Measuring lunar dust to combat air pollution

Moon dust, or regolith, is not like the particles on Earth that collect on bookshelves or tabletops—it's abrasive and sticks to everything. During NASA's Apollo missions to the moon, regolith posed a challenge to astronauts and valuable space equipment.

During the Apollo 17 mission, astronaut Harrison Schmitt described his reaction to inhaling the dust as “lunar hay fever,” and suffered from sneezing, watery eyes, and a sore throat. The symptoms disappeared, but concern for human health is a driving force behind NASA's extensive research into all forms of lunar soil.

The need to control dust to protect astronauts' health and critical technologies is already having an impact on Earth in the fight against air pollution.

As part of its work on a habitat for NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program, Lunar Outpost Inc. developed an air quality sensor system to detect and measure the amount of lunar soil in the air, which also detects pollutants on Earth.

Originally based in Denver, the Golden, Colorado-based company developed an air quality sensor called Space Canary and offered the sensor to Lockheed Martin Space for its NextSTEP lunar orbiting habitat prototype. Once the device was integrated into the habitat's environmental control system, it offered significant advantages over conventional devices.

Renamed Canary-S (Solar), the sensor now meets the need for low-cost, wireless air quality and weather monitoring on Earth. Powered by solar energy and a battery, the self-contained unit transmits data using cellular technology. It can measure a wide range of pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, among others. The device sends a message every minute to a secure cloud, from where it is forwarded to either Lunar Outpost's web-based dashboard or a customer's database for display and analysis.

The oil and gas industry uses Canary-S sensors to continuously monitor fugitive gas emissions in real time, and the U.S. Forest Service uses them to monitor emissions from wildfires.

“For decades, firefighters have been experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. They thought it was just part of their job,” explained Julian Cyrus, chief operating officer of Lunar Outpost. “But the sensors showed where and when carbon monoxide levels were extremely high, alerting firefighters so they could take precautions.”

The Canary-S sensors are an example of the life-saving technologies that can result from collaboration between NASA and industry innovation.