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Hybrid plasma simulations of the solar wind interaction with an anthropogenic lunar exosphere
Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, 7 Gauss Way, CA, Berkeley, United States.
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd., MD, Laurel, United States.
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Physics.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9450-6672
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 695, MD, Greenbelt, United States.
2024 (English)In: Advances in Space Research, ISSN 0273-1177, E-ISSN 1879-1948, Vol. 74, no 11, p. 6172-6182Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In the coming decades, exploration of the lunar surface is likely to increase as multiple nations execute ambitious lunar exploration programs. Among several environmental effects of such activities, increasing traffic near and on the lunar surface will result in the injection of anthropogenic neutral gases into the lunar exosphere. The subsequent ionization of such anthropogenic neutrals in the lunar environment may contribute to and ultimately exceed the generation of ‘native’ lunar pickup ions, thereby altering the fundamental space plasma interaction with the Moon. To better understand these possible effects, we conducted plasma simulations of the solar wind interaction with the Moon in the presence of increasing ion production rates from an anthropogenic lunar exosphere. At ionization levels between 0.1 and 10 times the native lunar exospheric ion production rate, little to no changes to the solar wind interaction to the Moon are present; however, ionization levels of 100 and 1000 times the native rate result in significant mass loading of the solar wind and disruption of the present-day structure of the Moon's plasma environment. Comparing to the planned Artemis landings, which are likely to contribute only an additional ∼10% of the native lunar exospheric ion production rate, we conclude that the Artemis program will have little effect on the Moon's plasma environment. However, more frequent landings and/or continual outgassing from human settlements on the Moon in the more distant future are likely to fundamentally alter the lunar plasma environment.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2024. Vol. 74, no 11, p. 6172-6182
Keywords [en]
Human exploration, Lunar exosphere, Moon-solar wind interaction, Pickup ions
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-225493DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2024.05.048ISI: 001358966300001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85194039463OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-225493DiVA, id: diva2:1867336
Funder
Swedish National Space Board, 2022–00187Swedish Research Council, 2018–03454Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationAvailable from: 2024-06-10 Created: 2024-06-10 Last updated: 2024-12-18Bibliographically approved

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Fatemi, Shahab

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