HERE'S HOW ORBITAL DYNAMICS WIZARDRY HELPED SAVE NASA'S NEXT MARS MISSION

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

NASA's ESCAPADE mission is set to launch tomorrow at 2:50 PM EST on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. The mission was delayed last year as its rocket wasn't ready to send it to Mars during its appointed launch window. Mars is now more than 220 million miles away from where it was during last year's launch window - this isn't a big deal, as the mission will follow a 'kidney-bean' shaped trajectory to reach the planet. Such techniques are necessary if humans are to send hundreds of spacecraft to Mars, as it would be difficult to launch only within certain timeframes for direct flights.