This book describes a revolutionary new approach to determining low energy routes for spacecraft and comets by exploiting regions in space where motion is very sensitive (or chaotic). It also represents an ideal introductory text to celestial mechanics, dynamical systems, and dynamical astronomy. Bringing together wide-ranging research by others with his own original work, much of it new or previously unpublished, Edward Belbruno argues that regions supporting chaotic motions, termed weak stability boundaries, can be estimated. Although controversial until quite recently, this method was in fact first applied in 1991, when Belbruno used a new route developed from this theory to get a stray Japanese satellite back on course to the moon. This application provided a major verification of his theory, representing the first application of chaos to space travel.

Since that time, the theory has been used in other space missions, and NASA is implementing new applications under Belbruno's direction. The use of invariant manifolds to find low energy orbits is another method here addressed. Recent work on estimating weak stability boundaries and related regions has also given mathematical insight into chaotic motion in the three-body problem. Belbruno further considers different capture and escape mechanisms, and resonance transitions.

Providing a rigorous theoretical framework that incorporates both recent developments such as Aubrey-Mather theory and established fundamentals like Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theory, this book represents an indispensable resource for graduate students and researchers in the disciplines concerned as well as practitioners in fields such as aerospace engineering.

Recent advances in the research of advanced astrodynamics and its applications have created an unprecedented interest in the space community worldwide. Mathematical dynamics-based theory and powerful numerical simulations have been fused to develop orbits and mission design concepts for past, current, and future space missions

This volume bridges the gap between theoretical and applied astrodynamics by bringing together reports from prominent mathematicians, scientists, and engineers that discuss recent advances in the field. It is hoped that this volume will help to create an environment dedicated to cooperation and the sharing of knowledge within this community over the long term.

The conference for which this volume is the proceedings was truly international, bringing together scientists from China, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the United States.

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"Almost fifty years after the beginning of space flight, Belbruno's work offers a realistic beginning for minimum--fuel and maximum--payload trajectories for interplanetary operations. It is a mark of sophistication in the evolution of space travel that simplified solutions to the vexing many-body problem are found to have practical applications. Belbruno's three-body solution for low-thrust minimum-fuel trajectories serves well not only the future of space flight but helps astronomy in understanding the sometimes erratic motions of celestial bodies."--Edgar D. Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut

""Fly Me to the Moon" is a fast, easy read that explains in simple nonscientific terms very complex matters of celestial mechanics, and it is delightful reading for students and professionals to update or learn very important new background materials. It is also a must-read for the lawyer-scientist."--Ambassador Edward R. Finch, Jr.

"This is an excellent book. The author succeeds in writing an exciting story about his research on low-fuel space travel, a subject that is not widely known but that will interest many readers. Moreover, the mathematical aspects of chaos in the context of space missions is well treated at the level of the nonexpert."--Florin Diacu, University of Victoria

"This is a good story. It is rare to see a nonpedantic book on celestial mechanics that gives some backroom stories about trajectory geeks. Belbruno ties very abstract concepts to real problems and situations."--Wendell W. Mendell, NASA Johnson Space Center, Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate

"This is an excellent book. It is an inside look at the important new field of chaotictrajectories by one of the masters and originators of the field. As we continue into space, I think we will be hearing more and more about these clever trajectories. Ed Belbruno has covered in a beautiful and interesting way the important applications of chaos to astrophysics and spacecraft trajectories. He also tells a very interesting personal story of his battles to get these trajectories used, and how he was able to save the Hiten spacecraft and get it to the moon. This is a great story, and he tells it very well."--Richard Gott, Princeton University

"The author's newly discovered interplanetary highways offer a romantic reflection of the pre-rocket, pre-airplane era, where balloons would transport us, with hardly any energy of our own, from one unexplored vista to another."--From the foreword by Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History, author of "Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries"