Correcting retrograde orbits

[TMac3000]

I am trying to get to Europa so I can set up a base there. Okay, so I get to Jupiter, but I end up in a retrograde orbit with something like a 150-degree inclination that Heaven and Earth together do not have enough fuel to fix. How can I avoid this situation, so that I will have enough fuel for the Europa transfer once I get to Jupiter?

I am using a combination of TransX and IMFD for interplanetary navigation.

 

[Andy44]

You can still intercept Europa from a retrograde orbit; you just need to plan an off-plane intercept and live with the fact that your encounter speed will be rather high when you get there.

 

[Arkalius]

IMFD has a planet approach program in the Course section. Set the reference to the planet you are approaching. You can also set a target moon if you want to use that to help you get into a particular orbit around the planet to match a moon.

In this program, you can set a deired Periapsis altitude and inclination (not all inclinations will be available based on your existing trajectory, it will tell you your limits in the mfd). It then sets up a burn to modify your current trajectory so you end up on the desired orbit. You don't want to use this until you're fairly close or within the SOI of the planet (If the word "Low" appears in red at the bottom, you're probably too far away). If you do the burn too early it will be inaccurate and can be expensive to fix later.

 

[TMac3000]

Thanks guys for your input. I am guessing if I want to do a retrograde intercept to Europa with the Transfer MFD, I would have to consider Europa's deviation from the plane of Jupiter's orbit, which is roughly two degrees. So I want an inclination of 182 or so?