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2661415 
Book/Book Chapter 
DYNAMICS OF LEVITATING DUST PARTICLES NEAR ASTEROIDS AND THE MOON 
Hartzell, CM; Scheeres, DJ 
2011 
Advances in the Astronautical Sciences 
140 
57-72 
WOS:000303779600004 
The movement of small dust particles near the surface of the Moon and asteroids due to electrostatic forces is being investigated to explain several observational phenomena. However, to date, a feasible method for launching particles off the surface of these bodies has not been described. Thus, existing numerical models of dust transport use arbitrarily chosen initial particle states. From numerical models, we see that a subset of particles experience altitude oscillations above the body's surface rather than traditional conic orbits. It is possible that dust particles released from the surface during exploration activities could levitate as well. The equations of motion of this system are coupled and the motion is nonconservative. We have numerically calculated the equilibria of the system and developed an analytical approximation of the stable equilibria. The stability of the equilibria are evaluated both for the linearized system and the fully nonlinear system. By understanding the behavior of particles near the stable equilibria, it will then be possible to state whether or not particle levitation occurs naturally (once a feasible particle launching method is identified) or due to exploration activities.