Lunar Dust: A Major Worry for Moon Visitors

smooth wombat writes "Wired has a story which talks about a danger to possible future inhabitants of the Moon that is rarely brought up: the highly abrasive lunar dust. Unlike Earth, the Moon has no erosive capabilities to smooth the edges of rocks or dust. As a result the lunar dust has arms that stick out, like Velcro, and sticks to everything. As the astronauts who walked on the moon found out, the dust scratched lenses and corroded seals within hours. Some of the particles are only microns across which means once they get into your lungs, they stay there. This could cause a lung disease similar to silicosis."

Comments

Live on the Moon? Thank you smokers!

[DarkHelmet]

I'm sure that people will solve this problem, so that we, as a race, can live on the moon just fine.

Who do we have to thank about that? The smokers of the world!

Just think. Iron lungs, operations, tracheotomies, breathing machines, voice boxes, all that. All that moon dust that's gonna end up in your lungs? Second hand dust, just like second hand smoke. Right? Right.

All the technology to handle lung disease is already here. You should be thanking the tobacco companies right now. Or... you should be lighting up... to umm, help your lungs adjust to the moon dust... Yeah!

I for one salute the smokers of this world, for giving us the technology to explore and survive on the moon and in outer space.

---

This joke was brought to you by camel cigarettes. Now light up, maggots!

Re:Live on the Moon? Thank you smokers!

[rebeka thomas]

Worth mentioning is that lunar dust has not been in contact with the common gases we simply breathe as humans. Nor with the fluids & matter of our lungs.

As well as not being ground down by the action of air and water like dust on earth is, many of these particles could contain practically any mix of extremely reactive substances, substances that have not been oxidised for example, by the actions of an air atmosphere.

Dictionary entry for lunar dust...

[FIT_Entry1]

Lunar dust (loo-near duhst)n.
Highly abrasive and difficult to remove.
see Republicans

Re:Hmmm

[chimpo13]

Sorry, I accidently RTFA.

The Apollo astronauts couldn't help but get covered in the stuff as they struggled to stay upright on the moon's surface, where the force of gravity is one-sixth of that on Earth. Later, they tracked the dust back into their space capsules and inhaled it when they took off their helmets.

It won't happen again.

Get in line

[Aggrav8d]

So if the radiation, metorites, temperature, subversive crewmembers, psychotic computers, lack of air, fuel, or water doesn't get you... the dirt will.

...I'd still go. (strip soft/first post?)

Easy Solution:

[infinite9]

Just tell the astronauts to hold their breath when they go outside.

Re:Easy Solution:

[St. Arbirix]

Just tell the astronauts to hold their breath when they go outside.

obligatory

Missing the Point

[HadesInjustice]

"As the astronauts who walked on the moon found out, the dust scratched lenses and corroded seals within hours." I don't think the problem is with the dust getting into your lung, even thought that could be a serious one; however, I doubt ppl actually take deep breathe out in the open, and the air lock should be able to remove the dust with a strong air filter. I believe the real problem is with the structure of the house ON the moon surface. It said that it scratched lenses and corroded seals within hours which mean that any windows and air lock seals will be damage. The cost of the constant repair for the damage might be the cost issue here. I am not sure if I am getting it all right, but that is the problem as I see. What do you ppl think?

Re:Missing the Point

[Moofie]

Uh huh. How do you run a vacuum cleaner in a vacuum?

Re:Lung Disease

[MillionthMonkey]

I think that if you're freely breathing in dust with no protection between you and the lunar surface, you've got bigger issues to worry about than silicosis.

Lunar dust is reported to smell like exploded firecrackers, according to a 2002 interview with John Hirasaki, an Apollo recovery technician:

JIM [interviewer]: Did you have to go into isolation prior to the splashdown? If so how long beforehand? Was this done to minimize your exposure to viruses and germs that might have caused alarm if you and/or others in isolation became ill?

JOHN: Dr. Bill Carpentier and I were placed into isolation within the MQF about the same time as the launch of Apollo 11. The reason for our biological isolation was for the reason that you indicated... At the LRL, on our side of the biological barrier, I recall that the Public Affairs Officer joined the five of us to assist in post-flight debriefings and interviews with the news media. Also during our stay in the LRL, we had two laboratory technicians join us at different intervals because of accidental breeches of biological isolation while they were handling lunar samples on their side of the LRL. The LRL itself is a fascinating story that deserves to be told.

JIM: You personally retrieved the Apollo 11 lunar sample containers from Columbia shortly after the Command Module was brought on board the Hornet. Do you have specific memories of entering the spacecraft? Did the boxes look "dusty" or smudged?

JOHN: The first unusual item that I noticed upon entering the Apollo 11 Command Module was a unique scent that reminded me of smell of exploded firecrackers or the scent that you notice when you strike flint together. I had not noticed this scent when I opened other Command Modules following their flights.

The lunar sample return containers were slightly smudged with dust from the surface of the moon but this dust was especially prevalent on the surface of the suits worn by Armstrong and Aldrin. These suits were stored in the Command Module below the crew couches. Traces of the dust appeared on many surfaces since the fine powder like nature of the moon dust inadvertently allowed it to be transferred to other surfaces.

