Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
NASA Needs Fake Moondust By The Ton
NASA needs more moondust. And not just a few sterile baggies of moondust. NASA engineers need tons
of it - or a suitable simulant.
NASA has lots of new plans for lunar gadgets and lunar equipment, given the new plans to return to
the Moon. Since we've been there before, and we've gathered samples, we know what a problem moondust can be.
(Moondust close-up)
The lunar soil (or regolith) covering the Moon's surface is a complex material that is sharp and abrasive - with interlocking glass shards and fragments. It is a powdery grit that gets into everything, jamming moving parts and abrading spacesuit fabrics. It can also get into living spaces, where it is impossible to brush off, due to the ease with which lunar dust picks up electrostatic charges. And it can even irritate the lungs of astronauts. Astronaut Jack Schmitt had a case of "lunar dust hay fever" during his stay on the Moon.
For testing purposes, noting else will do. And supplies of the real thing, brought back during the Apollo program, have run out. "We don't have enough real moondust to go around," says Larry Taylor, director of Planetary Geosciences Institute at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. To run all the tests, "we need to make a well-qualified lunar simulant."
An early substitute, JSC-1, was developed in 1993. It consisted of basaltic vocanic cinder cone deposits from a quarry near Flagstaff, AZ. It's replacement, JSC-1a, comes in three different varieties based on grain size: fine, moderate grain and coarse grain. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is working on three new simulants that will provide fake moondust from three different lunar areas; two will represent mare and polar highlands regions, while the third will represent the sharp, glassy, jagged regolith that is the worst that the Moon has to offer.
The Moon offers too many distinct varieties of regolith to economically simulate each one.
We will develop root simulants and manufacture specific simulants from these, but also enable investigators to enhance the products as needed," Carol McLemore, program manager at MSFC, stated. "I liken this process to baking a cake: depending on the type of cake you want, you need certain ingredients for it to come out right and taste right. Getting the recipe right whether for a cake or lunar simulants is critical."Source materials for simulants will probably come from many diverse locations in Montana, Arizona, Virginia, Florida and Hawaii. For example, the mare simulant will use ilmenite, a crystalline iron-titanium oxide. Once NASA understands how to make the simulants, and determines the best composition, certification procedures for vendors will ensure that fake moondust meets NASA standards.
More lunar dust news:
- Skiing That Soft Lunar Powder
Skiing on the moon? Heinlein thought you could do it, and so do the Apollo astronauts. - Lunar Dust Fountains Due To Electrostatic
Charges
Science fiction author Hal Clement predicted in a 1956 short story that electrostatically charged lunar dust particles might actually suspend themselves above the surface: - Moon Dust Substrate For Solar Panels
Simulated moon dust has been used to make the substrate of a solar cell.
Read more about fake lunar dust at NASA.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/30/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Lava Tubes On Moon And Mars
'...it never was built, or anything like that; it's just a big volcanic bubble.' - Robert Heinlein, 1957.
SpaceX EVA Spacesuit Tested By Polaris Dawn Crew
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.' - Otto Willi Gail, 1929.
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.' - John W. Campbell, 1950.
FLOAT Levitating Train On The Moon ala Clarke
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1955.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'
Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'
Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."
AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'
Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'
P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'
Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'
Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.'
How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?
Truth or fiction?
Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'
Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species
'...there was no one alive who had ever seen them. But they existed in the Life Bank.'
Tele-Driving Offers Jobs For Tele-Drivers, Not AIs
''...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
Autonomous Robotic Dentist - Would You Say 'Ahhh'?
You might be surprised at how much more efficient this could be.
GM Scraps Cruise Origin Robotaxi With No Steering Wheel
'Ames tinkered around with something on the instrument board when he got in; and in a few moments we were off.'
Taza Aya Air-Curtain Tech Protects Turkey Workers
'I'm going to have to buy a filter-mask.'
Torobo Humanoid Robot Hammers A Nail
7-axis dual arms, 3-axis waist (pitch, pitch, yaw), 3-axis neck (yaw, pitch, roll), and 4-axis undercarriage!
