Phobos teeming with electricity.

cbi1972

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Nov 8, 2005
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The article made it sound like this is a new discovery. It wasn't bad enough to prevent us from landing on the moon. If it exists on the moon, why wasn't it discovered before now?
The tone does make it sound like a new discovery, but given what we know already, it seems more like confirmation in the new context of Mars.

Hazards of Solar Wind On Moon

Farrell has been studying the effects of the solar wind on hard bodies in space for decades, including studies early in the space shuttle’s development program of the plasma wake it throws off. Like satellites, the shuttle becomes an electrically conducting instrument and is grounded by the solar plasma that flows past it.

Similarly, astronauts or robotic rovers on the Moon are not grounded by touching its surface as they might be on Earth. Farrell jokes that the Moon’s surface has the electrical conductivity of candle wax. Fortunately, the solar wind is a good conductor and ever present for satellites, and usually for strolling astronauts. But the institute’s study raises concerns about what might happen to astronauts and spacecraft should they descend into the cold depths of lunar craters whose high sides shield their bottoms from the wind.
It seems like the implications of solar wind and static electricity are more profound when considering a prolonged stay, deep exploration, or construction of a base, as opposed to a brief surface expedition.
 

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