For NASA, it has been the long -term goal for over two decades to send a occupation mission to Mars. China has come to the club in recent years and plans to send occupation missions to the red planet in front of NASA. In both cases, the plans present a jumping board approach, whereby habitats and infrastructures are used in the CIS-Lunarian area to ensure that one day regular missions can be possible. They also imagine how regular missions on Mars can lead to permanent habitats on the surface of the planet.
In a paper that was submitted to the 56th Lunar & Planetary Science Conference (2025 LPSC), a team of engineers suggested that this plans continue to be taken over. Her mission concept consists of a human interplanetary transport architecture (Hucitar) to explore Mars and Ceres (the largest body in the main seaside belt) in a single trip. Through innovative planning and international cooperation, your ambitious plan provides for a 4-year expedition with seven months with six astronauts that could be ready by 2035.
The study was carried out by Ramesh Kumar V., the founder and CEO of Acceleron Aerospace Sciences Private Limited. Raviteja Bheemavarapu, intern at acceleron and aerospace student at Chandigarh University; and Malaya Kumar Biswal M., the founder and CEO of Grahaa Space. Your paper describes a mission for Erdmarhner, which Mars would use as a staging point to optimize fuel efficiency. They also offer a detailed trajectory analysis of all injection, insertion and transmission maneuvers.
Technical specifications
In view of the distances and transit times, the first technical priority is a drive system that can generate sufficiently high acceleration (Delta-V). Based on the various courses and the various phases of the mission, the DELTA-V requirements are significantly sufficient. For example, an optimal delta-V of around 6.1 km/s is required during the Mission Mars. However, in order to achieve the earliest Mars recording, the spaceship must optimize its delta-V to ~ 3.75 km/s.
In a certain scenario, you calculate that a maximum delta-V of ~ 11.2 km/s is required. Overall, this architecture requires a maximum delta-V of around 5.59 km/s. While your analysis is largely based on conventional chemical drive systems, you indicate that a core thermal system (NTP) system would be more than sufficient. The feasibility of a mission that is carried out by 2040-2050 is also examined on the basis of the technological willingness (in particular the NTP), financing and international cooperation.
In this article, the authors do not deal with reduction strategies for long -term exposure to radiation or microgravity and instead concentrate on the technical requirements, the power and the optimal trajectories to achieve a mission from earth to Mars to Ceres.
Mission overview
According to the research team, their multiplanetary mission architecture would consist of four phases. The first, Abandon from the Leo of the earthWould see six astronauts that leave a low orbit on board the proposed spacecraft. They claim that this departure could take place in July 2035, followed by a transit between 192 and 258 days (6.5 to 8.5 months). The mission would reach Mars until March 2036, followed by a time of surface research.
This would be the second phase of the mission (Mars surface research), in which three astronauts would descend to the surface with a reusable lander. A long-term habitat is required for this phase so that the astronaut science and exploration activities can carry out. In the meantime, the remaining astronauts would leave Ceres by April 2036, followed by a 574-day transit. On arrival until November 2037, the three-person crew landed on the surface.
This is followed by phase three, Ceres surface researchWhat would take 46 days. By January 2038, the three astronauts would start with the return of their trip to Mars. After another 574-day transit, you would work with the team of three from the surface with the team and start the last phase. Earth returns. From August 2039, the six-person crew spent another day 192-258 to return to Earth, which would be completed by April 2040.
In order to cope with communication challenges, the team recommends using a Mars ceres communication relay orbiter similar to the Mars Relay Network (mrn).
Possible airways
The Mission Architecture examines three possible trajectories with the design and integration instrument of NASA (DIT-42), which simulates the setting of space vehicles, circulation dynamics and environmental models.
Direct transmission: This mission profile is similar to that of Zubrin et al. 1991 and an earlier research proposal from Biswal M and Kumar V in Aiaa Ascend Forum 2021. For this plan, the team simulated a trajectory for a direct transfer of Ceres from Earth with a transit of ~ 472.65 days and a total duration of ~ 945 days. The plan is based on Hohmann transmission tracks to minimize the amount of the grid used.
Earthmarn-Ceres broadcast railway: This trajectory includes a transmission approach with two combustion phases. Burn-1 would generate enough thrust to achieve a disposable transit of 258 days to Mars. Burn-2 would initiate the Mars Ceres transfer, which lasts ~ 574 days. The return railway reflects this duration and delta speed for incoming trips. The entire transit duration is about 833 days, although a modified version would take 1666 days (4.6 years).
Lambert's flight paths: This scenario uses a favorable orbital orientation in 2035, which was identified by analysis using Lambert's problem and porkchop diagrams. It also includes strategic aerobrak/aerocapture maneuvers on Mars to reduce the amount of drifts used. After the Ceres Crew Ceres had explored for about 3 months, she returned to Mars in December 2037 to get the other occupation. The total mission duration for this scenario is 4.25 years, with the crew returning to earth at some point in 2040
Overall, the authors identified the Erdmarsen transmission railway as the optimal. As you determine in your proposal paper:
The selected path for Erdmars-Ceres alleviates the challenge of the orbit recording with higher DELTA-V requirements and enables the crew to take off with the smallest delta-V for safe and successful orbit capture at CERES. In the event of concerns about the recording of Ceres on the earliest occasion, there is the possibility that the three astronauts on board the spacecraft run from the interplanetary transit phase to Ceres before reaching Mars before reaching Mars.
With regard to the future, the team intends to simulate advanced trajectories that include the exact positions of the planets as well as precise downhill and arrival data. Dimension strategies follow the development of the required technology – ie centrifuges, rotating sections, hibernation and other proposed methods. In the meantime, your proposal offers an ambitious concept that could influence future studies and mission planning. How to summarize:
“This ambitious concept represents considerable progress in planning human expansion into the solar system and shows India's emerging role in the conceptualization of progressive deep space missions. This architecture exceeds the limits of current mission planning and combines pragmatic approaches with innovative solutions for researching several planets.”
Further reading: USA
