🚀 go-pugleaf

At this time, MO is far enough from both Earth and Mars, that they don't
exert signifigant gravitional influence. The big player is the Sun. I am
not sure what the reference frames are for Ron's velocity, but I know that
in sun centered frame, MO is slowing down. The Earth is passing MO on the
inside so the increase in velocity may be an artifact of the relative motion
of the earth and spacecraft.
The NAV team worries about the effects of all the planets on the trajectory
and
even includes forces from solar radiation pressure. I am told that on
voyager, they can see the effects of the force generated by the
infrared radiation emitted by the spacecraft's Plutonium RTG power source.

                             Steve Collins, MO Spacecraft Team (AACS)
~rkO
w3t(.