6 days ago · Moon dust can get everywhere—even inside of astronauts' lungs! The last humans to visit the Moon encountered a surprising hazard: "lunar hay fever", a respiratory response to breathing in dust from the regolith. Rovers, too, must account for the effects of Moon dust on their surface operations. The lunar regolith has much to teach us, and it ...

Lunar regolith is the unconsolidated material found on the surface of the Moon and in the Moon's tenuous atmosphere. Sometimes referred to as Lunar soil, Lunar soil specifically refers to the component of regolith smaller than 1 cm. It differs substantially in properties from terrestrial soil.

Feb 15, 2024 · The experiment, developed jointly by NASA and the University of Central Florida, sheds light on how these abrasive dust grains interact with astronauts, their spacesuits, and other equipment on the Moon.

Mar 3, 2023 · NASA engineers have been testing some ideas, including slippery coatings to prevent dust from sticking to surfaces in the first place and electrostatic devices to repel particles.

Lunar dust is not just an obstacle to performing science on the Moon. It is the dust itself, collected during Apollo, which unveiled some of the mysteries of the Solar System. Countless discoveries since Apollo (and still on-going, e.g. ANGSA) The images of …

Sep 17, 2024 · While astronaut Gene Cernan was on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission, his spacesuit collected loads of lunar dust. The gray, powdery substance stuck to the fabric and entered the capsule causing eye, nose, and throat irritation dubbed “lunar hay fever.”

“Lunar dust has some striking similarities to terrestrial silica, which has cause the deaths of thousands of people (respirable size, metals, chemically reactive). But lunar dust has unique properties that we don’t understand from a toxicological perspective (ultrafines, shape, unique reactive surfaces).”

Jan 22, 2025 · NASA’s Artemis campaign aims to return humans to the Moon, develop a sustainable presence there, and lay the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars. As the agency prepares for longer stays on and around the Moon, engineers are working diligently to understand the complex behavior of lunar dust, the sharp, jagged particles that can cling to spacesuits and jam equipment.

Nov 21, 2022 · Lunar dust is made of gnarly little particles — jagged and sharp-edged grains that add up to a major problem for astronauts and just about any human-made object that’s supposed to land or...

Feb 27, 2025 · Moon dust forms when small and large meteorites strike the Moon’s surface, pulverizing the rocks and fusing bits and pieces of the debris together. Unlike dust on Earth, Moon dust isn’t worn smooth by wind and water over the years.