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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).
Typical lunar transfer trajectories approximate Hohmann transfers, although low-energy transfers have also been used in some cases, as with the Hiten probe. [1] For short duration missions without significant perturbations from sources outside the Earth-Moon system, a fast Hohmann transfer is typically more practical.
Hohmann transfer orbit, 2, from an orbit (1) to a higher orbit (3) A Hohmann transfer orbit is the simplest maneuver which can be used to move a spacecraft from one altitude to another. Two burns are required: the first to send the craft into the elliptical transfer orbit, and a second to circularize the target orbit.
A free-return transfer orbit to Mars is also possible. As with the Moon, this option is mostly considered for crewed missions. Robert Zubrin, in his book The Case for Mars, discusses various trajectories to Mars for his mission design Mars Direct. The Hohmann transfer orbit can be made free-return.
Bi-elliptic transfer, a slower method of transfer, but one that may be more efficient than a Hohmann transfer orbit; Geostationary transfer orbit or geosynchronous transfer orbit is usually also a Hohmann transfer orbit; Lunar transfer orbit is an orbit that touches Low Earth orbit and a lunar orbit
For many years economical interplanetary travel meant using the Hohmann transfer orbit. Hohmann demonstrated that the lowest energy route between any two orbits is an elliptical "orbit" which forms a tangent to the starting and destination orbits. Once the spacecraft arrives, a second application of thrust will re-circularize the orbit at the ...
The lowest energy transfer to Mars is a Hohmann transfer orbit, a conjunction class mission which would involve a roughly 9-month travel time from Earth to Mars, about 500 days (16 mo) [citation needed] at Mars to wait for the transfer window to Earth, and a travel time of about 9 months to return to Earth. [9] [10] This would be a 34-month trip.
Walter Hohmann (/ ˈ h oʊ m ə n /; German:; 18 March 1880 – 11 March 1945) was a German engineer who made an important contribution to the understanding of orbital dynamics. In a book published in 1925, Hohmann demonstrated a fuel-efficient path to move a spacecraft between two different orbits, now called a Hohmann transfer orbit .