Circular areosynchronous orbit in the Martian equatorial plane
An
areostationary orbit
,
areosynchronous equatorial orbit
(
AEO
), or
Mars geostationary orbit
is a
circular
areosynchronous orbit
(ASO) approximately 17,032 km (10,583 mi) in altitude above the
Mars
equator
and following the direction of Mars's rotation.
An object in such an orbit has an
orbital period
equal to Mars's rotational period, and so to ground observers it appears motionless in a fixed position in the sky. It is the Martian analog of a
Geostationary orbit
(GEO). The prefix
areo-
derives from
Ares
, the ancient
Greek god
of war and counterpart to the
Roman god
Mars
, with whom the planet was identified.
Although it would allow for uninterrupted
communication
and
observation
of the Martian surface, no
artificial satellites
have been placed in this orbit due to the technical complexity of achieving and maintaining one.
[1]
[2]
Characteristics
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]
The radius of an areostationary orbit can be calculated using
Kepler's Third Law
.
[3]
Where:
Substituting the mass of Mars for M and the Martian sidereal day for T and solving for the semimajor axis yields a synchronous orbit radius of
20,428 km (12,693 mi)
above the surface of the Mars equator.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Subtracting Mars's radius gives an orbital altitude of 17,032 km (10,583 mi).
Two stable longitudes exist - 17.92°W and 167.83°E. Satellites placed at any other longitude will tend to drift to these stable longitudes over time.
[6]
[7]
Feasibility
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]
Several factors make placing a spacecraft into an areostationary orbit more difficult than a geostationary orbit. Since the areostationary orbit lies between Mars's two
natural satellites
,
Phobos
(
semi-major axis
: 9,376 km) and
Deimos
(semi-major axis: 23,463 km), any satellites in the orbit will suffer increased
orbital station keeping
costs due to unwanted
orbital resonance
effects. Mars's gravity is also much less spherical than earth due to uneven volcanism (i.e.
Olympus Mons
). This creates additional gravitational disturbances not present on earth, further destabilizing the orbit. Solar radiation pressure and sun-based perturbations are also present, as with an earth-based geostationary orbit. Actually placing a satellite into such an orbit is further complicated by the distance from earth and
related challenges shared by any attempted Mars mission
.
[2]
[7]
[8]
Uses
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]
Satellites in an areostationary orbit would allow for greater amounts of data to be relayed back from the Martian surface easier than by using current methods. Satellites in the orbit would also be ideal advantageous for monitoring Martian weather and mapping of the Martian surface.
[9]
In the early 2000s
NASA
explored the feasibility of placing communications satellites in an areocentric orbit as a part of the Mars Communication Network. In the concept, an areostationary relay satellite would transmit data from a network of landers and smaller satellites in lower Martian orbits back to earth.
[10]
[11]
See also
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Lay, N.; C. Cheetum; H. Mojaradi; J. Neal (15 November 2001).
"Developing Low-Power Transceiver Technologies for In Situ Communication Applications"
(PDF)
.
IPN Progress Report 42-147
.
42
(147): 22.
Bibcode
:
2001IPNPR.147A...1L
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
2012-02-09
.
- ^
a
b
Romero, P.; Pablos, B.; Barderas, G. (2017-07-01).
"Analysis of orbit determination from Earth-based tracking for relay satellites in a perturbed areostationary orbit"
.
Acta Astronautica
.
136
: 434?442.
Bibcode
:
2017AcAau.136..434R
.
doi
:
10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.04.002
.
ISSN
0094-5765
.
- ^
Bate, Roger; Mueller, Donald; White, Jerry (January 1971).
Fundamentals of Astrodynamics
(1st ed.). New York:
Dover
. p. 33.
ISBN
978-0-486-60061-1
.
- ^
Lodders, Katharina
; Fegley, Bruce (1998). The Planetary Scientist's Companion. Oxford University Press. p. 190.
ISBN
0-19-511694-1
.
- ^
Wertz, James; Everett, David; Puschell, Jeffery (2018).
Space Mission Engineering: The New SMAD
. Torrance, California: Microcosm Press. p. 220.
ISBN
978-1-881-883-15-9
.
- ^
a
b
"Stationkeeping in Mars orbit"
.
www.planetary.org
. Retrieved
2017-11-21
.
- ^
a
b
Silva, Juan; Romero, Pilar (October 2013).
"Optimal longitudes determination for the station keeping of areostationary satellites"
.
Planetary and Space Science
.
87
: 14?18.
Bibcode
:
2013P&SS...87...14S
.
doi
:
10.1016/j.pss.2012.11.013
.
ISSN
0032-0633
. Retrieved
30 December
2023
– via Elsevier Science Direct.
- ^
Lakdawalla, Emily (27 June 2013).
"Stationkeeping in Mars orbit"
.
The Planetary Society
. Retrieved
2023-12-31
.
- ^
Montabone, Luca; Nicholas, Heavens (15 July 2020),
"OBSERVING MARS FROM AREOSTATIONARY ORBIT BENEFITS AND APPLICATIONS"
(PDF)
,
Planetary Science and Decadal Survey 2023-2032
- ^
Bhasin, Kul; Hayden, Jeff; Agre, Jonathan; Clare, Loren; Yan, Tsun-Yee (September 2001).
Advanced Communication and Networking Technologies for Mars Exploration
(PDF)
. 19th International Communications Satellite Systems Conference
. Retrieved
10 January
2024
.
{{
cite conference
}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (
link
)
- ^
Hastrup, R.C.; Bell, D.J.; Cesarone, R.J. (2003).
"Mars network for enabling low-cost missions"
(PDF)
.
Acta Astronautica
.
52
(2?6): 227?235.
Bibcode
:
2003AcAau..52..227H
.
doi
:
10.1016/S0094-5765(02)00161-3
– via Elsevier Science Direct.
External links
[
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]