**9. Conclusions**

In this work, the feasibility of Mars entry with a lifting body was studied. Aerodynamic efficiency control is studied with respect to AoA and bank angle modulation. Decreasing AoA during Mars entry allows to reduce the peak heating, consequently increasing the flight-time. However, higher control on trajectory can be performed with bank angle modulation, which reflects over a higher control on the landing point, as well as the possibility to have a cross range. Furthermore, higher efficiency allows the vehicle to decelerate more at a higher altitude, taking advantage of the thin atmosphere. This is a crucial aspect for Mars missions in order to limit the terminal speed within allowable values for manned missions. Deceleration allows more tolerance on parachute deployment. Another benefit of a lifting vehicle is the influence on heat rate and total heat load: by increasing the aerodynamic efficiency, the heat rate peak can be decreased. The longer flight time induces the vehicle to store a higher amount of energy from the atmosphere, increasing the total heat load. Therefore, bank modulation can be performed assuming a suitable guidance law that modulates the vehicle aero-thermal loads inside the predefined constraints.
