Lunar Volatiles Collector

Bessel Tube to Capture Lunar Volatiles

Current arts to create linear motion or acceleration of fine particles and molecules into devices such as mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps rely on the pressure difference created by a pinhole or mechanical processes. However, in an environment of vacuum, these approaches do not create such a pressure differential to drive and move fine particles and molecules. In some cases, electrostatic or magnetic processes may work to create the desired motion. A cylindrical harmonic of electric field, which is widely used in electron accelerators, offers a unique capability to capture and induce a linear motion of molecules and particles when electrically charged. Generally, lunar volatiles are electrostatically charged. The idea to capture and collect the lunar volatiles by creating a drift axis of motion using a cylindrical harmonic field has led to the development of a device concept, called a Bessel Tube. The Bessel Tube concept ingests fine particles, gaseous atoms, and gaseous molecules and guides them along an extraction tube for collection, separation, and analysis. The Bessel Tube concept for lunar volatile collection is discussed.