Analysis of Low $\Delta V$ Spacecraft Missions to Oort Cloud Comet C/2014 UN$_{271}

• Main Authors: Hibberd, Adam, Eubanks, T. Marshall
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 11-10-2022
• Subjects: Physics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics; Physics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2210.05190

Comet C/2014 UN$_{271}$, alternative designation 'BB' after its discoverers
'Bernardinelli/Bernstein', and commonly referred to as UN$_{271}$, is an
extreme case on two fronts, firstly its solar distance on discovery ($>$ 29 au)
and secondly the size of its nucleus (137$\pm$ 15 km). With an aphelion
distance of $\sim$33,000 au (w.r.t. the solar system barycentre) and an orbital
period $\sim$2 million years, it is definitely an object from the solar
system's Oort cloud, and also by a good measure the largest Oort cloud object
ever observed. In situ observation of UN$_{271}$ would be of considerable
scientific importance. Unlike most Oort cloud comets which have been discovered
for the first time only as they near the inner solar system, UN$_{271}$ was
discovered early enough to provide adequate advanced warning to plan for such a
mission. In this paper we describe the various methods for reaching UN$_{271}$
during the period around its perihelion and ecliptic plane passage, with both
flyby and rendezvous options; exploiting direct transfers, Jupiter powered
gravitational assists (GA) or alternatively a series of GAs of the inner
planets. Viable flyby and rendezvous trajectories are found, especially using
the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) as the launch vehicle.