Moon Landing Trajectory Optimization

Trajectory optimization is a crucial process during the planning phase of a spacecraft landing mission. Once a trajectory is determined, guidance algorithms are created to guide the vehicle along the given trajectory. Because fuel mass is a major driver of the total vehicle mass, and thus mission cost, the objective of most guidance algorithms is to minimize the required fuel consumption. Most of the existing algorithms are termed as “near-optimal” regarding fuel expenditure. The question arises as to how close to optimal are these guidance algorithms. To answer this question, numerical trajectory optimization techniques are often required. With the emergence of improved processing power and the application of new methods, more direct approaches may be employed to achieve high accuracy without the associated difficulties in computation or pre-existing knowledge of the solution. An example of such an approach is DIDO optimization. This technique is applied in the current research to find these minimum fuel optimal trajectories.