Hazards and Opportunities of Lunar Dust and Regolith

Abstract

Dust exposure and control is the number one concern in returning to the Moon. Calculations show that respirable particles, if released in a habitat, would remain suspended in the air for extended periods of time. The Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicity Assessment Group (LADTAG) has been assigned the mission of evaluating dust hazards to humans and producing exposure standards for lunar dust suspended in breathing air. Dust exposure standards, similar to those established for quartz and asbestos on Earth, will determine the design, mass, power, and cost of engineering dust control systems incorporated into lunar habitats and shirtsleeve rovers. Despite its potential hazards, lunar regolith provides tremendous opportunities for both science and resources. The lunar regolith is a witness plate for solar system history over billions of years. A record of solar variability, supernovae, and gamma ray bursts may be found in regolith layers. The search for and retrieval of ancient regolith samples will likely be a major lunar science activity. In addition, the regolith is a resource of water and oxygen for future explorers, and major effort may be devoted to locating, excavating, and processing of regolith to extract these and other resources.