Molniya

On topic of the ultrathin solar-cells, or just perovski; obviously this is great for reducing launch-mass and, if constructed in space, cargo mass; ultimately, station-keeping requirements. They're more talking protection from radiation.

Venus' orbit does indeed have an ion-problem. So these cells might be good for Venus orbit. In the meantime the researchers were talking orbits as cross Van Allen. I didn't know we did that.

The article points to the Молния trajectory. As the name suggests, 'tis Russian - for "lightning". The USSR wanted regular observation of a point on Earth without the expense of a massive GEO-ward rocket. Also, GEO wasn't (and isn't) good for the poles - and the Soviets didn't know about muons. The Comrades at OKB-1 figured they could observe high-latitudes not continually but at least consistently, if they ran a sat in an inclined orbit with period resonant with Earth's rotation.

Molniya further wanted to take its time when observing the high latitudes. So: elliptic. Thing about an ellipse is that this would have a high apogee and cut through the Van Allens. With clunky 1970s-era electronics the Soviets didn't mind radiation fluxes, like our Apollo programme didn't mind them.

In 2017 Molniya was raised for a Mars mission (pdf). This inclination could be simply elliptic; it was mooted purely for its eccentricity. The notion was not to bring oxygen on the trip. The oxygen instead would be taken from the CO₂ at mid-atmo. Only then, use that oxygen to burn the fuel for a soft-landing on Mars (or a dock at Phobos tho' they don't say it).