So, come December, a launch window opens for efficient, cost-effective missions taking a Hohmann transfer orbit, which has them launch from Earth just before the spacecraft catches up and ...

This positioning allows the spacecraft to enter a so-called "Hohmann transfer orbit," named after German engineer Walter Hohmann, who worked out the underlying mathematics in 1925.

A Hohmann transfer orbit uses a burn at the starting point (periapsis) that increases the aphelion of the orbit such that it occurs at the orbit of Mars. This will be 180 degrees later in the orbit.

Both spacecraft used a Hohmann transfer orbit-- a special trajectory to Mars that is only available every 26 months -- to get there with minimal fuel consumption.

Challenge 1: The Orbit. You can’t just point and shoot. Do that and your spacecraft will miss Mars. So, rocket scientists use a maneuver called a Hohmann transfer orbit to send a vehicle from a ...

That method, however, requires a heavy heat shield, which adds extra mass and thus costs to liftoff, offsetting the penny-pinching on fuel for a Hohmann transfer burn on arrival. Ballistic capture ...

Instead, we use Mars’ gravitation to help pull us along while the spacecraft “coasts” into orbit. This is known as a Hohmann transfer orbit and while it is considered the most efficient ...

Above: MAVEN was launched into a Hohmann Transfer Orbit with periapsis at Earth’s orbit and apoapsis at the distance of the orbit of Mars. Credit: NASA ...

Every 26 months, the orbits of Earth and Mars line up in such a way that space agencies can take advantage of something known as a Hohmann transfer orbit. "We do this kind of transfer orbit in ...

The orbit of Mars around the sun takes about 1.88 Earth years. ... This is much safer than a Hohmann transfer, in which spacecraft need to substantially slow down using their engines, ...