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  • It turns out there’s a dark side to the moon and it’s not what you might think.

  • And really, the side of the moon that we never get to see from Earth is actually more accurately

  • called the far side of the moon because it does see sunlight, but that’s beside the

  • point.

  • What I’m trying to say is: the moon is dangerous.

  • Specifically the moon’s dust.

  • See, when the first people set foot on that small satellite body, they kicked up a storm

  • and came back into the lunar module covered in dust, and it’s posed a problem ever since.

  • Some astronauts have even had a reaction to it.

  • In 1972, Apollo 17’s HarrisonJackSchmitt experienced a momentary sneezing fit,

  • red eyes, itchy throat, clogged sinuses, the whole shebang in response to moon dust.

  • And asnot-funas that sounds, it would still be pretty awesome to say that you know

  • youre allergic to the moon.

  • But it can actually also be quite a bit more serious than a touch of temporary hay fever.

  • As space agencies across the world consider more crewed missions to the moon, researchers

  • are delving into some of the hazards those missions might face and lunar dust is much

  • more of a factor than you might think.

  • It’s quite sharp and abrasive, like tiny shards of glass.

  • Because there’s no wind on the moon, lunar soil particles never erode.

  • Their edges stay sharp and pointy, and they can tear up spacesuits or clog equipment and

  • keep it from functioning properly,

  • which is not so good.

  • And if you breathe that stuff in?

  • Extra not good.

  • Like when astronauts come back in from stomping around on the moon’s surface, their suits

  • are covered in the stuff and they have to take their helmets off to get out of the suit

  • so what kind of risk does exposure pose?

  • To find out, a team at Stony Brook University took two iron-based compounds that we know

  • are found on the moon and soaked them in a solution designed to mimic human lung fluid.

  • After about 15 minutes, the mixture had produced rather stunning amounts of hydroxyl radicals,

  • a kind of reactive oxygen compound that can do a lot of damage to biological tissue on

  • the cellular level.

  • And these particles aren’t exactly easy to breathe outthey can stay in your lungs

  • for quite a long time, potentially causing even more damage than the team measured within

  • the 15-minute window.

  • And plus, theyre sharp.

  • If they can tear up spacesuits, imagine what they can do to your lungs.

  • These hydroxyl radicals in particular have been linked to lung damage and lung cancer.

  • So, the team has concluded that this dust could be extremely dangerous and may have

  • long-term health implications.

  • We also think that silicon dioxide may be a large part of the moon’s surface dust

  • makeup, and we know silicon dioxide is a highly toxic, lung disease-causing compound as well.

  • So this research couldn’t come at a better time.

  • Because in 2019, NASA announced Artemis, its mission to send humans back to the moon

  • by 2024.

  • Were looking at a very real need to figure out what the heck to do about moon dust!

  • There’s lots of innovation happening already with NASA’s redesigned spacesuits, which

  • allow for increased mobility and improved insulation, but theyve also already taken

  • into account the dust problem: no zippers, no cables, fewer creases, and special sealant

  • for the main components.

  • These updates are definitely an improvement, but it’s likely that even more thought is

  • going to need to be put into how to handle moon dust, whether it’s in the form of suit

  • and equipment modifications, or dust mitigation processes like vacuum-cleaning before suit removal.

  • And more research still needs to be done into the compounds found on the moon and how they

  • could affect human physiology as astronauts explore it.

  • In fact, a whole special workshop meeting will be tackling the dust issue head-on quite

  • soon, lead by a professor from my very own alma mater, William & Mary, which makes me

  • very proud.

  • I’m so excited to hear what kind of innovations they come up with to solve this dusty problem

  • and the many other challenges that await us as we blaze the path back to our beloved moon.

  • What other Artemis-era discoveries and innovations do you want to see us cover?

  • Do you want to see us cover the stuff that comes out of this meeting?

  • Let us know down in the comments below, and make sure to subscribe to Seeker for all your

  • space-dust news.

  • To learn more about the Artemis program check out this episode here and as always, thanks

  • so much for watching.

It turns out there’s a dark side to the moon and it’s not what you might think.

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月の粉塵に隠された危険な真実 (The Dangerous Truth Behind Lunar Dust)

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    林宜悉 に公開 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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