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Kawakatsu Lab
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The lab designs deep-space exploration trajectories using gravity assists and the three-body problem.
AboutAbout the lab
At the forefront of deep space exploration
The Kawakatsu Lab studies trajectory design for deep-space exploration missions, in the field of orbital mechanics, which deals with the motion of spacecraft.
A deep-space exploration mission is a space mission that leaves Earth to explore the Moon and other celestial bodies.
Using gravity assists, the three-body problem, and low-thrust propulsion such as ion engines, the lab devises trajectories that reach their targets with little energy.
The lab is located at the JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, and students also take part in studying and analyzing actual missions such as MMX and DESTINY+.
Key terms
- Gravity assist (swing-by)
- A method of passing close to a planet or the Moon and using its gravity to change a spacecraft's speed and direction
- Three-body problem
- The problem of determining the motion of three celestial bodies attracting each other by gravity. It is used for combinations such as Earth, the Moon, and a spacecraft
- Low-thrust propulsion
- A propulsion method, like ion engines, that produces a small force over a long time to change the orbit gradually
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Advanced Energy Excellence Award at the degree conferment ceremony
A doctoral student received The Best Presentation Award in the Ph.D. category at ISCOPS
ResearchResearch themes
The lab is based at the JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and focuses on trajectory design for deep-space exploration missions. Using gravity assists, low-thrust propulsion, and the three-body problem, it develops methods for designing trajectories that reach their targets with little energy.
*Illustrative imageA Design Method That Connects Trajectory Building Blocks
This method prepares trajectory building blocks with a gravity assist or rendezvous at each end, then connects them to assemble complex interplanetary trajectories efficiently and exhaustively. It is used in studies such as sample return from multiple small bodies, and recently the lab has been trying to apply it to low-energy trajectories in the Earth's vicinity, using building blocks based on the three-body model.
*Illustrative imageOrbit Insertion That Allows a Retry
Orbit insertion, in which a spacecraft enters orbit around a planet, is the most critical moment of an exploration mission. The lab developed a method called "robust orbit insertion," which designs in advance trajectories that allow a retry even after a failure, and it is about to be adopted for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission.
*Illustrative imageTisserand Graph and Satellite Tours
Based on the quantity that is conserved before and after a gravity assist, the lab proposed the "Tisserand graph," which represents the dynamics of gravity assists. It is useful for planning satellite-tour trajectories with repeated gravity assists, such as at Jupiter, and the lab is now extending it to trajectories with successive lunar gravity assists in the Earth's vicinity.
*Illustrative imageSequential EDVEGA
EDVEGA, which combines electric propulsion with Earth gravity assists, is the method used for Hayabusa's trajectory. While flying under electric propulsion, the spacecraft meets Earth about once a year and changes its orbit substantially through a gravity assist. Sequential EDVEGA applies this repeatedly over many stages.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kawakatsu Lab consist of faculty, secretaries, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2025
- Visiting ProfessorYasuhiro Kawakatsu
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images.
- Top image: “Earth, Moon and Lunar Module, AS” NASA / Apollo 11 / Public domain (cropped)
- A Design Method That Connects Trajectory Building Blocks: “Galileo launched from Space Shuttle Atlantis (IUS crop)” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Orbit Insertion That Allows a Retry: “Phobos colour 2008” NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona / Public domain (cropped)
- Tisserand Graph and Satellite Tours: “Jupiter family” NASA/JPL / Public domain (cropped)
- Sequential EDVEGA: “The Earth seen from Apollo 17” NASA / Apollo 17 crew / Public domain (cropped)
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