Cis Lunar Surveillance System

Abstract

In an era defined by accelerated human and robotic ventures beyond low–Earth orbit and an increasing imperative to detect, track, and characterize transient near–Earth objects, this thesis presents a transformative concept: a distributed cis–lunar surveillance constellation that leverages the intrinsic dynamical pathways of the Earth–Moon three–body environment to achieve persistent, low–energy monitoring and rapid intercept capabilities. Drawing upon the rich structure of halo orbits and their associated invariant manifolds, our design embeds a network of microsatellites in carefully chosen manifold–guided trajectories, minimizing station–keeping ∆V while maximizing spatial coverage of the cis–lunar arena. The constellation’s hardware architecture integrates high–resolution optical imagers, wide–band radio–frequency transceivers, and autonomous inter–satellite ranging instruments, all orchestrated through a decentralized liaison framework that distributes processing and decision authority across the network. To navigate the complex gravitational interplay in the Circular Restricted Three–Body Problem without continuous ground intervention, we develop a passive measurement strategy that fuses star–line and inter–satellite range observations within an Unscented Kalman Filter tailored to the nonlinearities of the CR3BP, thereby achieving real–time, fault–tolerant orbit determination and guidance. We demonstrate the system’s rapid–response potential through a detailed case study: an opportunistic flyby and subsequent rendezvous with the temporary moon 2020 CD3. Beginning from a nominal halo–orbit constellation configuration, our transfer optimization—formulated as a constrained two–point boundary-value problem—yields a total ∆V of approximately 1.75km s−1, on par with dedicated singular missions yet accomplished without extensive pre–mission planning or large payload capacity. Monte Carlo simulations confirm a > 95% probability of intercept within a 1km corridor, and covariance analysis indicates sub–10m positional uncertainty at rendezvous, sufficient to support high–resolution imaging, in–situ sampling, and autonomous proximity operations. Beyond validating the concept, these results underscore manifold–enabled cis–lunar constellations as cost–effective, scalable platforms for planetary defense, resource reconnaissance, and sustained lunar exploration objectives. By uniting advanced astrodynamics, distributed sensing, and autonomous navigation, this work lays the foundation for a resilient space situational awareness infrastructure that can adapt to evolving threats and opportunities across Earth–Moon space.