https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-023-01025-x
Regular Article
Searching for orbits to observe Iapetus
1
School of Engineering and Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Av. Dr. Ariberto Pereira da Cunha, 333, 12516-410, Guaratinguetá, São Paulo, Brazil
2
National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Av. dos Astronautas, 1.758, 10587, São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
3
Academy of Engineering, RUDN University, Miklukho-Maklaya Street 6, 117198, Moscow, Russia
Received:
15
May
2023
Accepted:
9
November
2023
Published online:
7
December
2023
It is in the interest of astronomy and engineering to find orbits for spacecraft that allow a good observation of the orbited body and, at the same time, to reduce expenses with fuel consumption for correction and maintenance maneuvers. Considering the current scenario, many of the small bodies in the Solar System have been shown to be good candidates for future study missions, such as planetary moons, asteroids, and dwarf planets, beyond the orbit of Neptune. In this sense, the search for methods that aim to locate favorable orbital configurations for the placement of a spacecraft is an important point to be studied. In particular, it is important to search for orbits with high inclinations and circular or quasi-circular, since these orbits allow the observation of the entire body during its natural rotation. However, these orbits are subject to strong perturbations due to the presence of effects, such as those caused by mother planets and the inhomogeneity of the mass and the shape of the satellites. So, the goal of the present paper is to search for orbital configurations for a spacecraft around small satellites. Therefore, in this paper, we study the perturbations given by planet Saturn in a spacecraft orbiting the satellite Iapetus.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
