Abstract
The dynamics of a probe orbiting a moon can be significantly influenced by the non-coincidence between the moon’s equatorial and orbital planes. Thus, we performed a general analysis about the effects of the angle (obliquity) between the above-mentioned planes and of the angle (nodal phasing) between the nodal lines of the mother planet’s apparent orbit and the probe orbit on the lifetime of the probe. The lifetime, strictly correlated to the variations in eccentricity of the probe orbit, was evaluated starting from low values of the semi-major axis, moderate eccentricity, and high inclination to offer high ground spatial resolution and extend latitudinal coverage of the natural satellite. This investigation, carried out through numerical simulations, may be useful for identifying the optimal initial conditions of the probe’s orbit elements, leading to an important increase in the probe lifetime in missions devoted to the exploration of natural satellites.
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25 October 2022
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Marco Cinelli received his Ph.D. degree in 2017 at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He is a research fellow at “Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali” (IAPS) of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) in Rome. He is currently involved in the GALILEO for Science project (G4S) funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and aims to perform a set of measurements in the field of fundamental physics with the two Galileo satellites DORESA and MILENA. He is an adjunct professor at the Universitas Mercatorum of Rome, Italy.
Hanlun Lei received his Ph.D. degree in astronomy from Nanjing University, China, in 2015. Currently, he is an associate professor at the School of Astronomy and Space Science in Nanjing University. his research interest focuses on astrodynamics and celestial mechanics, including space manifold dynamics as well as resonant dynamics of minor bodies in the solar system.
Emiliano Ortore graduated in aerospace engineering (M.S. degree) and in astronautical engineering and pursued his Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Since 2004, he has been working as a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome. Research fields include: celestial mechanics; orbits and satellite constellations for the Earth observation, telecommunication, and navigation; orbits for the observation of planets, moons, and asteroids; and remote sensing applications.
Christian Circi is currently an associate professor in flight mechanics at the Department of Astronautical, Electrical, and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He received his M.S. degree in aeronautical engineering and aerospace engineering and his Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering at Sapienza University of Rome. He worked as a researcher at the Grupo de Mecanica of Vuelo-Madrid (GMV) and a research assistant at the Department of Aerospace Engineering. He is a lecturer in “Interplanetary Trajectories” and “Flight Mechanics of Launcher” in the master degree course of space and astronautical engineering at Sapienza University of Rome. His principal research fields are third-body and solar perturbations, interplanetary and lunar trajectories, solar sails, orbits for planetary observation, and the ascent trajectory of Launcher. He is an associate editor for Aerospace Science and Technology, International Journal of Aerospace Engineering, and Astrodynamics.
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Cinelli, M., Lei, H., Ortore, E. et al. Probe lifetime around natural satellites with obliquity. Astrodyn 6, 429–439 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-022-0145-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-022-0145-1