Bhanu Kumar Picture
Bhanu Kumar


Mission Analysis Section,
Flight Dynamics Division (OPS-GFA)
European Space Operations Centre
ESA - European Space Agency
64293 Darmstadt, Germany

Email: Firstname.Lastname (at) ext.esa.int

Curriculum Vitae (updated 18 Oct 2026)

I am currently a mission analysis engineer at the European Space Agency's European Space Operations Centre (ESA-ESOC) contributing to trajectory planning, design, and analysis for ESA's lunar and interplanetary missions. I hold a Ph.D. in mathematics from Georgia Tech, advised by Prof. Rafael de la Llave, in the field of Hamiltonian dynamical systems and multi-body orbital mechanics, as well as MS and BS degrees in aerospace engineering (plus a BS in applied math) from the same. Prior to joining ESOC in June 2026, I conducted postdoctoral research stays at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Michigan (where I also served as an instructor for various courses), and Universität Heidelberg in Germany. I also conducted numerous internships and visiting research stays at JPL during my Ph.D., working in the Mission Design and Navigation section there with Dr. Rodney Anderson.

Research Interests

In addition to my current work on ESA's science and exploration missions, I also continue a number of lines of research that I have been involved in for many years. At a broad level, my interests lie in the application of tools and results from mathematical dynamical systems theory and symplectic geometry, both analytical and computational, to problems in celestial mechanics and applied astrodynamics for space mission design. In particular, there are geometric structures, such as periodic orbits, invariant tori, and stable and unstable manifolds, which govern many of the important dynamical properties of multi-body celestial systems. I am interested in developing fast and accurate methods for computing these objects as well as for investigating the dynamics induced by them. I am particularly interested in studying how resonant phenomena - both chaotic and stable - occur and can be leveraged profitably in various planet-moon systems, especially those of the outer planets as well as our own Earth-Moon region.

Selected Journal and Conference Papers