Trajectory Design For A Titan-Enceladus Plume Sampling Pseudo-orbiter Mission

The exploration of the Saturnian system, and in particular the plumes and subsurface ocean of Enceladus, has been identified as a key science theme for ESA’s Voyage 2050 program.

To support this objective, this paper presents techniques to design pseudo-orbiter phases achieving plume sampling flybys. The analysis defines the problem’s trajectory design search space, discusses the effect of distant Titan encounters and showcases that the circular-coplanar dynamics framework is not adequate for the preliminary design.

These findings drive the development of a novel automated algorithm in real ephemerides based on the exploitation of Titan gravity assists to systematically generate pseudo-orbiter sequences to explore Enceladus and sample its plumes.

The proposed methodology is validated by converging selected solutions in a high fidelity model using ESA’s GODOT flight dynamics software.

Trajectory design for a Titan-Enceladus plume sampling pseudo-orbiter mission, Acta Astronautica (open access)

Astrobiology,