Diagnostics of the dusty plasma environment on the lunar surface

To enhance our understanding of the rich plasma physical processes occurring in the plasma dusty Lunar environment, the diagnostics of plasma and electromagnetic measurements located on the Lunar surface can bring new and complex expertise.

An important topic for lunar missions is understanding how the charged dust behaves, the roles of dust transport, levitated dust and electrodynamics around the lunar surface. It could be essential for ensuring the continued safe operation of equipment and long-term exploration. Lunar dust is charged by its interaction with the surrounding plasma. The moon’s orbit carries it through the solar wind and the Earth’s own magnetotail (particularly the charging of the Lunar surface in the plasmasheet region is a significant effect).  The crucial point is to study the influence of the dust particles on various plasma instabilities and fluctuations and then apply the theoretical results to the dusty plasma environment of the lunar surface in order to build space weather services.

In order to achieve these goals, a compact, low-power instrument is proposed. It consists of two blocks: 1) MEMS based mass spectrometer coupled with MEMS based XRF analyzer, both aims in complementary analysis of regolith elemental composition as well as molecules absorbed on its surface; and 2) RFA electric and magnetic radiospectrometer for surrounding plasma diagnostic.