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ESDMD #0802: Mars Dust-Tolerant Systems and Dust Mitigation

Systems that keep working in Martian dust, and ways to reduce dust's effects, including on crew who may inhale it (bin 4, rating 35 of 57). Mars dust storms "last for days or months" and can be "highly destructive to seals and bearings". The state of the art cited is the dust-tolerant hardware on Perseverance. A Mars-only gap, in the Humans to Mars segment (Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0802). Its lunar counterpart, #0801, is rated 1.

Quotations below are from row ESDMD #0802 of the tech gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix D prints the same table for this gap, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 237).

Description

"Mars dust has the potential to serve as a challenge for Mars extravehicular activities (EVAs) and surface assets. There is a potential health risk to the crew if excessive Martian dust is inhaled over extended timeframes. Additionally, Mars has dust storms that last for days or months, which can be highly destructive to seals and bearings. Systems that will be exposed to the Martian dust should have solutions to ensure they are operable in and tolerant to the hazardous Martian environments. Examples include EVA, rovers, mechanisms, seals, connectors, and surface habitats. Additionally, dust mitigation technologies that can be leveraged to reduce the impact of dust on systems/subsystems are needed."

Impacts and benefits: "Without gap closure, systems may be damaged by dust particles and unable to perform at expected reliabilities or for expected durations. Additionally, there is a potential health risk to the crew if excessive Martian dust is inhaled over extended timeframes."

Current state of the art

"Dust-tolerant systems and mechanisms on the Mars Perseverance rover."

Performance target

Mars: "Systems should be capable of operating efficiently for expected durations or longer, as well as prevent extreme wear and tear to systems or mechanisms from Martian dust. Prevention and/or removal of dust accumulation/adhesion is desired for external systems and for internal habitable spaces to allow for operational capability."

Child gaps

  • 0802-01: Mars dust-tolerant thermal systems
  • 0802-02: Mitigation of Mars dust transfer between surface vehicles/elements
  • 0802-03: Mars dust mitigation via surface coatings, treatments, and/or topography modifications of hardware
  • 0802-04: Mars dust mitigation via active methods
  • 0802-05: Filtration and mitigation of Mars dust in habitable cabin volumes

These mirror five of the six lunar child gaps under #0801. The lunar list also has EVA suit dust mitigation (0801-03); the Mars equivalent is 0803-03, under the Mars suit gap #0803.

Traceability

  • Use cases and functions: UC-H-103 M -- FN-H-110 M
  • Definition tasks: Mars: Surface Ingress/Egress Strategy

Segments and sub-architectures

Priority

Priority bin 4, overall prioritization rating 35 of 57. The rating is "the gap's location in the prioritized list of gaps", so 1 is the highest priority, and bins group gaps of similar priority, bin 1 highest. Criticality, urgency, breadth and depth set the order; cost is not considered (ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199; method on the gaps index).

Moon Base relevance

Not established by the sources so far. The gap is Mars-only in the spreadsheet, and the Users Guide does not name it among its near-term Moon Base challenges (Technology and knowledge challenges). One of the Users Guide's Mars-forward areas, "Dust tolerance", covers the same subject without citing this gap: "Developing dust-tolerant systems or dust mitigation strategies as a part of Moon Base implementation will advance the capabilities available for Mars mission development" (Users Guide, p. 14; see Mars-forward).

Sources

Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0802 · ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199, 237 · Users Guide, p. 14