Lunar 'Lawnmower' Devised for Moon Colonists

moon_unit_alpha writes "Future Moon residents may have to mow the lunar lawn. New Scientist Space reports that a planetary geologist has come up with a way to prevent Moon dust from sticking to space suits, getting into seals and damaging electronic and mechanical equipment - the lunar lawnmower. The mower could be hauled behind a lunar rover, generating microwaves that cause iron particles in the dust to clump together."

Comments

Re:Lunar Dust

[Billosaur]

For background: What a Little Moon Dust Can Do

The Moonwalkers found that the stuff clung to everything and on contact with the oxygen in the Lunar Module (LM), gave off a smell like gunpowder, due to the lack of normal oxidation on the Moon's surface.

The stuff was also fine and gritty and was like liquid sandpaper. It would scratch camera lens and wore away at lunar geology equipment. It could also cause fittings to not seat properly, a very important problem if you're counting on the seals on your spacesuit to remain airtight.

Of course if we're going to have people up there more or less permanently, they're going to working in the stuff every day, and the wear and tear on equipment may lead to some dangerous situations. The last thing an astronaut needs to have happen is to lose suit integrity when he/she is nowhere near shelter.