TITLE:
Cosmic Engineering: Moving Asteroids
AUTHORS:
Marcin Misiak
KEYWORDS:
Astrodynamics; Celestial Mechanics; Orbital Motion; Optimal Control
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
Vol.3 No.4,
December
24,
2013
ABSTRACT:
This paper presents methods of orbit transfer for small
planetoids from the main belt to the future colonies on Mars using current
technologies. The results show that by using nuclear weapon or even kinetic energy
weapon (for retrograde bodies) asteroids with masses up to about 100 tons can
be moved. Both options assume that asteroid will survive explosion.