Colloquium: João Pedro Fernandes Carvalho (ASM)

Lunar dust presents a major challenge for long-term space missions due to its high adhesion, abrasive nature, and electrostatic charging. This thesis explores the development of an antidust coating using polyimide and alumina platelets, designed to leverage electrostatic repulsion to minimize dust accumulation. The coating was fabricated using a layer-by-layer deposition method. An experimental setup was developed to test its antidust performance under simulated lunar conditions, including vacuum and electrostatic charging. An additional coating was fabricated using LMS-1 lunar simulant instead of alumina platelets, revealing a distinct composite morphology. The results demonstrate that the coating significantly reduces dust adhesion, with electrostatic repulsion playing a key role in performance. This study highlights the potential of passive antidust coatings for lunar exploration and contributes to the broader application of In-Situ Resource Utilization in space materials.

Supervisor: Santiago Garcia