Chingiz Akniyazov: Ground Control to Major Tom
The recent surge in lunar exploration by both governmental and private entities is transforming the cislunar space—the area between Earth and the Moon—into a dynamic and complex environment. With missions aimed at lunar exploration, resource utilization, and permanent human settlement, cislunar traffic is expected to grow significantly. Key upcoming projects, such as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G) in a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), will add a diverse range of spacecraft to this region. However, the unique gravitational forces from Earth and the Moon create challenging orbital dynamics, particularly for strategic orbits like Halo and Distant Retrograde Orbits (DROs), which are vital for mission support but demand careful Space Traffic Management (STM). The cislunar environment complicates traditional STM due to vast distances, slow orbital velocities, and gravitational perturbations, limiting Earth-based sensors' tracking precision. Therefore, developing advanced monitoring systems is crucial to maintain a reliable catalog of Resident Space Objects (RSOs), prevent collisions, and ensure the safety of both operational spacecraft and future lunar missions.