Nobody likes a dusty environment, whether on Earth or the moon. Much like its earthbound counterpart, dust mobilized on the lunar surface due to natural processes or human activities can stick to various surfaces, damage equipment and interfere with experiments. A mitigation method based on electron beam technology has been developed and demonstrated to spruce up surfaces tainted by lunar dust.

NASA astronauts have complained that the dust, or regolith, readily adheres to spacesuits and instrumentation. Apollo 17 crew member Harrison “Jack” Schmitt even developed an allergic reaction to the material, which he said smelled like “spent gunpowder.” Constant exposure to solar radiation imparts an electric charge to the A microscope view of NASA-manufactured lunar simulant material from NASA. Source: University of Coloradodust, causing it to cling to virtually any surface.

Exposure to an electron beam results in the emission and absorption of secondary electrons or photoelectrons inside microcavities forming between dust particles, building up substantial negative charges on the surrounding particles. The subsequent repulsive forces between these particles results in their release from the surface.

To test the cleaning system, researchers from the University of Colorado, the University of Iowa and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory filled a vacuum chamber with lunar simulant material manufactured by NASA. The surface cleanliness levels reach about 75% to 85% after operating the electron beam system for about 50 seconds, depending on the thickness of the initial dust layer. The maximum cleanliness was similar between a spacesuit sample and a glass surface.

In hopes of contributing to a clean moon colony of the future, the researchers will next test an alternative method using ultraviolet light.