Airborne dust, suspended inside a space vehicle or in future celestial habitats, can present a serious threat to crew health if it is not controlled. During the Apollo missions to the moon, lunar dust brought inside the capsule caused eye irritation and breathing difficulty to the crew when they launched from the moon and re-acquired "microgravity." During Shuttle flights reactive and toxic dusts such as lithium hydroxide have created a risk to crew health, and fine particles from combustion events can be especially worrisome. Under nominal spaceflight conditions, airborne dusts and particles tend to be larger than on earth because of the absence of gravity settling. Aboard the ISS, dusts are effectively managed by HEPA filters, although floating dust in newly-arrived modules can be a nuisance. Future missions to the moon and to Mars will present additional challenges because of the possibility that external dust will enter the breathing atmosphere of the habitat and reach the crew's respiratory system. Testing with simulated lunar and Martian dust has shown that these materials are toxic when placed into the lungs of test animals. Defining and evaluating the physical and chemical properties of Martian dusts through robotic missions will challenge our ability to prepare better dust simulants and to determine the risk to crew health from exposure to such dusts.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Airborne Dust in Space Vehicles and Habitats


    Contributors:
    James, John (author)

    Publication date :

    2006-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




    Airborne Dust in Space Vehicles and Habitats

    James, John T. | SAE Technical Papers | 2006


    Biosafety in Space Vehicles and Habitats

    Wong, W. / Arneson, D. / Pierson, D. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2010


    Toxicology of Airborne Gaseous and Particulate Contaminants in Space Habitats

    Sulzman, F. M. / Genin, A. M. / James, John T. et al. | AIAA | 1994


    Water Quality Standards for Space Vehicles and Habitats

    McCoy, J.T. / James, J.T. / Society of Automotive Engineers | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008


    Air Quality Standards for Space Vehicles and Habitats

    James, J.T. / Society of Automotive Engineers | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008