Areostationary orbit

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An areostationary orbit (abbreviated ASO) is a circular areosynchronous orbit in the Martian equatorial plane about 17,000 km above the surface, any point on which revolves about Mars in the same direction and with the same period as the Martian surface. Although no artificial satellites have been placed so far in this orbit, it is of interest to some scientists foreseeing a future telecommunications network for the exploration of Mars. Areostationary orbit is a concept similar to Earth's geostationary orbit.

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Mars Network - Marsats - NASA site devoted to future communications infrastructure for Mars exploration
Bandwidth available from an areostationary satellite

v • d • e Orbits
Orbit types	Box orbit • Circular orbit • Ecliptic orbit • Elliptic orbit • Highly Elliptical Orbit • Graveyard orbit • Hyperbolic trajectory • Inclined orbit • Osculating orbit • Parabolic trajectory • Capture orbit • Escape orbit • Semi-synchronous orbit • Subsynchronous orbit • Synchronous orbit
Earth-centered orbits	Geosynchronous orbit • Geostationary orbit • Sun-synchronous orbit • Low Earth orbit • Medium Earth Orbit • Molniya orbit • Near equatorial orbit • Orbit of the Moon • Polar orbit • Polar sun synchronous orbit • Tundra orbit
Other orbits	Areosynchronous orbit • Areostationary orbit • Lissajous orbit • Lunar orbit • Heliocentric orbit • Heliosynchronous orbit
Orbital elements	Inclination ( $i\,\!$ ) • Longitude of the ascending node ( $\Omega\,\!$ ) • Eccentricity ( $e\,\!$ ) • Argument of periapsis ( $\omega\,\!$ ) • Semi-major axis ( $a\,\!$ ) • Mean anomaly at epoch ( $M_o\,\!$ )
Other orbital parameters	True anomaly ( $v\,$ ) • Semi-minor axis ( $b\,$ ) • Linear eccentricity ( $\epsilon\,$ ) • Eccentric anomaly ( $E\,$ ) • Mean longitude ( $L\,$ ) • True longitude ( $l\,$ ) • Orbital period ( $T\,$ )
Orbital maneuvers	Bi-elliptic transfer • Geostationary transfer orbit • Gravitational slingshot • Hohmann transfer orbit • Orbital inclination change • Orbit phasing • Space rendezvous
Other orbital mechanics topics	Apsis • Celestial coordinate system • Delta-v budget • Epoch • Ephemeris • Equatorial coordinate system • Ground track • Interplanetary Transport Network • Kepler's laws of planetary motion • Lagrangian point • List of orbits • n-body problem • Orbit equation • Orbital state vectors • Retrograde and direct motion • Specific orbital energy • Specific relative angular momentum