Lunar Weather Array

We propose to mature the Lunar Weather Array (LWA) from TRL 4 to TRL 6 for operation on the lunar surface. LWA is a compact, surface-deployable instrument for studying and monitoring the lunar dust environment. LWA will 1) improve understanding of surface-to-exospheric lunar dust dynamics, and 2) establish a surface environmental monitoring station to inform safe human and robotic operations. Lunar dust poses a potential safety hazard for spaceflight hardware and human health due to the small size, abrasive nature, and electrical charging of dust particles. Studying the behavior of dust from global scales down to meter-sized localized events is necessary to understand the nature of lunar dust levitation, lofting, and transport, particularly when dust can accumulate on exposed radiative, habitat, transportation, and optical surfaces. The current understanding of dust behavior is largely informed by NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), which confirmed the presence of clouds of dust particles over areas affected by micrometeorite impacts. In addition to impact processes, there is evidence that lunar fines become electrostatically charged and naturally lofted from the surface near the lunar terminator line at the day/night interface. Human and robotic activity such as roving, landing, launching, and ISRU activities will likely loft additional dust into the local environment. The increased cadence of lunar missions and anticipated sustained level of human presence motivate the near-term development of LWA under DALI to address open science questions regarding the processes that create and sustain the lunar dust exosphere and the dynamics of dust lofting . LWA addresses these goals by 1) characterizing the volumetric distribution of low concentrations of lunar dust with µm to sub-µm particle sizes, and 2) monitoring dust behavior from impacts and human activity. These measurements are performed at meter to kilometer scale distances from the landed platform. With a ground-based deployment strategy, LWA improves near-surface sensitivity to dust size and density compared to the state-of-the-art, complimenting orbital remote measurements. The significant heritage of backscatter lidar systems for space-based applications motivates near-term development of LWA with a clear TRL advancement path towards a lunar demonstration in the next decade. The architecture has heritage with existing terrestrial and orbital lidar systems used for dust and aerosol monitoring on Earth. Our development approach is planned to retire technical, scientific, and operational risks for future flight opportunities. We will design, fabricate, assemble, and test a LWA brassboard. Key components and subsystems will undergo component and subsystem-level testing in an environment relevant to a lunar surface mission. Subsequently, subsystems will be integrated and undergo system-level environmental testing. We will conduct experiments designed to validate the sensitivity to representative dust concentrations and particle size/shape distributions. These development activities will advance LWA from TRL 4 to 6. The Lunar Weather Array is highly relevant for DALI, directly responding to the priority goals of advancing measurement capabilities for small, low-mass, and low power consumption instruments for lunar Discovery, CLPS, and Artemis missions. LWA responds to the needs recognized in the Origins, Worlds, and Life 2023-2032 Decadal Survey, and the Artemis III SDR Goal 7k for understanding lunar dust behavior, including surface levitation, exospheric transport, and dust particle shape, and Goal 7m for monitoring real-time environmental variables affecting safe operations, including meteorites and micrometeorite impacts, and debris generated from human activity. The need for these measurements will likely grow in importance in the next decade with the increasing cadence of landed missions involving human operations.

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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