Erosive Wear Characterization of Materials for Lunar Construction

The finest layers, termed "lunar dust," created a number of complications during the Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s and 1970s.1 A critical problem caused by the sharp and jagged lunar dust particles was wear.2 As the exhaust plumes from the retrorockets of the Apollo lunar module (LM) interacted with the lunar surface, lunar dust particles were entrained into the gas stream and accelerated to high velocities. Material coupons from the Surveyor III lunar probe, which was located approximately 155 meters away from the Apollo 12 LM landing, were returned to earth and extensive analysis, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), was performed by Immer et al.3 Immer et al., concluded that surface damage such as pitting and scouring, which are primary erosive wear mechanisms, were indeed caused by the lunar dust impingement during the Apollo 12 landing.