Dr. Chantal Darquenne prepares to collect aerosol deposition data from a test subject during simulated lunar gravity during a flight of NASA's Reduced Gravity aircraft.
In the first set of EarthSky podcasts, National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) scientist, Kim Prisk, explains the health hazards of lunar dust. Apollo astronauts, walking on the Moon's surface, quickly became covered with a fine blackish powder. Like beach sand on Earth, it got into everything. But what is lunar dust? Why is it a problem for lunar explorers? What are the possible health effects of inhaling lunar dust? How will astronauts, returning to the Moon and later, exploring Mars, solve the dust problem?
In this classroom activity developed for NASA's KSNNTM 21st Century Explorer Newsbreak ("What should you find on the moon's surface?"), students make simulated regolith (lunar dust) and observe its properties.
Student teams construct human lung models from small clear plastic beverage bottles and balloons to investigate how movements of the diaphragm cause lungs to inflate.
(Need to extract this activity from the BCM My World Air book.)
Students build take-home dust catchers with wax paper and petroleum jelly. After a set monitoring period, the dust catchers are brought back to school and representative particle counts are made using a comparison grid.
Students compare the process of regolith formation on Earth and the Moon in this activity, excerpted from NASA's Exploring the Moon, a Teacher's Guide (EG-1997-10-116-HQ), with emphasis on Earth and space sciences.
Additional Activities/Extensions
Investigate the effects of static charges on dust particles using a static electricity device (Van de Graff generator).
Compare the accumulation of lunar dust on astronaut space suits to the dust that accumulates on the screens of tube type monitors.
Have student teams come up with proposals for a dust mitigation system on the Moon that will permit astronauts to go outside their base on Moonwalks but not track the dust back inside the base.
Have students investigate the effects of other kinds of dust on human respiratory health. Examples include household dust, coal dust and asbestos.
Article by Science@NASA on the lunar dust problem and the possible use of electromagnetic levitation to remove dust from flat surfaces, such as solar panels, while on the Moon and Mars.
A science fiction story, written in 1956, which suggested that lunar dust might levitate off the lunar surface due to electrostatic charges. Lunar scientists believe that the story could be credible and that electromagnetic charges could explain why orbiting Apollo 17 astronauts saw "twilight rays" just before and after sunrise and sunset.
This technical memorandum from the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office provides detailed information about problems with Apollo extravehicular activity systems caused by dust on the Moon's surface.
In September 2006, Air and Space Magazine published this story by Trudy Bell, describing the nature of lunar and Martian dust, and the problems combating it.
A report by NASA scientists characterizes the properties of lunar dust and its impact on lunar astronauts and concludes that electric charges increases lunar dust's adhesive nature.
National Science Standards
K-4 Standards
Physical Science – Properties of Objects and Materials
Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives – Changes in Environments
Environments are the space, conditions, and factors that affect an individual's and a population's ability to survive and their quality of life.
Life science – Organisms and Their Environments
Humans depend on their natural and constructed environments.
5-8 Standards
Life Science – Structure and Function in Living Systems
The human has a system for respiration.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives – Personal Health
Safe living involves the development and use of safety precautions and the recognition of risk in personal decisions.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives – Risks and Benefits
Risk analyses are used to determine the options for reducing or eliminating risks.
9-12 Standards
Physical Science – Motions and Forces
The electric force is a universal force that exists between any two charged objects.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives – Personal and Community Health
Humans have a variety of mechanisms that can reduce the potential for accidents.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives – Natural and Human-Induced Hazards
Natural and human-induced hazards present the need for humans to assess potential danger and risk.
BioEd Online is funded by grants from Houston Endowment Inc.; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Science Education Partnership Award program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH; National Space Biomedical Research Institute; National Science Foundation (Divisions of Graduate Education and Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings); Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; RGK Foundation; The Powell Foundation; and the Houston Independent School District.
