Abstract
It is a major goal of research in the field of asteroidal dynamics to relate the distribution of orbital elements to the evolutionary history of the asteroidal belt. The distribution of orbital elements shows characteristics which are presumably of cosmogonic significance. In particular the distribution of the mean eccentricities and inclinations of asteroidal orbits, the gaps and clusterings of asteroidal semi-major axes are related to the dynamical evolution of the asteroidal belt. Gaps are associated with resonance phenomena. The clustering of asteroidal semi-major axes is associated with resonances or like in the case of Hirayama families with an early break-up of a parent body. Another dynamical problem present the planet-crossers, in particular the Earth-crossers since their low collisional lifetimes require a source. Presumably, the Earth-crossers are a mixture of asteroidal collisional fragments and of extinct cometary nuclei. For this reason, Earth-crossers are of high interest as targets for spaceflights.
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