Information-Based Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Absolute Tracking in Cislunar Space

Abstract

The resurgence of lunar operations requires advancements in cislunar navigation and Space Situational Awareness (SSA). Challenges associated to these tasks have created an interest in autonomous planning, navigation, and tracking technologies that operate with little ground-based intervention. This research introduces a trajectory planning tool for a low-thrust mobile observer, aimed at maximizing navigation and tracking performance with satellite-to-satellite relative measurements. We formulate an expression for the information gathered over an observation period based on the mutual information between augmented observer/target states and the associated measurement set collected. We then develop an optimal trajectory design problem for a mobile observer, balancing information gain and control effort, and solve this problem with a Sequential Convex Programming (SCP) approach. The developed methods are demonstrated in scenarios involving spacecraft in the cislunar regime, demonstrating the potential for improved autonomous navigation and tracking.

Figures (10)

• Figure 1: Absolute trajectory of the observer for $\alpha_h = 5\times10^{-3}$ (left), and $\alpha_h = 2\times10^{-2}$ (right). The black dashed line plots the initial reference DRO.
• Figure 2: Relative position of the observer with respect to the reference DRO generated over a grid of $\alpha_h$.
• Figure 3: The $a_x$, $a_y$, and thrust magnitude acceleration profile of the observer for $\alpha_h = 5\times10^{-3}$ (left), and $\alpha_h = 2\times10^{-2}$ (right).
• Figure 4: CRLB analysis for test case #1. The left panels plot the predicted RMS error in each position direction of the observer, and the right for the target.
• Figure 5: Pareto curve of the average impulse and terminal expected RMS error for the observer (left), and target (right).