BEIJING, Oct. 12, 2024 (Xinhua) — China has begun the lunar landing phase of its manned lunar exploration program, with a plan to complete a manned lunar landing by 2030. Of all the challenges facing astronauts scientists and engineers working on the program, lunar dust is very small in size, but could pose a significant threat to lunar exploration missions.
However, Chinese researchers have found a simple, fast and promising way to build an anti-dust shield by fabricating the moon-dust surface through nanosecond laser spinning, according to a paper published in the journal Applied Materials and ACS Interfaces.
Moon dust threat
Lunar dust consists of tiny silicate particles that come from lunar rocks after long-term exposure to micrometeoroid impacts, solar wind, and cosmic radiation. Often tens to hundreds of microns in size, these particles are almost invisible to the naked eye.
Despite their small size, these particles pose a serious threat, as the high temperatures generated by meteorite impacts make them slow, sharp, sharp and electrified. This means that they can become attached to lunar exploration equipment and astronaut suits, threatening the operation of the equipment and the health of the astronauts.
Moon dust can easily enter the gaps and bearings of mechanical equipment and accumulate there regularly, leading to increased friction, intense wear and other problems in the operation of equipment, said Wang Xiao, the author of the paper and member of the research team from Xidian University.
Moon dust can also cause other parts of the lunar equipment to fail, as it may cover the device’s surface, especially important parts such as radiators, which prevent effective thermal radiation and make the device too cold or too hot.
In addition, lunar dust can adhere to optical lenses or solar panels, causing poor image quality and data collection accuracy, as well as preventing solar panels from absorbing sunlight, lead to sufficient power supply.
Nanosecond laser engraving
In this context, Wang Weidong, the leader of the Xidian University research team, pointed out that there are two types of anti-moon dust technology: active and passive. Active dust protection technology relies on external power sources. Due to limited lunar energy resources and the high cost of energy generation and storage, this active technology is rarely used.
In contrast, passive technology can protect equipment from lunar dust by changing the surface structure, choosing materials with self-cleaning properties, or applying a dust-proof coating to the equipment. This has become an important approach due to its efficiency, long-term reliability and energy independence.
Wang’s team chose aluminum as the material for this purpose because it is light, high-strength and corrosion-resistant, and then used nanosecond laser engraving to prepare multi-level, micro-structured surfaces with different structural parameters.
Nanosecond laser engraving is a material processing technology that uses an ultra-short pulse laser with a pulse length measured in nanoseconds, where a nanosecond is one billionth of a second.
The team achieved multi-level, micro- and nanostructures by tuning parameters including laser energy density, pulse frequency and length as well as scanning speed.
Anti-dust effect
In the process of using different parameters, the team found that the aluminum surface treated with a scanning area of 80 microns had the smallest contact area with dust particles, meaning that the best effect was the -face dust.
The study also found that the adhesion strength of moon dust to an aluminum surface engraved with nanosecond laser technology with a scanning area of 80 microns is 52 percent less than the adhesion strength of moon dust to an untreated aluminum surface.
In the same dust collection environment, the dust coating on a laser-treated aluminum surface is about 85 percent lower than the coating on an untreated aluminum surface. Additionally, dust collected on the laser engraved aluminum surface is easily cleaned through a combination of turbulence and gravity.
Wang Xiao revealed that the team will conduct extensive engineering tests and evaluations of this technology, with the hope that it will become one of the options used to protect the surface of a spacecraft.
Wang said that if this technology is proven effective, it can be applied to the surface of lunar vehicles, thermal control equipment, mechanical structures and solar panels, to maintain low maintenance of lunar dust, leading to more comfort and safety for a human study. attempts on the moon.
