Earth-Mars cycler architectures are attractive for multiple-mission Mars campaigns. Cycler architectures include a transport spacecraft that travels between Earth and Mars continuously. A manned taxi spacecraft rendezvous with this cycler spacecraft while the cycler is in a hyperbolic orbit about the planet. This can save on fuel costs over the lifetime of the campaign since heavy life support and radiation shielding does not need to be lifted for each mission. Several previous studies have discovered feasible cycler trajectories for many launch opportunities while others have looked at the guidance and system safety aspects of hyperbolic rendezvous. However, no study to this date has examined the implications of different cycler architectures and launch dates on the rendezvous maneuver. This paper seeks to establish trends in rendezvous AV and timing requirements for various launch opportunities in the coming decades. Rendezvous is assessed for nominal and off-nominal mission scenarios such terminal docking abort. For the abort scenario, two mitigation strategies are presented. Current human-rated spacecraft are assessed for their viability as taxi vehicles. The results of this paper help provide a more complete picture of the costs and trade-off's associated with cycler trajectories. Finally, a common assumption regarding the applicability of results to different launch opportunities is scrutinized.
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