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After the high-radiation environment and the low gravity field on Mars, dust is arguably the next biggest environmental hazard facing a manned mission to Mars. The seriousness of this threat is still being studied with robotic missions. At its most benign, Martian dust the work undertaken were recorded to study their effects on dust contamination. We found that more than 50 g of dust and soil were transported into the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) during the 12 EVAs (extravehicular activities) that were measured. The largest amount of contamination from EVA activity was due to open-cockpit vehicle travel and depended strongly on the terrain over which the EVA was conducted. Based on first-order dust dynamics modeling, similar behaviors are expected on Mars.

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