Observing Mars from Areostationary Orbit: Benefits and Applications

Montabone, L.; Heavens, N. G.; Alvarellos, J. L.; Aye, Michael; Babuscia, Alessandra; Barba, Nathan; Battalio, J. Michael; Bertrand, Tanguy; Cantor, B. A.; Capderou, Michel; Chojnacki, M.; Curry, S.; Edwards, C. D.; Elrod, M. K.; Fenton, L. K.; Fergason, Robin L.; Gebhardt, Claus; Guzewich, Scott D.; Kahre, M. A.; Karatekin, Özgür; Kass, D. M.; Lillis, R. J.; Liuzzi, Giuliano; Mischna, M. A.; Newman, C. E.; Pajola, M.; Pankine, A.; Piqueux, S.; Rahmati, Ali; Romero-Perez, M. Pilar; Sanchez-Net, Marc; Smith, M. D.; Soto, Alejandro; Spiga, Aymeric; Tamppari, L. K.; Hook, Joshua Vander; Wolkenberg, P.; Wolff, M.; Woolley, Ryan; Young, Roland

doi:10.3847/25c2cfeb.0cdca220

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The orbiters would be equipped with particles, plasma, and fields instruments and could be equipped with visible/infrared weather monitoring sensors and relay antennas to ensure uninterrupted communication with surface assets/outposts and relay data to Earth. (See Montabone et al [2021] for orbital dynamics, benefits, and applications of an areostationary orbit. )…”

Section: Need For Dedicated Space Weather Observations At Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heliophysics and Space Weather Science at ~1.5 AU: Knowledge Gaps and Need for Solar and Solar Wind Monitors at Mars

Lee,

Mayyasi,

et al. 2023

Bulletin of the AAS

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This White Paper discusses knowledge gaps and open questions about the solar and interplanetary drivers of the space weather conditions experienced at Mars during active and quiescent solar periods, and the need for continuous, routine observations to address them. For both advancing science and as part of the strategic planning for human exploration at Mars by the late-2030s, now is the time to consider a network of upstream solar and solar wind monitors at Mars.Our recommendations to the Decadal Survey Committee for Solar & Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024-2033 are:1) Continue support of planetary science payloads and missions that provide measurements at Mars for advancing heliophysics and space weather science. 2) Prioritize an upstream Mars L1 monitor and/or areostationary orbiters for providing dedicated, continuous solar and solar wind observations at ~1.5 AU. 3) Establish new or support existing joint efforts between federal agencies and their divisions, in collaborations with foreign agencies, to carry out [1] and [2].

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Section: Need For Dedicated Space Weather Observations At Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heliophysics and Space Weather Science at ~1.5 AU: Knowledge Gaps and Need for Solar and Solar Wind Monitors at Mars

Lee,

Mayyasi,

et al. 2023

Bulletin of the AAS

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“…Observations over multiple Mars years and during a global dust storm would be highly valuable to constrain variability and understand how Mars' great dust storms impact climate processes such as loss of water to space [55,56,57]. Observations at 4-8 local times-of-day are necessary for a system with a strong diurnal cycle, which is insufficiently characterized in existing Mars atmospheric observations [58].…”

Section: What Wind Measurements Are Neededmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Mars Atmospheric Winds from Orbit

Guzewich

Abshire²,

Baker

et al. 2021

Bulletin of the AAS

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“…Small relay satellites in areostationary orbit are considered the most efficient candidates to support the telecommunication needs in the 2020s [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Areostationary orbiters, like geostationary satellites for Earth [8,9], can provide continuous access at very high data rates to remotely supervise a significant population of probes and robotic missions on the Martian surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelization of Low-Cost Maneuvers for an Areostationary Preliminary Mission Design

Sánchez-García,

Barderas,

Romero

2023

MCA

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The aim of this paper is to analyze the determination of interplanetary trajectories from Earth to Mars to evaluate the cost of the required impulse magnitudes for an areostationary orbiter mission design. Such analysis is first conducted by solving the Lambert orbital boundary value problem and studying the launch and arrival conditions for various date combinations. Then, genetic algorithms are applied to investigate the minimum-energy transfer orbit. Afterwards, an iterative procedure is used to determine the heliocentric elliptic transfer orbit that matches at the entry point of Mars’s sphere of influence with an areocentric hyperbolic orbit imposing specific conditions on inclination and periapsis radius. Finally, the maneuvers needed to obtain an areostationary orbit are numerically computed for different objective condition values at the Mars entry point to evaluate an areostationary preliminary mission cost for further study and characterization. Results show that, for the dates of the minimum-energy Earth–Mars transfer trajectory, a low value for the maneuvers to achieve an areostationary orbit is obtained for an arrival hyperbola with the minimum possible inclination and a capture into an elliptical trajectory with a low periapsis radius and an apoapsis at the stationary orbit. For a 2026 mission with a TOF of 304 for the minimum-energy Earth–Mars transfer trajectory, for a capture with a periapsis of 300 km above the Mars surface the value achieved will be 2.083 km/s.

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Observing Mars from Areostationary Orbit: Benefits and Applications

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Heliophysics and Space Weather Science at ~1.5 AU: Knowledge Gaps and Need for Solar and Solar Wind Monitors at Mars

Heliophysics and Space Weather Science at ~1.5 AU: Knowledge Gaps and Need for Solar and Solar Wind Monitors at Mars

Measuring Mars Atmospheric Winds from Orbit

Modelization of Low-Cost Maneuvers for an Areostationary Preliminary Mission Design

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