Lunar dust charging and transport is a more than five-decade-old problem. A high-fidelity and flight-qualified Electrostatic Dust Analyzer (EDA) has been developed to measure the charge, velocity, mass (size), and flux of electrostatically lofted dust particles on the lunar surface. Recent laboratory findings have greatly advanced our fundamental understanding of the dust-charging and -lofting mechanisms, providing critical constraints to the design of the EDA instrument. EDA consists of two identical dust trajectory sensor (DTS) units on both ends of the instrument with a deflection field electrode (DFE) unit lying in between. When a dust particle enters the instrument, charge signals induced on four arrays of wire electrodes in the two DTS units determine the total charge of the dust particle and its trajectory passing through the instrument from which the dust velocity vector is measured. The mass (size) is derived from the deflection of the dust trajectory by the DFE. A dust campaign was performed to characterize the instrument’s performance. The results meet or exceed the requirements. EDA has achieved high Technology Readiness Level 6. EDA measurements are important for assessing the dust environment on the lunar surface and its subsequent impact on crew safety and the operation of exploration systems. Additionally, EDA measurements are expected to have important implications for the surface evolution of all airless bodies, including the Moon and asteroids, in the solar system.

中文翻译：

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用于月球表面灰尘传输测量的静电灰尘分析仪

月球尘埃的充电和运输是一个已有五年多历史的问题。高保真且符合飞行资格的静电尘埃分析仪 (EDA) 已开发出来，用于测量月球表面静电释放尘埃颗粒的电荷、速度、质量（尺寸）和通量。最近的实验室研究结果极大地增进了我们对灰尘充电和放样机制的基本理解，为 EDA 仪器的设计提供了关键约束。EDA 由位于仪器两端的两个相同的灰尘轨迹传感器 (DTS) 单元组成，中间有一个偏转场电极 (DFE) 单元。当灰尘颗粒进入仪器时，两个 DTS 单元中的四个线电极阵列上感应的电荷信号确定灰尘颗粒的总电荷及其穿过仪器的轨迹，从仪器中测量灰尘速度矢量。质量（尺寸）源自 DFE 对灰尘轨迹的偏转。进行了除尘活动来表征仪器的性能。结果达到或超过要求。EDA 已达到高技术准备级别 6。EDA 测量对于评估月球表面的尘埃环境及其对宇航员安全和探测系统运行的后续影响非常重要。此外，EDA 测量预计将对太阳系中所有无空气天体（包括月球和小行星）的表面演化产生重要影响。