Natasha Bosanac

Leveraging Discrete Variational Mechanics to Explore the Effect of an Autonomous Three-Body Interaction Added to the Restricted Problem

With recent improvements in ground and space-based telescopes, a large number of binary systems have been observed both within the solar system and beyond. These systems can take the form of asteroid pairs or even binary stars, with each component possessing a similar mass. In this investigation, periodic motions near large mass ratio binaries are explored using the circular restricted three-body problem, which is modified to include an additional three-body interaction. Discrete variational mechanics is leveraged to obtain periodic orbits that exhibit interesting shape characteristics, as well as the corresponding natural parameters. Shape characteristics and structural changes are explained using the stability and existence of equilibrium points, enabling exploration of the effect of an additional three-body interaction and conditions for reproducibility in a natural gravitational environment.

Manned sample return mission to phobos: A technology demonstration for human exploration of Mars

In order to reduce the knowledge gap associated with long-duration human exploration of Mars, a manned precursor mission destined for one of the Martian moons is currently considered a feasible option for testing and demonstrating critical technologies within the Martian system. The 2013 Caltech Space Challenge, a student mission design competition held at the California Institute of Technology, addressed the interest in human precursor missions. Two teams of 16 students, with varying backgrounds and nationalities, were allocated five days to design a mission to land at least one human on a Martian moon and return them, along with a sample, safely to Earth with a launch date no later than January 1, 2041. This paper provides an overview of Technology Advancing Phobos Exploration and Return (TAPER-1), the manned Phobos sample return mission devised by Team Explorer. As the first manned mission to the Martian system, TAPER-1 is designed as an opposition class mission to Phobos, carrying four astronauts, with a launch date in April 2033, and a nominal time of flight of 456 days. In addition, this paper demonstrates the feasibility and value of exposing students to the process of rapid mission design.

A General Purpose Astronomy Small Satellite: an approach to low- cost space telescope design using space-qualified ground telescopes

The General Purpose Astronomy - Small Satellite (GPA-SS) project studied the feasibility of developing a useful space telescope with a cost to launch below

An Earth–Moon system trajectory design reference catalog ☆

100 million. An optical telescope assembly (OTA) designed for ground use is proposed for use in a space mission in order to take advantage of the economies of scale in existing mirror fabrication processes. This paper details the additional design, manufacture and test tasks required to flight-qualify the ground telescope. A near-infrared imaging space telescope was costed as a potential mission. Key subsystems were designed at a conceptual level. This design was used both to estimate subsystem costs and to inform the science achievable from a given telescope design. Subsystem costs were estimated from the design through a combination of previously published cost estimating relationships and vendor quotes. This paper concludes that the space-qualification of an existing ground telescope is a potential approach for making significant cost savings when designing a low cost space telescope. Additional work on design and cost estimation around the framework presented in this paper could be undertaken to add certainty to the cost estimate.