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Firstly, the Lunar and Martian regolith will be quite different in composition.

Wikipedia has a short list of the harmful effects of Lunar dust, these have been added to, to include potential harmful effects of Martian dust.

1. Darkening of surfaces, leading to a considerable increase in radiative heat transfer

2. Abrasive nature of the dust particles may rub and wear down surfaces through friction

3. Negative effect on coatings used on gaskets to seal equipment from space, optical lenses that include solar panels and windows as well as wiring

4. Possible damage to astronaut's lungs, nervous, and cardiovascular systems

5. it can short circuit equipment since some of it is metallic dust

6. wedge into small openings or spacesuit fabric or stick to it magnetically and cause triboelectric (rubbing) and/or surface photoelectric discharge

7. contain dangerous chemicals like e.g. calcium perchlorate salts on Mars

8. it can cover "traps" on untraversed lands, such as dry ice fans, other volatiles, ravines, cracked lava tubes

9. Cause substantial surface temperature differential

10. airborne dust can cause electric storms

11. reduce visibility

As for the Martian soil there is a whole host of articles discussing this topic, for example:

• potential hazard of electrostatic adhesion and discharge

Or for how I found this paper: Google Scholar.

One difference between the Martian and Lunar regolith is the degree to which is it moved. Mars has an atmospheric pressure of around 600 Pa, where as the moon is much lower at 0.3 nPa (0.3*10^-9 Pa) - that's about 2 thousand billion times lower. So you could logically expect the Martian atmosphere to carry a much larger amount of regolith in dust storms - creating a large issue when looking at regolith covering sensors etc.

EDITED to add notes from TidalWave.

Firstly, the Lunar and Martian regolith will be quite different in composition.

Wikipedia has a short list of the harmful effects of Lunar dust, these have been added to, to include potential harmful effects of Martian dust.

1. Darkening of surfaces, leading to a considerable increase in radiative heat transfer

2. Abrasive nature of the dust particles may rub and wear down surfaces through friction

3. Negative effect on coatings used on gaskets to seal equipment from space, optical lenses that include solar panels and windows as well as wiring

4. Possible damage to astronaut's lungs, nervous, and cardiovascular systems

5. it can short circuit equipment since some of it is metallic dust

6. wedge into small openings or spacesuit fabric or stick to it magnetically and cause triboelectric (rubbing) and/or surface photoelectric discharge

7. contain dangerous chemicals like e.g. calcium perchlorate salts on Mars

8. it can cover "traps" on untraversed lands, such as dry ice fans, other volatiles, ravines, cracked lava tubes

9. Cause substantial surface temperature differential

10. airborne dust can cause electric storms

11. reduce visibility

As for the Martian soil there is a whole host of articles discussing this topic, for example:

• potential hazard of electrostatic adhesion and discharge

Or for how I found this paper: Google Scholar.

One difference between the Martian and Lunar regolith is the degree to which is it moved. Mars has an atmospheric pressure of around 600 Pa, where as the moon is much lower at 0.3 nPa (0.3*10^-9 Pa) - that's about 2 thousand billion times lower. So you could logically expect the Martian atmosphere to carry a much larger amount of regolith in dust storms - creating a large issue when looking at regolith covering sensors etc.

EDITED to add notes from TidalWave.

Firstly, the Lunar and Martian regolith will be quite different in composition.

Wikipedia has a short list of the harmful effects of Lunar dust, although each of these would be present on Mars to some extent:

• Darkening of surfaces, leading to a considerable increase in radiative heat transfer

• Abrasive nature of the dust particles may rub and wear down surfaces through friction

• Negative effect on coatings used on gaskets to seal equipment from space, optical lenses that include solar panels and windows as well as wiring

• Possible damage to astronaut's lungs, nervous, and cardiovascular systems

As for the Martian soil there is a whole host of articles discussing this topic, for example:

• potential hazard of electrostatic adhesion and discharge

Or for how I found this paper: Google Scholar.