I cannot say that the aroma was a direct result of the "moon dust" being present in the cabin even though that was what I surmised. There could be other explanations for the aroma that are not related to the presence of the dust. After reviewing the post-flight notes from the Apollo 11 mission, there was a comment made during crew debriefing that a "strong odor of burnt material" was noticed following the S-IVB stage separation when the crew opened the CSM tunnel.

Google cache here.

Toner Research

[purduephotog]

Toner cartridges carry a distribution of particle sizes that are considered 'safe' for you to inhale because they can't stick in your lungs.

You can also make toner with such a small particle size distribution it is actually taken into the blood stream and excreted, well, normally.

You get into trouble, however, when you get into particle sizes between the two of those ranges (Which escape me ATM).

That sized dust goes into the lung and stays there- too large to get absorbed, too small to get exhaled out.

It will also exhibit most of the properties of statically charged nano-particulates: It gets everywhere, fast.

There may be a 'clean room' to disengage the suits, but no matter how you adjust for the problem (save going underwater in an ultrasonic scrubber) that dust will move with you.

Maybe installation of those 'ion-breeze' units from SharperImage will fix it.... ;P

Re:Toner Research

[schnikies79]

Well for one, they don't use their actual space suits; they are special suits that look/work identical to actual suits made especially for the neutral buoyancy tank.

Re:Hmmm

[sumdumass]

I'm not sure it would be as much of a problem as it seems. We already have decontamination proceedures set up and in place for dealing with hazmat responce. The airlock could contain a forcful shower that recycle the water being used and basicaly hose the dust wich become mud off. Also chemicals could be added to disolve anything that the water would miss. Then a positive force air/gas flow could be applied to filter anyhting remaining out(if there would be). This would basicaly be a self contained system and could easily be modified from somethign already in existance.

Something like this for the suites, a respirator then doing it again for the person should eliminate enough of the threat to make it little to worry about. As for abrasions on boots or lences? There could be a sleaved system that slides over them to take the blunt of the damage like sock or contact lences. These could be clearned and reused several times until they become unsafe or unproductive.

Of course this would be more suitable for permanent structures then it would be for landing craft. Somethign that could be done to litigate the risk would be to have a second landing vehicle with the neccesary componants and then have the landing craft dock with it after landing. The second lander could be motorized and have the ability to manuver to different parts of the moon by remote control to make it more convientient and less expensive. Once permanent structures are made, there would be little need for them again unless they can be fabricated into the the desing of the biodomes (whatever) and become one of it's functional clean room. It might even be able to goto the landing craft, pickup visitors and return them to the permanent structures to reduce the risk of colision when landing a craft at the building.

This fits so well in my little imaginary moon world. The shuttles could land far enough away to not endanger the settlement and the left over mision decontaminators become the airport shuttles. I bet there could even be a loading dock built into them so supplies could be lifted out of the cargo bay with the arm and placed directly on the transport like a shiping container.

Re:No. 1 problem?

[wylf]

In a few decade's time, I reckon we will be the #1 environmental problem on the moon...

Re:Hmmm

[hypnagogue]

Come on NASA, how hard could it be?

- Lightweight jumpsuits you wear on the outside of your pressure suit, which you put on and take off in the airlock.
- Blow the site clean with gas jets or ions before you go for a walk. There no wind -- once the dust is gone, it's not coming back any time soon.
- Mag-cloride does a bang up job gumming the road dust together here on earth, spray the site with some before you get out of the capsule. You can be sure it will dry fast.
- The dust is only inches thick. Use a broom. Move the dust out of your normal outside work areas. Don't just wallow in it like a moon-billy. Act civilized!

So, we use EVA suits that DOCK rather than enter.

[ankhank]

Where the backpack mounts, underneath it on the back of the suit, there's a hatch.

Astronaut backs up to the side of the habitat,
removes the backpack or hinges it to one side.

There's a flat oval surface big enough to exit from.

A matching surface on the habitat also opens up.

On it there's a sticky surface like a Post-It note.

Astronaut presses the suit up against that surface, and it seals around the edge.

The sticky surface traps all the dust on the outside of the suit hatch and anything that stuck to the surface gets peeled away along with the sticky layer, out from between the EVA suit and the actual habitat surface.

Think of the old magic trick of slipping a tablecloth out from under the table setting, or of putting down one side of double-sticky tape and then pulling the covering paper out from in between the parts you want to stay in contact.

Then you have a pair of freshly cleaned surfaces stuck together -- astronaut on one side in the EVA suit, and true airlock on the other side in the habitat (yes, you do want a backup door.

Pull the little zip strip all the way around, roll up the membrane with any remaining dust stuck in between two thin layers of clean material.

Astronaut backs into the airlock.

Pull down another clean sheet of sealing material over the opening, with whatever connectors are required for flushing out and cleaning the EVA suit.

Close the portal, leaving the cleaned suit hanging there on the outside of the habitat waiting to be entered next time.

Step through the real airlock door, seal it, wash up, lather-rinse-repeat.

Go into the habitat.

Yes, I take this stuff seriously.

Short of setting up a nice big sprinkler system and freezing the whole area to control the dust, it's going to be a constant issue.

Mars is looking friendlier all the time, as are the Lagrange points.

Maybe the Moon really is for the machines.