"Jack Schmitt said that on Apollo 17 he had to keep brushing the dust off his visor," Dr Carlos Calle said. "By the end of the third moonwalk, his glove had so badly scratched the visor that it was difficult to see."

The dust is abrasive and can damage equipment and samples.

We develop a concept that prevent dust accumulation thanks to piezoelectric.

Requirements:

• Low mass
• Non-metallic other than Teflon

How does it work?

Piezoelectric is used to collect energy while the astronauts are walking or handling tools.

This force is converted into energy thanks to the piezoelectric.

The energy generated is stored to the backpack's battery then converter to be used by another piezoelectric to create slight vibrations that remove the dust.

We to aim to remove dusts from helmets and spacesuits at a first stage.

What does piezoelectric do?

A piezoelectric disk generates a voltage when deformed.

It'll collect the energy using piezoelectric installed under the sole of the boots then returned to other piezoelectric on the helmet. They will remove the dust by slightly vibrating the surface of the visor.

Testing: Assumed Acceptance Testing could include vibration, shock, thermal, all of which would need to be done in a clean-room

Further researches have to be done to

• Select the best piezo electric materials such quartz or ceramics or others
• Select the best position on the boots to collect the energy
• Define the right number of piezo units that can be installed on a spacesuit.
• Decide what layer of the spacesuit the piezoelectric cables will be positioned.
• Select the best way to adapt the electrical field to return to the second piezoelectric to create the vibration
• Electrodynamics Dust Shield, or EDS, could be combined to enhance the results if necessary.

A similar concept could be applied to remove dusts from tools and samples sealing.