Exploring Electrostatic Regolith Interactions in Low-gravity

Any surface operations on the Moon will encounter a ubiquitous hazard: dust. To understand the properties of lunar dust—including charge exchange from rolling/sliding interactions during surface operations (i.e., tribocharging)—this experiment will explore electrostatic regolith interactions in low gravity. By applying various electric fields to a dust simulant in microgravity, researchers hope to characterize regolith’s charging dynamics and behavior. The insights gained are expected to enhance safety as well as drive requirements for lunar and other missions.

Problem Statement 

Not only may lunar dust grains already have an electrostatic charge, they also may experience a charge exchange during any rolling or sliding interactions. Therefore, it is relevant to understand dusty surfaces for robotic and human lunar surface mobility, landing and plume effects, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and basic science applications. This technology combines dust motion chambers, regolith simulant, and tribocharging sensors. In this experiment, researchers will validate the hardware in a vacuum and low gravity and then compare with ground test data.

Technology Maturation 

Few models correctly predict lunar surface charging and the resulting particle dynamics. This technology will advance from TRL 4 to 7 upon a successful demonstration.

This work is a continuation of previous flight testing under T0182.

Summary of Flight Test
2022-09-12 The Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) is designed to test technology for measuring and controlling particle charging on the Moon. We have developed sensors to measure particle charge due to tribocharging (rubbing) and the resulting particle motion in microgravity. The basic setup, hardware, and electronics were successfully demonstrated on the P-12 flight, although we did not get the desired data on the charging and behavior of the particles due to the flight anomaly. 
2023-12-19 The Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) is designed to test technologies for measuring and controlling particle charging on the Moon. We have developed sensors to measure particle charge due to tribocharging (rubbing) and observe the behavior of charged particle motion in reduced gravity. The Blue Origin P-13 flight provided a clean microgravity environment in which to observe the experiment, as well as interesting data during the rocket-powered portion of the flight profile, which causes additional agitation and charging of the grains under vacuum conditions. The electrometer sensors tested in this flight would be suitable for measuring charging of vehicles in motion on the lunar surface and will provide insight into relative charging between different materials.

This innovation enables model refinement, informing the selection of materials used in exploration. It comprehensively tests grains of various sizes and compositions interacting with other particles and surfaces. It is fully automated, requiring no flight personnel. This would benefit future NASA missions and the commercial space industry.

Future Customers
• Lunar exploration
• ISRU
• Planetary science

This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.