Lucas Möller has gained some valuable insights about research with the help of UI soil physicist Markus Tuller.

Möller, a Moscow Junior High 9th grader, already knows a thing or two about the uncertainties of space science as well.

The project Möller developed to measure the angle of repose of Martian dust has twice been bumped from missions to Mars.For the past year, he has worked to refine his idea with Tuller’s help.

Early in April, Möller learned his project won first place in the NASA Student Involvement Program’s Design a Mission to Mars competition.“ NSIP is theoretical. Now what I’m doing is carrying along with that idea,” Möller said.

Dealing with Martian dust

As U.S. military experience in Iraq showed, dust itself can be a serious adversary. NASA data show no reason to minimize the threat on the Red Planet.“Martian dust storms are very severe and can be global,” Möller said.

The son of Greg and Laurie Möller of Moscow, Lucas traveled in May to the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton,Va., with his Moscow Junior High science teacher Jim LaFortune.

Möller hopes his project lands on Mars aboard the Phoenix Mission in 2008. Four teams are competing for management of that mission.

He’s had two other shots at Mars. His experimental device was first scheduled for NASA’s Mars Surveyor Mission in 2001. Two consecutive disasters for Mars landers, however, put that mission on ice. Then, Möller’s experiment was scheduled for a European Space Agency Mars mission later this year but was shelved due to overall mission considerations.

Refining his experiment

With Tuller’s help and a $40,000 NASA grant through the Idaho Space Grant Consortium, Möller built an environmental chamber to mimic conditions on Mars to refine his experiment.

“We can simulate everything pretty well except for gravity,” Möller said. Since Mars is slightly smaller than Earth, its gravitational force is smaller, too.

For dust, Möller and Tuller are using Martian dust simulant manufactured to NASA standards.

The angle of repose, the point past which particles slide instead of stick,of Martian dust is vital information for researchers because it determines the correct alignment for solar panels.

If the angle is too shallow, dust could stick and reduce the panels’ ability to produce electricity. Too steep an angle might reduce a panel’s ability to capture solar energy.