Permanent station between the Earth and the Moon - Artist view - Lunar cycler near...

Permanent station between the Earth and the Moon - Artist view - Lunar cycler near Earth - Artist view - Lunar Cycler is a space station placed in orbit between Earth and Moon whose trajectory would lead it alternately near the Moon and near the Earth. Once positioned in orbit, this gravitational assistance vessel would use very little fuel. This project would make a permanent link between the two stars. The station is seen here arriving as close as possible to Earth, a space shuttle is preparing to reach it. A lunar cycler rounds the south pole of the Earth near perigee - its closest approach to the Earth - while a trailing future generation space shuttle prepares for a rendezvous. Once a lunar cycler has been propelled into its elliptical Earth/Moon orbit, it would require relatively little fuel over the ensuing years to maintain its orbit. One thing to note about a lunar cycler is that while it does continually orbit between the Earth and Moon, it is not a tug, i.e., the cycler does not add any momentum to a docking space shuttle nor to any other craft that connects to it. Any ship that docks with the cycler must itself supply the initial energy required to reach an orbit matching the cycler's.