Experimental study on electrostatic migration of different mineral particles composing lunar dust under electron irradiation

Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences

Astronomy and Space Sciences

Hong Gan¹  Jingjing Shi¹  Guangfei Wei²  Xiao Zhang³  Guojun Xia³ 

[1] Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, Hefei, China;Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, Hefei, China;Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China;Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, Hefei, China;Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, Shanghai, China;

关键词: lunar surface;    lunar dust;    mineral particles;    electron irradiation;    electrostatic migration;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fspas.2023.1213294

 received in 2023-04-27, accepted in 2023-05-24,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Dust electrostatic migration is one of the primary causes of dust events on the surface of airless celestial bodies, which can result in multiple dust phenomena, including lunar horizon glow and dust pools, and also offer crucial insights into the evolution of the surface materials of airless celestial bodies. To date, the characteristics and laws of dust electrostatic migration are still not well understood. Here, we report the electrostatic migration characteristics of pyroxene, olivine, and ilmenite particles measured by the laser Doppler method and compare them with the findings of anorthite particles in previous experiments to recognize the differential migration characteristics of different mineral components in the lunar dust. The results demonstrate that the particle sizes of most moving pyroxene and olivine particles are in the range of 0–10 μm, and their vertical velocities are typically less than 2 m s−1, which are consistent with the previous studies. The cohesive force between the dust particles is probably what causes the difference in the migration rates of various insulating minerals. Note that no moving ilmenite particles were detected probably due to the material’s good conductivity. It can be speculated that the concentration of fugitive dust in the lunar mare is affected by the ilmenite content, but further research is needed to determine how low ilmenite content can cause dust migration.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Gan, Wei, Zhang, Xia and Shi.