Design and Analysis of Direct Abort Orbits in the Earth-Moon Transfer Phase of Crewed Lunar Exploration Missions

Abstract

A direct abort orbit design method is presented for direct abort missions in the Earth-Moon transfer phase of crewed lunar exploration missions. First, according to the demand of an emergency rescue in the Earth-Moon transfer phase, two direct abort orbit schemes are introduced. Then, a serial orbit design method is proposed for a high-fidelity direct abort orbit. An analytical model is established for the calculation of initial values, and the optimization design is performed in the high-fidelity orbit model to determine a single-impulse abort orbit. A hybrid optimization design process is proposed to generate a two-impulse abort orbit. The results of simulation examples verify the validity and feasibility of the proposed direct abort orbit design method. Finally, extensive simulations are carried out to analyze the characteristics of abort impulse and abort return time and reveal the general rules of direct abort orbits. The research conclusions can provide a reference for the design of emergency rescue schemes in future crewed lunar exploration missions.