Effects of higher-order multipoles of the lunar disturbing potential on elongated orbits in cislunar space

Abstract

For an Earth satellite in cislunar space, the effects of the third or higher-order harmonics in the solar disturbing function are negligible. For lunar perturbations, however, these terms become increasingly important as the semimajor axis increases. We investigate the effects of these higher-order multipole moments on circular, moderate, and highly elliptical orbits, where the semimajor axis is a relatively large fraction (~20%) of the Moon’s one. We specifically characterize the regions of cislunar space where the octupole-order approximation, often used in celestial and astrophysical dynamics for studying the stability and fates of hierarchical planetary systems, is actually a valid truncation of the gravitational interactions.