Lunar Dust Sensor for Crewed Environments

Goal: To develop and demonstrate suitable sensors for the combined purpose of monitoring respirable lunar dust in crewed environments, while simultaneously serving the function of reliable fire detection. Capability Need/Knowledge Gap: While NASA’s own critical path roadmap acknowledges the exposure hazard presented by lunar dust, no technology development efforts to address this requirement can be identified. It is notable that the recent prize targeting this requirement offered jointly by NASA and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation resulted in no viable sensors of practical applicability to NASA’s mission requirements. State-of-the-Art/Knowledge: The technical path advocated here builds from a foundational sensor technology developed by the investigators at GRC. Originally motivated by these exact problems, the application has since been redirected to the areas of terrestrial fire and emergency response and respiratory exposure, atmospheric particulates (volcanic and propulsion generated), and cloud/ice formation. Key Technical Challenges: Detecting the possible presence of pre-pyrolysis combustion particles in the size range d < 0.5 um. Approach/Research Plan: (1) Sensor architecture design study; (2) Fabrication and test assembly development; (3) Algorithm development; and, (4) Bench-top sensor architecture testing with analog aerosol. We will develop a three-component linear model for the scattered intensity, where the constituent components are ultrafine lunar dust, fine lunar dust, and pre-pyrolysis combustion particles. A design study will be performed, with scattering angle, wavelength, and incident polarization as design variables, to determine the optimal configuration for inversion of the scatter measurements for the concentrations of the three particulate components. Next Step: The next step in the maturation of this technology is to further refine the physical packaging of the optimized sensor architecture into a further compacted form factor, leveraging fabrication and hardware advancements made in the development of the GRC Multi-Parameter Aerosol Scattering Sensor (MPASS).

This effort aligns directly with the Strategic Thrust Area designated as STMD – Lunar Dust Mitigation. Specifically, the resulting capability is critical to ensuring sustained operations both on the lunar surface (e.g. habitable crewed environments) and with transfers to and from Gateway or other orbital platforms. Conventional ensemble scattering sensors (nephelometers) utilize a single detection angle (typically 90 degrees), resulting in the requirement to calibrate using the specific aerosol being targeted. Our development strategy is fundamentally different in that it is multiple-parameter design optimization, in which the sensor architecture and estimation algorithm development are coupled. It allows us to determine more complex aerosol properties, and to extend this capabilities to other aerosols without the need for recalibration.

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.

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