NASA Nebraska EPSCoR
(Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research)

Keeping Lunar Dust at Bay: Nebraska Research Tackles a Space Exploration Challenge

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More than 50 years after the Apollo missions, one surprisingly stubborn challenge remains for future lunar explorers: dust.

​Lunar dust is not like the dirt found on Earth. Its tiny, jagged particles can cling to equipment, damage spacesuits, interfere with instruments, and shorten the lifespan of critical technologies needed for exploration. As NASA prepares for long-term missions to the Moon and eventually Mars, finding ways to keep dust from sticking to spacecraft surfaces has become increasingly important.

​Through a NASA Nebraska EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Development (RID) mini-grant, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher, Dr. Rahul Rajan, explored an innovative solution inspired by advanced manufacturing techniques. Instead of relying on energy-intensive dust removal systems, the project used ultrafast femtosecond lasers to create microscopic surface textures designed to naturally shed lunar dust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1 Residual lunar dust coverage on the unprocessed and different fluence processed surfaces after the tap test. Dust coverage measured using ImageJ software is given with each sample.

Testing with lunar dust simulant revealed an unexpected discovery. While researchers initially believed a Teflon-like coating would improve dust repulsion, the coating actually increased dust accumulation due to static electricity. In contrast, the laser-textured surfaces alone performed remarkably well, reducing residual dust coverage from approximately 54% on untreated aluminum to as little as 1.8% on the best-performing surface. The findings demonstrate that carefully engineered surface structures may provide a simple, energy-efficient way to combat lunar dust. The project also strengthened Nebraska's capabilities in space materials research and laid the groundwork for future NASA proposals focused on lunar vehicles and instrumentation operating in dusty extraterrestrial environments.