Lunar dust interactions with photovoltaic arrays

Abstract

Significant accumulations of lunar dust on sensitive power system components, particularly photovoltaic arrays, can be expected. The dust accumulation for a future lunar excursion vehicle scenario is estimated and correlated to cell performance as a function of time. The penalties may be substantial, especially for arrays within 1.5 km of the landing site. As particle adhesive forces in the lunar environment are expected to be significant, a defensive strategy is recommended to preserve array performance integrity.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>