Research Technology Master Calendar

Bio:
Dr. Martin Wen-Yu Lo is a Principal Engineer in the Mission Design and Navigation Section of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Starting in the 1990s, he and colleagues introduced the use of dynamical systems theory, also known popularly as chaos theory, to designing trajectories for space missions. He led the design of the Genesis Mission using chaos theory in the late 1990s and early 2000s to collect and return solar wind samples using these techniques. His research led to the discovery of the Interplanetary Superhighway, a vast network of low energy trajectories connecting the entire Solar System. This provides the interplanetary paths travelled by comets and asteroids. In the neighborhoods of planets and moons, these Superhighways also provide ultra-low energy trajectories for space missions with unique staging orbits such as halo orbits. This dynamic also provides and explains the gravity assist trajectories via resonances. In the early 2000’s, his concept for human servicing of deep space mission at the Lunar Gateway around the Lunar Lagrange points helped NASA win approval for the Human Exploration Program. He received the John V Breakwell Award in 2015 (International Astronautical Federation, Astrodynamics Committee), and the Dirk Brouwer Award in 2019 (American Astronautical Society). He is currently working on mission concepts to Enceladus, the Artemis Lunar Gateway, and minimoons around the Earth.