A Rendezvous Mission to the Second Earth Trojan Asteroid 2020 XL5 with Low-Thrust Multi-Gravity Assists Techniques

Abstract As the second Earth's Trojan asteroid, 2020 XL 5 is worthy of rendezvous and even sample return missions in many aspects. In this paper, a rendezvous mission to Earth's second Trojan asteroid 2020 XL 5 is proposed. However, due to its high inclination and large eccentricity, direct impulsive transfer requires large amounts of fuel consumption. To address this challenge, we explore the benefits of electric propulsion and multi-gravity assists techniques for interplanetary missions. These two techniques are integrated in this mission design. The design of low-thrust gravity-assists (LTGA) trajectory in multi-body dynamics is thoroughly investigated, which is a complex process. A comprehensive framework including three steps is presented here for optimization of LTGA trajectories in multi-body dynamics. The rendezvous mission to 2020 XL 5 is designed with this three-step approach. The most effective transfer sequence among the outcomes involves Earth-Venus-Earth-Venus-2020 XL 5 . Numerical results indicates that the combination of electric propulsion and multi-gravity assists can greatly reduce the fuel consumption, with fuel consumption of 9.03\%, making it a highly favorable choice for this rendezvous mission.