Orbital evolution of levitated regolith particles in the 65803 Didymos binary system

Abstract

Operating spacecraft in a perturbed environment of a binary asteroid system is a challenging task. In light of the near-future exploration of the 65803 Didymos system by the Hera probe and the lack of study of orbital evolution of naturally-levitated regolith particles in this system, a method is here proposed to identify regions of high risk of collision with the levitated regolith grains. Regions of regolith levitation are identified, periodic orbits and regions of stable motion are computed through a grid search method, and the distance between trajectories leading from the off-surface levitation of the grains from the primary body and the trajectories of bounded motion is then assessed to determine the occurrence of temporary capture. A qualitative evaluation of the expected patterns of motion of regolith particles is presented together with a discussion of the key conclusions in the context of in situ operations planning for the Hera probe.