Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicity Advisory Group
LADTAG is a group of experts
formed in September 2005 to address the problem of
setting health standards for astronaut exposure to
lunar dust. Expertise includes astronauts, flight
surgeons, inhalation toxicologists, particle physicists,
lunar geologists, and pathologists. The group is evenly
balanced between NASA experts and others from academia
or industry. The goal of LADTAG is to identify research
questions, suggest a means of answering those questions,
guide research to answer the questions, and then set
short-term and long term human exposure levels that
are safe. These environmental standards will guide
vehicle engineering decisions for CEV (Crew Exploration
Vehicle) block 2 and for LSAM (Lunar Surface Access
Module), form the basis of flight rules, and dictate
the need for environmental control and monitoring.
Reference Documents
Brown,
J. et al. (2002) Ultrafine Particle Deposition and
Clearance in the Healthy and Obstructed Lung
Donaldson,
K. and Stone, V. (2003) Current hypotheses on the
mechanisms of toxicity of ultrafine particles
Horanyi,
M. et al. (1998) Electrostatic charging properties
of Apollo 17 lunar dust
Sternovsky,
Z. et al. (2002) Contact charging of lunar and Martian
dust simulants
Stubbs,
T. et al. (2005) A dynamic fountain model for lunar
dust
Takahashi,
T. et al. (2005) Distribution and classification of
volcanic ash soils
Taylor, L. et al. (2005)
The lunar dust problem: From liability to asset
Sibille,
L. et al. (2005) Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials:
Recommendations for Standardization, Production, and
Usage
Greenberg,
P. (2006) RLEP2-Measurement Team-Dust Subcommittee
presentation
Spann, J.
et al. (2006) Dust Measurements Report
Vondrak, R. et al. (2005)
A dynamic fountain model for dust in the lunar exosphere
Stubbs,
T. et al. (2005) Impact of lunar dust on space exploration
Stubbs,
T. et al. (2005) Lunar surface charging: A global
perspective using Lunar Prospector data
Connors,
M. et. al. (1994) Interviews with Apollo Astronauts
Lindsay, J. F. (1992)
Extraterrestrial soils - The lunar experience
Minutes of Meetings
15
September 2005
Sketch Plans
Dust Sources -->Human Exposures
- Create activated simulant and/or lunar dust and
characterize their passivation in a life support
habitat
- Review data on lunar dust with size <10 um
for surface area, minerology, size distribution,
surface morphology, chemistry, and electrostatic
properties, with special attention to differences
from earth analogs
- In situ assessment of dust at proposed landing
site(s): size distribution, chemical composition,
chemical reactivity, and passivation in a habitat
atmosphere
- How different is the dust at the south pole compared
to lunar dust and simulant samples that we have?
Exposures -->Potential Health Effects
- Review database on human & animal exposures
to materials similar to lunar dust: volcanic ash,
mineral dusts, and occupational dust exposures.
- Review consequences of Apollo astronauts' exposure
to lunar dust. Can we look at filters from Apollo
capsules and learn anything?
- Critical review of existing lunar dust studies
to deduce what we can learn
- Conduct in vitro studies of cellular response
to simulants and lunar dusts
- Conduct intratracheal instillation studies of
simulants and lunar dusts in one rodent species
- Conduct 6-hr inhalation study of simulant and
one lunar dust on one rodent species
- Conduct subchronic (28-day) inhalation study using
simulant or lunar dust and one rodent species
- Conduct brief human exposure to activated simulant
or lunar dust to assess the acute response of man
(contingent on the results from 4-7 above)
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