Related papers: A Gravitational Tractor for Towing Asteroids
Until recently, most asteroids were thought to be solid bodies whose shapes were determined largely by collisions with other asteroids. It now seems that many asteroids are little more than rubble piles, held together by self-gravity; this…
A novel non-reactive thrust principle based on controlling the angular momentum of a material body is proposed. Theoretically, it is shown that asymmetric emission/absorption of low-energy particle fluxes with spin in a direction…
In a geocentric kinematically rotating ecliptical coordinate system in geodesic motion through the deformed spacetime of the Sun, both the longitude of the ascending node $\Omega$ and the inclination $I$ of an artificial satellite of the…
Non-gravitational forces play surprising and, sometimes, centrally important roles in shaping the motions and properties of small planetary bodies. In the solar system, the morphologies of comets, the delivery of meteorites and the shapes…
We consider a mathematical model of an orbiting satellite, comprising a rigid carrier body and a flexible boom, operating under the influence of gravity gradient torque. This model is represented by a nonlinear control system, which…
Analytical approximations are commonly employed in the initial trajectory design phase of a mission to rapidly explore a broad design space. In the context of an asteroid deflection mission, accurately predicting deflection is crucial to…
This article discusses how re-emission of absorbed solar light by centimeter- to decimeter-sized structures on the surface of an asteroid can create a component of the recoil force parallel to the surface. Under certain conditions the west…
We aim to understand how landslides affect the shape and rotational motion of small rubble planetary bodies. We limit ourselves to axisymmetric global landslides, and take the primordial shape of the body to also be axisymmetric. The…
The dynamics of a rotating elastic filament is investigated using Stokesian simulations. The filament, straight and tilted with respect to its rotation axis for small driving torques, undergoes at a critical torque a strongly discontinuous…
This paper presents a brief review and latest results of the work that has been carried out by the Planetary Science community in order to understand that role of the geotechnical properties of granular asteroids (commonly known as…
Gravitational Thomas Precession (GTP) is the name given to Thomas Precession when the acceleration is caused by a gravitational force field. The contributio n of the GTP to the the anomalous perihelion advance of the orbit of Mercury is…
Most major planetary bodies in the solar system rotate in the same direction as their orbital motion: their spin is prograde. Theoretical studies to explain the direction as well as the magnitude of the spin vector have had mixed success.…
Despite the large amount of high quality data generated in recent space encounters with asteroids, the majority of our knowledge about these objects comes from ground based observations. Asteroids travelling in orbits that are potentially…
We conjecture that any modification of general relativity can be studied by the minimal geometric deformation approach provided that such modification can be represented by a traceless energy-momentum tensor.
In this paper, the trajectory planning problem for autonomous rendezvous and docking between a controlled spacecraft and a tumbling target is addressed. The use of a variable planning horizon is proposed in order to construct an appropriate…
Accurate gravity field calculations are necessary for landing on planets, moons, asteroids, minimoons, or other irregularly shaped bodies, but current methods become increasingly inaccurate and slow near the surface. We present high…
A method for classifying orbits near asteroids under a polyhedral gravitational field is presented, and may serve as a valuable reference for spacecraft orbit design for asteroid exploration. The orbital dynamics near asteroids are very…
The attitude stabilization of a micro-satellite employing a variable-amplitude cold gas thruster which reflects as a time varying gain on the control input is considered. Existing literature uses a persistence filter based approach that…
An approach to the control of a VTOL vehicle equipped with complementary thrust-direction tilting capabilities that nominally yield full actuation of the vehicle's position and attitude is developed. The particularity and difficulty of the…
We propose a new point of view for interpreting Newton's and Einstein's theories of gravity. By taking inspiration from Continuum Mechanics and its treatment of anisotropies, we formulate new gravitational actions for modified theories of…