Exploring the Moon gravity to escape from the Earth–Moon system

• Autor(a) principal: Santana, S. H.S.
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: De Melo, C. F., Macau, E. E.N., Winter, O. C. [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40314-015-0287-3; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/178320
• topic: Escape trajectories; Numerical simulations; Swing-by

Escape trajectories from the Earth–Moon system can be obtained through a single gravity assist maneuver of a spacecraft with the Moon. This paper presents a semi-analytical study of variations in the semi-major axis and the eccentricity of a spacecraft for a geocentric frame—before and after a close encounter of the spacecraft with the Moon. Studies on the swing-by dynamics between a spacecraft and the Moon were performed in order to establish a set of initial conditions in terms of eccentricities and semi-major axes of geocentric initial orbits. This way, it was possible identify which orbits, launched from Earth parking orbits, accomplish swing-bys with the Moon and generate escape trajectories.