Minimum-fuel low-thrust trajectories to the Moon

Yoon, Sung Wook; Petukhov, V. G.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2023.05.006

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Of special concern are minimum fuel trajectories: if less propellant can be carried, then more payload weight can be thrust into orbit, or smaller spacecraft, e.g., CubeSats, can be used. Several approaches to design Earth-Moon transfers can be found in the literature, and the propulsion technology significantly influences trajectory design (Biesbroek and Janin 2000;Ozimek and Howell 2010;Parker et al 2013;Capuzzo-Dolcetta and Giancotti 2013;Yoon and Petukhov 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On optimal three-impulse Earth–Moon transfers in a four-body model

Grossi,

Buonagura,

Giordano

et al. 2024

Celest Mech Dyn Astron

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Within the emerging age of lunar exploration, optimizing transfer trajectories is a fundamental measure toward achieving more economical and efficient lunar missions. This study addresses the possibility of reducing the fuel cost of two-impulse Earth–Moon transfers in a four-body model with the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun as primaries. Lawden’s primer vector theory is applied within this framework to derive a set of necessary conditions for a fuel-optimal trajectory. These conditions are used to identify which trajectories from an existing database could benefit from the insertion of an additional intermediate impulse. More than 10,000 three-impulse transfers are computed with a direct numerical optimization method. These solutions contribute to enriching the database of impulsive trajectories, useful to perform trade-off analyses. While the majority of trajectories exhibit only marginal improvements, a significant breakthrough emerges for transfers featuring an initial gravity assist at the Moon. Implementing a corrective maneuver after the lunar encounter yields substantial reductions in fuel costs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%