ELECTROSTATIC PROPERTIES OF LUNAR REGOLITH by

Lunar regolith particles exposed to radiation on the moon attract one another electrostatically. The open cluster structure of the lunar soil results from this effect which also causes rock and grain surfaces to be coated with a tenaciously adhering layer of ultrafine particles. Significance of studv Measurement of the forces of attraction and clarification of their nature are of importance for the following reasons: 1. to understand the cohesion and aggregation of the surface material on the Moon, and by inference of material in the space environment in general. These phenomena would be of particular importance in a non-gravitational environment;'hence they would largely control the initial accretion of particles and the growth of small bodies in space (Alfven and Arrhenius,l970; Asunmaa et al., 1970)