This paper presents the results and design methods of team Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the 12th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition. To address the problem of sustainabl...This paper presents the results and design methods of team Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the 12th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition. To address the problem of sustainable asteroid mining, we focus on the following: analyzing the constraints and asteroids involved;selecting a candidate set of asteroids for which mining missions can be performed easily;establishing an algorithmic flow using phasing indicators, multiobjective beam search, and a genetic algorithm to determine the sequence of asteroid visits for mining ships;and optimizing low-thrust trajectories via an indirect method and global optimization. In addition, a central-node method is proposed to simplify the design process and reduce the computational cost of performing repetitive asteroid-rendezvous missions. The methods developed in the competition enable the mining of 161 asteroids via 20 mining ships, with a total collected mass of 11,513 kg.展开更多
This paper presents the solutions and results of the 12th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC12) of the National University of Defense and Technology. To address the complex interstellar mi...This paper presents the solutions and results of the 12th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC12) of the National University of Defense and Technology. To address the complex interstellar mining problem proposed by GTOC12, our solution is divided into two stages. The first stage focuses on preliminary work, including the target selection, the establishment of departure and return databases, and the development of methods to estimate transfer costs, with the aim of enhancing planning efficiency during the global planning phase. The second stage involves trajectory optimization for multiple mining ships, including single-mining-ship trajectory optimization and a multiship iterative process. For single-mining-ship trajectory optimization, the method involves three steps: first, employ a heuristic method for planning the first rendezvous sequences;second, utilize an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm for planning the second rendezvous sequences;and third, apply a differential evolution (DE) algorithm alongside an indirect method to refine rendezvous times and low-thrust trajectories. Through the implementation of a multiship iterative strategy, the team accomplished trajectory optimization for multiple mining ships that met the constraints. The final score submitted by the team was 15,160.946, which achieved the sixth place in the competition.展开更多
Asteroid mining is a potentially lucrative method for extracting resources from space. Water resources found on asteroids can serve as fuel supplies for spacecrafts in deep space, and some asteroids are rich in precio...Asteroid mining is a potentially lucrative method for extracting resources from space. Water resources found on asteroids can serve as fuel supplies for spacecrafts in deep space, and some asteroids are rich in precious metals, offering immense potential economic value. The 12th Global Trajectory Optimization Competition, held in 2023, introduced a challenge to trajectory design for sustainable asteroid mining. Participating teams were tasked with maximizing the mining quantity over a 15-yr period by utilizing as many mining ships as possible to depart from the Earth, deploy miners on multiple asteroids, recover minerals, and return to the Earth. Σ team devised a strategy in which one ship completes one sequence, enabling the collection of minerals from 203 asteroids using 26 mining ships. This paper outlines the design methodology and outcomes of this approach, encompassing a preliminary analysis of the problem, optimization for the Earth departure and return, flight sequence search, and low-thrust conversion and optimization. Through methods such as asteroid selection and clustering, database building for Earth–asteroid transfers, global search with an impulsive model, local optimization with a low-thrust model, and conversion of remaining fuel into mining time, the computational efficiency was significantly enhanced, fuel consumption per unit mineral collection was reduced, and mining quantity was improved. Finally, the design outcomes of this approach are presented. The proposed trajectory design method enables the completion of multiple asteroid rendezvouses in a short time, providing valuable insights for future missions involving a single spacecraft conducting multiple rendezvouses with multiple asteroids.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.12372046 and 12102177)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(No.BK20220130).
文摘This paper presents the results and design methods of team Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the 12th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition. To address the problem of sustainable asteroid mining, we focus on the following: analyzing the constraints and asteroids involved;selecting a candidate set of asteroids for which mining missions can be performed easily;establishing an algorithmic flow using phasing indicators, multiobjective beam search, and a genetic algorithm to determine the sequence of asteroid visits for mining ships;and optimizing low-thrust trajectories via an indirect method and global optimization. In addition, a central-node method is proposed to simplify the design process and reduce the computational cost of performing repetitive asteroid-rendezvous missions. The methods developed in the competition enable the mining of 161 asteroids via 20 mining ships, with a total collected mass of 11,513 kg.
文摘This paper presents the solutions and results of the 12th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC12) of the National University of Defense and Technology. To address the complex interstellar mining problem proposed by GTOC12, our solution is divided into two stages. The first stage focuses on preliminary work, including the target selection, the establishment of departure and return databases, and the development of methods to estimate transfer costs, with the aim of enhancing planning efficiency during the global planning phase. The second stage involves trajectory optimization for multiple mining ships, including single-mining-ship trajectory optimization and a multiship iterative process. For single-mining-ship trajectory optimization, the method involves three steps: first, employ a heuristic method for planning the first rendezvous sequences;second, utilize an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm for planning the second rendezvous sequences;and third, apply a differential evolution (DE) algorithm alongside an indirect method to refine rendezvous times and low-thrust trajectories. Through the implementation of a multiship iterative strategy, the team accomplished trajectory optimization for multiple mining ships that met the constraints. The final score submitted by the team was 15,160.946, which achieved the sixth place in the competition.
基金supported by the Space Debris and Near-Earth Asteroid Defense Research Project(KJSP2023020303)Youliang Wang is grateful to the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(2022146).
文摘Asteroid mining is a potentially lucrative method for extracting resources from space. Water resources found on asteroids can serve as fuel supplies for spacecrafts in deep space, and some asteroids are rich in precious metals, offering immense potential economic value. The 12th Global Trajectory Optimization Competition, held in 2023, introduced a challenge to trajectory design for sustainable asteroid mining. Participating teams were tasked with maximizing the mining quantity over a 15-yr period by utilizing as many mining ships as possible to depart from the Earth, deploy miners on multiple asteroids, recover minerals, and return to the Earth. Σ team devised a strategy in which one ship completes one sequence, enabling the collection of minerals from 203 asteroids using 26 mining ships. This paper outlines the design methodology and outcomes of this approach, encompassing a preliminary analysis of the problem, optimization for the Earth departure and return, flight sequence search, and low-thrust conversion and optimization. Through methods such as asteroid selection and clustering, database building for Earth–asteroid transfers, global search with an impulsive model, local optimization with a low-thrust model, and conversion of remaining fuel into mining time, the computational efficiency was significantly enhanced, fuel consumption per unit mineral collection was reduced, and mining quantity was improved. Finally, the design outcomes of this approach are presented. The proposed trajectory design method enables the completion of multiple asteroid rendezvouses in a short time, providing valuable insights for future missions involving a single spacecraft conducting multiple rendezvouses with multiple asteroids.
