Invariant Manifolds, the Spatial Three-body
Problem and Space Mission Design
Gomez, G., W. S. Koon, M. W. Lo, J. E. Marsden, J. Masdemont and S. D. Ross
Proceedings of AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Meeting
Quebec City, Canada, August, 2001, AAS 01-301
Abstract:
The invariant manifold structures of the collinear libration
points for the spatial restricted three-body problem provide the
framework for understanding complex dynamical phenomena from a
geometric point of view. In particular, the stable and unstable
invariant manifold ``tubes'' associated to libration point orbits
are the phase space structures that provide a conduit for orbits
between primary bodies for separate three-body systems. These
invariant manifold tubes can be used to construct new spacecraft
trajectories, such as a ``Petit Grand Tour'' of the moons of
Jupiter. Previous work focused on the planar circular restricted
three-body problem. The current work extends the results to the
spatial case.
