Transient-collision trajectories in Hill’s problem with an oblate primary: application to the Mars-Deimos system
摘要
Periodic orbits in Hill’s restricted three-body problem have been thoroughly studied because of their wide applicability. However, collision trajectories, in particular transient-collision (TC) trajectories, received less attention, despite their potential relevance to exploration missions. This study presents a methodology for identifying TC trajectories with respect to the secondary body within the framework of Hill’s problem with an oblate primary (HPO), including a specific application to the Mars-Deimos system. The Hamiltonian dynamics are regularized using the Levi-Civita method, followed by a systematic numerical grid search over three independent parameters, based on an integration of the regularized equations backward in time from a collision state. A trajectory suitable for encounter with Deimos is identified using the highest value of the Jacobi constant, which consistently yields collision solutions. Subsequently, a k-nearest neighbors-based method is used to characterize the robustness of the trajectory to variations in initial conditions. The solution is then validated using high-fidelity simulations, which indicate that the HPO model is a useful preliminary design tool for exploration missions to minor celestial bodies.