Public outreach

28 May 2024 - Ever asked yourself one of these questions?

• What secrets does the moon hold, waiting to be uncovered by future exploratory missions?
• Why should we care about the moon? What role will the moon play in the future of space exploration?
• What is the value of investigating lunar dust?
• Why is dust on the moon such a big threat?
• What is the electrostatic force of dust on the moon?
• What is the DUSTER project about and how can it contribute to solving the dust problem?
• What does increasing our knowledge on lunar dust mean for the future?
• How can dust unlock new opportunities for scientific discovery and space exploration?

Karolien Lefever tried to respond to all the curious questions of three very interested students, and published it in a news article on the BIRA-IASB website (available in English, Dutch, and French).
For those that want to see the short version: you can also watch the video with the main things you should remember.

27 May 2024 - Did you ever wonder what hidden secrets are lying on the surface of the moon, waiting to be discovered by astronauts?

So did Bryce Bettens, Paulina Morales Ruiz, and Jan-Willem Burssens, three students at the KU Leuven. In the framework of their Science Communication and Outreach course, taught by prof. Katrien Kolenberg, these three students were challenged to create an immersive video for youngsters between 12 and 18 years old, as visual support to the latest issue of Belspo's magazine Science Connection, in which an article on DUSTER was published.

They came to Uccle to interview Karolien Lefever, lead of the work package on impact, outreach and dissemination of the DUSTER project.
The interview was done in English, but the video has subtitles in 4 different languages: English, French, Dutch, and German.

10 May 2024 - The online newspaper Granada Digital just published a video on the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía. The IAA has participated in important discoveries in recent years and has been awarded the Severo Ochoa seal of excellence. Its researchers cover multiple disciplines, an important aspect for the enrichment of its work and the possibility of collaborating with large international projects.

Carmen Pastor, software engineer at IAA, grabs her chance to highlight briefly our European funded DUSTER project :-)

The video is also included in the broader online news article, which mentions (translated to English):

Carmen Pastor, a software engineer, is involved in the development of space systems. Her team is currently involved in the DUSTER project, which investigates the properties of dust particles found on the moon and in other environments where space missions may go.

"It is important to know the characteristics of these particles in order to subsequently be able to build both a cleaning system and perhaps maintenance systems for the instruments themselves," says Carmen Pastor.

2 May 2024 - We are delighted to share with you our contribution to the sixth issue of the Europlanet Magazine, the official magazine of Europlanet, the European community for planetary science.  The e-magazine is published twice a year and aims to highlight the range of activities by Europlanet, their partners, and the wider planetary community.

Dusting the Moon 
Karolien Lefever and Sylvain Ranvier (BIRA-IASB, Belgium) report on DUSTER, a project that gets to grips with lunar dust in preparation for future exploration missions:

Access the full magazine: https://www.europlanet-society.org/europlanet-magazine/