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A study of periodic orbits near Europa

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Abstract

Periodic orbits and their invariant manifolds are known to be useful for transportation in space, but a large portion of the related research goes toward a small number of periodic orbit families that are relatively simple to compute. In this study, motivated by a search for new and lesser-known families of useful periodic orbits, the bifurcation diagram near Europa is explored and 400 bifurcation points are found. Families are generated for 74 of these and provided in a publicly accessible database. Of these 74 generated families, those that also appear to exist in a model perturbed by certain zonal harmonics of Jupiter and Europa are identified. Differential corrections techniques are discussed, and a new method for natural parameter continuation in the three-body problem is presented. Periodic orbits with particularly useful geometric and stability properties for science purposes are highlighted.

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Acknowledgements

Part of this research was carried out at the University of Colorado at Boulder under a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (80NSSC18K1183). Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC18K1183). Special thanks are due to Emily Zimovan-Spreen who was a great help in overcoming certain hurdles of the bifurcation diagram process.

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  1. Office 422, Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building, The University of Colorado Boulder, 3775 Discovery Dr, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA

    Luke Bury

  2. Office 461, Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building, The University of Colorado Boulder, 3775 Discovery Dr, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA

    Jay McMahon

  3. M/S 301-121, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA

    Martin Lo

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  1. Luke Bury
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Correspondence to Luke Bury.

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Part of this research was carried out at the University of Colorado at Boulder under a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (80NSSC18K1183). Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC18K1183).

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Bury, L., McMahon, J. & Lo, M. A study of periodic orbits near Europa. Celest Mech Dyn Astron 134, 27 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-022-10076-6

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