Payton M's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: A Mission Design to Explore the Outer Solar System in Search for the Origins of Life with an Emphasis on Trajectory Analysis.  BASIS Advisor: Akash Joseph Internship Location: Independent Onsite Mentor: Joskua Xatini Carrillo Cuevas

Project Abstract

The origins of our world and our place in it has always been at the precipice of human imagination. Hence, many missions to explore our universe are proposed each year, but one of the biggest hindrances to these missions is the cost; one major way to cut costs is to minimize fuel consumption. This project will focus on comparing, contrasting, and designing different orbital trajectories to the dwarf planet Eris with the primary focus of minimizing fuel expenses. I will focus on designing a space mission that would allow for a spacecraft with the appropriate instrumentation to be inserted into an orbit around Jupiter and subsequently Eris using a sequence of modified Hohmann transfer and plane change maneuvers. The research/data obtained from this project will be useful for future missions that are looking for fuel efficient trajectory maneuvers.