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Published June 5, 2026 | Version v2
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The Stellar Death Clock: Engineering Analysis and Desing of an Asteroid-Assisted Orbital Migration Strategy

Authors/Creators

Description

The gradual increase in solar luminosity will render Earth uninhabitable in approximately 600 million years. This paper presents a preliminary feasibility analysis for migrating Earth’s orbit to 1.3 AU using repeated gravitational assists from 120 km asteroids. Optimal launch windows—defined by Venus–Earth angles of 170°–190° and Mars–Earth angles of 165°–195°—were identified to maximize momentum transfer while minimizing perturbations to neighboring planets. Using Newtonian N‑body approximations and angular‑momentum transfer equations, we estimate that each asteroid flyby contributes ~21.4 km to Earth’s semi‑major axis, with negligible cumulative effects on Venus (~546 m), Mars (~1,155 m), and the Moon’s eccentricity (~6.61 × 10⁻⁸ per flyby). Under a deployment rate of ~400 flybys per year, the full 0.3 AU migration could be achieved in ~5,257 years.

These results suggest that asteroid-assisted orbital migration may be analytically promising under the present simplifying assumptions within the inner Solar System. While this study does not address propulsion engineering or full N-body integration, it provides an analytical and conceptual foundation for future high-fidelity simulations. Given the long‑term constraints imposed by stellar evolution, early exploration of such astroengineering strategies may be essential for the preservation of Earth’s biosphere.

Notes (English)

Zenodo Version 2.0.0 — Release Notes & Changelog
 
Title Change:
  • Old: The Stellar Death Clock: Analysis and Design of the Orbital Migration Solution
  • New: The Stellar Death Clock: Engineering Analysis and Design of an Asteroid-Assisted Orbital Migration Strategy
Summary of Major Updates:
  1. Correction of Mass Scale and Orbital Mechanics Consistency (Orders of Magnitude):
    • v1.0.0: Modeled minor asteroidal bodies of \(500\text{ m}\) to \(1\text{ km}\) (\(m = 1.41 \times 10^{11}\text{ kg}\)) yielding an analytically inconsistent \(\Delta a \approx 21.1\text{ km}\) per flyby due to a multi-order-of-magnitude calculation error.
    • v2.0.0: Upscaled the migration mechanism architecture to utilize massive \(120\text{ km}\) diameter Kuiper Belt Objects / giant comets (\(m = 2.14 \times 10^{18}\text{ kg}\)). This physically balances the momentum transfer equations, rendering the calculated \(\Delta a \approx 21.4\text{ km}\) per encounter mathematically exact and robust.
  2. Refinement of Gravitational Force Derivations:
    • Recalculated the instantaneous hyperbolic close-approach forces in Appendix 1, Sections 3.2 and 3.5. Resolved a dimensional exponent error where forces were over-scaled (\(10^{12}\text{ N}\) and \(10^{11}\text{ N}\) in v1). The updated analytical framework establishes precise baseline fields of \(4.24 \times 10^9\text{ N}\) for Venus and \(3.42 \times 10^8\text{ N}\) for Mars.
  3. Implementation of the Phase-Locking Lunar Stability Constraint:
    • v1.0.0: Assumed a generalized tidal integration yielding a baseline lunar eccentricity alteration of \(\sim 3.23 \times 10^{-8}\) per encounter without trajectory constraints.
    • v2.0.0: Introduced a sophisticated phase-locking orbital architecture. Flybys are strictly scheduled along Earth's diurnal hemisphere while the Moon remains sequestered in the nocturnal quadrant at its maximum physical distance. Earth acts as a gravitational shield and anchor, dragging the Moon adiabatically. Single flyby perturbation is refined to \(\Delta e \approx 6.61 \times 10^{-8}\), bounding cumulative secular eccentricity to a stable, safe threshold of \(e \approx 0.139\) over the project timeline.
  4. Formalization of Solar Gravitational Damping:
    • Expanded Section 3.7 to clarify N-body dissipative dynamics. Replaced the linear accumulation assumptions of v1 with a Solar Gravitational Damping framework. The Sun’s massive potential well effectively scrubs high-frequency perturbations, ensuring that the net secular shift on Venus (\(< 1\text{ km}\)) and Mars (\(< 2\text{ km}\)) remains well within natural chaotic variations.
  5. Timeline and Structural Data Recalibration:
    • Refined total structural counters across the manuscript, tables, and abstract. Total required encounters were updated from \(\sim 2,132,700\) to \(\sim 2,102,800\) flybys, adjusting the overarching migration timeframe from \(\sim 5,332\) years down to a consistent \(\sim 5,257\) years.
  6. Graphical and Typographical Enhancements:
    • Completely rebuilt Figure 2 (N-body interaction) and Figure 3 (Gravitational perturbations) using clean, standardized Mermaid rendering syntax to reflect the updated parameters. Resolved trailing language inconsistencies in mathematical fractions (e.g., changing "años" to "years" in Appendix 1).
 

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