Characterizing and Understanding the Interaction of Dust and Plasma on the Surface of the Moon and in the Exosphere

of Science Topic: The ambient plasma environment and solar UV at the Moon cause the regolith on the lunar surface to become electrically charged [1–3]. This can result in the electrostatic transport of charged dust (< 10 μm) in the lunar exosphere, which has been observed to reach altitudes >100 km [4–6] and speeds of up to 1 km/s [7]. Value of Science Topic: From the Apollo era it is known that dust will have an immediate impact on surface exploration activities and must be addressed to ensure mission success [8–10]. Electrostatic processes almost certainly enhanced problems with dust, such as adhesion, during Apollo, see Fig. 1. Characterizing the surface electric field and the electrostatically transported dust grain size, charge and spatial distribution, as well as the perturbation of man-made structures to these measurements, is required to provide an understanding of the lunar dust-plasma environment and its impact. Cross-disciplinary impacts: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Geology, Environmental Characterization, Operational Environmental Monitoring.