"Advancements in Geometric Engineering for Spacecraft Orbit Control"

Geometers are collaborating with engineers to develop new tools based on symplectic geometry to help understand and predict spacecraft orbits, particularly in complex multi-body systems. These tools include the Conley-Zehnder index to determine orbit families and the Floer number to identify potential new orbit families at bifurcation points. The collaboration aims to provide engineers with tools to test their algorithms and potentially uncover new orbit families, with the hope that symplectic geometry will become a standard part of the space mission toolkit.