Moon dust isn’t like the stuff that collects on a bookshelf or on tables – it’s ubiquitous and abrasive, and it clings to everything. It’s so bad that it even broke the vacuum NASA designed to clean the Moon dust off Apollo spacesuits.
With NASA’s return to the Moon and its orbit, it will
need to manage the dust, which is dangerous for people too. The first step is
knowing how much is around at any given time. Efforts to do just that are
already paying off on Earth, in the fight against air pollution.
While astronaut Gene
Cernan was on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission, his spacesuit
collected loads of lunar dust. Credits: NASA
Apollo missions struggled to deal with
damage done by lunar dust. It clogged the camera equipment and scratched helmet
visors so badly that astronauts had difficulty seeing. During the Apollo 17
mission, astronaut Harrison Schmitt described his reaction to breathing in the
dust as “lunar hay fever,” experiencing sneezing, watery eyes, and a sore
throat. The symptoms went away, but concern for human health is a driving force
behind NASA’s extensive research into all forms of lunar soil, called regolith.
Sensitive tissues such as the lungs and corneas can be
damaged by lunar dust trapped inside a habitat. While air filtration can remove
a great deal of the tiny particles, an air-quality sensor is necessary to
ensure the controls are effective.
This was one focus of NASA’s Next Space Technologies
for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program. Through NextSTEP,
the agency issued a series of documents detailing specific needs for a future
lunar habitation and inviting private industry to help overcome obstacles to
future lunar missions. One of these needs was for air revitalization and
monitoring, including a way to measure lunar dust in surface and orbiting
habitats.
Lunar Outpost Inc. was founded in Denver in 2017 with
the goal of developing technologies for lunar exploration and then adapting
them for use on Earth. Based on the specifications laid out in NextSTEP
documents, the company developed an air-quality sensor it called the Space
Canary.
Lunar Outpost offered the sensor to Lockheed Martin
Space, which was one of several companies to successfully bid on a NextSTEP
public-private partnership to build lunar orbit habitat prototypes for testing.
Lockheed agreed, bringing Lunar Outpost on as a contributor to tweak the Space
Canary to NASA’s needs.
Ahead of future lunar
missions, NASA wanted a sensor to warn inhabitants if the level of dust gets
dangerous. Lunar Outpost Inc. developed the Space Canary, an air-quality
sensor, shown here (cannister-shaped device above the open door on the right)
in a lunar habitat prototype designed by Lockheed Martin.
Credits:
Lockheed Martin Corporation
After the device was integrated into the environmental control system,
it provided distinct advantages over traditional equipment. Rebranded Canary-S
(Solar), it’s now filling a need for low-cost, wireless air-quality and
meteorlogical monitoring on this planet.
It
Starts with Dust
Here on Earth, particulate matter is a
form of air pollution generated by forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and
burning fossil fuels, among other processes. The particles, a mix of liquid and
solid, are tiny, much smaller than a grain of sand. This kind of pollution
causes myriad health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular
problems, and contributes to numerous environmental issues, including climate
change.
Off-world, particulate matter could pose similar health
risks. And the mechanical systems designed to protect astronauts, such as air
filtration, can be damaged by the abrasive nature of the dust.
“We are still learning about techniques to mitigate
dust intrusion into the crew habitable areas and how to remove it,” said Tracy
Gill, project engineer for the Mission and Commercial Support Office at NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “Having a measurement system like Lunar
Outpost demonstrated would help us understand the environment the crew is
experiencing and help us to keep within the recommended exposure limits.”
The Space Canary sensor
developed by Lunar Outpost Inc. can detect the ultra-fine lunar dust particles
inside a habitat, alerting astronauts should an elevated level of contamination
occur. Adapted for use on Earth, the same technology, now renamed the Canary-S,
can monitor forest fire emissions, evaluate urban air quality, and more.
Credits:
Lunar Outpost
The Canary and the Mine
School
The Canary-S is a self-contained unit powered by solar energy and a battery
that transmits data using cellular technology. It can measure a variety of
pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, methane, sulfur
dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, among others. The device is constantly
taking measurements and sends a message up to a secure cloud every minute,
where it’s routed either to Lunar Outpost’s web-based dashboard or a customer’s
database for viewing and analysis.
The sensors and software are flexible, making customization simple.
“Nowadays, everybody's so used to plug-and-play,” said Chris Cloutier,
habitation design and integration lead at Kennedy, so having that flexibility
is “a key capability.”
Proving the sensors’ accuracy on Earth, however, can be difficult. The devices
exceeded NASA requirements for the habitat prototype, but outdoor readings are
trickier because they’re influenced by wind and humidity.
The Canary-S had some support with that in the form of a recent study by
the Payne Institute for Public Policy of the Colorado School of Mines. The
independent verification of the technology validated the accuracy of the sensor
readings for both daily and long-term measurements.
Supporting Firefighters,
Emissions Controls
The Canary-S is deployed in 15 states and across numerous industries. One
customer is the U.S. Forest Service, which is using the Canary-S to monitor
forest-fire emissions in real-time.
“Firefighters have been exhibiting symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning for
decades. They thought it was just part of the job,” explained Julian Cyrus, COO
of Lunar Outpost. But the sensors revealed where and when carbon monoxide
levels “were sky high,” making it possible to issue warnings to take the
necessary precautions.
The same devices can measure the particulate matter in urban areas.
Evidence of poor air quality can trigger alerts warning people, especially
those with respiratory conditions, to take necessary precautions. The city of
Denver chose the Canary sensor to collect air-quality data at local schools to
educate and inform teachers, parents, and students about their local air
quality. The data quantified the benefits of a no-idle campaign near schools
and provided general emissions pollution in key sites around the city.
In the oil and gas industry, the sensors can help provide evidence for how
effective environmental controls are, explained Charles Losche, senior manager
of growth and policy for Project Canary. The company deploys Canary-S sensors
to provide continuous, real-time monitoring of fugitive gas emissions.
That data can help justify the cost of those controls, said Losche, who
noted that without the readings, the oil and gas producers “had no way to prove
their efforts are reducing their impact on the environment.”
Additionally, sensor readings make it possible to determine if a spike in
hydrocarbons such as volatile organic compounds or methane is coming from the
facility or a truck driving past. If it’s a mechanical malfunction in the
facility, a repair crew is dispatched.
Cyrus, who previously worked on the Orion spacecraft as an
employee at Lockheed, recognized NASA as a driving force behind the company’s
work to develop dual-purpose technology for use on the Moon and Earth. In
addition to studying a wealth of lunar data when designing the sensor, the
NextSTEP program made the opportunity to work with NASA a reality.
“Supporting the private-public partnership is going to create a sustainable
presence on the Moon,” Cyrus said. “Establishing that approach is one of the
most important things that NASA has done over the last few years.”
NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector. The agency’s Spinoff publication profiles NASA technologies that have transformed into commercial products and services, demonstrating the broader benefits of America’s investment in its space program. Spinoff is a publication of the Technology Transfer program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. For more information on how NASA brings space technology down to Earth, visit: spinoff.nasa.gov
By Margo Pierce
NASA’s Spinoff Publication
Banner Image: As the Apollo astronauts explored the lunar surface, they had
to contend with lunar dust.
Credits: NASA
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/spinoff/Measuring_Moon_Dust_to_Fight_Air_Pollution
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