Most undergraduate mission analysis or space mechanics classes spend little time beyond classical orbital mechanics of two bodies (the spacecraft and the orbiting body). Missions to the moon, however,…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded a $300,000.00 grant to the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) to create internet-accessible self-study and teaching resources for mission analysis within gravitational multi-body environments, such as cislunar space. This effort aims to close the gap between classical orbital mechanics taught in undergraduate courses and the more complex dynamics required for missions to the Moon, particularly in support of the Artemis program. The grant will enable the development of an easy-to-use multi-body interface and visual demonstrations to help students better understand the complexities of cislunar space. This work has synergies with UAH's current efforts to design, build, and fly a CubeSat with the first Artemis mission, which will be in a multi-body trajectory. The grant does not have a set-aside designation, and the period of performance runs through August 31, 2022.

Most undergraduate mission analysis or space mechanics classes spend little time beyond classical orbital mechanics of two bodies (the spacecraft and the orbiting body). Missions to the moon, however, require more challenging dynamics where the solutions can run counter to classical conic orbits. To close this GAP, we plan to create internet-accessible self-study and teaching resources for mission analysis within gravitational multi-body environments, such as the cislunar space. This material will include an easy-to use multi-body interface as well as visual demos for students to better grasp the complexities of cislunar space. Gravitational multibody dynamics originate from the interaction of multiple gravitational fields. For example, the deep space gateway (DSG) motion in lunar near rectilinear halo orbit (nrho) is driven by the combined gravitational pull of the earth and the moon. While multibody dynamics offer new design options for the artemis program, they are also well-known to be chaotic and to do not yield ready to- use formulas. Mission analysis within gravitational multi-body environments is significantly different and more complex than traditional mission analysis using classic conic theory. To enable a larger number of undergraduate students to successfully participate in artemis-related projects, a deeper understanding of mission analysis within gravitational multi-body environments is required. This proposal creates a strong synergy with current asgc effort to design, build, and fly a cubesat with the first artemis mission. The current aegis proposal is targeting a distant retrograde orbit, which is a multi-body trajectory. If successful, our effort will provide an opportunity to prepare and inspire undergraduate students in alabama to participate to cislunar cubesat missions orchestrated by the asgc. Furthermore our cross-state team, reaches students beyond alabama s boarders. Our team is assembled from deep and diverse expertise needed for this project. DR. Guzzetti graduated from purdue university, working for the multi-body dynamics research group. This group has supported different NASA multi-body missions, notably the themis-artemis mission that was the first mission to fly in cislunar space along multi-body trajectories. DR. Guzzetti also operates a virtual reality lab at the aerospace department at auburn university. DR. Kaela martin has a strong background in mission analysis through faculty fellowships at JPL and engineering education. DR. Martin and DR. Elif miskioglu, a chemical engineer who also researches engineering education, were recently awarded an NSF grant to study intuition development. Both DR. Martin and DR. Miskioglu have several years of experience in teaching undergraduates in a variety of classes including capstone.