Scientists map new “economy class” route to the moon that could be best for saving fuel

Researchers identified a new low-fuel Earth-to-Moon transfer route using a close lunar flyby and natural gravitational corridors near the L1 region.

The model, based on millions of simulated trajectories, outperformed previously known optimal paths and could save at least 58.8 m/s of delta-v.

The approach may lower launch costs, increase payload capacity, and improve mission design for future lunar spacecraft.