MARS DUST-REMOVAL TECHNOLOGY

The Mars atmosphere contains a significant load of suspended dust. Set tling of atmospheric dust onto the surface of the solar array is poten tially a lifetime-limiting faster for a power system on any Mars missi on, For long-term operation of arrays on Mars, it may be necessary to develop techniques to remove deposited dust, Dust is expected to adher e to the array by Van der Waals adhesive forces, These forces are quit e strong at the dust particle sizes expected, If the array surface is insulating, it is possible that they may also be subject to electrosta tic adhesion, which may be extremely strong, Dust-removal methods must overcome this force, Dust-removal methods can be categorized briefly into four categories: natural, mechanical, electromechanical, and elec trostatic. The environment of Mars is expected to be an ideal one for the use of electrostatic dust-removal techniques.