Mars
In 2015, NASA hosted a joint Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate/Science Mission Directorate workshop to determine the optimal landing sites and exploration zones on Mars for human exploration based on specific criteria. US researchers proposed 50+ sites based on candidate scientific objectives and the implications of those choices, and then narrowed them down to the Top 45.
Our next step is to determine the Top 5 landing sites and destinations that are optimal for charting roads on Mars. To date, we have located 3 out of 8 Martian roads: Tharsis Cave Loop, Mark Watney Highway and Ray Bradbury Road. Connecting the Mars landing sites is another useful exercise, allowing for the definition of "safety zones" within, but not between, different countries, using locations defined by international researchers. We are actively seeking clients to commission our Mars maps, with 8 inaugural roads.
2035 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS
A general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2035 Mars apparition is considered Perihelic because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 17.3° from the longitude of perihelion (250° Ls). In simple language, 2035 will be the optimal year for sending a fleet of roadbots to Mars, so there is some urgency.
