Strategies for designing three-dimensional spacecraft trajectories in a multi-body dynamical environment are investigated using four-dimensional Poincaré maps. Unlike the planar circular restricted three-body problem, where a two-dimensional map provides a simplified view of a portion of the vast and often chaotic design space, the spatial problem requires a four-dimensional map to achieve an equivalent perspective. Such higher-dimensional maps present a visualization challenge. Furthermore, a spacecraft in the spatial problem can exhibit fundamentally more diverse and complex behavior than in the planar problem. A novel approach to four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is developed and applied to practical examples with real-world spaceflight applications involving three-dimensional trajectories in the Earth-Moon, Sun-Earth, and Uranus-Titania systems. Included in the approach is a method for representing, interpreting, and manipulating four-dimensional Poincaré maps in an interactive, three-dimensional visual environment in which the fourth dimension is displayed using color. This \"space-plus-color\" method expands on the \"color and rotation\" method of Patsis and Zachilas (used for the study of motion in a galaxy) by applying additional tools and techniques enabling design in the circular restricted three-body problem. Design is often based on maps generated by many trajectories. Image manipulation in both spatial and color dimensions is accomplished iteratively using MATLAB® and Avizo®. Four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is practical, and success is enabled by interactive tools and techniques in a visual environment. The design strategy is methodical and not restricted to any particular map formulation. Human insight is leveraged to determine reference solutions in a problem without a closed-form analytical solution. Estimates obtained through visual inspection of a map are fed into automated processes, leading to precise and/or locally-optimal solutions, including transfers to and between libration/Lagrange point orbits as well as capture, departure, and transit maneuvers near a planet or moon. Additionally, the long-term variations in instantaneous eccentricity of a high-altitude Earth orbit perturbed by lunar gravity are correlated with the shape and evolution of the surface of a deformed torus on a four-dimensional map.
","abstract_html":"<p>Strategies for designing three-dimensional spacecraft trajectories in a multi-body dynamical environment are investigated using four-dimensional Poincaré maps. Unlike the planar circular restricted three-body problem, where a two-dimensional map provides a simplified view of a portion of the vast and often chaotic design space, the spatial problem requires a four-dimensional map to achieve an equivalent perspective. Such higher-dimensional maps present a visualization challenge. Furthermore, a spacecraft in the spatial problem can exhibit fundamentally more diverse and complex behavior than in the planar problem. A novel approach to four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is developed and applied to practical examples with real-world spaceflight applications involving three-dimensional trajectories in the Earth-Moon, Sun-Earth, and Uranus-Titania systems. Included in the approach is a method for representing, interpreting, and manipulating four-dimensional Poincaré maps in an interactive, three-dimensional visual environment in which the fourth dimension is displayed using color. This "space-plus-color" method expands on the "color and rotation" method of Patsis and Zachilas (used for the study of motion in a galaxy) by applying additional tools and techniques enabling design in the circular restricted three-body problem. Design is often based on maps generated by many trajectories. Image manipulation in both spatial and color dimensions is accomplished iteratively using MATLAB® and Avizo®. Four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is practical, and success is enabled by interactive tools and techniques in a visual environment. The design strategy is methodical and not restricted to any particular map formulation. Human insight is leveraged to determine reference solutions in a problem without a closed-form analytical solution. Estimates obtained through visual inspection of a map are fed into automated processes, leading to precise and/or locally-optimal solutions, including transfers to and between libration/Lagrange point orbits as well as capture, departure, and transit maneuvers near a planet or moon. Additionally, the long-term variations in instantaneous eccentricity of a high-altitude Earth orbit perturbed by lunar gravity are correlated with the shape and evolution of the surface of a deformed torus on a four-dimensional map.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Geisel, Christopher D"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Aeronautics and Astronautics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kathleen C. Howell","James M. Longuski","William A. Crossley","Martin J. Corless"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-10-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-10-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:53:11Z","subjects":["applied sciences","spacecraft","poincare maps","three-body problem","Aerospace Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/109","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kathleen C. Howell","James M. Longuski","William A. Crossley","Martin J. Corless"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Geisel, Christopher D"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aeronautics and Astronautics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["applied sciences","spacecraft","poincare