Charging Properties and Particle Dynamics of Chang’e-5 Lunar Sample in an External Electric Field
Junping Gu,
Xiaoyu Qian,
Yiwei Liu,
Qinggong Wang,
Yiyang Zhang,
Xuan Ruan,
Xiangjin Deng,
Yaowen Lu,
Jian Song,
Hui Zhang,
Yunning Dong,
Mengmeng Wei,
Wei Yao,
Shuiqing Li,
Weihua Wang,
Zhigang Zou,
Mengfei Yang
Affiliations
Junping Gu
Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China
Xiaoyu Qian
Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yiwei Liu
Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China
Qinggong Wang
Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China
Yiyang Zhang
Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Xuan Ruan
Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Xiangjin Deng
Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering, Beijing 100094, China
Yaowen Lu
Beijing Orient Institute of Measurement and Test, Beijing 100086, China
Jian Song
Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China
Hui Zhang
Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China
Yunning Dong
Beijing Orient Institute of Measurement and Test, Beijing 100086, China
Mengmeng Wei
Beijing Orient Institute of Measurement and Test, Beijing 100086, China
Wei Yao
Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China; Corresponding authors.
Shuiqing Li
Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Corresponding authors.
Weihua Wang
Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Zhigang Zou
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Mengfei Yang
China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China; Corresponding authors.
Facing the challenges of in-situ utilization of lunar regolith resources, applying an external electric field to manipulate lunar particles has become a promising method for space particle control, which mainly depends on the particle charging properties in the applied electric field. Using the surficial lunar regolith samples brought back from the Moon by the Chang’e-5 mission (CE5 LS), this work successively studied their charging properties, particle dynamics, and their collision damages to aerospace materials under the action of an external electric field in high-vacuum conditions. The results indicated that the charging process and electrostatic projection of lunar regolith particles under high-vacuum conditions were different from those under atmosphere conditions. The particle diameter range of CE5 LS used in the experiment is 27.7–139.0 μm. For electric field strength of 3–12 kV·cm−1, the charge obtained by CE5 LS is 4.8 × 10−15–4.7 × 10−13 C and the charge-to-mass ratio is 1.2 × 10−5–6.8 × 10−4 C·kg−1. The CE5 LS is easier to be negatively charged in an external electric field. Furthermore, significant damages were observed on the target impact surfaces, indicating severe influences of lunar regolith particles on aerospace materials. Our work contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of physical mechanisms controlling the lunar regolith shielding and utilization, and will inspire broad efforts to develop the lunar in-situ engineering solutions.
