Each row is one route between two nodes, and its four measures carry different confidence.
Δv comes from orbital mechanics and does not change with the vehicle.
Transit depends on propulsion. Chemical times are firm; every time past Mars assumes nuclear electric propulsion (NEP), which has not flown - see Propulsion Classes.
Gear ratio is the mass launched from Earth's surface per ton delivered, from the Δv Corridor Calculator. It is also the launch mass that each ton made at the destination replaces - see Gear Ratio.
Status records whether the use in the Carries column has flown.
Delivering one ton to EML-1 on LOX/methane takes about 16.8× its mass launched from Earth's surface; delivering it to the lunar surface takes about 30.7×. A ton of water or oxygen made on the Moon is worth that much launched mass. Routes that start off Earth show the in-space ratio and are marked local.
The corridors
The Corridor Index
16 corridors between 16 nodes. Rows with a detail page link to it; modeled rows link to their destination hub. See Corridor Detail.
Showing 16 of 16 corridors
| Corridor | Δv km/s | Transit | Gear ratio | Carries | Status | Rated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEO → GEO | 3.90 | 5 h - 6 mo | 17.4× | Communications satellites; servicing by MEV-1 and Shijian-21 | Flown | Observed |
| LEO → EML-1 | 3.77 | 4-5 d | 16.8× | Staging and depot resupply | Flown | Observed |
| LEO → SEL-1 | 3.40 | About 30 d | 15.1× | Solar and space-weather monitors: SOHO, DSCOVR, Aditya-L1 | Flown | Observed |
| LEO → SEL-2 | 3.40 | About 30 d | 15.1× | Telescopes: JWST and Euclid; Roman next | Flown | Observed |
| LEO → Lunar surface | 5.90 | 3-5 d | 30.7× | Crew, landers, anything not made locally | Flown | Observed |
| Lunar surface → EML-1 | 2.52 | 3-4 d | 2.3× local | Water and propellant outbound: the export leg | Planned | Building |
| Lunar surface → Lunar orbit | 1.87 | Minutes | No propellant | Bulk regolith by mass driver | Assumed | Projected |
| EML-1 → Mars transfer | 0.77 | 6-9 mo | 1.4× local | Crew and cargo leaving from EML-1 | Planned | Building |
| LEO → Mars surface | 4.90 | 6-9 mo | 23.1× | Landers since Viking 1; aerobraked arrival | Flown | Observed |
| Phobos → Mars surface | ~0.9 | Hours | 1.4× local | Down from the inner moon | Assumed | Projected |
| Deimos → Ceres | ~2.9 | 2-3 yr | 2.5× local | Outbound staging from the outer Mars moon | Modeled | Modeled |
| LEO → Ceres | 9.60 | 3-5 yr | 8.0× NEP | Cargo by NEP; crew once NEP flies | Modeled | Modeled |
| LEO → Callisto | 11.80 | 5-7 yr | 8.6× NEP | First outer anchor: bunkering and gateway | Modeled | Modeled |
| LEO → Titan | 12.60 | 7-9 yr | 8.9× NEP | Aerocapture arrival; the outer refinery | Modeled | Modeled |
| LEO → Triton | 16.40 | 12-15 yr | 10.1× NEP | Aerocapture at Neptune; gateway to the Kuiper Belt | Modeled | Modeled |
| LEO → Pluto-Charon | 18.20 | 15-20 yr | 10.7× NEP | Last stop before the Kuiper Belt | Modeled | Modeled |
Gear ratio on LOX/methane at 360 s through Mars and on NEP at 3,000 s past Mars; dry mass fraction 0.10; Earth-origin routes include the 5.2× Earth-to-LEO launch factor. Rows marked local start off Earth and show the in-space ratio.
The map
Every Corridor Past Mars Starts in Low Earth Orbit
Solid lines have flown; dashed lines are planned or assumed; dotted lines are modeled.
Each node, its gravity, light time and who has stopped there, is on the Node Index.
Status
Status Records Use, and Retirement Is a Status
Each corridor carries one status. A retired corridor keeps its row and changes its status; there is no separate retirement register.
| Status | Meaning | Corridors | Rated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flown | The use in the Carries column has flown | 6 | Observed |
| Planned | A program intends to fly it | 2 | Building |
| Assumed | Architectures depend on it; no program flies it yet | 2 | Projected |
| Modeled | Original analysis only | 6 | Modeled |
| Retired | Flown before; no active vehicle or program serves it | 0 | Observed |
Lunar surface → Lunar orbit is Assumed because its use is a mass driver. The route itself has been flown by the Apollo lunar module ascent stages, 1969-1972, and by the Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 ascenders in 2020 and 2024.
China
Chinese Corridors, Flown and Planned
Chang'e on the lunar corridor, Queqiao relays beyond the Moon, Tianwen to Mars, an asteroid and Jupiter.
| Corridor | Missions | Vehicle | Status | Rated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth → Lunar surface | Chang'e-3 (2013), Chang'e-4 far side (2019), Chang'e-5 (2020) and Chang'e-6 far side (2024) | Long March 3B, Long March 5 | Flown | Observed |
| Earth → EML-2 halo | Queqiao-1 far-side relay (2018) | Long March 4C | Flown | Observed |
| Earth → Lunar frozen orbit | Queqiao-2 relay (March 2024) | Long March 8 | Flown | Observed |
| Earth → Lunar south pole | Chang'e-7 ice survey, launch postponed 24 August 2026; Chang'e-8 | Long March 5 | Planned | Building |
| Earth → Lunar surface, crewed | Mengzhou and Lanyue, landing targeted before 2030 | Long March 10 | Planned | Building |
| Earth → Lunar base | ILRS with Roscosmos; nuclear power station delivery 2035 | Long March 10 | Assumed | Projected |
| Earth → Mars surface | Tianwen-1 and the Zhurong rover, landed May 2021 | Long March 5 | Flown | Observed |
| Earth → Mars and back | Tianwen-3 sample return, 2028 window | Long March 5 | Planned | Building |
| Earth → Near-Earth asteroid | Tianwen-2 to Kamo'oalewa, launched May 2025 | Long March 3B | Flown | Observed |
| Earth → Jupiter system | Tianwen-4, Callisto orbiter, launch around 2029-2030 | Long March 5 | Assumed | Projected |
Program structure is on Chinese Program Structure; launch vehicles on Heavy Lift.
Contested
Deliberately Not Claimed
The load-bearing uncertainties, tagged with the confidence they actually earn.
Transit past Mars is a placeholder. Those times assume megawatt-class NEP. The Δv holds; the times move with specific power, possibly by a factor of three, once a reactor of that class flies.
NEP gear ratios use impulsive Δv. A low-thrust spiral out of Earth's gravity well costs roughly twice the impulsive Δv, so the NEP ratios past Mars are lower bounds.
No refilling. Gear ratios assume one vehicle carries all its propellant from LEO. Starship's LEO refilling changes the count of launches, not the mass ratio of the route.
Record
Provenance and Data Sources
- Confidence
- Observed for flown, fielded or measured - Building for hardware and programs in development - Projected for announced plans - Modeled for original analysis
- Status date
- Q4 2026
- Method
- Rocket equation; dry mass fraction 0.10; Earth-to-LEO launch factor 5.2×
- China
- CNSA Chang'e, Queqiao and Tianwen missions; CMSA crewed lunar program; CNSA-Roscosmos ILRS agreement (May 2025)
- Weakest link
- Transit times past Mars