One difference between the Martian and Lunar regolith is the degree to which is it moved. Mars has an atmospheric pressure of around 600 Pa, where as the moon is much lower at 0.3 nPa (0.3*10^-9 Pa) - that's about 2 thousand billion times lower. So you could logically expect the Martian atmosphere to carry a much larger amount of regolith in dust storms - creating a large issue when looking at regolith covering sensors etc.

Firstly, the Lunar and Martian regolith will be quite different in composition.

Wikipedia has a short list of the harmful effects of Lunar dust, these have been added to, to include potential harmful effects of Martian dust.

1. Darkening of surfaces, leading to a considerable increase in radiative heat transfer

2. Abrasive nature of the dust particles may rub and wear down surfaces through friction

3. Negative effect on coatings used on gaskets to seal equipment from space, optical lenses that include solar panels and windows as well as wiring

4. Possible damage to astronaut's lungs, nervous, and cardiovascular systems

5. it can short circuit equipment since some of it is metallic dust

6. wedge into small openings or spacesuit fabric or stick to it magnetically and cause triboelectric (rubbing) and/or surface photoelectric discharge

7. contain dangerous chemicals like e.g. calcium perchlorate salts on Mars

8. it can cover "traps" on untraversed lands, such as dry ice fans, other volatiles, ravines, cracked lava tubes

9. Cause substantial surface temperature differential

10. airborne dust can cause electric storms

11. reduce visibility

As for the Martian soil there is a whole host of articles discussing this topic, for example:

• potential hazard of electrostatic adhesion and discharge

Or for how I found this paper: Google Scholar.

One difference between the Martian and Lunar regolith is the degree to which is it moved. Mars has an atmospheric pressure of around 600 Pa, where as the moon is much lower at 0.3 nPa (0.3*10^-9 Pa) - that's about 2 thousand billion times lower. So you could logically expect the Martian atmosphere to carry a much larger amount of regolith in dust storms - creating a large issue when looking at regolith covering sensors etc.

EDITED to add notes from TidalWave.

Firstly the Lunar and Martian regolith will be quiet different in composition.

Wikipedia has a short list of the harmful effects of Lunar dust, although each of these would be present on Mars to some extent:

• Darkening of surfaces, leading to a considerable increase in radiative heat transfer

• Abrasive nature of the dust particles may rub and wear down surfaces through friction

• Negative effect on coatingsused on gaskets to seal equipment from space, optical lenses that include solar panels and windows as well as wiring

• Possible damage to an astronaut's lungs, nervous, and cardiovascular systems

As for the Martian soil there is a whole host of articles discussing this topic, for example:

• potential hazard of electrostatic adhesion and discharge

Or for how I found this paper: Google Scholar.

One difference between the Martian and Lunar regolith is the degree to which is it moved. Mars has an atmospheric pressure of around 600Pa, where as the moon is much lower at 0.3nPa (0.3*10^-9Pa) - that's about 2 thousand billion times lower. So you could logically expect the Martian atmosphere to carry a much large amount of regolith in dust storms - creating a large issue when looking at regolith covering sensors etc.

Firstly, the Lunar and Martian regolith will be quite different in composition.

Wikipedia has a short list of the harmful effects of Lunar dust, although each of these would be present on Mars to some extent:

• Darkening of surfaces, leading to a considerable increase in radiative heat transfer

• Abrasive nature of the dust particles may rub and wear down surfaces through friction

• Negative effect on coatings used on gaskets to seal equipment from space, optical lenses that include solar panels and windows as well as wiring

• Possible damage to astronaut's lungs, nervous, and cardiovascular systems

As for the Martian soil there is a whole host of articles discussing this topic, for example:

• potential hazard of electrostatic adhesion and discharge

Or for how I found this paper: Google Scholar.

One difference between the Martian and Lunar regolith is the degree to which is it moved. Mars has an atmospheric pressure of around 600 Pa, where as the moon is much lower at 0.3 nPa (0.3*10^-9 Pa) - that's about 2 thousand billion times lower. So you could logically expect the Martian atmosphere to carry a much larger amount of regolith in dust storms - creating a large issue when looking at regolith covering sensors etc.