Hidden L1 route trims propellant and keeps Earth in sight on the Moon trek

Researchers, using a 30-million-trajectory search, identify a fuel-efficient Earth–Moon transfer that funnels through the L1 Lagrange point to maintain continuous line-of-sight with Earth and reduce delta-v by about 58.8 m/s compared with the best prior route. The plan is a two-segment path: Earth parking orbit to a stable manifold leading to L1, then from L1 to lunar orbit via an unstable manifold, with entry to the lunar variate from the Moon-facing side. This approach directly addresses Artemis II’s radio blackout by avoiding lunar occultation, but its accuracy omits Sun and other perturbations and is date-dependent, suggesting potential broader applicability if generalized to other destinations in future work.