Jones 2017 EMEVVE VEM triple cycler (outbound, AAS 17-577 Table 2)

jones-2017-vem-emevve-outbound · source: literature · validation: V0

Supersedes: EMEEVE VEM Triple Cycler (3-synodic beat archetype — UNREALIZED in AAS 17-577)

Signature

Bodies: E-M-V
Primary: Sun (default — heliocentric)
Sequence (canonical): E-M-E-V-V-E
Sense: outbound
Orbit class: Cycler
strict cycler (infinite returns)
Cycler class: multi-arc
Trajectory regime: ballistic
Maintenance ΔV band: unclassified
Model assumption: analytic-ephemeris
Mid-fidelity: real eccentricity / inclination retained; not full N-body.
Period: 12.800 yr (2 × VEM-syn synodic)
Repeat period T = 12.8 yr = 2 × T_syn (the 6.4-yr VEM synodic, p.3). SOURCED: AAS 17-577 p.9: "Recall that the repeat period T is 12.8 years." Table 2 lists two repeat periods (11 encounters spanning Aug-2022 to Mar-2048 ≈ 25.6 yr = 2 × 12.8 yr).
Priority date: 2017-08-20

V∞ at encounters

E (encounter 1): 4.72 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 1 (Earth 07-Aug-2022): 4.72 km/s. Near-Hohmann transit-leg v∞ (< 5 km/s).
M (encounter 2): 2.50 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 2 (Mars 12-Jun-2023): 2.50 km/s. E→M transit leg (309 d).
E (encounter 3): 5.81 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 3 (Earth 01-Oct-2025): 5.81 km/s. Venus-adjacent gravity-assist leg (> 5 km/s).
V (encounter 4): 7.00 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 4 (Venus 26-Apr-2030): 7.00 km/s.
V (encounter 5): 7.00 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 5 (Venus 08-Feb-2034): 7.00 km/s.
E (encounter 6): 4.21 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 6 (Earth 22-May-2035): 4.21 km/s. Near-Hohmann transit-leg v∞.
M (encounter 7): 2.79 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 7 (Mars 05-Feb-2036): 2.79 km/s. M→E transit leg (259 d).
E (encounter 8): 5.04 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 8 (Earth 15-Aug-2038): 5.04 km/s. Venus-adjacent gravity-assist leg.
V (encounter 9): 4.49 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 9 (Venus 26-Dec-2039): 4.49 km/s.
V (encounter 10): 4.49 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 10 (Venus 17-Apr-2045): 4.49 km/s.
E (encounter 11): 5.67 km/s
SOURCED: Table 2 row 11 (Earth 05-Mar-2048): 5.67 km/s.

Cycle-level identity (multi-arc invariants)

Aphelion ratio (AR): —
Turn ratio (TR): —
Transit times (days): 309 d, 259 d

Multi-arc patched-conic on real ephemeris. AAS 17-577 tabulates only encounter dates, v∞, periapsis altitudes, and transit ToF (note §8 of the mining note); NO orbital elements (a,e,peri,apo,i) are published anywhere in the paper. Do NOT derive — that would require re-running Lambert (circular, violates golden-discipline).

Orbit view 2.5D ecliptic projection

spacecraft: analytic-ephemeris (real e/i retained) planets: J2000 osculating ellipse (Standish & Williams Table 1) orientation: coplanar-idealized (no Ω/ω published — in-plane ellipse)

3D view not available for multi-arc trajectories yet. The 3D system can now render a numerically-sampled polyline (n-body or multi-arc), but no sampled trajectory is published for this row — each leg is a separate ellipse with honest gaps where elements are unpublished (the 2D view above shows them). The button will appear here once a sampled path is exported for this trajectory; we never interpolate one from the catalogue's per-leg (a, e).

— — planet orbit (true J2000 ellipse)

Not-published gaps (never interpolated):

E → M — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
M → E — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
E → V — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
V → V — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
V → E — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
E → M — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
M → E — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
E → V — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
V → V — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.
V → E — segment elements (a, e) not published; no curve drawn.

