Distant Periodic Orbits for Space-Based Near Earth Objects Detection

This article proposes a concept for the detection of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) from a space-based network of telescopes placed on retrograde distant periodic orbits. Planar periodic orbits in the circular restricted threebody problem are designed, starting from initial conditions in the Hill problem available from the literature. Based on an analysis of the distance they reach from Earth, the family of retrograde orbits centered at the Earth are selected. Indeed, due to the large distance they reach from Earth, larger than the Earth-L2 distance, spacecraft on such orbits can detect PHAs incoming from the Sun direction, which could not otherwise be monitored from current Earth-based systems. A trade-off on the orbit amplitude and the number of spacecraft in the constellation is performed considering current visible sensor telescope technology. The case of Chelyabinsk meteor is proposed as real scenario. This article proposes a concept for the detection of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) from a space-based network of telescopes placed on retrograde distant periodic orbits. Planar periodic orbits in the circular restricted three-body problem are designed, starting from initial conditions in the Hill problem available from the literature. Based on an analysis of the distance they reach from Earth, the family of retrograde orbits centered at the Earth are selected. Indeed, due to the large distance they reach from Earth, larger than the Earth-L2 distance, spacecraft on such orbits can detect PHAs incoming from the Sun direction, which could not otherwise be monitored from current Earth-based systems. A trade-off on the orbit amplitude and the number of spacecraft in the constellation is performed considering current visible sensor telescope technology. The case of Chelyabinsk meteor is proposed as real scenario.