Heliocentric orbits concentric and coplanar with Earth’s are placed 19.5% farther from the Sun to naturally maintain a synodic period of 4.27 years, exactly twice that of Mars with Earth. Phasing conditions for infrastructure in these synodic-resonant orbits are developed to minimize propulsive requirements when a 5-day loiter period at this infrastructure is planned during an Earth/Mars transit. With an in-transit loiter, more mass can be transported between Earth and Mars over time than with direct transits if the infrastructure functions as a waypoint to replenish propellant and other consumables while payload is optionally offloaded or supplemented. Four synodic-resonant waypoints cover all Earth/Mars transit opportunities, serve as Earth/Mars communication relays, and offer useful forward/turnaround abort options not available to direct transits. Prospects for constructing a waypoint from known asteroids in nearby orbits are also assessed.


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    Title :

    Synodic-Resonant Earth/Mars Waypoints


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2025-05-01




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




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