Electrostatic dust shield system used for Lunar and Mars exploration equipment

Abstract

A unique shield system has been developed utilizing electrostatic force to remove dust breaking into bearings and mechanical seals of equipment used for space exploration. Because the performance of the former system was not satisfactory for mitigating dust intrusion, we added wire electrodes above the former system to improve the performance. As the result, approximately 95 % of dust was repelled from the gap. Moreover, we developed a numerical calculation algorithm using distinct element method for decreasing calculation load without decreasing calculation accuracy. It was predicted by the developed numerical method that the shield performance of the electrostatic dust shield system would be great on the Moon and Mars environment if dust would be charged strongly. This technology is expected to increase the reliability of equipment used in long-term manned and unmanned activities on the Lunar and Martian surface.

Keywords

• aerospace engineering
• mechanical seal
• lunar dust
• martian dust
• space exploration