US 11,866,203 B2
Dust removal in deep space environment
Julie Strickland, Houston, TX (US); and Nicholas Brophy, Bentonville, AR (US)
Assigned to HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION, Charlotte, NC (US)
Filed by Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, Charlotte, NC (US)
Filed on Oct. 1, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/060,336.
Prior Publication US 2022/0106061 A1, Apr. 7, 2022
Int. Cl. B64G 1/46 (2006.01); B03C 3/155 (2006.01); B64G 6/00 (2006.01)
CPC B64G 1/46 (2013.01) [B03C 3/155 (2013.01); B64G 6/00 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system to remove dust from an extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) worn by an astronaut in a deep space environment, the system comprising:
one or more ionic shower units installed external to an interior volume of a facility, each ionic shower unit being configured to release positively charged ions and negatively charged ions in a specified direction to neutralize the dust and generate neutralized dust, wherein the interior volume of the facility is defined by an interior hatch that is separated from an exterior hatch by an airlock; and
one or more collection units installed external to the interior volume, each collection unit being configured to trap the neutralized dust to prevent the dust from entering the interior volume.