Applications of refined lagrangian coherent structures to capture near-earth asteroids in nonautonomous multi-body problem

This paper discusses the applications of refined Lagrangian coherent structures to capture Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA) in nonautonomous multi-body system. Two types of nonautonomous multi-body model, incorporating the influence of the Jupiter and the Moon are constructed. We address the feasibility of capturing an NEA asteroid to the vicinity of the Moon. The capture trajectory is constructed by two segments, that the target transfers to Sun-Earth L2 substitution and then it transfers to Earth-Moon L2 substitution. For the first segment, a method is developed utilizing FTLE field and attracting LCS to evaluate the required velocity increment for the asteroid to the destination. The second segment, that the asteroid transfers to the vicinity of the Moon, is connected by several transport barriers identified using the refined Lagrange coherent structures. The results reveal the capture mechanism for asteroids to the Moon in nonautonomous multi-body systems. A capture example, a 10-m object asteroid 2009BD, is presented to perform the capture process. The required transfer velocity and time are calculated in contrast to these of the classical methods.