Estimation of asteroid landing trajectories via line-of-sight measurements

Abstract

The problem of estimating the landing trajectory of a pod to be delivered on the surface of a target asteroid is considered. The lander is deployed from a spacecraft orbiting the target body and imaged with a camera on board the mothership. Thus, series of line of sight measurements have been simulated to estimate the dynamical state of the pod during its descent by means of estimation algorithms. Based on the analysis we find that optical-only observations can support improved knowledge on the surface landing site. The impact of additional measurements and errors in the dynamical parameters will also be assessed.