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Those Aldrin Cyclers are kind of a strange beast -- possibly useful in a speculative-fiction kind of way, but take more delta-v than a Hohmann transfer orbit an
by HillRat 12y ago
Those Aldrin Cyclers are kind of a strange beast -- possibly useful in a speculative-fiction kind of way, but take more delta-v than a Hohmann transfer orbit and have a very high relative velocity as they pass Earth and Mars, which makes getting cargo to them tricky (the "taxis" have to make a hyperbolic rendezvous with the cycler, and a missed encounter would likely result in a very long tour of the solar system). Instead, NASA envisions using near-Hohmann orbits for getting advanced cargo to Mars; human travel would use the usual hyperbolic transfer orbit.
- maaku 12y agoMost people outside of NASA still consider a standard Hohmann-like orbit for getting people to Mars too.