UCF is developing the ejecta sheet tracking opacity and regolith maturity (ejecta storm) instrument a sensor technology with the unique capability of quantifying the blowing of ejecta under the…

UCF is developing the ejecta sheet tracking opacity and regolith maturity (ejecta storm) instrument a sensor technology with the unique capability of quantifying the blowing of ejecta under the plume of a rocket-powered landing vehicle. When a spacecraft lands on the lunar surface the engine exhaust ejects regolith particles at high velocity. IT strips away a layer of space-weathered soil from under the lander photometrically brightens a region around the lander deposits sand gravel and dust in the surrounding locale (and globally for sufficiently large landers) deposits plume chemicals into the surrounding region and sandblasts any hardware within reach. This can affect the scientific integrity of a mission and the functionality of the spacecraft and surrounding hardware like a lunar outpost or previously landed lunar assets. Members from the university of central florida (UCF) team have researched these phenomena for 20 years to inform the design of a lunar landing instrument to measure the most important properties of regolith ejecta. Under NASA s flight opportunities program UCF will test the ejecta storm instrument's ability to measure regolith ejecta particle velocities and size distributions by flying the sensor on masten space system s xodiac a vertical takeoff vertical landing (vtvl) rocket powered terrestrial lander.