Legs (trajectory segments)

E → M: 309 d, 0 revs
Earth to first Mars flyby. Near-Hohmann E→M transit leg; ToF 309 d (Table 2 + p.9).
M → E: 842 d, 0 revs
Mars flyby to Earth flyby (gravity-assist arc). ToF 842 d (Table 2).
E → V: 1668 d, 0 revs
Earth to first Venus flyby. ToF 1668 d (Table 2).
V → V: 1384 d, 0 revs
Venus to Venus arc. ToF 1384 d (Table 2).
V → E: 468 d, 0 revs
Venus to Earth flyby. ToF 468 d (Table 2).
E → M: 259 d, 0 revs
Earth to Mars flyby. ToF 259 d (Table 2); the p.9 transit-leg pair for this outbound example is '309 and 259 days'.
M → E: 922 d, 0 revs
Mars flyby to Earth flyby. ToF 922 d (Table 2).
E → V: 498 d, 0 revs
Earth to Venus flyby. ToF 498 d (Table 2).
V → V: 1939 d, 0 revs
Venus to Venus arc. ToF 1939 d (Table 2).
V → E: 1053 d, 0 revs
Venus to final Earth flyby (end of two repeat periods). ToF 1053 d (Table 2).

Definition status

incomplete — core fields missing or known-unknowns tracked below

Family: Jones/Hernandez/Jesick VEM triple cyclers · EMEVVE outbound itinerary (AAS 17-577 Table 1)

Known-unknowns (3)

Values we expect to exist but have not yet filled (distinct from "not applicable"). Tracked per upstream docs/spec.md §16.6.4.

orbit_elements [unknown]
AAS 17-577 publishes NO orbital elements (a,e,peri,apo,i) for any cycler (mining note §8). Solutions are given as encounter dates + v∞ + periapsis altitudes + transit ToF only. Cannot be source-derived without re-running Lambert (circular).

source: Jones, Hernandez, Jesick 2017 (AAS 17-577) Table 2 + note §8
delta_v_kms [unknown]
Per-row Δv is not given for the Table 2 broad-search cycler. The paper's Δv numbers (taxi/launch/capture) appear only for the Table 4 optimized architecture, which is a different set of trajectories (mining note §8).

source: Jones, Hernandez, Jesick 2017 (AAS 17-577) Table 2 vs Table 4
flyby_mechanics[*].turning_angle_deg [unknown]
Per-flyby turning angles δ (Eq.1) and B-plane angles θ_B (Eq.5) are not tabulated for this cycler (mining note §8). Only periapsis altitudes are listed (captured in min_altitude_km).

source: Jones, Hernandez, Jesick 2017 (AAS 17-577) Table 2

Primary citation

Jones, D. R. et al. (2017). Low Excess Speed Triple Cyclers of Venus, Earth, and Mars. AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Stevenson WA, AAS Paper 17-577.

URL: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20190028464

AAS 17-577 Table 2 (p.10): 'Flyby summary for EMEVVE family cycler over two repeat periods'. NTRS accession 20190028464. No DOI (AAS conference paper).

Notes

Fully-tabulated EMEVVE outbound member of the jones-2017-vem-triple-family, transcribed verbatim from AAS 17-577 Table 2 (p.10) over two repeat periods (11 encounters, body sequence E-M-E-V-V-E-M-E-V-V-E = two overlapping EMEVVE cycles). Repeat period T = 12.8 yr (p.9). Transit legs E→M 309 d, M→E 259 d (p.9). EMEVVE and EMEEVE "seemed to exhibit the best overall characteristics" (p.8). Per-encounter v∞ (km/s): E 4.72 / M 2.50 / E 5.81 / V 7.00 / V 7.00 / E 4.21 / M 2.79 / E 5.04 / V 4.49 / V 4.49 / E 5.67. Periapsis altitudes (km): 100 / 4,164 / 3,814 / 684 / 1,985 / 1,998 / 1,754 / 3,213 / 3,319 / 836 / 100. No orbital elements or per-row Δv are published in the paper (note §8).

Source quotes (per-field provenance)

Every numerical value in this entry traces to a verbatim or paraphrased quote from a cited source.

period.years: AAS 17-577 p.9: "Recall that the repeat period T is 12.8 years."
invariants.transit_times_days: AAS 17-577 p.9 (outbound example): transit legs are "309 and 259 days" (E→M 309, M→E 259). Matches Table 2 Flight-Time rows 12-Jun-2023 (309) and 05-Feb-2036 (259).
vinf_kms_at_encounters: AAS 17-577 Table 2 (p.10), "Excess speed, km/sec" column, in encounter order: 4.72, 2.50, 5.81, 7.00, 7.00, 4.21, 2.79, 5.04, 4.49, 4.49, 5.67.
flyby_mechanics: AAS 17-577 Table 2 (p.10), "Periapsis altitude, km" column: 100; 4,164; 3,814; 684; 1,985; 1,998; 1,754; 3,213; 3,319; 836; 100.