Scaling the Hazard Potential of Lunar Electrification Presented by: Mr. Dwayne Free Space Coast Intelligence Solutions (SCIS), Melbourne, FL [email protected].

Scaling the Hazard Potential of Lunar Electrification

Presented by: Mr. Dwayne Free

Space Coast Intelligence Solutions (SCIS),

Melbourne, [email protected]

321 622-6858

Current Science: “Lunar meteors don't require oxygen or combustion to make themselves visible. They hit the ground with so much kinetic energy that even a pebble can make a crater several feet wide. The flash of light comes not from combustion but rather from the thermal glow of molten rock and hot vapors at the impact site”.

• Problems:

• Amount of optical energy from an impact can’t be explained by the KE

• More UV than Visible and short lived. May 17th event lasted 1s

• Impacts should be random

• Solution:

• The “illumination” is more likely an “electrical” effect from some sort of discharge mechanism.

What is the discharge

mechanism?

VHF

'Theory and Experiments of Hypervelocity Impact Plasmas‘: Sigrid Close

•  EMP and plasma production that occurs when a particle strikes a spacecraft. This plasma, with a charge separation commensurate with different species mobilities, can produce a strong EMP with a broad frequency spectrum, potentially causing catastrophic damage if the impact is near an area with vulnerable shielding or an open umbilical. Anomalies such as gyro-stability loss can be caused by an EMP without any detectable momentum transfer due to small (<1μg) particle mass. Subsequent plasma oscillations can also emit significant power and may be responsible for many reported satellite anomalies. Close will show through experimental measurements that significant impact-produced radio frequency (RF) emissions occurred in frequencies ranging from VHF through L-band and that these emissions were highly correlated with fast (>20 km/s) impacts.

Manmade Satellite Surface Charging

4 AM

2 AM

Lunar Surface Charging• Observations from Explorer 35 (placed around the Moon in 1967) helped define the lunar magnetic field; the Moon behaves like a poorly conducting, nonmagnetic body• However, Apollo instruments later discovered localized, permanent  magnetized patches exist on the lunar surface with the magnetic field exceeding that of the interplanetary magnetic field at 1 AU  • Magnetic patches (known as Magneons) are rather frequent (hundreds) and are rather large (from tens to hundreds of kilometers in extent• RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES INSTITUTE FOR DYNAMICS OF GEOSPHERES

• Conducted a study (1999) of anomalous lunar “flashes” for Sandia National Labs• Included modeling of Lunar Surface Charging potential

• Modeling suggests that the lunar surface carries a negative charge and subsurface is positive within the magneon extent, and also soil composition dependent• Apollo 11 discovered high-energy electrons at their landing site

Ion Tubes on IO (Threads)• Prior to the Galileo probe's 1996 arrival in the Jovian system, electrical theorist Wallace Thornhill registered these advance claims:•  the vents of the "volcanic" plumes will be much hotter than lava;

• the plumes are the jets of cathode arcs, and they do not explode from a volcanic vent but move around and erode the periphery of dark areas (called "lava lakes" by planetary geologists);

• the "lava lakes" themselves are merely the solid surface of Io etched electrically by cathode arcs and exposed from beneath the "snow" deposited by continuous discharge activity. Therefore, they will not reveal the expected heat of a recent lava flow.

• The observations of Io’s volcanoes more closely match these predictions• Peratt and Dessler say, "The apparent filamentary penumbra on Io may be the first direct verification of the plasma gun (Thread) mechanism at work in the solar system."

Active Volcanoes on Mars?

http://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2015/02/mystery_plume_on_mars/15258048-1-eng-GB/Mystery_plume_on_Mars_node_full_image_2.gif

Active Volcanoes on Mars?

Glass

Apollo Surface Photo

Lunar Discharge from Apollo Photos?

Lunar Discharge from Apollo Photos?

Apollo Astronauts did report “flashes” from the lunar surface

Design Challenge

Thermal Image Radar Image(with VHF LOB)

Ion Tube (thread)