Electrodynamic Dust Shield

Traveling-Wave Drive

Electrode voltage 2.0 kV

Drive frequency 3.0 Hz

Electrode pitch 12 mm

Surface gravity Moon (1.62 m/s²)

Panel Readouts

Dust cleared

Particles remaining

600

Surface field E₀

0 kV/m

Wave speed

0 mm/s

How it works

An Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) is a set of parallel electrode strips buried under a thin dielectric layer on a solar panel or optic. Adjacent electrodes are driven by three phase-shifted AC voltages (0°, 120°, 240°), producing a traveling electric-field wave that hugs the surface and decays with height — the same principle as a linear induction motor, applied to charged dust instead of a conductor.

E_x(x,z,t) =  E₀ sin(kx − ωt) e^(−kz)
E_z(x,z,t) = −E₀ cos(kx − ωt) e^(−kz)
k = 2π / λ,  λ = 3 × electrode pitch,  ω = 2πf

Regolith dust picks up a triboelectric charge q (sign varies grain to grain) simply from contact and separation as it settles. The traveling field exerts a Coulomb force F = qE on each charged grain; on the Moon or Mars the field must also overcome the local weight mg. Grains near the surface (small z, where e^(−kz) is largest) feel the strongest kick, get lofted a few pitch-lengths up, and are then dragged sideways by the traveling wave until they fall off the panel edge.

Electrode voltage — sets the field amplitude E₀ at the surface; too weak and gravity/adhesion wins.
Drive frequency — sets the wave's angular speed ω; too fast and grains cannot respond before the field reverses.
Electrode pitch — sets the wavelength λ and how quickly the field decays with height e^(−kz); finer pitch concentrates the force near the surface.
Surface gravity — Moon (1.62 m/s²), Mars (3.71 m/s²) or Earth (9.81 m/s²), the competing force the field must beat.

This is real flight hardware, developed at NASA Kennedy Space Center and demonstrated on the Mars 2020 rover's MEDLI2 dust sensor and lunar lander concepts, to keep solar arrays and optical windows clear without any moving parts or consumables.

Positively charged grain Negatively charged grain Electrode strip

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