at 6:11
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2 Answers
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SpaceX has posted a nice info graphic:
The perilune (closest approach to the moon, number 06 in the graphic) is going to be about 125 miles / 201 km.
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1$\begingroup$ During the Q/A after the presentation where this was shown, musk mentioned that the flight plan wasn't final and he could imagine doing a close flyby and then a long return. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 13:45
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On May 17, 2018 NASA's TESS passed within 8,253.54 km of the lunar surface on a flyby. This is roughly equivelant to 2% of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
(Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/nasa_tess/status/997485558283882501?s=21)
answered Sep 19, 2018 at 6:26
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1$\begingroup$ distance of closest approach would depend on the exact nature of the maneuver. Wouldn't an Apollo-ere free return at least be a better starting point than TESS? space.stackexchange.com/a/21544/12102 and also space.stackexchange.com/a/21096/12102 The delta-v that TESS needed was much less than what's required for a lunar u-turn. space.stackexchange.com/a/26577/12102 (and also space.stackexchange.com/q/27319/12102) $\endgroup$– uhohCommented Sep 19, 2018 at 7:41
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1$\begingroup$ Absolutely. And hopefully it is significantly closer than that! $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 12:35