Study and modeling of the bouncing motion of Juventas on Dimorphos

Abstract

In this context, the AIDA collaboration between the NASA and the ESA aims to deviate the binary asteroid system Didymos. At the date of this thesis, the DART mission has already occurred. Its objective was to impact the asteroid Dimorphos to deviate it. Considering the recent measurments, it is a success. In particular, the HERA mission, developed by ESA, will study the asteroid Dimorphos, which is part of a binary system conjointly with a bigger asteroid Didymos. The spacecraft will carry 2 cubesats that will land on the surface of Dimorhpos, and will eventually bounce on its surface. In this context, this thesis has as objective to simulate the bounce of Juventas on the surface of Dimorphos and study it through a MonteCarlo analysis. By varying the surface properties, the position and speed of the spacecraft, we aim to collect some information about the success of the mission. A new algorithm has been developed accounting for the rotation of the spacecraft and its 3D shape. The result of this new model will be studied. Results have shown dependencies between the coefficient of restitutions, incident angle and contact time. According to the new mission, the mission should not fail and Juventas will not bounce off of Dimorphos. Another study will be made with a noise that will be applied on the surface of the asteroid to see the impact of small deformations on the bounce of the spacecraft, showing an increase of the dispersion with an increasing noise.