Two-spacecraft cooperative optical navigation for binary-asteroid exploration

Abstract

<p indent="0mm">Given the increasing importance of binary asteroids in the field of deep-space exploration, improving the navigation accuracy of the spacecraft has become a key focus of research. On the basis of the navigation information, such as optical observations of binary asteroids and inter-spacecraft measurements, an autonomous navigation scheme for a sphere-ellipsoid binary asteroid model was proposed herein. A navigation filter capable of extended estimation was also designed in consideration of the position uncertainty of the secondary asteroid with respect to the primary asteroid. This paper especially focused on the observational geometry optimization of the navigation information through the analysis of the observability of the navigation system and the trajectory constraints, which optimized the position configuration of the spacecraft and binary asteroids in order to improve navigation performance. Simulations were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method and to prove the advantages of navigation performance. The research methods and simulation results can provide reference and support for China’s binary-asteroid exploration in future.