Related papers: Quantifying hazards: asteroid disruption in lunar …
This paper first defines a class of estimation problem called simultaneous navigation and characterization (SNAC), which is a superset of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). A SNAC framework is then developed for the Autonomous…
This paper presents synthetic observations of long-lived, coorbiting asteroids of Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Mars. Our sample is constructed by taking the limiting semimajor axes, differential longitudes and inclinations for long-lived…
Future multi-spacecraft missions require robust autonomous trajectory optimization capabilities to ensure safe and efficient rendezvous operations. This capability hinges on solving non-convex optimal control problems in real-time, although…
The preliminary mission design of spacecraft missions to asteroids often involves, in the early phases, the selection of candidate target asteroids. The final result of such an analysis is a list of asteroids, ranked with respect to the…
Meteorite craters on the asteroid surface obstruct the horizontal flow of solar wind, forming a plasma wake that modulates the particle fluxes and the electrostatic environment far downstream. In this study, surface charging properties of…
In this work, we performed a dynamical analysis of a spacecraft around a nearly equal-mass binary near-Earth asteroid with application to the asteroid 2017 YE5, which is also a possible dormant Jupiter-family comet. Thus, we investigated…
A great possible achievement for the MMS mission would be crossing electron diffusion regions (EDR). EDR are regions in proximity of reconnection sites where electrons decouple from field lines, breaking the frozen in condition. Decades of…
As Multi-Robot Systems (MRS) become more affordable and computing capabilities grow, they provide significant advantages for complex applications such as environmental monitoring, underwater inspections, or space exploration. However,…
Given the compositional diversity of asteroids, and their distribution in space, it is impossible to consider returning samples from each one to establish their origin. However, the velocity and molecular composition of primary minerals,…
We investigate satellite orbital drag effects at low-Earth orbit (LEO) associated with thermosphere heating during magnetic storms caused by coronal mass ejections. CHAllenge Mini-satellite Payload (CHAMP) and Gravity Recovery And Climate…
The orbital dynamics of a spacecraft orbiting around irregular small celestial bodies is a challenging problem. Difficulties to model the gravity field of these bodies arise from the poor knowledge of the exact shape as observed from the…
Multiple nations are planning activity on the Moon's surface, and to deconflict lunar operations we must understand the sandblasting damage from rocket exhaust blowing soil. Prior research disagreed over the scaling of the erosion rate,…
By using recent observations of the Dydimos-Dimorphos system from the Hubble Space Telescope, 37 boulders with a size of 4 to 7 meters ejected from the system during the impact with the DART spacecraft were identified. In this work, we…
This paper proposes a novel adaptive guidance system developed using reinforcement meta-learning with a recurrent policy and value function approximator. The use of recurrent network layers allows the deployed policy to adapt real time to…
Normally a passive object launched from the Moon at less than the escape velocity orbits the Moon once and then crashes back to the launch site. We show that thanks to lunar gravity anomalies, for specific launch sites and directions, a…
The Artemis program requires robotic and crewed lunar rovers for resource prospecting and exploitation, construction and maintenance of facilities, and human exploration. These rovers must support navigation for 10s of kilometers (km) from…
Mars is the next destination after Earth to support terrestrial life. Decades of Mars exploration has fascinated space explorers to endeavour for a human expedition. But human Mars enterprise is complicated than conventional mission as the…
Robots and particularly drones are especially useful in exploring extreme environments that pose hazards to humans. To ensure safe operations in these situations, usually perceptually degraded and without good GNSS, it is critical to have a…
We use the Reversibility Error Method and the Fidelity to analyze the global effects of a small perturbation in a non-integrable system. Both methods have already been proposed and used in the literature but the aim of this paper is to…
This study investigates the problem of areostationary orbits around Mars in the three-dimensional space. Areostationary orbits are expected to be used to establish a future telecommunication network for the exploration of Mars. However, no…