GRAVITY SLINGSHOT
Curve around Mars to reach the target.
Drag from the probe to set direction and power. Release to launch.
About Gravity Slingshot
Navigate a probe past real planets, using their actual NASA-measured masses to determine how much of a speed boost each flyby gives you. A gravity assist doesn't use fuel — it borrows a tiny sliver of a planet's own orbital momentum, which is why more massive planets like Jupiter make far more dramatic slingshots than a pass by Mercury.
The puzzle is trajectory, not thrust — line up your approach angle wrong and the same planet that could have doubled your speed barely nudges it.
Planet masses and relative positions are drawn from NASA planetary fact sheets — the same public data behind our planet Fast Facts pages — so a bigger slingshot off Jupiter here reflects a real, not invented, mass difference.
Keep Exploring
More on real NASA gravity-assist missions