Interaction of the Substance of the Tsarev Meteorite with Radiation from a Powerful Gyrotron: Dusty Plasma Cloud Formation and Phase Transformations

A new approach for simulation of the interaction of space and lunar dust with the surface of spacecrafts has been proposed. The approach is based on creating a dusty plasma cloud when the substance imitating the space or lunar dust is treated with high-power pulsed microwave radiation in the developed experimental facility. The facility consists of a high-power gyrotron (75 GHz, 0.8 MW); a plasma-chemical reactor; and a diagnostic complex, which includes optical emission spectrometers and a high-speed camera. The approach has been tested using the substance of the Tsarev meteorite, which represents a typical substance of meteorites. It was found that the substance mainly keeps the phase composition; however, the particles change their morphology due to rapid heating and melting.