NASA's Dust Buster

摘要

Moon dust is dangerous. Each mote is like a tiny shard of glass-there's no wind or rain to soften the edges of lunar soil. During the Apollo missions, it jammed equipment and got stuck in the seals of space suits, causing a serious loss of pressure. Martian dust poses its own hazards. On the Red Planet, swirling dust storms have covered rovers' solar panels, significantly reducing their power while they waited for a favorable gust of wind. And if these kinds of space dust get into an airlock, forget it: It can be toxic or irritating to the lungs and could endanger astronauts' health on long missions.