Speaker
Description
One major environmental constraint during exploration missions is the presence of charged dust-like particles. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to characterise the properties of the dust particles present on the exploration sites and their transportation mechanisms to enable efficient mitigation techniques to be put in place. The main objective of the DUSTER (Dust Study, Transport, and Electrostatic Removal for Exploration Missions) project is to investigate in detail the charging and cohesion of the dust grain in the regolith. The project addresses key questions about the surfacing of airless bodies as well as engineering-oriented concerns regarding the adhesion of dust particles to man-made surfaces (spacecraft, instruments, spacesuits, solar panels, etc.).
The goal of DUSTER is to develop the instrumentation and technologies for in situ analysis of the electrical charging and transport of those dust particles, as well as to develop a ground based test facility to validate the instrument in representative conditions and improve dust charging and transportation models. We will present the three-sensor DUSTER instrument, with special emphasis on the Active Lofted Dust Experiment (ALDE), the first results from this experiment and the plan for future developments. In addition, the laboratory facility that has been used to test ALDE will be presented.
