Asteroid Mining: ACT&Friends' Results for the GTOC 12 Problem

TL;DR

This paper presents innovative methodologies developed by ESA's ACT for asteroid mining in the GTOC 12 challenge, including machine learning techniques, new trajectory approximation methods, and optimization algorithms, despite not achieving top ranking.

Contribution

The paper introduces novel astrodynamics techniques, trajectory approximation methods, and optimization formulations that have broader applications beyond the competition.

Findings

Developed machine learning methods for trajectory analysis.

Created a new technique for optimal subset selection via integer linear programming.

Designed an efficient search algorithm for optimal mining trajectories.

Abstract

In 2023, the 12th edition of Global Trajectory Competition was organised around the problem referred to as "Sustainable Asteroid Mining". This paper reports the developments that led to the solution proposed by ESA's Advanced Concepts Team. Beyond the fact that the proposed approach failed to rank higher than fourth in the final competition leader-board, several innovative fundamental methodologies were developed which have a broader application. In particular, new methods based on machine learning as well as on manipulating the fundamental laws of astrodynamics were developed and able to fill with remarkable accuracy the gap between full low-thrust trajectories and their representation as impulsive Lambert transfers. A novel technique was devised to formulate the challenge of optimal subset selection from a repository of pre-existing optimal mining trajectories as an integer linear programming problem. Finally, the fundamental problem of searching for single optimal mining trajectories (mining and collecting all resources), albeit ignoring the possibility of having intra-ship collaboration and thus sub-optimal in the case of the GTOC12 problem, was efficiently solved by means of a novel search based on a look-ahead score and thus making sure to select asteroids that had chances to be re-visited later on.