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Search theses and dissertations gathered from participating repositories worldwide. Every result links back to the library that holds it. No account is needed.
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Showing 1 to 20 of 24 for “"Near-Earth Asteroids"”.
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Characterisation of small, close-approaching near-earth asteroids
Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) are a population of asteroids in a steady state, constantly being replenished with asteroids from the main belt. NEAs have orbits that come close to or cross the Earth's orbit and therefore some could have impacting trajectories and pose a threat. Small NEAs (diameter < …
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Design and modeling of kinetic impact missions for deflecting near-earth asteroids
The solar system is full of small bodies such as asteroids and comets that are thought to be remnants of early planetary formation. As of June 2025, there are more than 1.4 million known small bodies in the solar system, more than 4,000 of which are classified as comets. These objects routinely …
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From research to resource piloting near-Earth asteroids Through the Valley of Death
Can the resources of near-Earth asteroids be profitably mined? Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) contain water, which can serve as a fuel in space, and platinum group metals, which are valuable on Earth. The presence of these resources has prompted high valuations of the near-Earth asteroid population, …
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Developing instrumentation and software for rapid follow-up and characterisation of near-Earth Asteroids
Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), a subset of minor bodies in the Solar System, result from resonant interactions with major planets, particularly Jupiter, leading to their escape from the main asteroid belt. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC) database, as of December 2024, …
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Observational constraints on the number, albedos, size, and impact hazards of the near-Earth asteroids
… work provides a statistical description of the near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) in terms of number, orbital parameters, reflectance spectra, albedos, diameters, and terrestrial and lunar collision rates. I estimate the size and shape of the NEA population using survey data from the Lincoln Near-Earth …
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Advanced mission planning and impact risk assessment of near-Earth asteroids in application to planetary defense
… the impact risk of an asteroid with the Earth on a given encounter, as well as the potential for future encounters. The accurate estimation of the impact probability of hazardous asteroids is extremely important for planetary defense mission planning. Asteroids in Earth resonant orbits …
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Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Near-Earth Asteroids: 3122 Florence, (357439) 2004 BL86, 1036 Ganymed, and 4055 Magellan
The near-infrared spectra of four near-Earth asteroids, 3122 Florence, (357439) 2004 BL86, 1036 Ganymed, and 4055 Magellan, were analyzed for traces of surface water. NEAs are widely thought to be the source of water and organics delivered to early Earth. Additionally, some NEAs are considered …
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Asteroid deflection campaign design integrating epistemic uncertainty
… the Chelyabinsk meteor that entered the Earth's atmosphere and exploded over Russia in 2013. Past or planned robotic missions to near-Earth asteroids are expected to provide an excellent opportunity to demonstrate asteroid deflection techniques. However, applying a deflection technique to …
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ROAD : Rapid Optical Asteroid Detection
… blind search problem, which seeks to identify near-Earth asteroids of arbitrary position and velocity using ground-based optical systems. In the process of establishing the optimality of these algorithms, we formalize the blind search streak detection problem and survey several other state of …
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Optimal finite-thrust Trans-Earth Injection (TEI) maneuvers for a Low Lunar Orbit (LLO) earth return mission
… are used to efficiently solve complex, non-linear optimal control problems and can be used to develop rapid and robust control solutions in astrodynamics applications. With the renewed efforts in resuming future manned missions to the moon or near-earth asteroids, fuel optimal flight …
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On-Orbit Cryogenic Propellant Storage Optimization
… approach for human spaceflight missions to near-Earth asteroids, the moon, and Mars. The optimal CPS sun-shield design and attitude control approach documented herein minimizes LH2 boiloff to near zero boiloff in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using only passive thermal control techniques, …
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Orbit control for a spacecraft around a splitting contact binary asteroid
… It is known that approximately 15\% of the near-Earth asteroids are binary, and among these the fraction of contact binaries is between 6 and 10%. Most contact binary asteroids are constituted of an agglomeration of smaller boulders maintained together due to their internal gravity, which is …
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Identifying near-earth asteroid targets for human exploration using particle swarm optimization
The goal of this thesis is to identify potential Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) that are viable candidates for human exploration. The computational method incorporated to help identify these targets is the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique, a metaheuristic swarming algorithm. The optimizer …
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Design of transfers from Earth-Moon L 1/L2 libration point orbits to a destination object
… and robotic spaceflight activities, orbits near the Earth-Moon L1 and L2 libration points could support lunar surface operations and serve as staging areas for future missions to near-Earth asteroids as well as Mars. In fact, an Earth-Moon L2 libration point orbit has been proposed as a …
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Modeling and Characterization of Structural, Thermophysical, and Dynamical Evolutions of Small Bodies in the Solar System
… of small bodies in the solar system––such as asteroids and comets––offer unique opportunities to study the remnants of the early solar system. These small bodies often challenge our expectations, revealing surprising findings that raise questions about planetary formation, evolution, and even …
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Design and analysis of a stage-based electrospray propulsion system for CubeSats
… progress in affordability has been limited to Earth orbit due in part to the lack of high [delta]V propulsion systems that are compatible with the small form factor. The ion Electrospray Propulsion System developed at the Space Propulsion Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology …
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Preliminary Design of an Asteroid Hopping Mission
… feasibility of a mission to visit a number of near Earth asteroids (NEAs). The mission would take place before the end of the 21st century, and would only use commercially available technology. Throughout the mission design process, while holding astronaut safety paramount, it was the goal to …
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Surface characteristics of near-earth objects
Asteroids are thought to be the source of all meteorites found on Earth. Numerous spectroscopic studies have been performed to try and link certain types of meteorites with certain classes of asteroids in space. However, these spectroscopic studies of meteorites and asteroids have often shown a …
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Multiple Asteroid Retrieval Mission
… a fleet of spacecraft capable of reaching Near-Earth asteroids. To analyze this idea, the goal of this problem is to maximize the asteroid mass retrieved within a spacecraft max life span. Explicitly, the maximum lifetime of the spacecraft fleet is set at 30 years. A fuel supply-chain is …
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Forging asteroid-meteorite relationships through reflectance spectroscopy
Near-infrared spectra (~0.90 to ~1.65 microns) were obtained for 196 main-belt and near-Earth asteroids to determine plausible meteorite parent bodies. These spectra, when coupled with previously obtained visible data, allow for a better determination of asteroid mineralogies. Over half of the …
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