In the beginning we review briefly the evolution of the ideas on the motion of the bodies in our solar system, from Newton’s clockwork Universe to the presently accepted ubiquity of chaotic transport in the asteroid belt. Then we discuss the result of chaotic motion, which is transport in phase space, and we introduce the concept of diffusion of an asteroid in action space. We proceed by review...

The purpose of this paper is to describe the general setting for the application of techniques from geometric mechanics and dynamical systems to the problem of asteroid pairs. The paper also gives some preliminary results on transport calculations and the associated problem of calculating binary asteroid escape rates. The dynamics of an asteroid pair, consisting of two irregularly shaped astero...

Exploration of asteroids and comets can give insight into the origins of the solar system and can be instrumental in planetary defence and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Asteroids, due to their low gravity are a challenging target for surface exploration. Current missions envision performing touch-and-go operations over an asteroid surface. In this work, we analyse the feasibility of send...

We report on a real-time application supporting fast, realistic real-time rendering of asteroid datasets, as well as collision detection and response between the asteroid and prototype robotic surface exploration vehicles. The system organizes the asteroid surface into a two-level multiresolution structure, which embeds a fine-grained perpatch spatial index within a coarse-grained patch-based s...

Spacecraft exploration of asteroids presents a variety of autonomous navigation challenges that can be aided by virtual models to test and develop guidance and hazard avoidance systems. This paper describes the extension and application of graphics techniques to create high-resolution, virtual asteroid models to simulate cameras and other spacecraft sensors approaching and descending towards as...

Context. Observation of star occultations is a powerful tool to determine shapes and sizes of asteroids. This is key information necessary for studying the evolution of the asteroid belt and to calibrate indirect methods of size determination, such as the models used to analyze thermal infrared observations. Up to now, the observation of asteroid occultations is an activity essentially secured ...

We consider dynamics of a Sun–Jupiter–Asteroid system, and, under some simplifying assumptions, show the existence of instabilities in the motions of an asteroid. In particular, we show that an asteroid whose initial orbit is far from the orbit of Mars can be gradually perturbed into one that crosses Mars’ orbit. Properly formulated, the motion of the asteroid can be described as a Hamiltonian ...

This paper investigates a systematic mission design of robust and optimal orbital transfer maneuvers for a sample return mission from an asteroid. In this study, an interplanetary space flight mission design is established to obtain the minimum ∆V required for a rendezvous and sample return mission from an asteroid. Given the initial (observed) conditions of an asteroid, a (robust) genetic algo...

One of the most interesting objects among the small bodies in the Solar System is the intermediate object 7968 Elst– Pizarro classified as an asteroid–comet orbiting in the Themis region of the main belt, which showed a temporary dust tail activity in 1996. The impact-induced processes generated by multiple collisions with a debris cloud associated with another asteroid, are the preferred expla...