Electrostatic Charging Properties of Lunar Dust

Physics – Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

Apollo astronauts in orbit about the moon observed a horizon glow immediately preceding sunrise which was attributed to electrostatically suspended lunar dust. Dust detectors placed on the lunar surface observed dust impacts coincident with the passage of the terminator. These observations may have implications for a proposed lunar observatory. Possible dust charging mechanisms include photoemission and attachment of solar wind electrons. We have modified a double plasma machine to investigate the charging properties of lunar dust. Experiments with simulated lunar dusts (JSC-1 and MLS-1) have shown that multiple floating potentials are possible when the coefficient for the emission of secondary electrons exceeds unity(M. Horányi, S. Robertson and B. Walch, GRL 22), 2079 (1995). Experiments are underway with soil samples from the Apollo 17 landing site.

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