Feasibility Design of LD GRIDS, a Dust Analyzer for the Moon

This study describes the feasibility design of a dust charge analyser for lunar surface particle analysis. Dust sensors are fundamental parts of all dust-analyzing instruments for space applications. These are generally made by nets of wires which exploit very sensitive charge amplifiers to measure the particle size. Moreover, thanks to the proper disposition of the nets, particle trajectories and velocities can be measured as well, allowing for a complete characterization of the investigated dusty environment. Having grid panels instead of layers of electrodes would help reduce the instrument complexity, enhancing the possibility of being selected for future planetary missions and opening the possibility of being mounted onboard landers. Indeed, the usage of grids instead of wires poses additional challenges to be tackled, in particular, the mechanical resistance of the system within the expected mechanical environment. Thus, the work assesses the feasibility design of the instrument focusing on the grid geometry, by numerical analyses aiming to investigate the dynamic behaviour and the mechanical resistance of the instrument grid changing the grid geometry and to identify the required solutions to cope with the high vibration levels expected at the instrument take off.