Review of Orbital Dynamicsin the Vicinity ofSolar System Small Celestial Bodies

Abstract

The orbital dynamics in the vicinity of solar system small bodies(SSSB) is an important aspect of modern celestial mechanics, which has abundant physical phenomenon and may offer a deep insight into the referred dynamics. During last two decades,several deep space probes have been sent to SSSB for in-situ explorations of these small worlds, which high lighted the orbital dynamics in around SSSB as one of the biggest challenges in space engineering.This paper first reviewed the history of SSSB studies and explorations, and gave a summary on the generality and merit of the orbital dynamics.Then we introduced indetail the developments of astronautics,planetary science and nonlinear dynamics on this issue,and presented the relevant hot topics in these fields.Based on the reviews, the last part of this paper attempted to outline the tendency of future researches on this issue.

Keywords

small bodies / deep space exploration / orbital dynamics / asteroids / nonlinearity