Sun–Venus CR3BP, part 2: resonance investigation and planar periodic orbit family generation

Abstract

Venus, Earth’s closest neighbor in the Solar System, shares similar characteristics such as size, density, and location within the Sun’s hospitable zone. As a result, it has been proposed as an ideal destination for a range of missions, including Venus and Mercury planetary science, heliophysics observation, space weather monitoring, and Earth planetary defense. The current study examines exterior and interior resonance of discovered periodic orbits, as well as the creation families of Sun–Venus planar periodic orbits in the Sun–Venus system. The circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) is used to generate these orbit families via the method of pseudo-arclength continuation. This study identifies 16 exterior and 22 interior resonant periodic orbits from an initial collection of near-Venus and touring periodic orbits generated via a described grid search method. Next, the study produces a selection of 20 families of Sun–Venus periodic orbits with favorable stability properties that will serve to reduce orbit maintenance and station-keeping costs in terms of propellant expenditure, a primary constraint on spacecraft operational lifetime. This study aims to advance multi-body trajectory research and fill a catalog and wider literature hole by providing a preliminary investigation of Sun–Venus CR3BP periodic orbit resonance and orbit families.