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Dust

Encyclopedia
Updated Feb 12, 2024

Contents

Introduction

Dust testing is crucial for designing spaceflight hardware destined for the moon to ensure its resilience against lunar surface conditions, preventing potential damage or performance issues caused by abrasive lunar dust particles. NASA JSC boasts a comprehensive suite of capabilities for dust testing, including unique assets to accommodate a wide range of hardware, as well as providing expertise in testing with regolith simulant and other unique requirements. Dust testing capabilities include both ambient dust testing as well as “dirty” thermal vacuum capabilities. The Regolith Simulant Component Test Lab features multiple small vacuum environments and a dispersal test box, offering ambient dispersal capabilities for simulant testing. The 15-foot Dirty Thermal Vacuum Chamber is uniquely designed for dust and planetary surface environments testing. Complementing these facilities is a dedicated Dust Containment and Preparation room, ensuring optimal hardware exposure to dust/regolith. These capabilities invite researchers and developers to leverage NASA JSC’s advanced resources for their own testing and experimentation needs. 

Capabilities

15-foot Dirty Thermal Vacuum Chamber 

Overview | NASA JSC 15-foot dirty thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) provides unique testing capabilities for dust and planetary surface environments. The 15-foot chamber is a spherical chamber designed to test advanced concepts, especially for battery power systems, space vehicle actuators and auxiliary power units. 

Details |

  • 12.5-foot internal diameter spherical chamber with ~78-inch diameter clear entry for easy access
  • Vacuum conditions: 1×10^-6 torr to 760 torr 
  • Thermal conditions: -196°C to +120°C 
  • Air, GN2 pressurization
  • Feed-throughs for high-power electrical connections and high-channel count data 
  • Control automation enabling low-cost operations 
  • Ambient dust containment room for regolith control and testing 
  • Hardware exposure testing to dust / regolith 
  • Regolith bin for design and test of excavation, processing, or construction technology 

Dust Containment and Preparation 

Overview | A dedicated preparation room for hardware exposure to dust/regolith and regolith bed preparation is available. 

Details | NASA JSC has a specialized facility for the development, handling, and integration of dust and soil simulant materials which require specialized environments. 

Regolith Simulant Component Test Lab 

Overview | The Component Test Lab offers multiple small vacuum environments for testing in simulant and a simulant dispersal test box with ambient dispersal capabilities. 

Details |

  • Multiple 1’-3’ thermal vacuum bell jars for testing with simulant
  • Ambient 2’ x 2’ x 3’ dust box for quick and easy functional testing with fan-blown simulant 

Regolith Simulant Test Bin 

Overview | The Regolith Simulant Test Bin offers an enclosed measurable environment for direct contact regolith simulant testing. 

Details |

  • 48” x 96” surface area for larger test articles or mobility testing
  • 8” maximum fill depth 
  • Interior baffles for partial filling at full depth and efficient use of simulant 
  • Filled and prepared in dust containment and prep lab to keep other equipment clean 

Simulant Test Consulting and Development 

Overview | On-site expertise available for successful vacuum operations with prepared simulant samples and test articles. 

Details | Subject Matter Expert development of specialized analog Lunar and Mars soil simulants for hardware and system testing, end-to-end from soil development to test execution. 

A close-up view of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site photographed during Apollo 17 lunar surface extravehicular activity. Note the makeshift repair arrangement on the right rear fender of the LRV. During EVA-1 a hammer got underneath the fender and a part of it was knocked off. Astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt were reporting a problem with lunar dust because of the damage fender. Following a suggestion from astronaut John W. Young in the Mission Control Center at Houston the crewmen repaired the fender early in EVA-2 using lunar maps and clamps from the optical alignment telescope lamp. Schmitt is seated in the rover. Cernan took this picture. 
The 15-foot Dirty Thermal Vacuum Chamber
The 15-foot Dirty Thermal Vacuum Chamber
Additional Test Hardware in the Component Test Lab
NASA astronauts and Expedition 70 Flight Engineers Jasmin Moghbeli, left, and Loral O’Hara in the Destiny laboratory celebrate the successful docking of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
NASA

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