Safety considerations for SPIcDER: Spacesuit integrated carbon nanotube dust ejection/removal system

This paper presents a multi-tier safe implementation of the Spacesuit Integrated Carbon Nanotube Dust Ejection/Removal (SPIcDER) system. SPIcDER mitigates dust contamination of spacesuits and flexible surfaces during surface exploration of Moon and Mars. SPIcDER has Carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers embedded within the spacesuit outerlayer. These are energized using high voltage, low power, Alternating Current (AC) signals (∼350–1000 V). Laboratory experiments show the time-varying electric fields produced by SPIcDER repel the dust.