Development of Lunar Dust Lofting Equipment for Ground Testing

The surface of the Moon is covered with powder-like particles, wide range in size, created by meteorite impacts and weathering. These particles float and adhere during lunar activities. There are concerns that these particles could cause problems, such as equipment malfunctions, impaired visibility, and health hazards when they stick to exploration rovers or spacesuits. Additionally, at the Moon’s terminator, a phenomenon called lunar horizon glow (LHG), where sunlight reflects off the floating particles, has been observed. These floating particles could pose significant safety issues for humans and probes during future lunar development, necessitating urgent countermeasures. This study aims to develop a regolith environment test device that stably levitates regolith in ground tests, simulating the lunar surface environment using vibrators, metal meshes, and IR lamps. In the experiment, silica dust and simulated regolith, which mimic lunar regolith, are used as samples. First, these particles are heated with an IR lamp. Next, the particles are charged by irradiating the samples with electrons. Simultaneously with the electron irradiation, a voltage is applied to a metal mesh placed above the sample, and a vibrator attached to the bottom of the sample is vibrated. The floating particles are captured using a high-speed camera.