maps","three-body problem","Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/109"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Strategies for designing three-dimensional spacecraft trajectories in a multi-body dynamical environment are investigated using four-dimensional Poincaré maps. Unlike the planar circular restricted three-body problem, where a two-dimensional map provides a simplified view of a portion of the vast and often chaotic design space, the spatial problem requires a four-dimensional map to achieve an equivalent perspective. Such higher-dimensional maps present a visualization challenge. Furthermore, a spacecraft in the spatial problem can exhibit fundamentally more diverse and complex behavior than in the planar problem. A novel approach to four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is developed and applied to practical examples with real-world spaceflight applications involving three-dimensional trajectories in the Earth-Moon, Sun-Earth, and Uranus-Titania systems. Included in the approach is a method for representing, interpreting, and manipulating four-dimensional Poincaré maps in an interactive, three-dimensional visual environment in which the fourth dimension is displayed using color. This \"space-plus-color\" method expands on the \"color and rotation\" method of Patsis and Zachilas (used for the study of motion in a galaxy) by applying additional tools and techniques enabling design in the circular restricted three-body problem. Design is often based on maps generated by many trajectories. Image manipulation in both spatial and color dimensions is accomplished iteratively using MATLAB® and Avizo®. Four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is practical, and success is enabled by interactive tools and techniques in a visual environment. The design strategy is methodical and not restricted to any particular map formulation. Human insight is leveraged to determine reference solutions in a problem without a closed-form analytical solution. Estimates obtained through visual inspection of a map are fed into automated processes, leading to precise and/or locally-optimal solutions, including transfers to and between libration/Lagrange point orbits as well as capture, departure, and transit maneuvers near a planet or moon. Additionally, the long-term variations in instantaneous eccentricity of a high-altitude Earth orbit perturbed by lunar gravity are correlated with the shape and evolution of the surface of a deformed torus on a four-dimensional map.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Spacecraft Orbit Design in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem Using Higher-Dimensional Poincaré Maps"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kathleen C. Howell","James M. Longuski","William A. Crossley","Martin J. Corless"],"dc:creator":["Geisel, Christopher D"],"dc:description.abstract":["Strategies for designing three-dimensional spacecraft trajectories in a multi-body dynamical environment are investigated using four-dimensional Poincaré maps. Unlike the planar circular restricted three-body problem, where a two-dimensional map provides a simplified view of a portion of the vast and often chaotic design space, the spatial problem requires a four-dimensional map to achieve an equivalent perspective. Such higher-dimensional maps present a visualization challenge. Furthermore, a spacecraft in the spatial problem can exhibit fundamentally more diverse and complex behavior than in the planar problem. A novel approach to four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is developed and applied to practical examples with real-world spaceflight applications involving three-dimensional trajectories in the Earth-Moon, Sun-Earth, and Uranus-Titania systems. Included in the approach is a method for representing, interpreting, and manipulating four-dimensional Poincaré maps in an interactive, three-dimensional visual environment in which the fourth dimension is displayed using color. This \"space-plus-color\" method expands on the \"color and rotation\" method of Patsis and Zachilas (used for the study of motion in a galaxy) by applying additional tools and techniques enabling design in the circular restricted three-body problem. Design is often based on maps generated by many trajectories. Image manipulation in both spatial and color dimensions is accomplished iteratively using MATLAB® and Avizo®. Four-dimensional-map-based design in the spatial circular restricted three-body problem is practical, and success is enabled by interactive tools and techniques in a visual environment. The design strategy is methodical and not restricted to any particular map formulation. Human insight is leveraged to determine reference solutions in a problem without a closed-form analytical solution. Estimates obtained through visual inspection of a map are fed into automated processes, leading to precise and/or locally-optimal solutions, including transfers to and between libration/Lagrange point orbits as well as capture, departure, and transit maneuvers near a planet or moon. Additionally, the long-term variations in instantaneous eccentricity of a high-altitude Earth orbit perturbed by lunar gravity are correlated with the shape and evolution of the surface of a deformed torus on a four-dimensional map.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/109"],"dc:subject":["applied sciences","spacecraft","poincare maps","three-body problem","Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:title":["Spacecraft Orbit Design in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem Using Higher-Dimensional Poincaré Maps"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aeronautics and Astronautics"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:53:11Z"}