Patent — available for licensing
Dust-Repelling Coating for Thermal Radiators
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
Space is a very unforgiving environment. Charged particles, vacuum, and thermal extremes are just a few of the conditions that make this environment challenging to explore. Lunar dust on the surface of the Moon adds complexity to this situation. Dust can be a health hazard to astronauts if they breathe it in, as well as degrade materials, decrease power generation of solar panels, and cause gasket leaks. It also acts as a blackbody, becoming hot if left in direct sunlight. This is a problem for thermal radiators where the main function is to radiate heat away from an object. If dust lands on the thermal radiator, the unit will less effectively reject heat, and it will overheat. This can lead to mission failure. Therefore, methods to mitigate the accumulation of dust need to be developed. The electrodynamic dust shield (EDS) is capable of actively removing dust from thermal radiator surfaces. NASA scientists and engineeers have invented a novel efficient coating system with EDS capabilities for thermal radiators.