Kinetic Particle Simulations of Plasma and Dust Environments at Robotic Construction Sites near the Lunar Terminator

Abstract

This paper presents a kinetic particle simulation campaign of plasma and dust environments related to excavation and construction activities at the lunar terminator regions. The electrostatic field caused by the local plasma environment was resolved by a fully kinetic finite-difference (FD) particle-in-cell (PIC) code. Trajectories of lofted charged dust grains were traced in the obtained electric field as well as lunar gravity. Two surface terrain scenarios, one convex and the other concave, were considered, each with three cases of dust generation locations with respect to the surface feature. Results show that under average solar wind conditions, lofted charged dust grains are generally concentrated within several meters from the surface near the location of origination, but some dust grains can be lofted as high as about 80 m from lunar surface. A slight amount of dust can even reach over 100 m and migrate further due to greater dust charge. Based on these results, preferred locations to perform excavation and construction activities are recommended.