Lunar and Martian Dust: Evaluation and Mitigation

摘要

Dust is a ubiquitous phenomenon which must be explicitly addressed during upcoming robotic and human planetary exploration missions. The near term plans to revisit the moon as a stepping stone to further exploration of Mars and beyond brings places a primary emphasis on evaluation and mitigation of lunar dust. Comprised of regolith particles ranging in size from tens of nanometers to microns, lunar dust is a manifestation of the complex interaction of the lunar soil with multiple mechanical, electrical, and gravitational effects. Charged dust particles could levitate in the solar wind plasma environment, and may mediate significant differential charging effects with potential harmful consequences, as well as pose toxicological health problems when inhaled. This work outlines the scientific basis for lunar dust behavior, it’s characteristics and potential effects, and surveys several potential strategies for its control and mitigation both for surface operations and inside the habitable working volumes of a lunar outpost. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of dust as a component of the lunar environment, an assessment of it’s potential impacts on lunar exploration, as well as a perspective on lessons learned and information still to be gained from prior exploration. Also presented are the current perspective and planning for dust management activities within NASA’s Exploration Technology Development Program.