Electrostatic Cleaning Device for Removing Lunar Dust Adhered to Spacesuits
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 3
Abstract
The removal of lunar dust adhered to an astronaut’s spacesuit is critical for long-term lunar exploration. The author is developing a cleaning device that utilizes electrostatic force; this system employs a combination of electrostatic capture and electrostatic transport of dust. High voltage is applied between a screen electrode and an aluminum film deposited on a Mylar sheet positioned under the surface fabric of the spacesuit. By means of electrostatic force, dust adhered to the fabric is captured at the screen electrode of the device. The captured dust is then transported by an electrostatic traveling wave and transferred to a collection bag. The capture rate increased with the amount of dust adhered to the fabric and reached a value of 82%. Although small particles trapped between fabric fibers were difficult to remove, this system should be used in preliminary cleaning of spacesuits, saving valuable time for astronauts on the Moon.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to express gratitude to Shigenobu Murakami and Kenji Toide (Waseda University) for carrying out the experiment. Samples of the fabric were provided by ILC Dover and Oceaneering Space Systems. A part of this study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
References
Christoffersen, R. et al. (2009). “Lunar dust effects on spacesuit systems, insights from the Apollo spacesuits.” NASA/TP-2009-214786, NASA, Washington, DC.
Cooper, B. L., McKay, D. S., Taylor, L. A., Kawamoto, H., Riofrio, L. M., and Gonzalez, C. P. (2010). “Extracting respirable particles from lunar regolith for toxicology studies.” Earth and Space 2010: Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operation in Challenging Environments, ASCE, Reston, VA, 66–73.
Kanamori, H., Udagawa, S., Yoshida, T., Matsumoto, S., and Takagi, K. (1998). “Properties of lunar soil simulant manufactured in Japan.” Proc., 6th Int. Conf. and Exposition on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, ASCE, Reston, VA, 462–468.
Kawamoto, H. (2009). “Electrostatic and electromagnetic cleaning of lunar dust adhered to spacesuits.” Annual Meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, LEAG2009, 27.
Kawamoto, H., and Hara, N. (2011). “Electrostatic cleaning system of lunar dust adhered to spacesuits.” J. Aerosp. Eng.JAEEEZ, 24(4), 442–444.
Kawamoto, H., and Inoue, H. (2012). “Magnetic cleaning device for lunar dust adhering to spacesuits.” J. Aerosp. Eng.JAEEEZ, 25(1), 139–142.
Kawamoto, H., and Miwa, T. (2011). “Mitigation of lunar dust adhered to mechanical parts of equipment used for lunar exploration.” J. Electrost.JOELDH, 69(4), 365–369.
Kawamoto, H., Uchiyama, M., Cooper, B. L., and McKay, D. S. (2011). “Mitigation of lunar dust on solar panels and optical elements utilizing electrostatic traveling-wave.” J. Electrost.JOELDH, 69(4), 370–379.
Masuda, S., Fujibayashi, K., Ishida, K., and Inaba, H. (1972). “Confinement and transportation of charged aerosol clouds via electric curtain.” Electr. Eng. Jpn.EENJAU, 92(1), 43–52.
Moesner, F. M., and Higuchi, T. (1999). “Electrostatic devices for particle microhandling.” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl.ITIACR, 35(3), 530–536.
NASA. (1970). “APOLLO 12 preliminary science report.” NASA SP-235, NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Washington, DC.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 25 • Issue 3 • July 2012
Pages: 470 - 473
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 18, 2011
Accepted: Jun 10, 2011
Published online: Jun 14, 2011
Published in print: Jul 1, 2012
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.