The Chaotic Quest to Conquer Earth's Space Junk Problem

Like the exotic orbital configurations of many exoplanetary systems, the three-dimensional complex of man-made orbiting debris, brought on by unfettered space activities, has stimulated a renewed interest in applied and fundamental research in celestial dynamics. Despite their reputed normality, Earth satellite orbits can possess an extraordinarily rich spectrum of dynamical phenomena, from stable resonant configurations to significant chaotic drifts in circumterrestrial space throughout their orbital lifetimes. This talk will review these intriguing dynamical phenomena in the Earth orbiter problem and highlight their deeper connections with current aspects of dynamical astronomy.

Aaron J. Rosengren is an Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona and Member of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Applied Mathematics. Prior to joining UA in 2017, he spent one year at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece working in the Department of Physics, as part of the European Union H2020 Project ReDSHIFT. He has also served as a member of the EU Asteroid and Space Debris Network, Stardust, working for two years at the Institute of Applied Physics Nello Carrara of the Italian National Research Council. His research interests include space situational awareness, orbital debris, celestial mechanics, and planetary science. Aaron is currently part of the Space Situational Awareness (SSA)-Arizona initiative at the University of Arizona, a member of the Outer Space Institute (OSI) for the sustainable development of Space at the University of British Columbia, and a research affiliate of the Center for Orbital Debris Education and Research (CODER) at the University of Maryland.