As part of the Artemis program, NASA will send the first astronauts since the Apollo era to the moon before 2030. They will be joined by several space agencies such as ESA and China, which plan to send astronauts (and “taikonauts”) there for the first time. In addition, all plan to build permanent habitats in the South Pole-Aitken Basin and the necessary infrastructure that will lead to a permanent human presence. This presents many challenges, the most notable of which are those arising from the nature of the lunar environment.
Aside from the extreme temperatures, a 14-day diurnal cycle, and air-poor environment, there is the problem of lunar regolith (also known as lunar dust). Not only is lunar regolith rough and jagged, but it also sticks to everything because it is electrostatically charged. Because this dust affects astronauts' health, equipment and machinery, NASA is developing technologies to reduce dust formation. Seven of these experiments will be tested during a flight test on a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket to assess their ability to reduce lunar dust.
Another major problem with lunar regolith is how it is stirred up and dispersed by spacecraft clouds. Because there is essentially no atmosphere and lower gravity (16.5% of Earth's), this dust can remain in the air for extended periods of time. The result of billions of years of meteor and micrometeoroid impacts and a complete lack of exposure to the elements, its jagged nature acts aggressively on every surface it comes into contact with, from spacesuits and equipment to human skin, eyes and lungs. It will also rely on solar panels, preventing missions from using enough energy to survive a lunar night.
In addition, it can also cause devices to overheat as it covers heat emitters and accumulates on windows, camera lenses and visors, making it more difficult to see, navigate and capture accurate images. Kristen John, technical integration lead for the Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative at NASA's Johnson Space Center, said in a NASA press release: “The fine-grained nature of dust contains particles smaller than the human eye can see, creating a contaminated surface “can make it look clean.”
Address the problem
These technologies were developed by NASA's Game Changing Development program within the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The Lunar Gravity Simulation via Suborbital Rocket flight test will investigate regolith mechanics and lunar dust transport in a simulated lunar gravity environment. The payload includes dust mitigation and cleanup projects with multiple strategies. This includes:
ClothBot:
This compact robot is designed to simulate and measure how dust behaves in a pressurized environment that astronauts might bring with them after performing Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). The robot relies on pre-programmed movements that simulate the movements of astronauts as they remove their spacesuits (also called “undressing”), releasing a small dose of lunar regolith simulant. A laser-illuminated imaging system then captures the dust flow in real time, while sensors record the size and number of particles.
Electrostatic dust dispersion (EDL):
The EDL will study how lunar dust is “swirled” (swirled) when it is electrostatically charged to improve dust-suspension models. During the lunar gravity phase of the flight, a sample of dust is released, which the EDL illuminates with a UV light source, charging the particles. The dust then passes through a foil laser as it rises from the surface while the EDL observes and records the results. The EDL's camera will continue to record the dust until the end of the mission, even after the moon's gravity phase ends and the UV light is turned off.
The Lunar Lab and regolith testbeds at NASA's Ames Research Center. Photo credit: NASA/Uland Wong.
Hermes Lunar G:
The Hermes Lunar-G project, developed by NASA, Texas A&M and Texas Space Technology Applications and Research (T-STAR), is based on a facility (Hermes) that previously operated on the International Space Station (ISS). Like its predecessor, the Lunar-G project will rely on repurposed Hermes hardware to study lunar regolith simulants. This is done using four canisters containing compressed lunar dust simulants. As the flight enters the moon's gravity phase, these simulants decompress and float around in the canisters while high-speed cameras and sensors collect data. The results will be compared with microgravity data from the ISS and similar flight experiments.
The data obtained through these projects will provide information about regolith production rates, transport and mechanics that will help scientists refine computational models. This will allow mission planners and designers to develop better dust mitigation strategies for future missions to the Moon and Mars. This challenge is already influencing several aspects of NASA's technological developments, ranging from in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and construction to transportation and surface energy. John said:
“Learning some fundamental properties of lunar dust behavior and the effects of lunar dust on systems has implications far beyond dust mitigation and the environment. Advancing our understanding of lunar dust behavior and advancing our dust mitigation technologies will benefit most of the capabilities planned for use on the lunar surface.”
The test flights and vehicle improvements that enable simulation of lunar gravity are funded by NASA's Flight Opportunities program.
Further reading: NASA
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