Science / Space
Perseverance finds fine Mars dust clings to spacesuit samples for years
The dust is fine enough to reach deep into human lungs.
Status: source-checked.
Ultrafine Martian dust stayed attached to spacesuit fabric samples carried by NASA’s Perseverance rover through years of driving and drilling, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Earth.com reported.
The rover measured the dust over 1,645 Martian days using its PIXL X-ray instrument.
What we know / what we don't
What we know
- Measurements spanned 1,645 Martian days.
What we don't know
- Mitigation methods for astronauts are still being studied.
The source record