Electrodynamic shield technology to deal with lunar dust

ESD uses electricity to lift and remove dust from other surfaces. Effective removal of statically charged dust is essential to the success of NASA's upcoming series of lunar missions.

Electrodynamic shield technology to deal with lunar dust Picture 1

Dr. Charles Buhler (Kennedy Space Center) said lunar dust can penetrate roams, seals, hatches on equipment or even the space inside the spacecraft, causing many problems for the entire spacecraft. and astronauts. In particular, moon dust is sticky so it is difficult to remove.

NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt, when participating in the Apollo 17 mission, was allergic to moon dust. Veteran scientist Kim Prisk (University of Auckland) recommends that dust particles 50 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair can stay in the lungs for months. The health effects of exposure to them are still a mystery.

Based on an idea put forth by NASA 57 years ago, Kennedy Space Center began developing ESD in 2004. By 2019, the technology was brought to the International Space Station (ISS) for testing, for the first time. contact with the space environment.

NASA scientist Carlos Calle explained that ESD works based on transparent electrodes, which can be integrated into visors, camera lenses, optical instruments, windows or astronaut suits.

Through testing in a vacuum chamber, the technology showed extremely promising results: removing simulated lunar soil and rock samples as well as rock and soil samples collected during the Apollo missions in just 1 second. A recent advancement is EDS integrated onto the two lenses of the EagleCam camera developed by a group of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University students.

It is expected that by the end of 2024, NASA will test this technology on the Moon.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 15 April 2024