Related papers: End-to-end trajectory concept for close exploratio…
This study presents the trajectory design for a mission touring Saturn's Inner Large Moons (Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas) engineered to meet observational requirements, including full surface coverage, while ensuring low fuel…
Orbit insertion at Saturn requires a large impulsive manoeuver due to the velocity difference between the spacecraft and the planet. This paper presents a strategy to reduce dramatically the hyperbolic excess speed at Saturn by means of…
This contribution focuses on the design of low-energy transfers between planetary moons and presents an efficient technique to compute trajectories characterized by desirable behaviors in the vicinities of the departure and destination…
A deep-space exploration mission with low-thrust propulsion to rendezvous with multiple asteroids is investigated. Indirect methods, based on the optimal control theory, are implemented to optimize the fuel consumption. The application of…
Future missions to Enceladus would benefit from multi-moon tours that leverage V-infinity on resonant orbits to progressively transfer between moons. Such "resonance family hopping" trajectories present a vast search space for global…
The icy moons are in the focus of the exploration plans of the leading space agencies because of the indications of water-based life and geological activity observed in a number of these objects. In particular, the presence of geyser-like…
In the Earth-Moon system, low-energy orbits are transfer trajectories from the earth to a circumlunar orbit that require less propellant consumption when compared to the traditional methods. In this work we use a Monte Carlo approach to…
Remote sensing observations meet some limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our solar system. A remarkable example of the superiority of in situ probe measurements is illustrated by the…
Saturn's mid-sized moons (satellites) have a puzzling orbital configuration with trapping in mean-motion resonances with every other pairs (Mimas-Tethys 4:2 and Enceladus-Dione 2:1). To reproduce their current orbital configuration on the…
The optimization of low-thrust, multi-revolution orbit transfer trajectories is often regarded as a difficult problem in modern astrodynamics. In this paper, a flexible and computationally efficient approach is presented for the…
The renewed global interest in lunar exploration requires new orbital strategies to ensure flight safety which can benefit extended lunar missions and service a plethora of planned instruments in the lunar orbit and surface. We investigate…
Irregular moons are a class of satellite found orbiting all of the Solar System's giant planets: as their orbits don't match those of their planets, they are theorised to have formed elsewhere in the Solar System and were subsequently…
We assess the dynamical feasibility of redirecting small volatile-bearing trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) onto Mars-impacting orbits using continuous low-thrust propulsion and a single gravity-assist encounter. The study considers two…
The innovative Saturn Ring Skimmer mission concept enables a wide range of investigations that address fundamental questions about Saturn and its rings, as well as giant planets and astrophysical disk systems in general. This mission would…
The exploration of small bodies in the Solar System is a high priority planetary science. Asteroids, comets, and planetary moons yield important information about the evolution of the Solar System. Additionally, they could provide resources…
In this paper a direct method based on a transcription by finite elements in time has been used to design optimal interplanetary trajectories, exploiting a combination of gravity assist maneuvers and low-thrust propulsion. A multiphase…
The search for extrasolar planets is strongly motivated by the goal of characterizing how frequent habitable worlds and life may be within the Galaxy. Whilst much effort has been spent on searching for Earth-like planets, large moons may…
In this work, we develop a new method to design energy minimum low-thrust missions (L2-minimization). In the Circular Restricted Three Body Problem, the knowledge of invariant manifolds helps us initialize an indirect method solving a…
The Cassini mission entered the Grand Finale phase in April 2017 and executed 22.5 highly inclined, close-in orbits around Saturn before diving into the planet on September 15th 2017. Here we present our analysis of the Cassini Grand Finale…
Generating low-thrust transfer trajectories between Earth and the Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), that is selected for NASA's Gateway, can be challenging due to the low control authority available from the propulsion system and the…