Lunar Dust Mitigation for the Potential LORE Science Payload

This paper considers the lunar dust mitigation requirements of the potential LORE Lunar Origins and Resource Explorer science payload as part of the robotic Lunar Soil Mechanics Investigation System (LSM) subsurface geophysics package on the Selene-2 lander. This includes cleaning the LORE bore- hole fiber-optic Probe between the analysis of different bore-holes near the lander to minimize cross- contamination effects. A multilevel dust shield incorporating Carbon nanotube (CNT) technologies is considered to meet the various LORE dust protection requirements. Indeed, adding CNT could improve both the electrical conductivity of the trapping material to improve the deflection capability, and its porosity toward the trapping of submicron particles size. To improve the study of the effects of planetary dust on optics and mechanical assemblies, two new simulants, namely UW-1M and UW-1H, have been developed that can provide a relatively high fidelity overall simulation of the relevant effects of lunar mare and highland dust (nanophase Fe, size distribution, mechanical wear, optical spectral absorptance, magnetic properties, etc.). Preliminary test results for the CNT magneto-electrostatic dust deflectors/filters are presented and the results discussed.