The Apollo Experience Lessons Learned for Constellation Lunar Dust Management

by Sandra Wagner

Lunar dust will present significant challenges to NASA's Lunar Exploration Missions. The challenges can be overcome by using best practices in system engineering design. For successful lunar surface missions, all systems that come into contact with lunar dust must consider the effects throughout the entire design process. Interfaces between all these systems with other systems also must be considered. Incorporating dust management into Concept of Operations and Requirements development are the best place to begin to mitigate the risks presented by lunar dust. However, that is only the beginning. To be successful, every person who works on NASA's Constellation lunar missions must be mindful of this problem. Success will also require fiscal responsibility. NASA must learn from Apollo the root cause of problems caused by dust, and then find the most cost-effective solutions to address each challenge. This will require a combination of common sense existing technologies and promising, innovative technical solutions.

76 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2013

About the author

Sandra Wagner has spent her forty year career working with computers. She has worked on all types of computers, from multi-ton mainframes to the smallest digital controllers. She considers herself an Uber-Geek and has found creation of software as creative and engaging a career as writing. Writing software requires forethought, creativity of logic, and how to work within constraints. Writing stories have much in common with those requirements. She has found creative outlet in writing, acting, and drawing. When not on stage at the theatre, she writes stories.
“Ship of Theseus” is her first novel length story. Others are in the works.