The Dangerous Truth Behind Lunar Dust

During the first lunar missions, NASA discovered the dangerous nature of the moon’s dust. So as we get ready to head back, are we ready to deal with lunar dust?

Historically, some astronauts have had negative reactions to the moon’s dust. In 1972, Apollo 17’s Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt experienced a momentary sneezing fit, red eyes, itchy throat and clogged sinuses in response to lunar dust.

Considering that the moon’s dust is quite sharp and abrasive—similar to tiny shards of glass—coming into contact with lunar dust can result in health issues that are much more serious than a few allergy symptoms.

By taking a deep dive into some of the hazards that crewed moon missions might face, researchers are seriously looking into how to deal with the dangerous dust that can tear up spacesuits and clog equipment.

And with the 2019 NASA Artemis mission announcement, conducting research on how to protect astronauts from moon dust seems more timely and important than ever.

Find out more about the threat posed by lunar dust and some of the innovations that are being developed to limit its dangerous health impacts in this Elements.

#Space #Moon #NASA #Apollo #Lunar #Science #Seeker #Elements

Read More:
Moon Dust Could Be a Problem for Future Lunar Explorers
"Think of it as a flashback message from the Apollo moonwalkers: The moon is a Disneyland of dust."

Breathing in moon dust could release toxins in astronauts' lungs
"The surface of the moon is dusty – and nasty. The Apollo astronauts quickly learned that the sharp grains of moon dust could tear spacesuits and irritate their lungs, but now it seems the lunar surface is even worse for human health than we thought."

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[williamherndon]

"Silicon Dioxide is a highly toxic, lung disease causing compound as well"
You know common sand, glass, and quartz are all forms of silicon dioxide, right?
It's the form, not the compound.

[damiaan]

dang as if space wasn't scary enough already, now even the dust is trying to kill you.

[Santibag]

I cannot tell how much I appreciated subtitles. I watched this video in a condition that I'm not able to turn on the volume and subtitles made it possible to watch this video.

And this video taught me a thing that I've never thought about.

I subscribed. Your contents look interesting to me.

[shannonlove]

02:30 — Silicone dioxide is common sand.

It is not, by any stretch of imagination, “highly toxic”. Quite the opposite, it is one of the most inert mineral substances. We all breathe in fine particulates of it constantly. It is a major component of common dust.

In order for it cause problems, particles must be trapped in the lungs for decades were it caused irritation, inflammation and possibly cancer or chronic lung disease. But exposure levels necessary are huge and usually only affect those exposed for years, usually in industrial settings where workers are exposed to massive amounts over many years or decades.

The primary toxic effects of moon dust come from the vast number of radicals created by constant radiation bombardment on the lunar surface.

[Blazuchan]

Cave Johnson is right all along.
He died for science and his legacy will never be forgotten

[JDJohnson]

Wow! Love this channel! 4.3mil subs! Awesome! Congrats!!!

[RichMitch]

"I'm allergic to the moon!"

[vicvalente]

cover every aspect of the missions you can find!! I am so excited about us going back to the moon, there is so much we have yet to learn!

[DaBlondDude]

Aside from the obvious "clean before suit removal (which strikes me as problematic for multiple reasons) it occurs to me a suit could be attached to the external wall and exited with bringing it back in aside from maintenance needs (which would require cleaning but said cleaning could be more realistic and easier with an empty suit).

[Qman]

Strong correlation between this host joining and this channel getting better

[onionaffection]

Well there's no chance i'd actually get to the moon so i'm safe

[DDay-vvec]

Maybe they should take a dust buster withem next time..

[barbaraleaweaver-mercado]

More on the Artemis Program, please.

[zakurn]

Wait, silicon dioxide is a "highly toxic" material now? Really, plain old silica is toxic? Did you guys mix something up in the script for this video?

Silicates, a group of minerals with its basic structure being formed of various forms of SiO2, can be "toxic" and cancerous to lung tissue when a certain sub group of silicate is breathed in because they are needle like in their micro structure, they are sharp and continuously do damage to the lungs, making it repair over and over, which in turn can increase the chance of some cell going rogue and becoming a cancer.

But SiO2 on it's own is not toxic. Otherwise anyone who had gone to the beach would have come into contact with more than enough lethal dose to kill.

[MattSeconds]

Put that Flex Seal sh*t on them suits, that stuff fixes everything...

[shabeesatsangi]

Don't know about moon dust but her voice makes science appears so sweet...

[audaxxx]

What ever happened to the suitport that was being developed for this reason?

[donjones]

Just before entering the lander, put on a thin pair of baggie overalls, covering everything but the helmet. Then when inside tape it at the cuffs and take off the suit/coverall combo. Won't eliminate the dust, but will mitigate it considerably. The overalls can be very thin and light and simple, will only be on for a few minutes.

Or, the astronauts could even just wrap each other in Saran wrap before entering. Seriously. A film wrap that's sticks to itself. Again, it doesn't have to cover perfectly, just has to cover most of it. Just make sure to have plenty, for when it snarls up.

[mortimerhasbeengud]

So the main thing is to view the moon as a great place for robots to do mining. There would seem to be a fix for lunar dust, however, we'd need an roi to fund for letting humans survive on the moon, for research, etc.

[maelhagel]

The answer to moon dust problem can be the same to earth dust, a vacuum!!