Summary
International scientific and commercial interests in exploration missions to solar system bodies such as the Moon, asteroids and comets have increased significantly. Several exploration missions are planned in the near future, in particular to the Moon. One major environmental constraint during those missions is the presence of charged dust-like particles, as they can degrade equipment by accelerating wear. Moreover, exposure to and inhalation of dust can have a range of toxic effects on human explorers. There is a recognised need for developing efficient dust mitigation systems. To develop such systems, (i) better knowledge and models of dust charging and transportation in those environments are needed, and (ii) technologies to move charged dust particles in a controlled way must be validated. The objective of the DUSTER project is to develop an instrument for in situ analysis of dust-like particles and their transport in the context of planetary and small body exploration missions. This instrument will be designed to measure for which set of parameters (electrostatic charging of particles, ambient plasma, imposed electric field) dust-like particles can be moved. The technology developed can serve as a basis to design electrostatic dust mitigation devices and dust sample-collecting equipment. The above-mentioned parameters will be determined theoretically and supported by laboratory-based measurements for particles with different properties and under different conditions. Following the requirements derived from the simulations and laboratory measurements, the individual sub-units and units of the proposed instrument will be designed. An integrated breadboard version of the instrument will be manufactured and tested with the same laboratory setup. The target is to reach TRL 4. The development, manufacturing, testing and validation of the instrument will be a joint effort between scientific, engineering and industrial teams with a strong interdisciplinary approach.
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More information & hyperlinks
| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101082466 |
| Start date: | 01-01-2023 |
| End date: | 31-12-2024 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 1 489 701,25 Euro - 1 489 701,00 Euro |
Cordis data
Original description
International scientific and commercial interests in exploration missions to solar system bodies such as the Moon, asteroids and comets have increased significantly. Several exploration missions are planned in the near future, in particular to the Moon. One major environmental constraint during those missions is the presence of charged dust-like particles, as they can degrade equipment by accelerating wear. Moreover, exposure to and inhalation of dust can have a range of toxic effects on human explorers. There is a recognised need for developing efficient dust mitigation systems. To develop such systems, (i) better knowledge and models of dust charging and transportation in those environments are needed, and (ii) technologies to move charged dust particles in a controlled way must be validated. The objective of the DUSTER project is to develop an instrument for in situ analysis of dust-like particles and their transport in the context of planetary and small body exploration missions. This instrument will be designed to measure for which set of parameters (electrostatic charging of particles, ambient plasma, imposed electric field) dust-like particles can be moved. The technology developed can serve as a basis to design electrostatic dust mitigation devices and dust sample-collecting equipment. The above-mentioned parameters will be determined theoretically and supported by laboratory-based measurements for particles with different properties and under different conditions. Following the requirements derived from the simulations and laboratory measurements, the individual sub-units and units of the proposed instrument will be designed. An integrated breadboard version of the instrument will be manufactured and tested with the same laboratory setup. The target is to reach TRL 4. The development, manufacturing, testing and validation of the instrument will be a joint effort between scientific, engineering and industrial teams with a strong interdisciplinary approach.Status
SIGNEDCall topic
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-82Update Date
06-02-2023
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