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Miranda S, Marchal S, Cumps L, Dierckx J, Krüger M, Grimm D, Baatout S, Tabury K, Baselet B. A Dusty Road for Astronauts. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1921. [PMID: 37509559 PMCID: PMC10377461 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11071921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The lunar dust problem was first formulated in 1969 with NASA's first successful mission to land a human being on the surface of the Moon. Subsequent Apollo missions failed to keep the dust at bay, so exposure to the dust was unavoidable. In 1972, Harrison Schmitt suffered a brief sneezing attack, red eyes, an itchy throat, and congested sinuses in response to lunar dust. Some additional Apollo astronauts also reported allergy-like symptoms after tracking dust into the lunar module. Immediately following the Apollo missions, research into the toxic effects of lunar dust on the respiratory system gained a lot of interest. Moreover, researchers believed other organ systems might be at risk, including the skin and cornea. Secondary effects could translocate to the cardiovascular system, the immune system, and the brain. With current intentions to return humans to the moon and establish a semi-permanent presence on or near the moon's surface, integrated, end-to-end dust mitigation strategies are needed to enable sustainable lunar presence and architecture. The characteristics and formation of Martian dust are different from lunar dust, but advances in the research of lunar dust toxicity, mitigation, and protection strategies can prove strategic for future operations on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana Miranda
- Radiobiology Unit, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Shannon Marchal
- Department of Microgravity and Translational Regenerative Medicine, Otto von Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Lina Cumps
- Radiobiology Unit, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jenne Dierckx
- Radiobiology Unit, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marcus Krüger
- Department of Microgravity and Translational Regenerative Medicine, Otto von Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
- Research Group "Magdeburger Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Forschung unter Raumfahrt- und Schwerelosigkeitsbedingungen" (MARS), Otto von Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Grimm
- Department of Microgravity and Translational Regenerative Medicine, Otto von Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
- Research Group "Magdeburger Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Forschung unter Raumfahrt- und Schwerelosigkeitsbedingungen" (MARS), Otto von Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Sarah Baatout
- Radiobiology Unit, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kevin Tabury
- Radiobiology Unit, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN, 2400 Mol, Belgium
| | - Bjorn Baselet
- Radiobiology Unit, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN, 2400 Mol, Belgium
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Ticoş CM, Scurtu A, Toader D, Banu N. Experimental demonstration of Martian soil simulant removal from a surface using a pulsed plasma jet. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2015; 86:033509. [PMID: 25832231 DOI: 10.1063/1.4915498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
A plasma jet produced in a small coaxial plasma gun operated at voltages up to 2 kV and working in pure carbon dioxide (CO2) at a few Torr is used to remove Martian soil simulant from a surface. A capacitor with 0.5 mF is charged up from a high voltage source and supplies the power to the coaxial electrodes. The muzzle of the coaxial plasma gun is placed at a few millimeters near the dusty surface and the jet is fired parallel with the surface. Removal of dust is imaged in real time with a high speed camera. Mars regolith simulant JSC-Mars-1A with particle sizes up to 5 mm is used on different types of surfaces made of aluminium, cotton fabric, polyethylene, cardboard, and phenolic.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Ticoş
- National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 077125 Bucharest, Romania
| | - A Scurtu
- National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 077125 Bucharest, Romania
| | - D Toader
- National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 077125 Bucharest, Romania
| | - N Banu
- National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 077125 Bucharest, Romania
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