Earth–Mars low-thrust transfers with ballistic capture and real-Solar-System dynamics

The phenomenon by which a spacecraft can both approach a celestial body and start performing revolutions around it, without needing to manoeuvre in between, is known as ballistic capture. For ballistic capture to take place, the spacecraft must be under the gravitational influence of at least 2 celestial bodies. Therefore, it is possible to...

Orbit Design of a Lunar Meteoroid Impact Flashes Observer

Fragments of asteroids and comets constantly encounter the Earth and Moon in their orbits, impacting them as meteoroids. Observations of meteor showers on Earth have been studied for at least 50 years, in order to construct accurate Solar System meteoroid models. More recently, Earth-based telescopic observations of the light flashes produced by...

On lunar collision orbits: New methodologies for Moon-to-Moon transfer design

Many interplanetary missions massively leverage the lunar gravitational pull in the so-called low-energy regime to converge to their aim, saving consistent amount of fuel. Among these, two future Japanese spacecraft are expected to repeatedly encounter the Moon along their trajectories to either facilitate the escape from the Earth–Moon system...

Characterization of Trajectories to Collect Samples from Europa's Plume

The search for life in other celestial bodies has always been a topic of great interest within the scientific community. The curiosity to know if we are the only ones in the universe or not has driven the development of many engineering projects. This Master Thesis is meant to do its bit in this research field. Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is...