Chingiz Akniyazov

As space exploration expands beyond traditional satellite orbits, maintaining the safety and sustainability of space is increasingly critical. With the growing number of spacecraft, rocket stages, and debris in these regions, monitoring these objects is essential to prevent collisions and ensure safe operations.

One of the most cost-effective tools for this task is passive optical systems—telescopes that detect light from space objects rather than emitting signals themselves. Recent advancements in telescope technology, camera sensors, and image processing have greatly enhanced the capabilities of these systems.

Our research focuses on designing an advanced telescope system to monitor space objects in the area between the Earth and the Moon, known as cislunar space. This includes detecting not just satellites and spacecraft but also hazardous asteroids, meteoroids, and space debris. The goal is to develop a space-based monitoring system capable of detecting, tracking, and estimating the orbits of these objects, ensuring they remain on safe trajectories.

A particularly important aspect of our system is its ability to detect potentially dangerous objects like asteroids and meteoroids. These objects can pose significant threats if their paths bring them too close to Earth or vital space assets. Our proposed system offers a significant advantage over Earth-based telescopes by being able to spot these hazards early, allowing for timely mitigation efforts.

We propose a novel method to evaluate the performance of a telescope on specific orbits, taking into account various challenges such as blockages by the Earth, Moon, and Sun, and the telescope's capability to detect faint signals from distant objects. This includes developing strategies for identifying smaller and dimmer objects, such as debris and meteoroids, which are harder to detect but can still cause significant damage.

Our research also explores different types of orbits and how objects, including space debris and hazardous asteroids, move over time in cislunar space. This enables us to create detailed maps that show the necessary telescope specifications for detecting these objects at varying distances, considering their relative speeds and the required observation time for successful detection.

Additionally, we address the detection of space debris—fragments of old satellites or rockets that can become dangerous if they collide with active spacecraft. Our system aims to track these pieces, providing crucial data to prevent collisions.

Ultimately, our approach defines a "volume of influence detection"—the area where a telescope can effectively spot objects—based on specific design parameters. This comprehensive understanding of essential telescope components is key to detecting hazardous asteroids, meteoroids, and space debris, ensuring the safety and sustainability of space activities in the Earth-Moon region.