Study wey NASA explain on October 26 use unusual experiment for Mars: small pieces of spacesuit material wey dey travel with Perseverance. For 1,645 Martian days, researchers examine dust wey stick to these surfaces. Equipment for checking instrument settings come provide evidence for future exploration design.
The rover carry five spacesuit-material samples, each about 20 millimetres square, on SHERLOC calibration target. Another target for PIXL get Teflon and basaltic glass. Normally these targets help instruments check measurements, but dust wey gather on top give researchers another useful signal.
PIXL no fit directly detect elements wey make clean Teflon. So when the target give elemental readings, those signals come from dust wey settle there. Researchers combine this with observations of other samples to understand how different surfaces collect small grains over time.
Some particles wey dem detect measure below 2.5 micrometres; some surfaces carry even smaller grains around 100 to 300 nanometres. Size change according to material. Static electricity appear to help explain why certain dust grains hold certain targets after collisions for Mars atmosphere.
Driving and drilling fit shake bigger clumps comot, but the smallest particles remain. This difference matter for equipment: surface fit look cleaner after shaking and still carry fine dust. Engineers therefore need test material choices and protective coatings together with methods for cleaning.
The findings fit guide spacesuit and habitat design, including systems wey keep dusty equipment outside where people live. Dem no mean say finished dust-proof suit don arrive. The useful progress na direct evidence from Mars that both dust grain and surface determine how strongly dem hold together.