Advisor: Dr. Koki Ho

Milestone: PhD Thesis Proposal

Degree Program: Aerospace Engineering

Title: Autonomous Landing and Proximity Operation Technology for Poorly-Characterized Small Bodies

Abstract: Small bodies such as asteroids and comets are increasingly central to scientific discovery and commercial development, offering opportunities for exploring planetary defense strategies, insights into the formation of the early solar system, and access to extraterrestrial resources via asteroid mining. Yet their weak, irregular gravity fields, uncertain surface properties, and poorly characterized dynamical environments make autonomous landing and proximity operations uniquely challenging. This thesis advances autonomous small‑body mission capability through three main contributions. First, a time‑of‑flight–free model predictive control (MPC) framework is developed that enables safe, precision landing on irregular asteroid surfaces, thereby improving robustness to environmental uncertainty. This work additionally explores several varying cost function formulations within the MPC to demonstrate applicability to varying mission landing scenarios. Second, this thesis introduces a remotely guided three‑spacecraft mothership–daughtership formation MPC architecture designed for tomographic characterization of asteroid (99942) Apophis with mothership-based measurements to inform daughtership thrust commands in order to maintain antipodal orbital states amidst gravitational and thruster uncertainties. Lastly, this thesis formulates a multi‑lander, multi‑landing‑site MPC sample‑collection strategy that coordinates distributed landers to acquire surface samples from spatially diverse regions of an asteroid, increasing scientific return and supporting future resource‑utilization missions amidst similar dynamic and thrust uncertainties. Together, the contributions in this thesis proposal expand the capabilities of autonomous guidance, navigation, and control systems with its novel MPC algorithm and cost function formulations to improve the robustness, resilience, and scientific capability of spacecraft operating in the vicinity of poorly-characterized small bodies.

Date and time: 2026-10-23, 9am-11am ET

Location: CODA C0915 Atlantic

Committee:
Dr. Koki Ho (advisor), School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Brian Gunter, School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. John Christian, School of Aerospace Engineering
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