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Brazilian Scientist Finds 153-Day Mars Shortcut for 2031 Launch

4/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

Brazilian researcher Marcelo de Oliveira Souza identified a Mars shortcut that enables a sub-year round-trip.
He used early orbital predictions of near-Earth asteroid 2001 CA21, whose path crosses Earth and Mars.
Only the 2031 launch-window geometry satisfied his plane-anchoring method’s energetic and geometric criteria.
The study found two closed Earth–Mars–Earth trajectories—a 153-day (33 + 30 + 90) and a 226-day (56 + 35 + 135) profile—both returning within a year and shaving hundreds of days from typical trips.

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Story summary

Brazilian researcher Marcelo de Oliveira Souza identified a Mars shortcut that enables a sub-year round-trip.
He used early orbital predictions of near-Earth asteroid 2001 CA21, whose path crosses Earth and Mars.
Only the 2031 launch-window geometry satisfied his plane-anchoring method’s energetic and geometric criteria.
The study found two closed Earth–Mars–Earth trajectories—a 153-day (33 + 30 + 90) and a 226-day (56 + 35 + 135) profile—both returning within a year and shaving hundreds of days from typical trips.