Effective approach navigation prior to small body deflection

The largest threat for asteroids impacts on Earth is currently posed by small bodies of diameter less than 40 m. Even though incapable of causing a global catastrophe, they can still potentially cause significant local and regional damage. One of the main challenges for deflecting asteroids in this size range is the precise orbit determination and approach navigation prior to implementing any deviation mechanism. This paper addresses this particular problem and presents an approach strategy that was proposed for the contactless deflection technology demonstrator SysNova challenge of ESA