NASA Study Explores Lunar Dust’s Damaging Effects on Astronauts and Equipment
As NASA gears up for its ambitious Artemis campaign to send astronauts back to the lunar surface, researchers are delving into the potentially harmful effects of lunar regolith, commonly known as Moon dust. A recent suborbital flight test conducted by NASA and the University of Central Florida has shed light on how this abrasive dust interacts with astronauts, their spacesuits, and other equipment on the Moon.
The experiment, called the Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE), was one of 14 payloads launched on December 19th aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard uncrewed rocket from Launch Site One in West Texas. During the flight test, ERIE collected valuable data that will aid researchers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in studying tribocharging, or friction-induced charges, in microgravity.
The Moon is highly charged due to phenomena such as solar wind and ultraviolet light from the Sun. Under these conditions, regolith grains are attracted to lunar explorers and their equipment, similar to the static created by rubbing a balloon on a person’s head. Sufficient accumulation of regolith can cause instruments to overheat or malfunction.
Krystal Acosta, a researcher for NASA’s triboelectric sensor board component inside the ERIE payload, explains the potential dangers of lunar dust. “For example, if you get dust on an astronaut suit and bring it back into the habitat, that dust could unstick and fly around the cabin,” she says. “There’s no good solution to the dust charging problem right now because there’s no way to electrically ground anything on the Moon. Even a lander, rover, or any object on the Moon will have polarity to it.”
To address this issue, a team at Kennedy Space Center designed and built the triboelectric sensor board inside the ERIE payload. During the flight, dust grains simulating regolith particles brushed against eight insulators within ERIE, creating a tribocharge. An electrometer measured the negative and positive charges of the simulated regolith as it moved through an electric field applied during microgravity.
Jay Phillips, the lead of Electrostatics Environments and Spacecraft Charging at NASA Kennedy, explains the objectives of the study. “We want to know what causes the dust to charge, how it moves around, and where it ultimately settles. The dust has rough edges that can scratch surfaces and block thermal radiators.”
The ERIE payload experienced approximately three minutes of microgravity during the New Shepard capsule’s suborbital flight, which lasted about 10 minutes before safely landing back on Earth in the Texas desert. The interactions were recorded by a camera, and Phillips and his team are currently analyzing the data.
The findings from this study will have significant implications for future missions to the lunar surface. For instance, by utilizing triboelectric sensors on a rover’s wheels, astronauts can measure the positive and negative charges between the vehicle and regolith on the lunar surface. The ultimate goal is to develop technologies that prevent lunar dust from adhering to and damaging astronaut suits and electronics during missions.
The Flight Opportunities program, part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, supported this flight. The program aims to rapidly demonstrate space technologies with industry flight providers, ensuring that advancements in space exploration are efficiently tested and implemented.
As NASA continues its preparations for the Artemis campaign, studies like the ERIE experiment play a crucial role in understanding and mitigating the challenges posed by lunar dust. With each new discovery, scientists and engineers move one step closer to ensuring the safety and success of future lunar missions.