Invariant Manifolds, the Spatial Three-body Problem and Petit Grand Tour of Jovian Moons

Gomez, G., W. S. Koon, M. W. Lo, J. E. Marsden, J. Masdemont and S. D. Ross

Libration Point Orbits and Applications,
(G Gomez, M. W. Lo and J. J. Masdemont, eds.), World Scientific, 557-572

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.