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Neither orbit is perfectly circular; Earth has an orbital eccentricity of 0.0168, and Mars of 0.0934. The two orbits are not quite coplanar either, as the orbit of Mars is inclined by 1.85 degrees to that of Earth. The effect of the gravity of Mars on the cycler orbits is almost negligible, but that of the far more massive Earth needs to be ...
The diagram shows a Hohmann transfer orbit to bring a spacecraft from a lower circular orbit into a higher one. It is an elliptic orbit that is tangential both to the lower circular orbit the spacecraft is to leave (cyan, labeled 1 on diagram) and the higher circular orbit that it is to reach (red, labeled 3 on diagram).
The InSight mission to Mars launched with a C 3 of 8.19 km 2 /s 2. [5] The Parker Solar Probe (via Venus) plans a maximum C 3 of 154 km 2 /s 2. [6] Typical ballistic C 3 (km 2 /s 2) to get from Earth to various planets: Mars 8-16, [7] Jupiter 80, Saturn or Uranus 147. [8] To Pluto (with its orbital inclination) needs about 160–164 km 2 /s 2. [9]
It is possible to put stations or spacecraft on orbits that cycle between different planets, for example a Mars cycler would synchronously cycle between Mars and Earth, with very little propellant usage to maintain the trajectory. Cyclers are conceptually a good idea, because massive radiation shields, life support and other equipment only need ...
A lunar cycler or Earth–Moon cycler is a cycler orbit, or spacecraft therein, which periodically passes close by the Earth and the Moon, using gravity assists and occasional propellant-powered corrections to maintain its trajectories between the two. If the fuel required to reach a particular cycler orbit from both the Earth and the Moon is ...
Artist's rendition of Mars Express as seen by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor Image of Mars Express in orbit at Mars. 2001 Mars Odyssey was launched April 7, 2001 on a Delta II rocket and currently holds the record for the longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth at 23 years, 3 months and 28 days.
An areosynchronous orbit that is equatorial (in the same plane as the equator of Mars), circular, and prograde (rotating about Mars's axis in the same direction as the planet's surface) is known as an areostationary orbit (AEO). To an observer on the surface of Mars, the position of a satellite in AEO would appear to be fixed in a constant ...
A low-energy transfer, or low-energy trajectory, is a route in space that allows spacecraft to change orbits using significantly less fuel than traditional transfers. [1] [2] These routes work in the Earth–Moon system and also in other systems, such as between the moons of Jupiter.