Motion control and navigation problems in interplanetary missions based on small spacecraft

The last decade was marked by a rapid growth in the number of missions based on small spacecraft and a variety of areas of their application. Listing of completed and planned missions has become a lost cause, perhaps with the exception of missions that demonstrate new technologies. Near-Earth missions are becoming the prerogative of engineers and even factories that mass-produce small spacecraft for wide use. However, interplanetary missions based on small spacecraft stand apart because, unfortunately, the technologies used to develop large spacecraft for interplanetary missions may be applied to develop small spacecraft limitedly. First of all, this is due to the low energy capability for changing the trajectory of motion, transmitting a signal in a long distance, the autonomy of functionality, and for the navigation service of such spacecraft. Although from the point of view of the scientific novelty of both the tasks solved by the payload and the basis for ballistic implementation, it is interplanetary missions that attract the attention of researchers. The fact is that the traditional methods based on high-thrust engines and that prevail among the interplanetary designers are not applicable for small spacecraft. The paper discusses the manners of the interplanetary movement of small spacecraft and the navigation services for their flight.