Scientists test new Moon dust cleaning spray on Barbies wearing spacesuit

Researchers say new method performs better than any previously investigated techniques to remove Moon dust

Scientists have developed a new liquid nitrogen spray that could successfully remove simulated moon dust from spacesuit-wearing Barbie dolls.

Researchers, including those from Washington University in the US, believe the new device could potentially solve a significant challenge for future moon-landing astronauts.

The study, published recently in the journal Acta Astronautica, found that the sprayer could remove over 98 per cent of simulated moon dust in a vacuum environment with minimal damage to the spacesuits.

Scientists say the new method performs better than any previously investigated techniques to remove Moon dust which they say sticks to everything that it touches.

Citing an example, they said the Apollo astronauts of the 1960s and 1970s used a brush to try to remove the dust from their spacesuits which didn’t work very well.

The dust, researchers say, also got into the spacesuits and destroyed their seals, making some of the suits unusable.

“Moon dust is electrostatically charged, abrasive and gets everywhere, making it a very difficult substance to deal with,” study first author Ian Wells said in a statement.

“You end up with a fine layer of dust as a minimum just covering everything,” Dr Wells added.

Nasa aims for its Artemis mission to land the first woman and first person of colour on the moon in 2025.

The space agency also hopes to eventually set up a base camp on the lunar surface for further planetary exploration, which would require finding a solution to the moon dust problem.

In the new study, scientists demonstrated that when very cold liquid nitrogen is sprayed at a warmer dust-covered material, the dust particles bead up and float away on the nitrogen vapor.

They liken the effect to how cold water beads up and moves across when poured on a hot frying pan.

Researchers tested the new method using liquid nitrogen under both normal atmospheric conditions and in a vacuum that is more similar to outer space.

They found that the sprayer performed better in the vacuum atmosphere, and also discovered that the liquid nitrogen was much gentler on spacesuit materials than other cleaning methods.

Scientists are currently conducting research to further understand the complex interactions between the simulated Moon dust particles and liquid nitrogen.