Planetary Satellite Orbiters: Applications for the Moon

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Author(s):	dos Santos Carvalho, Jean Paulo ; de Moraes, Rodolpho Vilhena ; Bertachini de Almeida Prado, Antonio Fernando Total Authors: 3
Document type:	Journal article
Source:	MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS IN ENGINEERING; v. 2011, p. 19-pg., 2011-01-01.
Abstract
Low-altitude, near-polar orbits are very desirable as science orbits for missions to planetary satellites, such as the Earth's Moon. In this paper, we present an analytical theory with numerical simulations to study the orbital motion of lunar low-altitude artificial satellite. We consider the problem of an artificial satellite perturbed by the nonuniform distribution of the mass of the Moon (J(2)-J(5), J(7), and C-22). The conditions to get frozen orbits are presented. Using an approach that considers the single-averaged problem, we found families of periodic orbits for the problem of an orbiter travelling around the Moon, where frozen orbits valid for long periods of time are found. A comparison between the models for the zonal and tesseral harmonics coefficients is presented. (AU)

FAPESP's process:	06/04997-6 - Close approach problems in orbital dynamics
Grantee:	Rodolpho Vilhena de Moraes
Support Opportunities:	Research Projects - Thematic Grants