VIRTUAL EXPLORATION BY COMPUTING GLOBAL FAMILIES OF TRAJECTORIES WITH SUPERCOMPUTERS

摘要

Previous research has focused on locating trajectories in the three-body problem useful for mission design using quasi-periodic orbits and their invariant manifolds. Although these techniques have been very successful, the question arises as to whether other useful trajectories exist which cannot be found using the current methodology. In this study, the advantages of a supercomputer are used to investigate a large number of trajectories for potential applications to mission design. The tools applied to this problem were the calculation of collision orbits and Poincare maps. The collision orbit calculations were found to provide a guide to the types of orbits that led to Europa approach. Examining Poincare maps over many energies revealed key aspects of the variation of invariant manifolds with these energy changes.