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Moon from the International Space Station. Image via ESA
Via the European Space Agency
When Apollo astronauts returned from the moon, dust that hang on their spacesuits made them sore throat and their eyes bit. Lunar dust is made of sharp, abrasive and nasty particles, but how toxic is it to humans?
The "lunar hay fever" described by NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt during the 1972 Apollo 17 mission marched on the moon. From sneezing to nasal congestion, in some cases, it took days for the reactions to fade. Inside the spaceship, the dust smelled of burnt powder
Lunar missions left an unanswered question about lunar exploration – an issue that could affect the next steps of humanity in the solar system: can the lunar dust compromise human health? astronaut after the exit in space. Image via NASA
An ambitious research program of the European Space Agency (ESA) with experts from the planet now addresses the problems related to the lunar dust.
Kim Prisk, Pulmonary Physiologist at the University of California with more than 20 years of experience in manned space flight are one of the 12 scientists participating in the research of the ESA. Prisk said:
We do not know how bad this dust is.
Unpleasant Dust
Lunar dust contains silicate, a material commonly found on planetary bodies with volcanic activity. Miners on Earth suffer from inflamed lungs healed by silicate inhalation. On the moon, the dust is so abrasive that it has devoured layers of space boots and destroyed the vacuum sealed containers of Apollo's samples.
Lunar dust particle. Image via ESA.
Fine as powder, but pointed like glass. The low gravity of the moon, one sixth of what we have on Earth, allows tiny particles to stay in suspension longer and penetrate deeper into the lungs. Prisk explained:
Particles 50 times smaller than a human hair can drag on for months in the lungs. The longer the particle remains, the greater the probability of toxic effects
The potential damage due to the inhalation of this dust is unknown, but research shows that lunar simulators can destroy lung cells and after long-term exposure.
Towards the Particle
On Earth, fine particles tend to smooth for years of erosion by wind and water, but lunar dust does not occur. is not round, but sharp and bristly.
atmosphere and is constantly bombarded by the sun's radiation which causes the electrostatic charge of the ground.
Collection of lunar samples. Image by NASA Intermediary
This charge can be so strong that the dust levitates above the lunar surface, which makes it even more likely to penetrate into the interior of the planet. equipment and lungs
