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Mars Cycler

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Status: Study 1989.

Passengers bound for Mars would rocket from earth orbit to rendezvous and dock with the cyclers in deep space. On approach to Mars, they would enter their rocket, undock, and enter Mars orbit or land on the planet. Return to earth would use another cycler. This approach would eliminate the 'disposable quarters' approach used in most Mars landing scenarios.

In 1989 Second-Man-On-the-Moon Edwin Aldrin proposed a Mars Cycler as part of a space infrastructure. This proposal was based on work done by Walter Hollister at MIT in the 1960's on cyclical orbits. In 1971 he had proposed four Earth-Mars Cycling Stations. One of these would fly by the earth every 26 months, providing a home for astronauts during a six-month passage to Mars.