Perseverance detects the finest dust ever recorded on Mars
Particles of about 100 nanometers may pose a challenge for astronauts and for spacesuit design.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
NASA's Perseverance rover has detected the finest dust particles ever recorded on Mars, about 100 nanometers wide. g1, in a Reuters text, compares the material to something about 500 times thinner than a human hair.
The PIXL instrument measured dust that adhered to spacesuit materials carried by the robot and identified two categories of smaller particles. Tests showed that the Teflon sample retained finer dust than the Vectran one, a difference tied to the electrostatic properties of each material.
Scientist Scott VanBommel explained that smaller particles have a greater potential to penetrate deep into the human body and are harder to clear.
The dust is spread on Mars by everyday winds, by swirls called dust devils and by large storms, and must be taken into account in any crewed mission. The findings should help in designing suits and life-support systems, since NASA plans to send astronauts to the planet in the 2030s.