A new publication from Bielefeld University sets a benchmark in optimization research. Together with an international team, Professor Michael Römer from the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics has developed a mathematical framework that solves a complex problem from space logistics exactly for the first time: the optimal planning of a route to visit several asteroids under conditions that are as close to reality as possible. The study is published in the INFORMS Journal on Computing.

At the center of the research is the so-called Asteroid Routing Problem. It addresses the question: In what order should a spacecraft visit multiple asteroids if both travel time and fuel consumption are to be minimized? The challenge is that, unlike in classical routing problems, the travel time between destinations is constantly changing because all celestial bodies are in continuous motion.

The idea for the study originated in Bielefeld, sparked by a success in a competition organized by the European Space Agency (ESA). During a research stay in Bielefeld, lead author Isaac Rudich revisited the topic and, together with the team, developed a new solution approach.