Fine and ultrafine Martian dust presents additional risks for future crewed missions to Mars

Surface dust poses a fundamental challenge to extraterrestrial human exploration, a reality demonstrated by the operational hazards encountered during Apollo lunar missions. On Mars, this challenge is compounded by regional and global dust cycles that coat sensitive hardware. While previous Mars missions have constrained the bulk geochemistry of coarser particulates (≳3 µm), the properties of the fine (≲2.5 µm) and ultrafine (≲0.1 µm) fractions remain largely uncharacterized. This knowledge gap is critical as these respirable particles, defined by their ability to bypass upper respiratory defenses, possess the mobility to penetrate deep into the alveolar regions of biological systems, presenting a systemic toxicity risk to future crews. Here, we report on direct examination of these fine and ultrafine Martian dust fractions using X-ray fluorescence through the analysis and modeling of data acquired by the Perseverance rover. We observe particulates measuring as small as 100 to 200 nm on spacesuit samples and calibration targets. Compositionally, this dust is a phosphorus-, iron-, and sulfur-enriched mafic silicate accumulating on materials analogous to the planned external layers of potential crew systems. Our results emphasize the importance of a thorough characterization of Martian dust properties in terrestrial laboratories to better prepare future crews and crew support systems destined for the surface of Mars.

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Publication Details

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2026-10-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2620747123
Primary Topic
Planetary Science and Exploration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Fine and ultrafine Martian dust presents additional risks for future crewed missions to Mars

Jason K. Van Beek, R. A. Yingst, W. T. Elam, James F. Bell III et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Planetary Science and Exploration
article

Fine and ultrafine Martian dust presents additional risks for future crewed missions to Mars

Jason K. Van Beek, R. A. Yingst, W. T. Elam, James F. Bell III, B. C. Clark, David Timothy Flannery, Scott J. V. VanBommel, Kyle Uckert, Abigail C. Allwood, Jeff A. Berger, Abigail L. Knight, Michael W. Jones, Andrew Steele, Sandra M. Siljeström, Andrea D. Harrington, Á. Vicente‐Retortillo, M. E. Schmidt, Elisabeth M. Hausrath, J. A. Hurowitz, Andrew O. Shumway, Brianna Ganly, J. R. Johnson, M. H. Hecht, C. D. K. Herd, Michael M. Tice, Chaz Morantz, Morgan Leigh Cable, Nicholas Tallarida, Germán Martínez, L. A. Wade, Sydney Do, Tasha Coelho, Yang Liu, Steph A. Connell, Rachel I. Kenney
article en

Abstract

Surface dust poses a fundamental challenge to extraterrestrial human exploration, a reality demonstrated by the operational hazards encountered during Apollo lunar missions. On Mars, this challenge is compounded by regional and global dust cycles that coat sensitive hardware. While previous Mars missions have constrained the bulk geochemistry of coarser particulates (≳3 µm), the properties of the fine (≲2.5 µm) and ultrafine (≲0.1 µm) fractions remain largely uncharacterized. This knowledge gap is critical as these respirable particles, defined by their ability to bypass upper respiratory defenses, possess the mobility to penetrate deep into the alveolar regions of biological systems, presenting a systemic toxicity risk to future crews. Here, we report on direct examination of these fine and ultrafine Martian dust fractions using X-ray fluorescence through the analysis and modeling of data acquired by the Perseverance rover. We observe particulates measuring as small as 100 to 200 nm on spacesuit samples and calibration targets. Compositionally, this dust is a phosphorus-, iron-, and sulfur-enriched mafic silicate accumulating on materials analogous to the planned external layers of potential crew systems. Our results emphasize the importance of a thorough characterization of Martian dust properties in terrestrial laboratories to better prepare future crews and crew support systems destined for the surface of Mars.

Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVol. 123(44)
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU), Space Science Institute (US), Planetary Science Institute (US), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), University of Nevada, Reno (US), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES), Johns Hopkins University (US), University of Alberta (CA), Queensland University of Technology (AU), Brock University (CA), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), University of Washington (US), Washington University in St. Louis (US), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (SE), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US), Health Sciences and Nutrition (AU), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (ES), Centro de Astrobiología (ES), Mineral Resources (AU), University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory (US), Johnson Space Center (US), Earth and Space Research (US), Earth and Planets Laboratory (US), Amentum (United States) (FR), Arizona State University (US), Stony Brook University (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Arizona State University, Swedish National Space Agency, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Science Mission Directorate, Canadian Space Agency, European Regional Development Fund
Openalex Percentile: Top 14%
Planetary Science and Exploration
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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