Comparisons and Evaluations of JPL Ephemerides

In the light of the wide applications of a series of ephemerides developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the USA to many aspects like the deep-space navigation and interplanetary exploration, it is necessary to make comparisons of their contents, applicable ranges, realizations and maintenances. In view of the fact that the explorations of the Venus and Mars are expected to carry out in China, their dynamical models and the adopted observational data are analysis by taking the DE405, DE421 and DE423 to be the examples. From the evaluations of the accuracies and performances of the above-mentioned ephemerides of different editions, their effects on the probes orbiting around the Venus or Mars are emphatically discussed, and a suggestion is given for their use that as far as the Venus missions are concerned, the use of the DE423 is recommend, and that the use of the DE421 or DE423 is recommended for the Mars Missions.