Dust plumes lofted by a lunar lander threaten operations and assets. To inform prediction and protection, we are developing a lander-mounted laser-based instrument to obtain empirical particle-size distributions in ejecta plumes. The particle size distribution is determined from laser propagation decay at multiple wavelengths. We present laboratory experiments on static particle suspensions of independently known particle-size distributions in liquid, and of dropped particle showers in an evacuable chamber, to confirm theoretical expectations for laser propagation decay constants. We predict the laser-propagation decay-constant spectrum for plumes of lunar simulant generated by tethered rocket tests. We describe progress on a prototype system for tethered rocket tests and some of the calibration issues.


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    Title :

    Laser Particle Sizer for Lunar Lander Plumes



    Conference:

    19th Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments ; 2024 ; Miami, Florida


    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2024-10-10




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



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