How Moon Dust is a problem for future Lunar Missions

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The dust of the moon is not the same as the dust that settles on a bookshelf or on a table. It is so bad that it even broke NASA's vacuum designed to clean up the Moondust with Apollo planes. With NASA's return to the Moon and its orbit, it will have to carry the dust, which is also dangerous to humans. The first step is to know how close you are at any given time. Efforts to do that are already paying off on Earth, in the fight against air pollution.

Apollo's machines fought hard to deal with the damage caused by the moon's dust. It turned off the camera and scratched the helmet making it hard for astronauts to see.  Apollo 17 astronaut, Harrison Schmitt described his reaction to lunar dust as “moon hay fever,” with a sore throat. The symptoms went away, but concern about human health is the reason behind NASA's research on lunar soil. Sensitive issues such as lungs will be damaged by the dust of the moon trapped inside the living space. While air filters can remove very small particles, an air quality sensor is needed to ensure the controls are in place.

The main goal of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program is air filtration. Through NextSTEP, NASA has released a series of documents based on specific needs for future lunar missions. One of these requirements was air conditioning and a monitor to measure the dust of the moon on the face and in the surrounding areas. Lunar Outpost Inc. was launched in Denver in 2017 with the aim of developing the technology to test the moon and adapt it to use on Earth. Based on the information of the NextSTEP documents, the company developed a high-level sensor called the Space Canary.

Lunar Outpost provided a sensor to Lokheed Martin Space, which was one of the many companies to successfully bid on NextSTEP public-private partnerships to develop monthly rotation testing methods. Lockheed agreed, bringing Lunar Outpost as a donor to reduce the Space Canary for NASA's needs.

Here on Earth, the issue of particles is a form of air pollution caused by forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and oil burns, among other processes. Particles, a mixture of liquids and solids, are small, very small in grains of sand. This type of pollution causes many health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and contributes to many environmental issues, including climate change. Outside the soil, particle matter can pose similar health risks. And mechanical systems designed to protect the atmosphere, such as air filters, can be damaged by dust.

“We’re still learning about ways to reduce dust intrusion into workplaces and how they can be removed,” said Tracy Gill, project engineer for the Mission and Commercial Support Office at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Having a rating system like Lunar Outpost on display can help us understand the location of employees and help us maintain recommended exposure limits."

The Canary:

The Canary-S is a self-contained unit powered by the sun and a battery that transmits data using mobile technology. It can measure a variety of pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, and organic compounds, among others. The device constantly takes measurements and sends a message to the safe cloud every minute, where it is delivered to the web-based Lunar Outpost dashboard or customer viewing and analysis database. Sensors and software are flexible, making customization easy.

"These days, everyone is more accustomed to connecting and playing," says Chris Cloutier, a residential construction and integration leader in Kennedy, so having that flexibility is "an important skill." Proving the accuracy of sensors on Earth, however, can be difficult. Devices have exceeded the NASA requirements for the type of habitat, but external readings are more difficult because they are influenced by air and moisture.

Canary-S was supported by that in the context of a recent study conducted by the Payne Institute for Public Policy of the Colorado School of Mines. Independent technical verification confirms the accuracy of sensory readings on all daily and long-term measurements

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