Canadian-made lunar dust repellent heading to the moon aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost

Lunar dust is a big problem for scientists and astronauts on the moon, Kleiman said. Its particles are tiny, abrasive and electromagnetically charged, and they cling to everything, from mechanical equipment to astronauts’ suits.

Companies across the globe are trying to find ways to keep the dust from sticking and building up, especially on highly sensitive optical and thermal control surfaces, he said.

The samples from his company heading to the moon are made of Kapton — the shiny, gold-coloured material on satellites that looks like foil — and the white paint commonly used on space vessels, he said. Both are covered in his company’s special “diamond-like” coating, Kleiman said.

If the privately owned Blue Ghost lands on the moon as planned on Sunday, it will send valuable data back to Kleiman about how his technology is performing. Back in Markham, his company has a lunar space simulator — “a big chamber in which we create all the lunar conditions,” he said — and his team will expose two similar samples to the conditions expected on the moon and compare the data.

The Blue Ghost spacecraft is expected to land on the moon Sunday at 3:34 a.m. EST, according to Firefly’s website.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2025.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Canadian-made lunar dust repellent heading to the moon aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost

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