Researchers develop liquid nitrogen spray that removes lunar dust
In a significant breakthrough that might solve a problem that has been on on-going threat to future lunar exploration, researchers at Washington State University have developed a liquid nitrogen spray that appears able to remove the Moon dust that sticks to spacesuits and equipment.
The sprayer removed more than 98% of moon dust simulant in a vacuum environment with minimal damage to spacesuits, performing better than any techniques that have been investigated previously.
You can read their paper here.
During the Apollo lunar landings the astronauts found Moon dust to be a serious problem. It is not only abrasive and attaches itself to everything, it caused in some astronauts what they called “lunar hay fever”, suggesting that on longer Moon missions the dust could cause serious health issues.
The process is not yet perfected. For example, it has not yet been tested in lunar gravity. Moreover, techniques for applying this spray practically during actual lunar operations do not yet exist. Nonetheless, this appears to be the first technique found that might work.
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In a significant breakthrough that might solve a problem that has been on on-going threat to future lunar exploration, researchers at Washington State University have developed a liquid nitrogen spray that appears able to remove the Moon dust that sticks to spacesuits and equipment.
The sprayer removed more than 98% of moon dust simulant in a vacuum environment with minimal damage to spacesuits, performing better than any techniques that have been investigated previously.
You can read their paper here.
During the Apollo lunar landings the astronauts found Moon dust to be a serious problem. It is not only abrasive and attaches itself to everything, it caused in some astronauts what they called “lunar hay fever”, suggesting that on longer Moon missions the dust could cause serious health issues.
The process is not yet perfected. For example, it has not yet been tested in lunar gravity. Moreover, techniques for applying this spray practically during actual lunar operations do not yet exist. Nonetheless, this appears to be the first technique found that might work.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Suggestion for last sentence of second paragraph:
“… the dust could cause serious health issues”
or
“… the astronauts could face serious health issues”
Sorry, meant second-from-last paragraph
Andi: The first is what I thought I had typed. Now fixed. Thank you.
Actually, electron beam treatment may be another method and has been studied although more research is definitely needed: https://spacesettlementprogress.com/tired-of-messy-lunar-dust-take-an-electron-beam-shower/
John Jossy: Thank you. I missed this story. With two different methods the possibilities of solving this difficult problem increase enormously.
We must remember that merely cleaning gear is not enough. There must also be a system to keep the dust from entering habitats when people go in and out. It must be possible to clean the airlocks, and do it before the occupants enter the main interior.
Some decades ago, a family friend worked in a university laboratory that used liquid nitrogen. When my father and I visited him in his lab, he showed us a trick, or rather phenomenon, in which he poured some liquid nitrogen from a dewar and the LN turned into droplets that skittered around the floor picking up dust and carrying it away to wherever the LN skittered to before it finally evaporated away.
From the Paper’s Introduction:
When I first saw the headline here @ BtB, I wondered about the nitrogen itself. All this looks like a great idea, but it would need constant nitrogen resupply from Earth, which would become a horrible expense. Then I read the embedded Science Direct article. Fortunately, it mentioned
” . . . Further, full recycling of all system consumables is possible if gaseous air is liquified using a cryocooler on the lunar surface, ideally aided by the low temperatures in shadowed regions . . .”
so in theory, this won’t become a problem. After installation, the system would only need some start-up air, energy (sunlight -> electricity), and maintenance.
Have you ever seen the effects of Liquid Oxigen on a flower? They shatter to teensie weensie peiees