Microwave Plasma Imitation Experiments on Deposition of Lunar Dust on Metal Plates

Experimental results are presented on deposition of charged particles that imitate the levitating dust of regolith (dusty plasma) on the Moon on metal plates. The experiment was based on the analogy between the physical–chemical properties of the processes that develop in regolith during microwave discharge excited by the radiation of a powerful gyrotron in the powder of regolith (lunar dust) and the processes that occur on the Moon during the bombardment of its surface by micrometeorites. The action is studied of the levitating dust cloud on plates made from molybdenum and tantalum with a size of 10 × 40 mm. The results are compared with the experiment on deposition of lunar dust on plates from stainless steel. It is shown that dust particles in the shape of spheroids of different sizes are deposited on the plates. The size distribution of these particles and their chemical composition are those of lunar regolith. It is found that the uniformity of dust deposition can be controlled by preliminary processing of the metal plates by the low-temperature plasma of a direct piezodischarge. It is shown that the levitating dust obtained under laboratory conditions (ensembles of charged regolith particles) can be used in imitation experiments on surface modification of different materials and in the development of methods for cleaning the space equipment during Moon missions.