Ultra-low delta-v objects and the human exploration of asteroids

• Main Authors: Elvis, Martin (Author), McDowell, Jonathan (Author), Hoffman, Jeffrey A. (Contributor), Binzel, Richard P. (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier, 2012-09-28T14:22:40Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Missions to near-Earth objects (NEOs) are key destinations in NASA's new 'Flexible Path' approach. NEOs are also of interest for science, for the hazards they pose, and for their resources. We emphasize the importance of ultra-low delta-v from LEO to NEO rendezvous as a target selection criterion, as this choice can greatly increase the payload to the NEO. Few such ultra-low delta-v NEOs are currently known; only 65 of the 6699 known NEOs (March 2010) have delta-v <4.5 km/s, 2/3 of typical LEO-NEO delta-v. Even these are small and hard to recover. Other criteria - short transit times, long launch windows, a robust abort capability, and a safe environment for proximity operations - will further limit the list of accessible objects. Potentially there is at least an order of magnitude more ultra-low delta-v NEOs, but finding them all on a short enough timescale (before 2025) requires a dedicated survey in the optical or mid-IR, optimally from a Venus-like orbit because of the short synodic period for NEOs in that orbit, plus long arc determination of their orbits.
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Contract NAS8-39073)