I'm new here so please forgive me if these questions had been answered before.

Mars gravity assist. we've sent many missions out to the outer planets, how come none of them used Mars for gravity assist? is it possible to employ one in the future? the last time I checked, Mars still sits between us and the outer planets.

Uranus and Neptune orbiters. I've looked around on the net and there seems to be many more mentions of a Neptune orbiter than one for Uranus. why is that?

Neptune orbiter. many of the pages I've read about the Neptune orbiter mission talk about using NEP and aerocapture. are those technologies really needed for this mission? Cassini uses a chemical rocket and will be able to break into orbit around Saturn. why can't we do the same at Neptune? is it because it would take too long to get there?

thanks for the help.

- clemmentine

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