Related papers: First approximation for spacecraft motion relative…
Comprehensive analysis of space debris rotational dynamics is vital for active debris removal missions that require physical capture or de-tumbling of a target. We study the attitude motion of used rocket bodies acknowledgedly belonging to…
We present deep imaging observations of activated asteroid P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS) using the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) from late April to early June 2016. The images are best interpreted as the result of a relatively short-duration…
In this paper, we present an open source software ($\texttt{SAMUS}$) which simulates constant-density, constant-viscosity liquid bodies subject to tidal forces for a range of assumed viscosites and sizes. This software solves the…
We have carried out a numerical investigation of the coupled gravitational and non-gravitational perturbations acting on Earth satellite orbits in an extensive grid, covering the whole circumterrestrial space, using an appropriately…
Photometric observations of asteroids show that some of them are in non-principal axis rotation state (free precession), called tumbling. Collisions between asteroids have been proposed as a possible asteroid rotation excitation mechanism.…
Proxima and Alpha Centauri AB have almost identical distances and proper motions with respect to the Sun. Although the probability of such similar parameters is in principle very low, the question as to whether they actually form a single…
Context. Most small asteroids (<50 km in diameter) are the result of the breakup of a larger parent body and are often considered to be rubble-pile objects. Similar structures are expected for the secondaries of small asteroid binaries,…
The first proposed Brazilian mission to deep space, the ASTER mission, has the triple asteroid system (153591) 2001 SN263 as a target. One of the mission's main goals is to analyze the physical and dynamical structures of the system to…
The motion of Mercury using numerical methods in the framework of a model including only the non-relativistic Newtonian gravitational interactions of the solar system, 9 planets in translation (including Pluto) around the sun has been…
Several papers have recently suggested the possible presence of a ninth planet (Planet X) that might explain the gravitational perturbations of a number of detached Trans-Neptunian objects. To analyze the possibility further, we have…
Containing only a few percent the mass of the moon, the current asteroid belt is around three to four orders of magnitude smaller that its primordial mass inferred from disk models. Yet dynamical studies have shown that the asteroid belt…
In the framework of multi-body dynamics, successive encounters with a third body, even if well outside of its sphere of influence, can noticeably alter the trajectory of a spacecraft. Examples of these effects have already been exploited by…
Context. Earlier work suggests that slowly rotating asteroids should have higher thermal inertias than faster rotators because the heat wave penetrates deeper into the sub-surface. However, thermal inertias have been determined mainly for…
We present a novel empirical method for correcting asteroid phase curves for rotational and geometrical effects using precomputed spin-and-shape models. Our approach normalizes sparse photometric data to a pole-on geometry, enabling…
Analysis of 8,804,545 electron velocity distribution functions (VDFs), observed by the $\mathit{Wind}$ spacecraft near 1 AU between January 1, 2005 and January 1, 2022, was performed to determine the spacecraft floating potential,…
With the successful impact of the NASA DART spacecraft in the Didymos-Dimorphos binary asteroid system, we provide an initial analysis of the post-impact perturbed binary asteroid dynamics. To compare our simulation results with…
The detection of low-mass planets orbiting the nearest stars is a central stake of exoplanetary science, as they can be directly characterized much more easily than their distant counterparts. Here, we present the results of our long-term…
This paper presents a novel methodology to control spacecraft swarms about singleasteroids with arbitrary gravitational potential coefficients. This approach enablesthe use of small, autonomous swarm spacecraft in conjunction with a…
We demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of using a satellite-based sensor with visual and infrared focal plane arrays to search for NEAs with orbits largely interior to the Earth's orbit. Such a space-based system could detect…
We calculate orbits for the Milky Way dwarf galaxies with proper motions, and compare these to subhalo orbits in a high resolution cosmological simulation. We use this same simulation to assess how well are able to recover orbits in the…