Lunar Electric Fields: Observations and Implications

Details Lunar Electric Fields: Observations and Implications Lunar Electric Fields: Observations and Implications

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmsm43a1475h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #SM43A-1475

Physics

2780 Solar Wind Interactions With Unmagnetized Bodies, 5421 Interactions With Particles And Fields, 6250 Moon (1221), 7815 Electrostatic Structures, 7849 Plasma Interactions With Dust And Aerosols (2461)

Scientific paper

Alhough the Moon is typically thought of as having a relatively dormant environment, it is in fact very electrically active. The lunar surface, not protected by any substantial atmosphere, is directly exposed to solar UV and X-rays as well as solar wind plasma and energetic particles. This creates a complex electrodynamic environment, with the surface typically charging positive in sunlight and negative in shadow, and surface potentials varying over orders of magnitude in response to changing solar illumination and plasma conditions. Observations from the Apollo era and theoretical considerations strongly suggest that surface charging also drives dust electrification and horizontal and vertical dust transport. We present a survey of the lunar electric field environment, utilizing both newly interpreted Lunar Prospector (LP) orbital observations and older Apollo surface observations, and comparing to theoretical predictions. We focus in particular on time periods when the most significant surface charging was observed by LP - namely plasmasheet crossings (when the Moon is in the Earth's magnetosphere) and space weather events. During these time periods, kV-scale potentials are observed, and enhanced surface electric fields can be expected to drive significant horizontal and vertical dust transport. Both dust and electric fields can have serious effects on habitability and operation of machinery, so understanding the coupled dust-plasma-electric field system around the Moon is critically important for planning exploration efforts, in situ resource utilization, and scientific observations on the lunar surface. Furthermore, from a pure science perspective, this represents an excellent opportunity to study fundamental surface-plasma interactions.

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