If one wants to move an object from orbit around one planet in the solar system and have it collide with another, what information is needed, and how would one go about calculating such a thing?
For example, lets say:
- I can build stuff around Jupiter, and money and logistics are no object. Whatever piece of physically possible technology I want, I can have there.
For experimental purposes, I want to crash Hydrogen filled bubbles of iron at Venus, so that they fall through the atmosphere as meteors.
My first thought is to use a huge mass driver to fire the bubbles through space so that most of them crash into Venus,like a giant electromagnetic shotgun firing across the solar system.
Even though I have all these resources, I somehow need the help of StackExchange to learn what exactly I will need to accomplish my goal. So what do I need to do to aim and fire the projectiles?
- How do I calculate a trajectory from one planet to another, taking into account motion of the planets etc? Is there an app for that?
- What is the relationship between precision of aim, mass and speed of the projectile, and vulnerability to deflection by solar wind or gravitational pull of passing objects?
In other words, how do I figure out how fast I need to shoot my projectiles, and what do I need to know/do to aim them so that I have a reasonable chance of hitting my target at that distance, assuming no further adjustments to the trajectory once fired?