Sensor Tasking Strategies for Space-Based Observers in the Cislunar Environment

The cislunar space environment has witnessed an increase in activities, and future projections indicate significant growth in object population. Consequently, it becomes crucial to monitor these objects for space domain awareness (SDA) purposes. As the number of objects surpasses the available observers, meticulous sensor tasking becomes essential. This paper focuses on designing and exploring strategies for observing and keeping custody of known objects in cislunar space. Optical space-based telescopes, combined with lunar ground-based telescope, are employed for sensor tasking of cislunar objects residing in valuable orbits. The proposed research aims to address the following key points: (1) examination of the feasibility and efficacy of Moon-based optical observer for sensor-tasking, (2) investigation of the selection of space-based observer orbits for sensor-tasking and benefit of coupling space and (lunar) ground-based observers, (3) utilization of non-product quadrature methods to propagate the covariance for the objects of interest, and (4) development and comparison of probability density-based and information-gain-based methods for optimizing the sensor-tasking framework in cislunar space. The outcomes of this research will contribute to enhanced monitoring and situational awareness in the evolving cislunar region.