A New Spray Could Clean Up Sticky Moon Dust月尘吸附力强，新型喷剂可清除

Watch researchers blast a Barbie with liquid nitrogen—for science.

研究人员在科学实验中用液氮喷射芭比娃娃。

Moon dust is the absolute worst. Not only does electrostatics cause it to cling to virtually everything， but it also has the consistency and feel of finely ground fiberglass. It was a genuine problem for the six Apollo crews who visited the moon’s surface—the silica particles covered their suits， worked their way into engines and electronics， and even ruined a few of their extremely expensive spacesuits. What’s more， many suffered from “lunar hay fever” upon return， leading many to worry that future astronauts on prolonged moon visits could develop symptoms similar to Black Lung Disease， along with other issues including “DNA degradation.”

月尘危害极大。它不仅因静电作用黏附于几乎所有物体上，其稳定性和质感如同研磨成粉的玻璃纤维。在阿波罗计划的六次登月任务中，月尘委实给宇航员们带来了麻烦——二氧化硅颗粒附着在宇航服上，钻入引擎和电子器件，严重时还报废掉多件造价极高的宇航服。更糟的是，许多宇航员在返回后出现了“月球花粉热”的症状，使很多人担心未来宇航员如果长时间在月球执行任务，可能会出现类似黑肺病的症状，以及“DNA退降解”等其他问题。

These are all serious issues to consider ahead of NASA’s planned return to the moon’s surface in 2025， but a team of college undergraduates at Washington State University just developed an ingenious solution to pesky1 moon dust dilemmas—blasting the residue with liquid nitrogen.

这些都是美国宇航局在2025年重返月球表面计划行动前亟需考虑的重大问题，不过好在华盛顿州立大学的一个本科生研究小组最近研究出了一种巧妙的解决方案：用液氮喷射来解决令人头疼的月球尘埃难题。

According to their findings recently published in the journal Acta Astronautica， the team developed a new spray that takes advantage of the Leidenfrost effect. Named after its discoverer—the 18th-century German theologian and doctor， Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost—the process occurs when a liquid comes into close contact with a significantly hotter surface， causing it to quickly form a protective layer of vapor that briefly keeps it from evaporating， such as when water forms into droplets and runs across a very hot frying pan.

根据该小组近期发表在《宇航学报》上的研究成果，他们研制出一款利用莱顿弗罗斯特效应的新型喷剂。这一效应是18 世纪的德国神学家和医生约翰·戈特洛布·莱顿弗罗斯特发现的，并以其名字命名。他发现，当液体与温度明显更高的表面密切接触时，会迅速形成蒸气保护层，暂时阻隔液体蒸发，比如水倒入滚烫的煎锅会变成水珠并在锅中滚动。

The same principle works similarly in space. In this case， a liquid nitrogen spray （typically around -320F） comes into contact with a surface’s relatively warmer lunar dust coating， causing the particles to bead and float away on the nitrogen vapors.

这个原理在太空中同样奏效。在这种情况下，将液氮喷剂（通常在零下 320 华氏度左右）喷在某表面温度较高的月尘吸附层上时，月尘颗粒会变成珠状并随着氮蒸气飘走。

To test their concoction2， the research team first dressed a Barbie doll wrapped with a material used to make space suits. They then hosed it down with liquid nitrogen in a normal atmospheric condition as well as a vacuum chamber similar to conditions in outer space. Not only did the liquid nitrogen spray perform better in the latter scen-ario， but it also resulted in minimal damage to the spacesuit material. In past lunar missions， astronauts’ specialized brush for the moon dust task often caused damage after a single use. In comparison， the liquid nitrogen spray took 75 uses before similar issues occurred.

为了测试液氮喷剂的作用，研究小组首先给一个芭比娃娃穿上了宇航服材质的衣服。然后，他们分别在正常大气条件下和类似外太空条件的真空室中用液氮喷射芭比娃娃。后一种情况下，液氮喷剂不仅效果更好，而且对宇航服材料的损害也最小。以往的登月任务中，宇航员用来清除月尘的专用刷子往往使用一次就会对材质造成损坏。相较之下，液氮喷剂则重复使用75次后才会出现类似的问题。

Going forward， the team hopes to further research the intricacies that make their cleaning process so effective， as well as secure funding to construct testing chambers more closely resembling the lunar surface’s gravity. With any luck， maybe a can of their Moon-be-Gone will be aboard a future Artemis mission， ready to help astronauts avoid one of the lunar surface’s less awe-inspiring traits.

未来，该研究小组打算进一步研究这个高效清洁过程背后的复杂机制，并希望获得资金以建造更接近月球表面重力的测试室。运气好的话，他们的“月尘清除喷剂”将有望在未来的“阿尔忒弥斯”飞行任务中得到运用，帮助宇航员免受月球表面这种少人敬畏的微尘的影响。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）

1 pesky讨厌的；惹麻烦的。  2 concoction混合物，调和物。