Book 8, Question 40
Why Is Moon Dust So Clingy for Astronauts?
Moon dust is clingy because the grains are tiny, sharp, and jagged! There is no water or wind on the Moon to round them off, so static electricity and jagged edges make the dust stick to suits like glitter glue. Regolith is scratchy space dust!
More fun facts
- The Moon has no wind or water to wear down its dust, so the grains stay sharp and jagged.
- The solar wind constantly blasts the airless Moon and gives the dust an electric charge, a bit like static cling.
- After his last moonwalk on Apollo 17, astronaut Eugene Cernan's spacesuit was covered in Moon dust.
- NASA's Electrodynamic Dust Shield, a tool for pushing dust away, has been tested on the International Space Station and on the Moon.
- A tiny bit of the very first Moon dust, collected by the Apollo 11 crew, once sold at auction for about 500,000 dollars.
Sources: NASA Science, National Geographic, NASA
Questions kids ask
Why does Moon dust stick to spacesuits?
It carries an electric charge from the solar wind, so it clings like static.