This investigation selects orbits appropriate for a deep-space relay terminal to ensure continuous communication between Earth and Mars. Geometric constraints are derived and are used to evaluate the fitness of several periodic orbit families in the sun-Earth and sun-Mars circular-restricted three-body systems. It is determined that Mars Trojan orbits provide the best solution. Families of these orbits are presented and studied for stability in a multibody model. It is shown that with no station-keeping, appropriately chosen orbits satisfy the geometric telecommunication constraints for decades. Outbound transfer costs from Earth and orbit insertion costs are computed in both Keplerian and ephemeris-level multibody regimes. The use of an outbound Mars flyby significantly lowers the orbit insertion cost.
Mars Trojan Orbits for Continuous Earth-Mars Communication
J Astronaut Sci
The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences ; 67 , 3 ; 902-931
2020-09-01
30 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Trojan orbit , Mars architecture , Trajectory optimization , Optical communication , Circular restricted three-body problem Engineering , Aerospace Technology and Astronautics , Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences , Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Exploration and Astronautics)
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