Optimal Trajectory Deflection of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Based on Kinetic Impact of Intermediate Asteroids
- Paper ID
97712
- author
- company
Beijing University of Technology
- country
China
- year
2025
- abstract
In the study of kinetic impactor methods for defending against potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), two key factors are the momentum carried by the impactor at the moment of collision and the fuel consumption during its transfer. This paper proposes a "rock-against-rock" defense strategy. Multiple impactors strike a smaller intermediate asteroid (IA), guiding it into an impact trajectory assisted by planetary gravity. The IA then collides with the target asteroid (TA), enhancing the overall impact momentum. A method for selecting IA is presented. A preliminary search approach for impact trajectories is developed. An optimization model is established for the low-energy impact trajectory of the IA. Another optimization model is formulated for the low-energy transfer trajectory of the impactor. The NSGA-II algorithm is applied to determine the optimal transfer strategy. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.