LAGRANGIAN COHERENT STRUCTURES IN THE RESTRICTED THREE-BODY PROBLEM

摘要

The inherent difficulty of spacecraft mission design in regimes involving multiple gravitating bodies is somewhat alleviated by tools that provide sophisticated conceptual cues in an understandable format. Specifically, the concepts of the Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent (FTLE) and Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) are employed to visually identify regions characterized by certain behavior in a system, or to effectively isolate trajectories of potential use. The Restricted Three-Body Problem (R3BP) is a dynamical system that displays both ordered and chaotic behavior. This varied complexity is amenable to visual analysis of FTLE information and the associated LCS. Samples of FTLE/LCS visualizations highlight the applicability of these tools for mission design.