ICNPAA 2010: Mathematical Problems in
Engineering, Aerospace and Sciences

Two new companions to the Pluto-Charon binary system, Nix and Hydra, have been detected in 2005 by Weaver et al., 2006 beyond Charon's orbit. Although they are small when compared to Charon, their gravitational perturbations can decrease the stability of the external region of this binary system. In this work we present the results of a sample of numerical simulation concerning particles in P and S-type orbits under the gravitational perturbations of the four massive bodies: Pluto-Charon-Nix-Hydra. For those particles in S-type orbits around Pluto and Charon we found several stable regions whose the families of the periodic orbits have been identified through an analysis of the Poincaré surface of sections. Different values of the eccentricity and inclination of the particles have been investigated. The size of the stable regions reachs its minimum for those particles with initial inclination equals to 110º, and its maximum for an inclination equals to 180º. Through a sample of numerical simulations we have also determined the size and locaton of a sample of hypothetical satellites which could lie in the external region of the Pluto-Charon binary system.