Weather-driven Hazard Assessment of Lunar Electrodynamics (WHALE)

The lunar south pole, where future human missions are planned, is an unexplored terrain with unknown risks. Among the many potential hazards facing astronauts during lunar south pole exploration, tribocharging has been identified by NASA’s EVA and Human Surface Mobility (EHP) program as a high-priority 5×5 risk. As astronauts walk, work, or traverse the lunar surface, contact electrification can occur between spacesuits, tools, vehicles, and the regolith due to charge accumulation. Assessing the surface electrodynamics including the self-consistent plasmas is thus critical to the safety of human and robotic explorers to the Moon. The proposed innovation, Weather-driven Hazard Assessment for Lunar Electrodynamics (WHALE), will quantify for all possible lunar environment (1) surface electric potentials and the corresponding plasma populations, and (2) Intense charging caused by energetic particles in addition to their known radiation damage. WHALE will integrate a high volume of advanced three-dimensional simulations with machine learning to produce real-time surface charging forecasts that can be displayed on a hand-held device. Results of WHALE’s initial phase will guide the determination of instrument specifications (such as energy range, energy resolution, size of electric probes, and placement) for GSFC’s Plasma Observatory for Lunar Exploration mission to be delivered to EHP in April 2027.

Quantify surface electric potentials and plasma populations across all possible lunar environments; characterize intense charging from energetic particles; integrate 3D simulations with ML for real-time surface charging forecasts on handheld devices; guide instrument specifications for GSFC's Plasma Observatory for Lunar Exploration (POLE) by April 2027.

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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