Coupled Dynamics Analysis Around Asteroids by Means of Accurate Shape and Perturbations Modeling

The paper discusses the analysis and the study of the motion around irregular celestial bodies, with particular attention to the representation of their gravitational influence and the characterization of their complex non-principal axis rotational dynamics. The study has been performed considering different characteristic shapes for typical NEO asteroids: from the simple, almost spherical, to more complex shapes, such as the dog-bone and the elongated ones. The gravitational attraction of these irregular objects has been modeled, through accurate shape discretization, with a constant density polyhedron or an ensemble of point masses. All perturbations, relevant to the case of study, are included in the model, such as the Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP) and the third body gravitational effect (presence of the Sun).