Samples of spacesuit material suggest that Martian dust could be less abrasive than the dust found on the Moon, according to Phys.org. The finding points to one possible advantage for future crews working on Mars, where grit clinging to suits has been a concern for equipment and health.
The dust question has drawn attention because NASA's Perseverance rover has been examining the particles up close. NASA says the rover is offering clues on how to protect crews from Mars dust, and Reuters reported that the rover detected ultrafine dust particles on the planet. Labroots, meanwhile, described the Martian grains as smooth, and Pasadena Now reported that researchers at JPL are focused on how tiny Mars dust sticks to spacesuit materials.
The comparison with the Moon matters because lunar dust is known to be sharp and clinging, a legacy of the Moon's dry, airless environment. Mars has an atmosphere and, on the evidence reported so far, dust grains that are less jagged. The coverage does not establish how much less wear Martian dust would cause over a long mission, and the results come from suit samples rather than from suits worn on the surface.
What to watch next: whether further analysis of Perseverance's dust measurements and additional material tests confirm the early picture, and how suit designers use those findings as NASA plans for crewed missions to Mars.
