Various machine learning algorithms have been applied to find optimal lowthrust
satellite trajectories, however, no fair comparison of their accuracy has been made yet. In this paper, two common and promising supervised machine learning algorithms are compared for their regression capacities:
the artificial neural network and the Gaussian process. A grid search is performed to evaluate the performance of the algorithms on different datasets, varying the input features for training, and the hyperparameters of the algorithms. The best performing Gaussian process and artificial neural network are applied as surrogate in a model that optimizes a trajectory from Earth to Mars using a differential evolution optimization strategy. The performance of the models is evaluated on both the Euclidean distance between the inputs corresponding to the predicted minima of the surrogate method and the nearest local minimum obtained with the shaping method, and the accuracy of the predicted Δ푉 budget required. For both quantities, the Gaussian process outperforms the artificial neural network. The minimum required Δ푉 budget to reach Mars was predicted more accurately, and the duration of the trajectory and the best moment to launch were found more often and accurately as well.