matthiasduyck

Thanks to everyone for answering, I think I get it!

Hi! Hope this is in the right place... So I recently read The Martian, and watched a lot of the talks of the author. I get most of how the mission works but I am still unsure of some parts. I have a very basic understanding of orbital mechanics and how ion engine based ships differ from traditional rocket engines. It is unclear to me if, when and how you can leave or get into an orbit accurately with a lage ion engine based ship with the thrust being so low. For example, to leave earth's orbit and to get into a solar orbit do you first have to make your orbit really really large? Once near Mars how do get into a proper orbit there with so little thrust? What am I missing here? Also how would you operate a craft like this in KSP? Are there tools that help in finding the right thrust vectors and help steering over a long period of time? Thanks