Multiple near-earth asteroid rendezvous mission: Solar-sailing options. Issue 8 (15th October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peloni, Alessandro; Dachwald, Bernd; Ceriotti, Matteo
• Is Part Of: Advances in space research. Volume 62:Issue 8(2018)
• Page Start: 2084
• Page End: 2098
• Publication Date: 2018-10-15
• Subjects: Automatic trajectory design -- Solar sail -- Tree-search algorithm -- Multiphase trajectory optimisation -- Gossamer -- Near-earth asteroids -- Multiple rendezvous; Space sciences -- Periodicals; Astronautics -- Periodicals; Geophysics -- Periodicals; 500.505
• DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2017.10.017
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0273-1177

Abstract

Abstract: The scientific interest in near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and the classification of some of those as potentially hazardous for the Earth stimulated the interest in their exploration. Close-up observations of these objects will drastically increase our knowledge about the overall NEA population. For this reason, a multiple NEA rendezvous mission through solar sailing is investigated, taking advantage of the propellantless nature of this propulsion technology. Considering a spacecraft based on the DLR/ESA Gossamer technology, this work focuses on a method for searching possible sequences of NEA encounters. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated through a number of fully-optimised trajectories. The results show that it is possible to visit five NEAs within 10 years with near-term solar-sail technology. Moreover, a study on a reduced NEA database demonstrates the reliability of the approach used, showing that 58% of the sequences found with an approximated trajectory model can be converted into real feasible solar-sail trajectories. Overall, the study shows the effectiveness of the proposed automatic optimisation algorithm, which is able to find solutions for a large number of mission scenarios without any input required from the user.