"I do not know if LADEE will see lunar dust in the lunar atmosphere, but I will not be surprised if there is none," Schmitt told SPACE.com. "We know about several transient gases in that atmosphere, and these may be what causes the horizon glow at sunrise and sunset."

Moon dust, Schmitt added, was always been on his mind.

"My concern about levitated dust has always been that levitation, if it occurs at all, probably has to be a one-way trip off the moon … because many flat rock surfaces are essentially free of very fine dust, as I personally witnessed on Apollo 17."

Schmitt said that if dust has been levitated and then dropped again, he would expect the rock surfaces to be covered with such dust.

"Nonetheless, LADEE data on this question, as well as various gases, should give us a lot to think about," Schmitt said.

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7 Comments

1. 1. rogersgeorge 02:21 PM 11/20/12

   Seems to me that I recall an early sci-fi short story that featured electrostatically-charged moon dust. The stuff got on the astronaut's faceplate and obscured his vision; he figured out how to clear it off. Asimov maybe?

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2. 2. Wayne Williamson 04:42 PM 11/20/12

   Why wouldn't the dust be caused by micro meteors or any meteors. I'm assuming that there are millions(tons of them) hitting the moon every day just like earth.

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3. 3. europamoon100 05:03 PM 11/20/12

   At one time, back in the 1940s into the early 1960s, it was thought that the surface of the Moon might have large deposits of rockdust here and there, such as in valleys, rilles, and craters. There was even the worry that anything landing on the surface of the Moon might get sucked up into the dust.
   
   That was pretty well ruled out by the Surveyor program, which made five sucessful soft landings on the Moon (Surveyors 1, 3, 5, 6, & 7) and two crashes. The Ranger program also had several deliberate crashes on the lunar surface.
   
   Going back to the 1950s and the deposits of moondust, please see the novel "A Fall of Moondust" by Arthur C. Clarke. It is still an interesting tale.
   
   D.A.W.

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4. 4. europamoon100 05:11 PM 11/20/12

   @Wayne Williamson: "micrometeorites", and also "micro" is ALWAYS a prefix that is attached directly to words. Please see microcomputer, microcosom, microfilm, micrometer, microorgamism, microprocessor, microscope, and microwave.
   D.A.W.

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5. 5. Wayne Williamson 05:13 PM 11/20/12

   @europamoon...I used the auto correct and chose the wrong one;-)

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6. 6. Profitsup 09:38 PM 11/20/12

   Oh my God - THE SOLAR WINDS blowing MOON DUST ???

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7. 7. Knyaz 11:30 AM 11/22/12

   Возможно это атмосфера Земли(захваченная луной во время апокалипсической катастрофы)которая находится на Луне в виде льда.Всем известно,что газ может принимать как жидкое так и твёрдое состояние.Может лунный лёд под водействием солнечных лучей принимает газообразную форму а в тени опять превращается в лёд.Земная атмосфера возможно попала на Луну также как и брекчий на Землю,Луна захватила земной грунт вместе с частью атмосферы а земля брекчий.Луна должна быть усыпана земным грунтом

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