Preliminary Capture Trajectory Design for Europa Tomography Probe

Abstract EN

The objective of this work is the preliminary design of a low-ΔV transfer from an initial elliptical orbit around Jupiter into a final circular orbit around the moon Europa.

This type of trajectory represents an excellent opportunity for a low-cost mission to Europa, accomplished through a small orbiter, as in the proposed Europa Tomography Probe mission, a European contribution to NASA’s Europa Multiple-Flyby Mission (or Europa Clipper).

The mission strategy is based on the v∞ leveraging concept, and the use of resonant orbits to exploit multiple gravity-assist from the moon.

Possible sequences of resonant orbits are selected with the help of the Tisserand graph.

Suitable trajectories are provided by an optimization code based on the parallel running of several differential evolution algorithms.

Different solutions are finally compared in terms of propellant consumption and flight time.