Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids
Missions to near-Earth objects (NEOs) are key destinations in NASA's new ‘Flexible Path’ approach. NEOs are also of interest for science, for the hazards they pose, and for their resources. We emphasize the importance of ultra-low delta-v from LEO to NEO rendezvous as a target selection criteri...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Elsevier
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73467 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7543-6920 |
| _version_ | 1826193135860973568 |
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| author | Elvis, Martin McDowell, Jonathan Hoffman, Jeffrey A Binzel, Richard P |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Elvis, Martin McDowell, Jonathan Hoffman, Jeffrey A Binzel, Richard P |
| author_sort | Elvis, Martin |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Missions to near-Earth objects (NEOs) are key destinations in NASA's new ‘Flexible Path’ approach. NEOs are also of interest for science, for the hazards they pose, and for their resources. We emphasize the importance of ultra-low delta-v from LEO to NEO rendezvous as a target selection criterion, as this choice can greatly increase the payload to the NEO. Few such ultra-low delta-v NEOs are currently known; only 65 of the 6699 known NEOs (March 2010) have delta-v <4.5 km/s, 2/3 of typical LEO-NEO delta-v. Even these are small and hard to recover. Other criteria – short transit times, long launch windows, a robust abort capability, and a safe environment for proximity operations – will further limit the list of accessible objects. Potentially there is at least an order of magnitude more ultra-low delta-v NEOs, but finding them all on a short enough timescale (before 2025) requires a dedicated survey in the optical or mid-IR, optimally from a Venus-like orbit because of the short synodic period for NEOs in that orbit, plus long arc determination of their orbits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:34:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/73467 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:34:36Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/734672024-05-15T05:09:41Z Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids Elvis, Martin McDowell, Jonathan Hoffman, Jeffrey A Binzel, Richard P Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Hoffman, Jeffrey A. Binzel, Richard P. Missions to near-Earth objects (NEOs) are key destinations in NASA's new ‘Flexible Path’ approach. NEOs are also of interest for science, for the hazards they pose, and for their resources. We emphasize the importance of ultra-low delta-v from LEO to NEO rendezvous as a target selection criterion, as this choice can greatly increase the payload to the NEO. Few such ultra-low delta-v NEOs are currently known; only 65 of the 6699 known NEOs (March 2010) have delta-v <4.5 km/s, 2/3 of typical LEO-NEO delta-v. Even these are small and hard to recover. Other criteria – short transit times, long launch windows, a robust abort capability, and a safe environment for proximity operations – will further limit the list of accessible objects. Potentially there is at least an order of magnitude more ultra-low delta-v NEOs, but finding them all on a short enough timescale (before 2025) requires a dedicated survey in the optical or mid-IR, optimally from a Venus-like orbit because of the short synodic period for NEOs in that orbit, plus long arc determination of their orbits. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Contract NAS8-39073) 2012-09-28T14:22:40Z 2012-09-28T14:22:40Z 2011-05 2011-05 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0032-0633 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73467 Elvis, Martin et al. “Ultra-low Delta-v Objects and the Human Exploration of Asteroids.” Planetary and Space Science 59.13 (2011): 1408–1412. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7543-6920 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2011.05.006 Planetary and Space Science Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ application/pdf Elsevier arXiv |
| spellingShingle | Elvis, Martin McDowell, Jonathan Hoffman, Jeffrey A Binzel, Richard P Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids |
| title | Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids |
| title_full | Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids |
| title_fullStr | Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids |
| title_short | Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids |
| title_sort | ultra low delta v objects and the human exploration of asteroids |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73467 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7543-6920 |
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