Related papers: Optimal impact strategies for asteroid deflection

We propose two algorithms to provide a full preliminary orbit of an Earth-orbiting object with a number of observations lower than the classical methods, such as those by Laplace and Gauss. The first one is the Virtual debris algorithm,…

We consider synchronized trains of sub-picosecond pulses generated by mode-locked lasers applied to deflection of near Earth objects (NEO) on collision course with Earth. Our method is designed to avoid a predicted collision of the NEO with…

Current practice for asteroid close proximity maneuvers requires extremely accurate characterization of the environmental dynamics and precise spacecraft positioning prior to the maneuver. This creates a delay of several months between the…

This study proposes a new automated strategy for designing and optimizing three-dimensional interplanetary low-thrust (LT) trajectories. The method formulates the design as a hybrid optimal control problem and solves it using a two-step…

In asteroid rendezvous missions, the dynamical environment near the asteroid's surface should be made clear prior to the mission launch. However, most of the asteroids have irregular shapes, which lower the efficiency of calculating their…

The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) proposes to retrieve a near-Earth asteroid and position it in a lunar distant retrograde orbit (DRO) for later study, crewed exploration, and ultimately resource exploitation. During the Caltech Space…

The design of interplanetary trajectories often involves a preliminary search for options later refined/assembled into one final trajectory. It is this broad search that, often being intractable, inspires the international event called…

The main motivation of this research is the analytical exploration of the dynamics of asteroid rotation when it moves in elliptic orbit through Space. According to the results of Efroimsky, Frouard (2016), various perturbations (collisions,…

We present a practical and effective method of planetary defense that allows for extremely short mitigation time scales if required as well as long time scale mitigation. This one system allows for virtually any required defense mode. In…

Approaching a tumbling target safely is a critical challenge in space debris removal missions utilizing robotic manipulators onboard servicing satellites. In this work, we propose a trajectory planning method based on nonlinear optimization…

The density of orbital space debris constitutes an increasing environmental challenge. There are three ways to alleviate the problem: debris mitigation, debris removal and collision avoidance. This paper addresses collision avoidance, by…

This paper presents a robust roll angle estimation algorithm, which is developed from our previously published work, where the roll angle was estimated from a dense disparity map by minimizing a global energy using golden section search…

We aim at providing a preliminary approach on the dynamics of a spacecraft in orbit about the asteroid (99942) Apophis during its Earth close approach. The physical properties from the polyhedral shape of the target are derived assigning…

Inspired by the recent 11th Global Trajectory Optimisation Competition, this paper presents the asteroid routing problem (ARP) as a realistic benchmark of algorithms for expensive bound-constrained black-box optimization in permutation…

Conjunction analysis and maneuver planning for spacecraft collision avoidance remains a manual and time-consuming process, typically involving repeated forward simulations of hand-designed maneuvers. With the growing density of satellites…

As a comet, asteroid or planet approaches its parent star, the orbit changes shape due to the curvature of spacetime. For comets in particular, the deviation at the pericentre may noticeably change their ephemerides and affect the dynamics…

We study the time evolution of the impact probability for synthetic but realistic impacting and close approaching asteroids detected in a simulated all-sky survey. We use the impact probability to calculate the impact warning time as the…

Mobility on asteroids by multi-limbed climbing robots is expected to achieve our exploration goals in such challenging environments. We propose a mobility strategy to improve the locomotion safety of climbing robots in such harsh…

Estimates for asteroid masses are based on their gravitational perturbations on the orbits of other objects such as Mars, spacecraft, or other asteroids and/or their satellites. In the case of asteroid-asteroid perturbations, this leads to…

A central aspect of robotic motion planning is collision avoidance, where a multitude of different approaches are currently in use. Optimization-based motion planning is one method, that often heavily relies on distance computations between…