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Completed TRL 2 (started at 2, targeting 3)
The goal of this research is to develop accurate and efficient models covering the scales from microscopic charging (micrometermicrosecondscale) to macroscopic transport (meter-second scale) of dust grains through computational and data-enabled modelingstudies. This project will bridge the gap between microscopic charging and macroscopic transport of dust grains for interactions inspace. Particularly, this project will self-consistently resolve the net amount of charge (Qd) on each individual dust grain for differentconfigurations at multiple scales. Also, this project is the first to apply data-driven modeling and uncertainty quantification to firstprinciple-based particle simulations of complex/dusty plasmas. Computationally efficient and accurate models will be developedfor multi-scale interactions. Effects of uncertainty sources, such as plasma environment, dust size, and physical properties, in thosemodels will be quantified and analyzed. The outcome this project is an efficient and accurate model of lunar plasma-dust environmentthat can be used as a rapid analysis tool to predict quantities of interest for Artemis missions, such as local electrostatic and dustenvironment (e.g., surface potentials, levitated dust size and height distribution), risks of electric discharging/arcing, efficacy of dustmitigation schemes for surface operation and habitat, etc.
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