Moon Cannon: Prelude

The post titled "Moon Cannon: Prelude – Anson’s Projects" serves as an introduction to simulating space mechanics using the Julia DifferentialEquations package. The author explores the concept of launching a payload from the Moon to Earth using a cannon, emphasizing the unique advantages provided by the Moon's low gravity and lack of atmosphere. The post outlines the setup for simulating the trajectory of the payload, including necessary packages and fundamental constants such as the gravitational constant and masses of the Earth and Moon. The core challenge involves solving the equations of motion for a restricted three-body problem, simplifying the simulation by neglecting the gravitational influence of other celestial bodies. The author incorporates atmospheric drag into the model and defines collision detection functions for both the Earth and the Moon. The simulation's results are visualized through plots, allowing for adjustments in initial conditions to observe different trajectories. The author reflects on the ease of using the Julia Differential Equations library and recognizes the oversimplifications made in the problem, which contributed to the simulation's manageability. Future steps include simulating all solar system bodies and considering more complex scenarios, such as optimizing payload trajectories and potential missions to Mars. The post concludes with a sense of accomplishment in reviving the author's skills in Julia and differential equations.

This content was originally posted on my projects website here. The above summary was made by the Kagi Summarizer