Definition of Near-Earth Asteroids and Trajectory Design for Transfer to Earth-Resonant Orbits

In recent decades, interest in controlling the orbits of small bodies in the Solar System has been steadily growing due to the discovery of an increasing number of potentially hazardous asteroids, as well as the development of concepts for their direct investigation and mineral extraction. The most attractive missions for implementation are those with minimal propellant consumption, allowing for an increase in payload mass and a wider range of operations on the surface of the celestial body. We propose a method for selecting near-Earth asteroids and initial ballistic designing the trajectories to transfer small bodies to heliocentric orbits resonant with the Earth’s orbit at minimal changes in the characteristic velocity (delta-v budget) and moderate mission duration. The catalog of targets is formed according to geometric and dynamic criteria, after which the delta-v budget maps are constructed, separating the contributions of the upper stage and the spacecraft. Next, the phasing impulse of the spacecraft on the asteroid’s surface, ensuring that the asteroid is transferred to an orbit with a period equal to one Earth year, is modeled. This choice of a period guarantees annual returns to the vicinity of the Earth and creates conditions for a sequence of combined gravity-assist maneuvers in the Earth–Moon system, which makes it possible to reduce the velocity of the asteroid in the geocentric system while its heliocentric velocity remains almost unchanged. The subsequent dynamics of resonant approaches are analyzed to find favorable windows for prospective gravity-assist maneuvers and a possible capture of the asteroid into the orbit around the Earth. The feasibility of the proposed mission profile is demonstrated by the examples of several objects.